#but so have the dangerously patriarchal fundamentalist churches

[theragamuffininitiative]

😅

[lilac-honey]

WIP intro: saints and pearls

genre: litfic, coming of age

pov: 1st person retrospective

setting: very very small valley town in southern bc. (i hear you. ur saying “but you’ve never been to canada !!!” no. you’re right. but i feel its Vibes within me). it’s an isolated, fundamentalist christian sect founded by a prophet in the 60s who claimed to be the living word of god, succeeded by his son. the year is between 2013-16, i sense.

themes/aesthetics: god, divinity & power, devotion & worship, girlhood & motherhood, innocence, sin & corruption, desire & temptation, resurrection & rebirth, truth, lies & false prophecy. identical grey houses, the sun setting through a wire fence, girls in white dresses cycling down an empty road, mountains in the distance dusted with snow, a town with no traffic lights, screaming and hearing no echo back.

cws: christian fundamentalism, cult, deeply patriarchal society, death, implied murder, disappearance / missing person, children in implied danger.

logline: when her mother vanishes, fifteen-year-old opal returns to live with her father in the isolated religious sect she grew up in. as she tries to find the truth about her mother’s disappearance, she becomes entangled in a sinister love affair with her father’s young new wife & the struggle to succeed the sect’s ageing prophet.

literal logline: opal’s reputation era takes an unexpected turn when she comes up against siblings as weird about god as she is

synopsis & characters under the cut <3

synopsis:

When her mother disappears, fifteen-year-old Opal chooses to return to the isolated sect she and her mother fled two years prior. But when she returns to Virtue, things have changed. Her father, Franklin, has remarried to a young new convert: the alluring, saintly Neeve, whom Opal is irresistibly drawn to. What’s more, the mounting health problems of the sect’s ageing prophet are set to kickstart the race to replace him in earnest at any moment.

The family are intent on ensuring Franklin’s accession as the next prophet, and Opal suspects they know more about her mother’s disappearance than they’re telling her. There’s a simple solution: gain Neeve’s trust and use her to find out what the family are hiding—yet Neeve’s magnetic zealotry only pulls Opal in closer, and their intoxicating relationship threatens to derail Opal’s quest to expose the truth.

Meanwhile, Opal’s rebellious flirtation with Warren, Neeve’s cunning older brother and Franklin’s main rival for the prophethood, opens the door to escape from her family’s control—and the opportunity for long-awaited revenge against the man and church who terrorised her childhood.

As Opal becomes entangled in the struggle to become Virtue’s final prophet—a deadly web of plots, fanaticism, and false prophecy—she draws closer to uncovering the dark secrets she’s sought all along about her family and community. But, with disaster edging ever-closer, Opal must confront the truth about herself, and her own hunger for power: is she really any different from the people she seeks to destroy?

this is not my Best Work unfortunately bc it does not accurately capture the goals, conflict and stakes but i will not be rewriting it again actually ! sorry ! i have suffered enough !

characters:

there are too many … more than listed here and that was not my intention

opal lauritzen

15/16, narrating the story probably in her 20s although unspecified.

delighted to unveil my very own unhinged teenage girl protagonist

she’s a little bit Scary !!

morally challenged, if you will

homosexually charged rivalry with neeve

fundamentally on a silly little mission to be adored & worshipped but she’s taken on a side quest (finding out who killed her mother)

she’s so remember my name by mitski coded. she needs someone to remember her name, something bigger than the sky…how many stars will she need to hang around her before she can finally be all done, somewhere like heaven?

everyone is a means to an end for her, apart from her adopted sister, runa (aged six), her bestie. can’t hate a child.

neeve lauritzen/sloane

17/18

neeve is playing chess while everyone else plays chequers

vegetarian (this is very important to her character like … after everything eating meat is still where she draws her moral lines in the sand. and i respect that!)

actually not as evil as opal thinks she is in the beginning. she does actually want to be friends.

she plans to name her baby cinnamon or cherry or similar. maybe moon. she’s silly and goofy like that

she’s fighting demons (comphet) and losing

alicent hightower … is that you ???

warren sloane

20/21

looks so much like austin abrams in my head

if neeve is playing chess … warren is playing monopoly

Charismatic Leader. manipulation is his thing

he’s mastered the female gaze but in a bad way

college dropout for sure. that stem major was so hard he became a creationist and joined a cult

franklin lauritzen

early 40s

opal’s father

a villainous little villain if ever there was one

wants to be the next prophet-leader So Badly it’s kind of embarrassing xx

he’s like low-key an incel he really hates to see women succeed

truly needs to get a life outside of terrorising teenage girls

runa caraway

6

opal’s adopted sister and also biological cousin

really need to develop her as a character but she’s basically an infant

fundamentally she reminds opal of her childhood self, creating Guilt and Conflict

asa and calvin lauritzen

20ish & 17ish

opal’s older brothers

they really Really hate each other xx

accidentally set them up as cain and abel so i’m now going to have to follow through on that foreshadowing

father paul

late 20s

token outside world character

this random catholic priest who becomes very concerned about opal after her mother goes missing

he wants to Fix opal and she knows this and very much enjoys pretending to be a damsel in distress around him

not really sure what purpose he serves in the story apart from a nice scene in a church (with candles !!) in chapter one

he gives her his number so i think she’s going to call him every now and then for a pep-talk

i think he’s going to try to stage an intervention for her later actually

betsy

15ish

opal’s slightly unhinged school friend

true crime girlie

i can’t explain her she’s best seen in action

like when opal and runa come to stay with her family when annora disappears she’s like .. exciting !!!! do u guys want to see my if i go missing folder !!!!! let me get all the true crime twitter girlies On to this !!!!

