Sunday, May 15, 2011

Gnosticism speaks

Having grown up in the church and knowing everything that I was supposed to be doing . . . how do you fit it all in?  And I can remember crying out to the Lord.  I mean I was literally crying to the Lord saying, "God, I just can't do it all."  In addition to that, I was feeling like there were things I wanted to do in the church but I couldn't do them because I was in a female body.  And I went, "what's up with that?  Why did you give me these desires if I can't do them because I am in a female body?"

And I think this Lenten Season in particular is just a beautiful time to just take our inadequacies, all of those things we feel are just not enough, and just lay them at the foot of the cross and say, "God, now I understand what you paid the price for.  You paid it for all of these things, and so I am going to lay them here.  And I am going to take you up on your offer of grace and love and acceptance and forgiveness and a sense of wholeness.  I am going to take you up on that.  Right now.  Because you had promised to walk alongside me.  And in that, we realize, we are enough.

The preceding quotes come from a recent "talk" given to an evening church gathering by a religious feminist.

6 comments:

  1. How much do you have to hate yourself and say something like that?

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  2. This really jumped out at me:
    "In addition to that, I was feeling like there were things I wanted to do in the church but I couldn't do them because I was in a female body. And I went, 'what's up with that? Why did you give me these desires if I can't do them because I am in a female body?'"

    And all I could think was that not all desires humans have come from God.

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  3. "Gnosticism." Sound of nail being hit on head.

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  4. Is this woman really saying that Jesus died to take away our femininity and masculinity? Am I reading that right?

    (That's only half snarky -- I really want to be sure I got it right before I start throwing things.)

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  5. Pentamom,

    I hadn't looked at it that way, but I don't think that's an entirely unfair characterization.

    Besides gnosticism, a friend has hit the other nail on the head - a label that had not occurred to me:

    Pluralism.

    Kamilla

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  6. Amy,

    Yes, exactly. Religious feminists never seem to question themselves when they claim to have a call from God.

    Kamilla

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