Jesus and John Wayne and Changes in Evangelicalism

[Howl]

@hoipolloi, that's a great article.  I especially like this:

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What if your theology is merely Scripture used to justify your own cultural position and merely substantiates your own prejudices? That is what du Mez and Barr are pointing out and doing it damn well!

and this

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Yet du Mez and Barr point out, no, American Evangelicalism is saturated in culture, driven by culture, and even blinded by culture.

 

[Howl]

‘False Teachers,’ ‘Wolves,’ and Other Modern American Evangelical Smears  Recent ad hominem attacks reveal more about those threatened by open discussion of gender, race, and power within evangelicalism

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Over the holiday weekend, and with evident spare time to be spent casting others as “false teachers,” one pastor (and then a drizzle of followers) took to social media to attack scholars such as Kristin Kobes Du Mez, and then sideswipe Beth Allison Barr, Jemar Tisby, Jacob Alan Cook, Samuel Perry, and Andrew Whitehead. Turkey with a side of slander.

[Howl]

 

[Howl]

 

[hoipolloi]

Here is a great explainer from Twitter on why the talibangelical male leaders from the TGC and similar groups have been throwing major tantrums over Jesus and John Wayne:

As we all know, attacking the messenger works like a charm and convinces absolutely everyone that you're right. 🙄

 

[Howl]

11 minutes ago, hoipolloi said:

Here is a great explainer from Twitter on why the talibangelical male leaders from the TGC and similar groups have been throwing major tantrums over Jesus and John Wayne

Wowza.  Thank you! That's right on target (as holy patriarchal dick holders they mete out judgement and are way above criticism, especially from the wimminz!) and now they're getting nailed by women academics who know how to develop an argument and make a point.  Lots of Harrumph!-ing and ineffectual sputtering going on.  It's fabulous. 

*heads over to twitter to follow Anthony B. Bradly, PhD*

[stylites]

16 hours ago, Howl said:

Wowza.  Thank you! That's right on target (as holy patriarchal dick holders they mete out judgement and are way above criticism, especially from the wimminz!) and now they're getting nailed by women academics who know how to develop an argument and make a point.  Lots of Harrumph!-ing and ineffectual sputtering going on.  It's fabulous. 

*heads over to twitter to follow Anthony B. Bradly, PhD*

What's interesting from this particular exchange is that Bradley is someone who has chosen to stay within evangelicalism, very much endorses the 'good' masculinity model, yet still sees value in Du Mez's critique.

[Howl]

Unroll of this thread:

Telling: "There are plenty of Black female theologians teaching &writing today on the same subjects as Barr, Du Mez and other. But the Black scholars don’t appear to merit any attention from these white males.”

Edited January 8, 2022 by Howl

[CyborgKin]

My dad actually started reading the book!

Buuut he's marked every time the word 'white' appears in the introduction and says it is "racist".

Uhhh.... well that's white fragility at work.

[Howl]

Cindy Wang Brandt has got it going on: 

You can learn more about her on her Parenting Forward website: cindywangbrandt.com/   "Hi, my name is Cindy Wang Brandt, and I help parents unpack and heal from their religious trauma so they can raise children with healthy spirituality."

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Many parents grew up with religious experiences that negatively impacted them on a spectrum of religious trauma.

I know I did, and it sort of freaked me out when I became a parent and didn't know how to raise my kids with healthy spirituality because I didn't have a great model.

Religious trauma may feel isolating, but you do not have to journey alone. Here, you will find resources to help you navigate parenting life and a community that is supportive and welcoming.

Links to her book, blog, and podcasts are on her website. 

Edited January 19, 2022 by Howl

[feministxtian]

It seems the fundies are trying to strike back...a cinematic extravaganza of toxic masculinity and patriarchy loosely based on a book called "Redeeming Love" that's supposed to be some fundie romance novel. Link describes the movie. WARNING: Have a puke bag at the ready.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/redeeming-love-evangelicalism-toxic-slut-095616837.html

 

[Leftitinmysnood]

42 minutes ago, feministxtian said:

It seems the fundies are trying to strike back...a cinematic extravaganza of toxic masculinity and patriarchy loosely based on a book called "Redeeming Love" that's supposed to be some fundie romance novel. Link describes the movie. WARNING: Have a puke bag at the ready.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/redeeming-love-evangelicalism-toxic-slut-095616837.html

 

Francine Rivers' book Reedeeming Love was the OG Christian fiction "prostitute with a heart of gold" story. An ex-fundie coworker and I were talking about books once (probably Jesus and John Wayne or Margaret Atwood) when a gal from another department came in for something. "Oh, I hear you talking about books! You should both read Reedeeming Love, it's so good!!!!!" Coworker and I looked at each other. I said, "No thanks, not really my type of book." She was quite sad and couldn't understand why it wasn't everyone's kind of book.

[Howl]

Story: a young woman brutally sexually abused and trafficked as a child and teen is healed through the "love" of a stalker who is obsessed with *wait for it* HER BODY. 