i might make her detective dreams come true later in the story so stay tuned xx

lux

15ish

opal’s childhood best friend in virtue

now betrothed to asa, opal’s oldest brother

retired from golden sunshine new career in false prophecy

newest addition to the cast but the story holds terrible things for her i fear

ask to be added to the taglist <33

[d3nt4l-d4m4g3]

Had to create an account to look at your blog and let me just say: Yes! Finally, someone who understands that being a tranny is a mental disease that needs to be eradicated. My niece was sent to conversion therapy for her disease and she's realized there's no changing herself! People lie so much about conversion therapy raising suicide rates, but she's just fine. Focused on her schoolwork and even let her mom throw out her binders. Her hair is growing back out and she's just being a woman. Her mother think she might be gay, but at least she's just a woman. There are no "other genders" and society is going to burn in Hell if they don't realize it. XX = Woman, XY = Man, no in between. These trannies are invading the world with their sick delusions. Honestly they're better off in a mental asylum than in polite society. God Bless, hope your message reaches more and more until the disease is cured!

whoah, you’ve got it all wrong.

first of all, though i am opposed to trans ideology, I do not say or tolerate the use of slurs to refer to trans people. hatred has no place in what i am doing.

second, i am opposed to trans ideology as a religion—a patriarchal religion, just like christianity. in fact, i believe that the reason trans ideology has taken off in America is that we are already a fundamentalist, Christian nation who is accustomed to the manipulations of church-in-state. Trans could not exist without a Judeo-Christian foundation in this country.

thirdly, i will never, ever support conversion therapy. How dare you tell a lesbian that conversion therapy works? it Doesn’t. Sexuality is innate and gay conversion therapy is torture. trans is a religion or an addiction, a set of performative actions , and “conversion” is akin to deprogramming or sobering. I am glad for her health your niece is no longer transitioning but i hope you know she is no less of a woman, no less normal for being gay or for not following gender stereotypes. I hope that she will grow up knowing that she is loved for who she is, how she was born. But from what you’ve told me, I fear that she will have to grow into herself in spite of you. fourthly—we are all susceptible to “sick delusions.” there is no true separation between trans people and you and me. We must not cast those who are walking dangerous paths into hell’s wilderness—or into an asylum. Their suffering will not end in exile but in support and community . Humble yourself, child of God.

edit: i have been informed that this is a troll and. heehee i'm just so gullible. and i gave her all i got too

[things2mustdo]

As the example of Gomer, the Biblical story of Jezebel and her husband Ahab often bears applicability to the cultural state of modern feminist societies. Her cultural symbolism throughout the ages has been with false prophets, fallen women, paganism, apostasy, deception, manipulation, seduction—and, in modern times, with feminist women.

The spirit of Jezebel and her crimes

According to the Hebrew Book of Kings, Jezebel (a name with disputable multiple meanings: 1.”Not exalted,” or 2. “Where is the Prince?”, an allegorical ritual cry from pagan worship ceremonies in honor of the pagan deity Baal during periods of the year when he was considered to be in the underworld)— was a Phoenician princess, the daughter of Ethbaal, who was the king of Tyre, and a priest of Baal. Jezebel incited her husband Ahab, the king of North Israel, to abandon the worship of God and encourage worship of the false deities Baal and Ashtart (also called Ishtar) instead.

She is notable for her rebellion against God via promotion of witchcraft and idolatry and ruthless persecution of the Biblical prophets of her time through her husband. She is also guilty of deception, as seen in the fabrications of false evidence of blasphemy against an innocent landowner called Naboth who refused to sell his property to King Ahab, causing the landowner to be put to death. For these transgressions and crimes against God and people of Israel, Jezebel met a gruesome death as prophesized by the prophet Elijah. She was thrown out of a window by members of her own court retinue, and the flesh of her corpse eaten by stray dogs.

The article “Jezebel, in our society” aptly describes the spirit of Jezebel. Here is an excerpt:

“The Jezebel spirit is born of witchcraft and rebellion. This demon is one of the most common spirits in operation today, both in the church and in the world, and it is a powerful enemy of the body of Christ. She operates freely on sincere believers whose hearts are for God individually, and has also attained positions of power as powers and principalities within the Church. This spirit establishes its stronghold primarily in women; however, many men have been victimized by it as well, where it functions as a “controlling” spirit.

The spirit of Jezebel is behind the daughter of Democracy, i. e. Feminism.

The Spirit of Jezebel is basically a controlling spirit working through the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. It has, in general, two aims:

To gain identity, glory, recognition, power, and satisfy the need for the “praises of men”. This is a consequence of the desire for love and self-worth focused on SELF.

Secondly the Jezebel spirit is a men hater and seeks to emasculate all men, and divest them of their authority and power over others. It fosters a distrust and hatred of men in general. The “Jezebel spirit” is in a constant agitation, terribly aggressive, very determined, callous, controlling, selfish, power-hungry, manipulative, unrepentant, deceitful spirit, an overwhelmingly evil spirit, and those are mostly only it’s good points! Indeed this spirit can be definitely named “Satan’s woman”.

There are two main types of the Jezebel spirit:

The high-profile type is generally gregarious, outspoken and highly visible. She is often seen as the “woman who wears the pants in the family”.

The low-profile type is soft-spoken, giving the illusion of being solicitous, motherly, protective, even appearing very submissive. The low-profile type may be the most dangerous, as she is the most difficult to discern. She relies heavily on manipulation for her power, in extremely subtle performances.”

