Do you see anything wrong with this sign? Of course! It’s discriminatory because women are commonly found on construction and road repair crews holding these signs and working equally along side men. At least that’s the argument from Cynthia Good, founding editor of PINK Magazine, as reported in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Good demanded that the signs be removed and the Atlanta Public Works Commissioner, Joe Basista, agreed. “Public Works officials are replacing 50 ‘Men Working’ with signs that say ‘Workers Ahead.’ It will cost $22 to cover over some of the old signs and $144 to buy new signs, said Public Works spokeswoman Valerie Bell-Smith said.” To a city like Atlanta, the largest in the South, that amount is like pennies in an ash tray. But it is Good’s response to the city’s action and her future intentions that indicates a larger discussion – “Score one for gender equality. (Atlanta) gets it. (Now) we’re calling on the rest of the nation to follow suit and make a statement that we will not accept these subtle forms of discrimination.”
A while ago my wife showed me this article on women claiming second virginity. I find the topic interesting because I have come to appreciate purity, innocence, chastity more and more as I walk with Christ and realize how I threw so much away in my foolish youth. Our culture has no place for values such as these and even mocks them. Some have tried to claim a “technical virginity,” but this surely is not purity. I write this first to encourage parents to make this a priority while raising girls and BOYS. (Notice the article only mentions girls being taught abstinence.) There are a few things that you can give away cheaply and your innocence is certainly high on the list (and I am not just talking about having sex). Do not fall into the LIE that experiencing this world is good for making well-rounded persons and they will have to see the real world sometime. A child’s innocence should be a parent’s #2 priority after teaching them the gospel.
Second, the issue is an interesting one when asking what does a new convert think and do after his precious innocence is gone. Of course we are talking about sex out of marriage but there are numerous ways of losing innocence–marriage infidelity, movies, etc. Well, the answer is not to have surgery so you can have the physical facade of purity. The answer is to cleanse one’s heart, mind, memories, and desires striving for renewal. Just as Paul calls the Romans to renew their minds and not be conformed to this world, so too we all must be aware of the oversexualized culture we live in and seek protection, barriers, and accountability. We should in fact be a Holy club.
Yesterday, our Christianity Matters class concluded its three-week series on Christians and the Arts. Bruce and Aaron led the class in a discussion and Q&A. And there were a couple of points we concluded regarding value judgments that are worth discussing. I’m going to state them and then, Bruce, I need to ask you a question.
I’m also reading Calvin Stapert’s book: A New Song for an Old World: Musical Thought in the Early Church (Eerdmans, 2007). You can read a review of it here. Here is a summary of what Stapert says about Clement of Alexandria’s perspective on music:
This is the question that it really comes down to isn’t it? Is there bad music or it is just everyone’s taste and preferences? — You know, you have yours and I have mine and let’s be tolerant of each other.
Brad, I would add to your most recent post that I find value in a film like Kite Runner (haven’t seen it) even if I don’t experience a personal transformation or see redemption depicted. A good many people don’t feel that there is any hope in life and are left in despair. Films like this are trying to find a way to interpret life apart from hope. I don’t find personal satisfaction in art like this, but it is instructive. What’s more, I think that a film ending hopelessly is in many ways better than a film that ends in hope, if that hope is derived exclusively by the redemptive power of human love, self love, etc. Those films just reinforce the message that we don’t need God. They reinforce that we can find all we need right here around us.
Do you see anything wrong with this sign? Of course! It’s discriminatory because women are commonly found on construction and road repair crews holding these signs and working equally along side men. At least that’s the argument from Cynthia Good, founding editor of PINK Magazine, as reported in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Good demanded that the signs be removed and the Atlanta Public Works Commissioner, Joe Basista, agreed. “Public Works officials are replacing 50 ‘Men Working’ with signs that say ‘Workers Ahead.’ It will cost $22 to cover over some of the old signs and $144 to buy new signs, said Public Works spokeswoman Valerie Bell-Smith said.” To a city like Atlanta, the largest in the South, that amount is like pennies in an ash tray. But it is Good’s response to the city’s action and her future intentions that indicates a larger discussion – “Score one for gender equality. (Atlanta) gets it. (Now) we’re calling on the rest of the nation to follow suit and make a statement that we will not accept these subtle forms of discrimination.”