American Feminism and Islamic Women

The Weekly Standard came out with an article on May 21 entitled The Subjection of Islamic Women and The Fecklessness of American Feminism. The article covers a lot of area, but mainly covers the distinct difference between American feminism and the rising feminism of Islamic women. While Islamic women are seeking to embrace femininity while being liberated from oppression (which truly is oppressive), American feminists do not really pay much attention to their desires primarily because it goes against their doctrine of no gender distinctions. The article is interesting, and sad, for many reasons. But the main thing that stuck out to me is the completely horrendous attempt by some feminists to find a correlation between so-called misogyny in the West and that of other cultures. While pornography, incest, rape, and the Hugh Hefner culture are all contributors to oppression of women and should be condemned with disdain, they do not fit into the same category as a woman who has acid thrown in her face for no reason at all. There has to be a different category for these things, and there has to be an interest on the part of women liberators every where if they want their ideologies truly to be consistent.

But what these liberated women do not understand is that an absence of truly biblical patriarchy facilitates the so-called oppression that Western women face (and the true oppression that Afghani women face). Each culture declares women to be inferior either by sexual freedom and “equality” (which leads to objectification and inferiority) or by rampant abuse (which in some cases leads to death).

The Western feminists can pay lip-service to the horrors of misogyny across the globe all they want, but they don’t really know what misogyny is, really. American feminism can lead to self-inflicted oppression in the form of pornography and male domination, while these poor women did not ask for what they are getting. Though true that misogyny exists in large quantities, these responders to the oppression of women across the world have actually contributed to the very thing they are speaking against in the form of abortion rights, sexual freedom, and women’s liberation. The freedom that feminism thinks it is providing is the same “freedom” that has countless women dragged to a hospital for forced abortions.

Like this article states, there is a sad disconnect between American feminism and the atrocities of true oppression seen and experienced by our women overseas. They are not the same. As Christians, we must care about the women who are executed by the Taliban in Afghanistan, the little girls who are sold into sexual slavery in Thailand, the little babies in India who are murdered simply for being female, and the ashamed victims of rape in Iraq who blow themselves up because they are told that no man will ever want them. But we don’t care because we want so-called “liberation”. We care because we know something that the feminists don’t. There is a mystery at work in our gender distinctions, and unless we see a return to biblical patriarchy in the form of loving, male headship there will be no reprieve from the destruction of women by dictatorial, misogynistic men. The Islamic women, who are oppressed by a far greater and more horrific regime, see the difference and beauty of femininity even amidst great tribulation—but they don’t exactly know why they desire it. They don’t know that it is designed to point to the Messiah and His Bride, the very thing that they deny and hate. We can have all of the “Love Your Body” campaigns that we want, but they won’t help. It will only mask the problem for a little while until it rears its ugly head in another form of dissatisfaction. The Church must hold high the beauty of God’s design for gender—calling men to patriarchy and denouncing misogyny. And that is a world that feminists can’t even conceive of.

Louisville Road Trip Recap

It’s always hard to write recaps of big events—so much happens and there is only so much space to write. So, in order to make the reading light, here are my top highlights of my trip to Louisville. As already stated, I went to the New Attitude conference with my brother and sister-in-law, and made a whole host of new friends along the way!

1. By far, my number one highlight is Beth White. She graciously allowed Em and me to stay at her house, and she carted me around everywhere. It was like we were old friends, who just had not met yet. And I must say she is the funniest person I have met in a long time. Now we just have to convince her to come back to the great state of Minnesota for the DG conference (she has a love/hate relationship with our state).
   
2. One of the beneficial things about a vacation is it makes you think about things you normally don’t have time to think about. The Lord really convicted me about areas in my life that need work, and I am grateful for that. I also realized our need for rest. We easily suppress our fallenness in our busyness.
   
3. CJ Mahaney’s message on “Idols of the Heart”. If you have never heard it, try and find it. It’s amazing.
   
4. Finally seeing Southern Seminary’s campus. The pictures don’t do it justice. It’s gorgeous.
   
5. Becoming aware of the fact that I am a Four-Point Calvinist. Not convinced, just aware—there’s a difference.
   
6. Steak and Shake—I missed it in my absence from the South, and I know it missed me. It was a great time and good food.
   
7. The Christmas Tree Story—oh so funny.
   
8. Realizing how thankful I am for my pastor and my church.
   
9. Making new friends.

Even though it was a great time, it’s good to be back. I missed my roommates, and they are glad to be reunited with the beloved straightener. God so used this time off to shape me, teach me, and convict me of so much. I could write so much more on resting, but I’ll save that for another time. I would like to say though that rest is so important if for no other reason than that God commanded us to do it. We realize our sin when we stop and actually think about what we are doing and why we are doing it. In our finiteness we are confronted with our desperate need for Christ. When we don’t slow down it can be great spiritual peril to our souls. Vacations are great, but not because we get to waste time and feed our craving for self-exaltation. Vacations are great because we are able to stop and think about our Christ, minus the crazy schedules of our every day lives. Even though my trip was different than I planned it to be, it was a good and needed difference, one that gave me a host of new friends and a set of “New Years’ Resolutions” in May.