The notable point to be noted in her death was her ostentatious decoration of herself, akin to prostitutes of those times, just before she was thrown to her death by her servants–which Isaac Asimov describes as a deliberate symbolism of her arrogant determination to go out of this life as a “queen.”

Jezebel’s religious beliefs, glorification and “humanization”  by modern society, and her modern day sisters

Jezebel promoted the ancient religion of the Canaanites which included Baal and Ashtart worship. Ashtart is a Semitic Goddess of Love and War and the Canaanite Great Goddess who is the cult partner of Ba’al (“the King”). Heterosexual orgies were associated with Ashtart whereas homosexual orgies were associated with Baal. The spring equinox (spring break) was associated with ritual sex orgies to honor Astart.

Drunken revelry and debauchery; modern day “pagan” spring equinox festivals of old?

Today, Jezebel is often glorified by apologetics (usually women) as an example of female power, domination, and strength who was victimized by the “misogynist” authors of the Bible, while often disregarding or underplaying the glaring crimes and atrocities she committed in her earthly life. Her refusal to submit even in her death (actually out of her pride), is apologetically portrayed in recent modern times, as feminist heroism and victimization by a patriarchal culture of those times.

Feminist apologetics even paint her humanely, as a “faithful” polytheist woman to her husband and her faith, while comparing Elijah as a villainous fundamentalist rabblerouser similar to a modern day religious extremist. They state that Jezebel’s harlotry was spiritual, and not literal—since polytheism was often referred to as harlotry—but what must be noted that the Baal and Ashtart worship Jezebel promoted was related to ritual sex and sacred prostitution. Since there is no “factual” information on Jezebel, such apologetic acquittals of her using “historical imagination” are just as likely to be correct or incorrect as any other.

One fact is common: Jezebel was a ruthless Godless tyrannical woman who defied human dignity, weaved outrageous lies,  shed innocent blood, spread corruption—all to satisfy her ego—and she deserves her bad reputation. Nevertheless, she remains a role model and heroine for feminists, with modern apologetic feminist versions of her story .

Feminists accuse that Jezebel’s vilification in the Bible was because of the “victorious” who wrote (distorted) Biblical history. Feminists are actually rewriting modern history by embodying Jezebel’s traits by deed due to the proliferation and dominance of feminism in modern societies, so it’s the case of the pot calling the kettle black.

Thus, the name Jezebel (from the Biblical example of Jezebel herself) itself has become synonymous with a scheming woman. The 1938 hit “Jezebel” was one of the earliest adaptations of a headstrong scheming woman whose actions cost her the man she loves, but later schemes to win him back as for her “the end justifies the means”—and who is told by her aunt that she reminds her aunt of “Jezebel, a woman who did evil in the sight of the Lord”.

Many men today deal with such scheming women in their day to day lives. Compare the Biblical Jezebel’s traits with feminism-bred, modern women you’d commonly see around you, which are explored below:

Rebelliousness – both moral and spiritual? Check.

Controlling tendencies over men (more so in partnerships)? Check.

Tyrannical , unfeminine behavior and cruelty over the weak? Check.

Narcissism? Check.

Hatred towards men (covert or open)? Check.

Extravagance, hustling and materialistic greed? Check.

Spiritual harlotry and skepticism or general disdain for patriarchal religion? Check.

Witchcraft and occult Sympathies? Check.

Deception, habitual lying and cunning manipulation? Check.

No sense of justice? Check.

Promotion of sexual profligacy to fellow women? Check.

Hubris and capriciousness? Check.

General refusal to accept mistakes, no conscience and shamelessness? Check.

The reason why Jezebelian traits are increasingly seen in modern feminist women is the same as what defined Jezebel herself: spiritual rebellion or disgust to patriarchal religion in modern feminist societies. With the rise of witchcraft (Jezebel’s faith) in modern societies, more women turn away from patriarchal religion. And religious and spiritual corruption then sets the tone for eventual moral corruption, as godless women will obviously act in godless ways.

The rising skepticism towards religion itself in the modern world further complicates the problem. As mentioned above, the influx of the Jezebelian spirit into religious institutions further poisons the very framework which could possibly have exorcised the roots of the Jezebelian spirit in the modern world.

Modern day Ahabs: Manginas and White Knights

Ahab represents the powerful yet identity-less, henpecked monogamous posturing beta—totally controlled by his mate Jezebel. He even committed gross injustices and crimes on the innocent as on Naboth, at her behest. Henpecked men, white knights, and manginas are thus common modern day examples of Ahab. The pussy-whipped meek husband is the unassuming version of Ahab, for he allows his domineering wife to not only take the decisions and steer him into whichever direction that she wishes, but also because he doesn’t take charge to either change her or himself to assume control.

Ahab’s life represents that of a resourceful and powerful man who had no identity of his own, and often depended on his woman to define his identity by allowing her to lead him. He was a mere tool in her hands, for her to achieve her aims.

But in the modern world, isn’t it common to see an educated, intelligent, successful man abandon his sane judgment, spiritual identity and dignity to be manipulated into unjust and godless behavior by the women he loves or desires—whether he may be married or single—very much like Ahab? And for what? Often simply for sake of sex and companionship with his partner.

Just like how Ahab killed Naboth at the behest of his wife, so do many modern men commonly commit crimes and injustices at the behest of their women. Throw into this picture greed, material success and sensual pleasure and the modern man will never detach himself from his Jezebelian mate. The addiction to earthly and material pleasures over spiritual and mental development is commonly seen in modern day Ahabs. In a modern world where materialism is the religion, modern day Ahabs will easily rationalize to themselves and to others the evil behavior instigated by their Jezebelian mates, as being ‘pragmatic’ and often ‘necessary’.

