This week has been full of dramatic events (and no, I’m not referring to the pointless mini-dramas of my own life... those tend to be eye-roll worthy, but not blog-worthy). A poor tourist in a caravan got swept off a cliff in Ireland, Brexit is only six months away (pause to cheer or sob uncontrollably), and Naz Shah, Labour’s shadow minister for equalities, said that pre-natal testing for gender is bad because it allows women to abort baby girls (but it’s apparently still ok to screen for Down’s syndrome). Phew.
The cognitive dissonance of ‘my body my choice’
Unless you’ve been living under a giant rock, you must have heard the slogan ‘my body, my choice’. Four short and simple words; an ad hominem that's become a sort of war cry for females across the English-speaking world. It’s a giant shield brought out in defence of any argument against abortion; it’s played as a trump card, the ‘beats rock, paper and scissors’ of this moral minefield.
Have we created a monster? – On #MeToo, FiftyShades and more
Last month, every time I turned on the TV or read the news on the internet, there was some new sexual abuse or harassment scandal being plastered on my screen. Last year it was the Church of England. Then it was Hollywood. Then it was the Olympics gymnast doctor scandal. Then it was #MeToo. Then it was that Aziz Ansari story. Then it was the President’s Club. I suppose one incident naturally sparked another and another, but the scale of this uncovering has been huge.
Loving your neighbour vs. Challenging ideas
Is it just me, or is challenging ideas you don't agree with becoming a bit of a taboo in this country? Maybe it has something to do with the combative nature of openly disagreeing with anything – a concept that, let’s face it, is distasteful to British society as a whole. We're not very good at conflict, are we? As Christians we err on the side of extreme caution when it comes to contentious issues. Aren’t we just called to love our neighbour, not impose our morality on others?
Love women, not feminism
Can you be a Christian and a feminist? (This question is aimed at Christians, by the way. Comments remotely resembling 'OMG the bible oppresses wOmeN!!111 trollolol' will probably be ignored). Anyway I'll leave you to make up your own mind after I tell you why I stopped calling myself a feminist.
What’s the point of this blog?
Oh, look, another blog. There's already a lot of Christian online content out there, from the meaty theological stuff to the depressingly vacuous; from large editorials to individual blogs. So why add another voice to the clamour? The answer is for the same reason that anyone starts anything - I had an idea that wouldn't leave. I saw a bit of a gap in the Christian online blog-o-sphere, and I'm hoping that just maybe, I can fill it.
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