NA Conference

Early tomorrow morning my brother, sister-in-law, and I will hit the road and head for Louisville, Kentucky to attend the New Attitude conference. The NA conference is put on by Sovereign Grace Ministries, and promises to be a God-centered weekend of teaching and fellowship—and with speakers like Mark Dever, Al Mohler, John Piper, Joshua Harris, Eric Simmons, and CJ Mahaney, who wouldn’t be excited. The theme is discernment, and I pray that God uses these men to shape an entire generation of young people (and especially myself) to live according to God’s Word, for His glory.

There are many reasons why I am looking forward to the weekend, but I will simply share a few with you. I am excited about…

1. Spending time with my brother and sister-in-law.
   
2. Hearing Mark Dever preach live. His teachings and writings have shaped my view of the local church tremendously.
   
3. Hearing Al Mohler preach live.
   
4. Actually being an attendee at a conference and not working, at all.
   
5. Having the opportunity to sit under the teaching of great men of the faith.
   
6. Being on vacation.

So, I will leave you with the NA video, which makes me excited just watching it—and you will be too.

New Attitude 2007 Conference Promo

Friday Devotional: The Devastating Results of Sin

“But he did not know that the LORD had left him.”—Judges 16:20

My heart sank when I read this verse regarding Samson. Not because I had never read the book of Judges before, and not because I was surprised at the outcome of the story. Samson was a big deal in my house growing up. I grew up with three brothers who often times would refer to Samson when talking about their desires to be strong. Popeye and the Hulk were great, but Samson was the pinnacle of strength in the Tarter household.

This verse struck me because of the force of it. Very often when I read my Bible I breeze over phrases, trying to get all of my reading done in a short amount of time. But if you stop and think about a phrase like “he did not know the LORD had left him” you realize the devastating effects of such a verse. God is gone.

God was the source of Samson’s strength, and when He left there was no longer any power or protection surrounding Samson. He was alone. But God did not leave without reason. Notice the events leading up to God’s departing from Samson. Samson liked women, and his desire for ungodly women ensnared him even to the point of being manipulated by Delilah (Judges 16).

This is not the only reference in the Bible to God leaving a person, 1 Samuel 16:14 tells us the heart-breaking story of King Saul: “Now the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD tormented him.” Saul, like Samson, had created a path of deception, hatred, and self-promotion that eventually left him abandoned by the sovereign Creator.

It is easy to read these biblical accounts and disassociate ourselves from the tragic choices and consequences, but we must remember that we too are of the same stock as Samson and Saul—and even Judas Iscariot. The root of all these tragic stories is sin, and none of us is exempt from that truth. After reading the book of Judges for the first time I asked my dad how God could keep saving the Israelites. I mean, after all, they never obeyed. They always went back to sinning. It really frustrated me. His gentle rebuke guides me every time I read this book—“Courtney, doesn’t God keep forgiving you?” You see, the fact that I was appalled at the Israelites really showed that I didn’t understand sin.

We are all that depraved, and if we are not vigilant about fighting sin in our own lives, we too will find ourselves left alone to drown in our wickedness. The people the Apostle Paul is talking about in Romans 1 probably didn’t even realize that God had given them over to the “lusts of their flesh.” We should never become comfortable with the language of the Bible, especially with regards to our sin. It should make us weep, but most importantly it should make us tremble. It should make us introspective, asking God to reveal to us the areas in our lives that we are “exchanging His glory for a lie”. Samson was exchanging God’s glory for a lie—the lie of one night with a deceptive woman.

But the story does not end there. Though Samson willingly relinquished his power into the hands of Delilah—and thus was abandoned by God, God is merciful. When God takes His hand off and gives us over to our depraved minds, He does so in order to bring glory to Himself and repentance to us. God may depart from you, but just as the Prodigal’s father welcomed back his wayward child after years of debauchery, so God restores His children who cry out to Him for mercy in their pig sty.

This is not a license to sin, but it does offer great hope for you today. The Bible does not end with Judges, and the very next book after it is Ruth—a great picture of the keeping power of God. In the darkness of Judges, God foreshadows the coming Messiah.

So, as you go about your weekend love your Old Testament. Love the hard books that are rarely talked about—our Christ is on every page. And fight sin, dear Christian. Don’t play with the kindness of God. He will not tolerate sin forever—and it is a very despairing life for the one who has lost the hand of God, and doesn’t even recognize it.

Groping for Truth at the Grocery Store

No Newsweek? That’s exactly what I found while standing in the self-checkout lane with my groceries this evening. Typically, I’m not excited to have to run to the grocery store after a day of work, but I really needed coffee—and the newest issue of Newsweek. Much to my dismay, the grocery store didn’t carry Newsweek, or Time, or U.S. News, or any news magazine for that matter. They did carry plenty of other magazines—US Weekly, People, Vogue, and others that promised to make your life better, make you more beautiful, and tell you all the latest Hollywood gossip. And this is not the first time I have run into this problem.