Conclusion

The story of Jezebel and Ahab shows the seeds of corruption of a society: weak godless influential men coupled with controlling corruptedgodless women. “Behind every successful man is a woman”: this is the lie propagated in modern feminist societies. But the real truth is that “behind every successful woman is a man”—as seen in Jezebel’s story. Her weak husband’s immense social power and influence, helped her to achieve her evil designs. She would’ve been nothing had she not married a powerful weakling like Ahab, to achieve her vile aims and promote her religious ideology. The same analogy can be applied to feminists and manginas. Without manginas and white knights, feminists (or for that matter feminism) would never have achieved prominence. Male complacency eventually leads to female tyranny.

Religious and spiritual decline are the first signs of the impending corruption of a society. The spiritual corruption commonly seen in modern feminist societies not only results in the moral decline of civilization, but will also eventually result in the proliferation of modern day Jezebels and Ahabs. It ‘s a serious problem, as every man (moreso red pill), irrespective of his religious beliefs, could or would suffer on account of these modern day Jezebels and Ahabs, like Naboth.

Feminism is the modern day religion which eventually produces and harbors them. And these signs look ominous for the future generations.

Read More: The Disturbing Relationship Between Feminism And The Occult

To begin with, I want to share a real-life experience of a friend who was in a “relationship” with an Eastern European girl who dabbled in the occult. To condense his long saga, his girl was your typical “traditional,” “feminine” girl who cooked for him and provided great on-demand sex (often with incapacitating post-orgasm hangovers). Everything seemed “perfect” between them for six months or so, but all along this time, little did he know that she was a closet “witch” who was casting “love” spells on him “to bind” him to her.

Succubus, witch, and “girlfriend”— all in one. He later discovered that he’d gotten more than what he had bargained for.

A spell gone horribly wrong

Gradually, things got predictable and boring as the relationship progressed and the passion faded. Her subtle, capricious demands soon became overt domination, which prompted him to seek an immediate closure to the relationship. This triggered the worst in her.

Hell hath no fury as a witch scorned

He then proceeded to have a harrowing time. He shared how he discovered she was stashing used condoms with his dried semen, shaved hair and pictures for her occult experiments to “bind” him before he finally kicked her out of his home. Not to mention she had even tried to “hex” his food to complete the binding on him.

Things then turned very ugly, with her first trying to stalk him (after he kicked her out), then psychologically intimidating him, and when all that failed—she tried to screw up his social and professional reputation however she could.

He was strong enough to resist her attacks, but his relationship was a compelling enough inspiration to learn about the occult, and to discover the common ideology it shares with feminism. Since readers may or may not believe in the paranormal, the point deduced from this story which will be primarily focused upon below is the surprising link between feminism and the occult.

The first revolt against patriarchy

The glorification of the female form, beginning with Lilith, the supposed first wife of Adam (who disobeyed him and is considered to be the first “feminist”) is an integral part of the occult, unlike in the patriarchal Abrahamic religions.

According to occult belief, Lilith was Adam’s first wife, the archetype feminist that every man marries and then divorces. She constantly argued with Adam and refused to lie under him during copulation by saying they were “equal.”A text of the “Story Of Lilith” can be read here. Her refusal to submit to Adam is said to be the first revolt against patriarchy.

Occult and feminism in the modern world

Feminism has its roots in the occult and witchcraft. A point well established by Mitch Horowitz, author of “Occult America” .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qr5yweBE-8w

Modern progressive feminist society has in many ways become a covert, occult-driven society. Reverence for the “Goddess” or “Divine Feminine” (a concept common to witchcraft, feminism, liberalism), beginning with the rise of the “Goddess movement” in Anglo countries and coinciding with second-wave feminism in the 70’s, has become more prevalent in the present day. A resultant product of five decades of feminism and its associated spirituality (occult).

Today, we’re bombarded day in day out, everywhere by occult symbolism through media. Just type “occult symbolism” in any search engine on the web and see the results for yourself.

Blue-pill (beta) culture, which typically romanticizes the concept of an ideal, sentimentalized love, has all its roots in the occult, as seen with the recent increasing consumerism of romantic occult-themed cinema by modern societies, especially by the younger generation.

Most female occultists of the past and present held the belief of the psychological superiority of women as compared to that of men. Similarly, masquerading as a movement for women’s rights, feminism—as a cruel ruse—tells women their natural biological instincts are “socially constructed” to oppress them.

Feminism’s social engineering, designed to destroy gender identity by interchanging gender roles, is actually a movement for women to covertly promote a hatred for men, as well as indirectly serving as a driving force for the occult (or its concepts), for they both often share a common ideology.

Feminism’s mission to give any woman however worthless and undeserving she may be the power to lead men like bridled horses or yoked oxen whichever, whenever, and however she wants to is analogous to the witch who‘d supposedly “control” a man to do her bidding, through “magical” manipulation.

Connecting the lines from the dots

Is it a mere coincidence that the repeal of the Witchcraft Act in the UK in 1951, coupled with a revival of occult/witchcraft coincided with the rise of feminism? To illustrate this question further, an excerpt from an article which came out a few years back (you can read the article in full here):

“Why has witchcraft gained such a hold in our Christian-based society? Certainly there are several factors. Many witches are fervent feminists. This is probably the main contributing factor to the rapid growth of the movement. Following ancient rituals faithfully, the Wiccan religion is female-dominant—the high priestess leads the ritual ceremonies. The fertility goddess always receives the primary worship. Wicca is tailor-made for women who desire power and authority over men. True Christianity is solidly patriarchal. This fact grinds away at feminist philosophy. Feminists who have not been able to successfully change Christian teachings to their own liking have embraced Wicca.”