The important thing is the brothel burns down along with all the evil women in it at the end. 

Sweet Infant Corn Dog Jebus, This. Is. Awful. 

[clueliss]

I think I saw a promo for this stupid movie really really recently.

[Soulhuntress]

On 1/20/2022 at 5:06 PM, Howl said:

Story: a young woman brutally sexually abused and trafficked as a child and teen is healed through the "love" of a stalker who is obsessed with *wait for it* HER BODY. 

The important thing is the brothel burns down along with all the evil women in it at the end. 

Sweet Infant Corn Dog Jebus, This. Is. Awful. 

The claim I heard was this shitshow was the story of Hosea (which was supposedly an analogy of ancient Israel and God at best) made modern.  🤢🤮  Borrowed the book and right back it went.  Just the absolute worst and I skipped to the end and this rape fantasy incel wet dream was the worst. The film version was a hell to the naw naw naw.

[JermajestyDuggar]

On 1/20/2022 at 9:17 PM, clueliss said:

I think I saw a promo for this stupid movie really really recently.

When I saw the promo I immediately recognized it as Christian trash even though I’ve never heard of the book. 

[hoipolloi]

Had not heard of this but read a lengthy synopsis.

The book seems to be thinly disguised sex abuse material for Christians. It's revolting.

[treehugger]

@hoipolloi just reading the synopsis was nauseating.  It reads like church approved rape porn. 🤢

[Howl]

Bullseye critique of the Complementarian approach as espoused by the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood.

 

[hoipolloi]

Another good Twitter thread from a conservative Christian white male (also a criminal lawyer) on the tantrums being thrown about Jesus and John Wayne by various talibangelicals:

 

[noseybutt]

Many years ago I was ejected from a "Christian" women's book club because of my rage over the Mark of the Lion series, also by Francine Rivers.

It's essentially the same plot line only the girl is a slave rather than a prostitute.

No skin color is ever mentioned, IIRC. 

Underage slave rape and she falls in love with the master and "saves" him. 

Reading the comments here about Redeeming Love is oddly affirming. I mean, I recall the rage I felt that these women not only loved the series but were passing them along to their daughters with glorious recommendations. It's a weird version of Stockholm syndrome. 

[feministxtian]

14 minutes ago, noseybutt said:

Many years ago I was ejected from a "Christian" women's book club because of my rage over the Mark of the Lion series, also by Francine Rivers.

Thank God that my church does mixed gender groups. Not to mention, your personal choice of reading material is never "reviewed" at all. The idea of quiet time sometime during the day is mentioned a bit but again, no pressure. Pastor asked me if I was finding time and I honestly told him no. I do my best praying driving to school and driving home. He was like "that's cool". Neither does my choice of other entertainment ever get "reviewed" either. But, Pastor knows I'm an enormous nerd...and he occasionally teases me about it. That's cool too, I give him grief and tell him he seriously needs to look into Adderall...he's as ADHD as I am. Its wonderful, I feel like I can be the "real" me there and I am loved not in spite of who I am but because of who I am. 

[Howl]

22 hours ago, hoipolloi said:

Another good Twitter thread from a conservative Christian white male (also a criminal lawyer) on the tantrums being thrown about Jesus and John Wayne by various talibangelicals

Thanks for this.  It's a beautiful reflection and such powerful awareness on the talibangelical response to Kristen Du Mez.  Unroll of Matthew Martens full twitter thread HERE, but the gist of it: 

Matthew Martens: "But I see no evidence of a willingness on their part to ask whether they, as a result of cultural corruption, are wrong on an element of theirs. Theirs, they seem convinced with no real reflection, is pristine.

There’s a real lack of willingness, it seems, to engage in serious self-examination. It all seems more defensive than humble. It all seems more self-protective than reflective."

Edited February 13, 2022 by Howl

[hoipolloi]

Another good Twitter thread on how the theobro Grand Pooh-bahs have been reacting badly to J & JWʻs excellent analyses of their collective failures.

I wonder why these asshats are only throwing their tantrums now -- the book has been out for almost two years.

Were they hoping it would flop or sink without a trace? Were they taken off-guard by the widespread critical praise in so many reviews? Have they now been goaded into reading it because their in-laws or administrative assistants or wives or whoever are reading it and asking them about it?

 

[feministxtian]

Y'all may enjoy perusing this blog: http://www.tomorrowsreflection.com/

The author, Jeremy Jernigan was a senior pastor, his father is a pastor. He took a position as senior pastor at a church in Oregon and was asked to resign after a couple of years for being "too liberal". I knew both father and son when I lived in AZ, we went to their church, Central AZ. Jeremy is pretty outside the box when it comes to "conservative Christianity". I would say he's a lot like me, theologically conservative leading to social liberalism. His review of DuMez' book might surprise y'all (hint, he rated it a 5 on his personal 5 point scale)