I don’t track the history, or reasoning, behind grocery store’s stocking decisions, but I think this deserves our attention. Every adult in America must frequent the grocery store, including Christians, and if we can wade through hundreds (literally) of magazines in the aisle without finding a single one of relative significance what does that tell us about our worldview, or our ability to truly comprehend reality?

We live in a society that likes to suppress the truth, and maybe the grocery store doesn’t serve as a spiritual barometer for the Church, but it comes close. Maybe we’re not buying into the celebrity gossip, but we might be enticed by the newest Self magazine that promises to help you shed ten pounds. Is it wrong to try and be healthy? Absolutely not, but unfortunately we very often do not look beyond what is fed to us—and if our only choices in the checkout lane are fluff, then fluff we will get.

As Christians, we must learn to look beyond the false reality that our culture is spoon feeding us. The marketers would love for us to buy their magazines, buy their products, and support their causes—all the while trusting in their promises of a better life. I took a magazine writing class once, and one of the main things that we learned in marketing our articles was people like lists that promise results. They are groping for a better existence, and Newsweek magazine isn’t something they want in their reach.

Paris Hilton’s renditions of the horrors of jail time give you a three second celebrity thrill, but it won’t give you truth. Newsweek won’t either, but at least it will allow you into some semblance of reality, however distorted it may be by the media. Not only should the magazine rack enrage us by its lies about beauty and personhood, but it should also make us cry out for mercy. Yes, these consumers are groping, but they won’t find it in InStyle—they’ll find it at the Cross of Jesus Christ. There is a lot that could be said about the reasoning behind the grocery store magazine choices, like the fact that we don’t really like to read about anything of depth, or that we only like to read things that make us feel good, but it must start deeper. Fundamentally it is a matter of the heart. Our hearts are wicked, yet created by God to worship Him, and because of that we worship everything but Him in our depravity. As Christians, our media spending habits should not reflect the lost world around us—and we shouldn’t be saying “Give me Newsweek”, instead lets say “Give me Christ”.

My Momma, part 2

As I spent this week trying to fit all of the reasons why I love my mom into two entries, I realized that was virtually impossible—and probably not beneficial to the readership. What I realized more than anything, as I looked back on my brief life with my mom, is not that I admire my mom because she cooked for me (though it was wonderful), or because she stayed home with me (which was great too), or even that she gave up so much to take care of four children. The fundamental thing that guided, and still guides, my mom’s life is that she hopes in God.

Raising four children was not easy, especially when two of them were wayward. My mom has spent three Mother’s Day’s, two Christmas’, and many birthdays, waiting for a child to walk through the door and say “I’m saved.” Though the family never seemed whole without the fourth child there, she pressed on with the normal traditions that the Tarter family does on every holiday. She bought presents for her absent child, and placed them under the tree, where they would wait until God brought them home.

In all of this, my mom did not cease to worship God. She did not cease to read her Bible. And she did not cease to pour out her distressed soul to her Savior every day. I can still hear her telling me “God will bring you home, or He will take you out. Don’t forget that.” Even when she questioned God’s reasoning for this suffering, she never doubted that He was the one orchestrating all of it for His glory and our good.

When I look at my mom, I know that her love for our Christ is not some fluffy, cotton-candy type of love. It is a love that has been tested by fire, and has come out stronger and more precious because of the purifying flames of suffering. She has spent the night in hospitals next to an injured child, she has stayed up all night with an ill child, and she has spent hours upon hours begging God to save the souls of her children.

For the most part, my mom is done with the labors of child rearing, and is transitioning into being a Mimi (grandma). But she still cries every time we leave, because her job is never truly done. She will never cease being our mother—and for that she deserves much recognition.

There is so much more about my mom that I admire, like her tremendous generosity and care for new mothers, or her compassion towards people who are hurting, or her interest in every little detail of our lives (even if it is boring to every other person), but I realize that all of these things are possible because her hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness. The natural woman does not live this way. Only a woman, who has been purchased by the blood of the Lamb, can serve her family in this manner.

And so, as you prepare to spend time with your mother’s tomorrow, remember to thank her. Thank her for the sacrifice, even if it wasn’t what you think it should be, and if your mother is not around, or not a mother who cared, ask God to teach you to be a mother who is a life-giver and not a life-taker. But most importantly, thank God for the gift of mothers—they truly are the backbone of our society, even if nobody else notices.

So, thank you momma for giving up your life for me and the boys. We did not always treat you like you deserved. We did not always respect you. But you taught us more than we probably will ever know. You taught us to read, you taught us to eat, and most importantly, you taught us about Christ. Thank you for telling us we are sinners so we could see Christ in His sinlessness. May your faithful teaching bless generations of Tarter’s to come.

Happy Mother’s Day, momma!