Another article that came out last year shows how witchcraft and the occult is actually growing at a rapid rate more than any other faith in the Anglo sphere. Considering these trends of revival of witchcraft in the West, the Anglo sphere seems more or less likely to be significantly paganized by the end of this century, especially with more and more feminism-bred women choosing it as a “spiritual” path.

Witchcraft around the world

After “registering” its first legal witch, Romania, the famed land of Dracula, became the first country to legalize (and tax) witchcraft as a profession in 2011 (a likely possibility sooner or later in the West, considering current trends).

In Russia and other parts of Slavic Europe (with a  long-etched history of witchcraft), occult-beliefs are still prevalent. A lot of modern, educated women still practice witchcraft (usually “love magic”) covertly—or if not, still believe in it.

The WHO estimated that there were more witches and sorcerers in Russia than practicing doctors in an article which was published four years ago. You could read about a visitor’s journey into the heart of occult in modern day Russia; another article about the revival of occult in modern Russia; and another interesting article about the occult roots of the Russian Revolution. However, Russia seems to be taking proactive action in recent times to crackdown on witchcraft while promoting a reversion to Orthodox Christianity and patriarchal values. Other parts of Europe have seen a recent rise in occult practices, possibly due to occult glorification through media, and these rising trends are also seen in some parts of Asia and Middle East.

In matriarchal societies in Africa, witchcraft has always been practiced since ancient times. Africa faces a similar problem as seen in Russia: more witch doctors than real doctors. A lot of women still use “love spells” and “potions” to bind or control their men, and a lot more people rely on witch doctors to physically heal themselves.

What does the future hold?

The conspicuous correlation is the one between feminism and the occult in places where both are on the rise. It’s often said that ignorance is bliss, but knowledge is power. It’s the power of this knowledge and awareness about the link between feminism and the occult that every man should arm himself with so that he stays away from those women who share occult sympathies. As my friend learned the hard way, the risk isn’t worth it.

Read More: The Tragedy Of Letting A Broken Woman Into Your Life

[rhiannonfrater]

The Anti-Makeup Movement & Growing Up Fundamentalist

I grew up in the sheltered world of Evangelical Christianity. There were very rigid gender roles, everyone went to church on Wednesdays, Sunday morning and Sunday night, and everyone understood a ton of unspoken rules that as a kid I learned about as I broke them.

Example: Don’t do cartwheels if you’re a girl. Because girls don’t wear shorts or jeans. Only dresses.

My mom ignored this rule after people complained about my tomboyish behavior. I got to wear stuff other little girls couldn’t because I was always climbing trees, doing cartwheels, and swinging from the monkey bars. My best friend’s mom finally started putting her daughter in shorts under her dress. Why? Some men complained they could see her underwear when she was playing on the playground.

Yeah.

Women didn’t wear makeup. They had their hair long and plain. They had to always wear dresses. Sleeveless blouses or dresses were scandalous. Men wore button down shirts and trousers. Only workmen wore jeans.

But the big thing…WOMEN DIDN’T WEAR MAKEUP.

If a woman wore makeup, she was being a whore. Only bad women wore makeup. Using makeup was the devil’s tool to lead women into a life of sin so they could drag men down with them. I remember sermons at church that railed against the evils of women wearing makeup. Most of the women in the congregation were bare faced, but four sisters from Spain always wore cosmetics, perfume, and designer clothes. I adored them. They’d sit stony faced as the pastor went on and on about the evils of makeup. Every Sunday, they’d arrive in their fancy cars, elegant clothes, beautiful hairstyles, and carefully made up faces and smiled at the frowns. They were wealthy supporters of the church, so they were untouchable. That pastor finally retired and the new one didn’t see the point of preaching against stuff. He was more about teaching people how to be good. My dad, the assistant pastor, felt free to carry on preaching hateful rhetoric. He was the biggest hypocrite, btw. There are many reasons he is out of my life now.

I attended private Christian school and the same rules applied. Only a few women broke the no makeup rule, but it was usually something simple like lip gloss or mascara. If a teenager showed up at school wearing makeup, she was made to wipe it all off. This was usually a shocking moment for new female students. Of course, this was the school that made the girls line up, hands at their sides, to prove that their dresses were knee length. So you can imagine our shock when the BIG policy change at school was that girls could wear culottes!!!! At gym. But still…the scandal! It was later overturned.

There was so much time dedicated to policing female bodies of all ages. How long our nails could be…how we wore our hair…how long our skirts were…how we took care of our bodies. I remember some missionary ladies coming to do presentations and our fascination with their unshaved legs. It was vanity to shave their legs, we were told. In the fifth grade I attended yet another private school. Every morning we had to attend chapel for 40 minutes. Every morning we heard about the wickedness of fornication, the evils of makeup, women leading men astray, the murder of innocent babies in the womb, etc. Hellfire felt like it was burning at our backs. Ages 6 to 18 all sat through these propaganda fests. We were pretty traumatized. Again, teenage girls wearing makeup were forced to take it off.  I remember one girl putting it right back on after they made her take it off. She ended up running away. It took days for them to find her. She was found with her boyfriend. I hate to say it, but she was held up as an example of a whore. We weren’t supposed to be like her! She was forced back to school. On the bus one day, I watched her carve her boyfriend’s name into her forearm with a razor blade. She looked up and smiled at me. That was the last time I saw her. She was sent away. I don’t know to this day where she was sent or what they did to her. When my teacher got married, she wore a full face of makeup and a sleeveless dress. It was kinda scandalous. The defiance! The scandal! But at least she was married. My mother pushed the family toward a more relaxed version of Christianity once my dad stopped being a minister. She openly defied my father. She took us to movies (my dad had a meltdown when we went to see Star Wars), let us listen to the radio, allowed us to watch television, and she returned to dressing and looking how she liked. Rebellion like that was dangerous because he was not a good man. All the things he preached against all those years, he did in secret, but he was hardcore on proper appearances. He didn’t walk the walk, but he wanted us all to look like he did. At thirteen, my mom allowed me to put on makeup for the first time. My dad grabbed me by the hair and wiped it off with his fingers while calling me a whore. I was bruised and red afterward. My mom bought me my own makeup that I put on in the school restroom and took off before I got home. It was the 80’s so it was bright blues, purples, and pinks. I liked how radical I felt. Defiant.

I don’t know when the tide turned in evangelical circles. Maybe it was Tammy Faye Baker and Jan Crouch on their religious television networks that made it okay to wear makeup. I remember Tammy Faye defending her makeup wearing ways, but in a few years it wasn’t a big deal. Women at church had big ‘dos and lots of makeup. It became “the look.”

I’m sure that some of the stricter sects still shun makeup and any clothing perceived as too revealing or two masculine, but now makeup is seen as something feminine (as long as it’s a certain look).   After a while, I got bored with cosmetics, so all I wore was black eyeliner and brownish lipstick. Then I discovered the goth scene.

It was like coming home. I love looking like Lily or Morticia. I love extreme looks. In my 20’s, I wore variations of Endora’s eye makeup from Bewitched to work. I find wearing makeup liberating. It’s a way of projecting who I am on the inside to the world on the outside. My bright red hair, black clothing, and wicked cat-eye tells a story about me. I’ve seen all the arguments about women giving into patriarchy, etc, when they wear makeup. Having grown up in a repressive society that was rigidly controlled by men, it feels weird to see the anti-makeup comments coming from the other side. It’s even weirder that men outside the cultish Christianity I grew up with are now the ones who tell women they look prettier without makeup or call their meticulously made up faces “false advertising.” It feels like a constant crossfire of the same arguments from long ago coming from the mouths of different people. But it boils down to the same thing.

Controlling a woman’s body.

I remember that fifteen year old girl carving into her arm with a razor blade, dark eyes peering up at me through her thickly mascaraed eyelashes. Her makeup was her war paint, her black lipstick a sign of ultimate defiance against the strict religious and patriarchal system we were up against. I was told she was a whore. A bad person. But I now see she was doing her best to fight against a system that wanted to crush us all into perfect, mindless drones. I hope, in the end, she won.

[faithfulnews]

The Troubling Trajectory of the Sexual Schismatics

A number of high-profile authors and speakers today have embraced the Herculean task of reshaping the Christian faith into something that can coincide with the core tenets of the sexual revolution. We see this strange syncretism growing in the West, more slowly in adoption than its evangelists would hope, but more quickly in its abandonment of nearly every core tenet of Christian belief and practice. It’s fascinating to watch how nearly every leader who crosses over into “affirming” territory loses all authority (or desire) to uphold any other aspect of traditional Christian morality.

A good example is found in Brandan Robertson’s The Gospel of Inclusion: A Christian Case for LGBT+ Inclusion in the Church. I’d not yet read Robertson’s book when I wrote a column earlier this year on how “The Gospel of Inclusion Is Far Too Narrow,” but many of my points in that original article apply well to Brandan’s work. He has taken a key component of Christianity (Jesus’s inclusive call), used it as a sword to divide it from other key components (Jesus’s exclusive claims), and laid a foundation for another religion altogether.

The gist of Robertson’s book is a sped-up, expanded version of the trajectory hermeneutic, popularized by William Webb (who sees a trajectory regarding slavery and the treatment of women, but not homosexuality). From Genesis to Revelation, we chart the Bible’s movement away from its patriarchal context and toward more and more inclusion. Church history then continues the narrative, even though “large portions of Christianity have struggled to keep up” (1).

“The ethical trajectory of the Bible should lead Christians towards a position of greater inclusion and acceptance of those who have previously been considered ‘unclean,’ and that the New Testament imperative of Jesus is to listen to and rely on the ongoing revelation of the Holy Spirit to guide our faith and practice.” (3)

Robertson’s project takes the Enlightenment narrative of progress, applies it to sexual morality, and then calls the church to bend the knee to this rival eschatology and make it our own. Christianity’s old and outdated traditions of sexual morality have borne bad fruit, he says. But, I ask, what fruit does the “gospel of inclusion” bear? If Robertson’s book indicates where the revisionists are headed, then here is a sampling:

We are to understand Scripture in its historical and cultural context, but then apply it in “a non-literalistic, non-inerrantist way,” which reads the text as a grand narrative of increasing inclusion (12).

We are to admit that Paul as a first-century Jewish teacher was “homophobic” and would have condemned all “same-sex relationships, even modern ones,” yet we can dismiss his perspective because he viewed all sexual activity (apart from procreative purpose) as flawed and dangerous (30).

We are to recast Jesus as something of an anti-Jew who disregards religious dogma from the Hebrew Bible and “consistently reinterprets ancient commands in a more inclusive manner” (40) because the Bible was a “living text, constantly evolving” (42). (Apparently, we are to overlook all the times Jesus does the opposite: intensifying the original commands—see divorce, for example—and claiming eternality for the Law, not evolution.)

We are to recast today’s “fundamentalists” as the Pharisees in Jesus’s day—anyone “uncomfortable with the freedom Jesus expressed” in his interpreting the biblical texts “in order to strain towards inclusion and equality” (44). (Once again, we must wave away the times the Pharisees balked at the strictness of Jesus’s interpretations or bristled at his exclusive claims that would call them to repentance.)

We are to read the last book of the Bible, Revelation, as proof that the “trajectory of history . . . is always toward inclusion and expansion, and that truth makes the gospel of Jesus Christ truly good news of great joy for absolutely all people” (48, 54). (We embrace the Lamb covered in his own blood, but dismiss the book’s picture of the warrior King.)

We are to proclaim the gospel, which is all about subverting the oppressive patriarchal system of this world. Patriarchy is the “driving force of all oppression in our world today” (69). All!

Taking up your cross means participating “in the deconstruction of oppressive systems and liberation of the oppressed in our world” (71). (In other words, taking up your cross means opposing the sexual ethic that past Christians who were actually crucified lived by.)

There’s something admirable in the stark manner in which Brandan Robertson draws lines. He half-heartedly advocates for the position that we can “agree to disagree” on sexual morality, but the book’s major thrust is that anyone who holds to Jesus’s exclusive claims or remains committed to Christianity’s sexual ethic has fallen for a “false gospel” (80). Exclusivism is a false gospel whose morality bears bitter fruit. To be like Jesus is to be a universalist who seeks “to amend and to raise the ethical standards of the Hebrew Bible” (77). (Reading charitably, I don’t believe Brandan intends for his writing to drip with such anti-Semitic condescension.)

Brandan Robertson is right about a trajectory, but it’s not the trajectory he sees in the Bible. It’s the troubling trajectory toward embracing any and all consensual sex as celebrated by God. We see it expressed by Nadia Bolz Weber in a cover story for the Christian Century, hardly a bastion of fundamentalism, which elicited indignant letters to the editor asking how her view of sexuality was distinctively Christian at all.

We see the same trajectory in Brandan’s writing here. He believes it is logically inconsistent to advocate for LGBT+ inclusion while holding to other elements of the Christian sexual ethic (such as reserving sex within marriage). Fornication is fine. Premarital sex can be positive.

“If premarital sex is a sin, I would invite us to reflect on whether premarital sex embodies love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. If for you it does then how could we call it sinful?” (94)

“If we believe the gospel is radically inclusive, we must seek to make space even for the smallest minority of people, and be willing to be in relationship with and think through our own beliefs and worldview in light of their experience.” (96)

Even polyamory falls into Paul’s category of adiaphora. The Bible says so little about sexual ethics anyway. (I do wonder why he never advocates for adult brother-sister relationships or marriages. A sad example of erasure of this “sexual minority”?)

Robertson’s interpretation of the Bible and early Christian history departs so radically from the work of serious historians (such as Kyle Harper) that one might think I’ve just been setting up a straw man.

In the end, what we have here is a book that suppresses anything in the Bible that smells of exclusivity, while trying to sell us a shrunken, narrow, de-Judaized version of sexual liberation in the name of Christ. The cross in all its multifaceted glory becomes a bat with which to beat the patriarchy. The ethical vision of the New Testament that blazed with such purity that it shocked the Romans gets reduced to the mere affirmation of people’s sexual desires.

The gospel of inclusion is too narrow to be true Christianity. It represents a weird resurrection of pseudo-Marcionism, now centered on sex. Here we see the corrosive acids of the sexual revolution eat away at the core of Christianity until all that remains is a neopagan sexual ethic with a smidge of biblical residue.

Go to the article

[coffeebooksorme]

THE BLACK WITCH REVIEW

GOODREADS REVIEW: Elloren Gardner is the granddaughter of the last prophesied Black Witch, Carnissa Gardner, who drove back the enemy forces and saved the Gardnerian people during the Realm War. But while she is the absolute spitting image of her famous grandmother, Elloren is utterly devoid of power in a society that prizes magical ability above all else. When she is granted the opportunity to pursue her lifelong dream of becoming an apothecary, Elloren joins her brothers at the prestigious Verpax University to embrace a destiny of her own, free from the shadow of her grandmother’s legacy. But she soon realizes that the university, which admits all manner of people—including the fire-wielding, winged Icarals, the sworn enemies of all Gardnerians—is a treacherous place for the granddaughter of the Black Witch. As evil looms on the horizon and the pressure to live up to her heritage builds, everything Elloren thought she knew will be challenged and torn away. Her best hope of survival may be among the most unlikely band of misfits…if only she can find the courage to trust those she’s been taught to hate and fear.

I have to preface this by saying that I was not originally interested in reading this book. I have to admit, the original backlash brought forth by that review definitely put off even wanting anything to do with this book, and then I joined book twitter. I noticed quite a lot of people defending the book (specifically POC & marginalized people) and was intrigued. So I went to GR to read some reviews and after I scrolled through all the 1 star reviews from folks who hadn’t even read the book, I found some decent reviews from folks who had. Interest piqued, I decided to pick up a copy and give it a shot.

I’m also quite apprehensive about even posting this review because I’ve seen the vitriol and hate slung at people on Goodreads over this book. I’m more than willing to engage in discussion with anyone that would like to discuss this book, but I will only do so in a mature fashion. I’m not going to get into a screaming or name calling match with anyone.

First off, the accusation of racism/sexism is absolutely correct. This book contains a lot of racism/sexism in it, sometimes too heavy handed for me, but I think that was the point. IMO, the author was trying to show us readers just what kind of vile and horrendous world that our MC & friends live in. And it worked. Think the end of Harry Potter 6 with the beginning of Harry Potter 7. Umbridge pushing Hitler like propaganda about wizard purity and ‘testing’ for genetic purity of wizards. Anyone not of purebloo are rounded up and imprisoned. ‘Mudbloods’ being tortured by Voldemort. Racial slurs thrown around like a baseball. All that happened in the HP world, but it was to show just how vile and horrible the world would be if Voldemort was in charge.That’s the world Elloren is in in ‘The Black Witch’. Now let’s add some religion onto the story. All the racism, segregation, and hatred are stemmed from religious beliefs, and the Gardnerians are religiously indoctrinated from birth to believe this racist baloney. Religion is prevalent in every aspect of their culture; their dress, their patriarchal society, the way they marry, to even the way they eat a dang cookie! They are religiously brainwashed to believe that their almighty ‘God’ created them to be the ‘special’ people, the most important, the greatest above all, etc. As a matter of fact, each race has their own version of this ideal within their own religions. Now, imagine a member of the FDLS (Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) is moved from their home to, let’s say, New York City, San Francisco or, even, Detroit. It’s going to be one HECK of a culture shock for them because they’ve lived a very secluded life with heavy religious influence. They’ve been brainwashed from a young age to believe certain things. They’re ignorant, yes. But not willfully ignorant, IMO, because they don’t know any better. The culture shock alone is going to be enough to make them recoil, especially considering they’ve been raised in a religion that demonizes anything that isn’t part of their group. Now add in them being brutally attacked upon arriving to their new city. That will certainly reinforce whatever preconceived notions they have from their religious indoctrination. That is Elloren in this story. She was raised in a heavy religious society to believe certain things. Not only that but she was hidden away at the edge of the country in a small town with barely any outsiders. Moving from Halifax to Verpax was one hell of a culture shock. She’s our sheltered FDLS member that’s been taken from her small town home and thrust into a bustling university in a major city. She was brutally attacked before arriving at University so the fear is only encouraged. Upon arrival, again, she is brutally attacked, verbally assaulted, and threatened with future physical abuse. This attack was completely unprovoked, mind you. It happened because she is part of another race. She’s constantly judged because she looks exactly like her grandmother (who, upon research, Elloren finds out was a brutal person who committed genocide against people), and she falls in with the wrong crowd by becoming so smitten with Lukas (the first male to show her any romantic attention, btw), who, in her mind, is her only protector from all the bullying, violent attacks, and threats. Because Elloren is scared, she reacts badly. Badly is an understatement because she feeds into the racism and hatred. Rather than turning the other cheek to attacks and verbal abuse, Elloren reacts in kind and throws back racial slurs, runs to Lukas who in turn commits atrocious, racially spurred actions on her behalf, and she even commits a few herself because as Lukas teaches her, ‘Dominate or be dominated’. Does this justify her actions? Absolutely not. Under no circumstances are her actions or words justified. But I can understand why she reacts this way. Fear is one hell of a motivator and when that’s combined with religious indoctrination, it’s a dangerous thing. I think that was the whole point the author was trying to make. Was it done in the best way possible? Probably not. But as a first time author, I think she did a pretty decent job. The whole story is about how Elloren is submerged in this racist, sexist, homophobic society and how she overcomes these notions to form her own opinions by interacting with the other races, researching the history instead of blindly believing what’s been presented to her her whole life, and eventually, fighting back against the inequality because she wants a better place not only for herself but her brothers and her friends as well. Sure, some of her old racist habits come through every now and again, but habits die hard, especially those that were indoctrinated into you from birth. She’s trying. Obviously, POC are going to be very uncomfortable reading a story that shoves racism down their throat for the first half of the book. If I read a book with fatphobia for the first 3/4 book, I’d be uncomfortable as well. I get the reluctance and the flat out refusal to read a book that would make you uncomfortable. If you don’t want to read it then that is absolutely your prerogative and I do not blame you one bit. I do not agree, however, with calling the author or it’s readers racist POS and white supremacists that support a racist narrative. That’s flat out condescending and erroneous. If you’d read the book rather than someone’s subjective review, you’d see how the story is about a girl overcoming the indoctrination of her racist society. People also seem to have a problem with this being a ‘white savior’ book. I can see where people think that, but I do respectfully disagree with that point. I understand why people are upset because it’s like ‘Oh god, another story about a white person saving the day’, but that’s the whole premise of the story. That’s the whole point behind a lot of ‘chosen one’ stories. HP was a ‘chosen one saves the day’ story about a white boy fighting a racist POS villain at the root of it’s story. The Hunger Games was a story about a white girl saving the day for the poor folks. Divergent is about a white chick saving the day from oppressors. If you look at any ‘chosen one’ stories, it’s about someone saving a marginalized group. Is the YA community saturated with that trope? Yes, absolutely. Is ‘The Black Witch’ racist for using that trope as well? Absolutely not. I really enjoyed this story. I laughed. I was upset. I was deeply uncomfortable at times. It’s one of the first YA stories that has really made me stop and think about things. It’s unfortunate that it’s gotten a bad rap because of one persons opinion, and even more unfortunate that the mob/herd mentality has vilified readers who have enjoyed it. I implore anyone who has even thought about reading this book to give it a shot, read with an open mind, and realize that this book was never intended to be a fluff, easy read.