tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19005103061651304052024-03-14T04:00:50.310-07:00The Holy Fool"We are fools for Christ's sake..."
- 1 Corinthians 4:10The Holy Foolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14599390387236193474noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1900510306165130405.post-62053124782153806622013-10-13T18:42:00.001-07:002013-10-13T18:42:34.984-07:00In Defense of the Disney Princess<div class="MsoNormal">
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<a href="http://bkhemphill.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/new-disney-princess-lineup-rapunzel-disney-princess-18212648-1280-800.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://bkhemphill.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/new-disney-princess-lineup-rapunzel-disney-princess-18212648-1280-800.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Disney – and in particular their pantheon of princesses –
has been getting <a href="http://fairytalenewsblog.blogspot.com/2013/10/disneys-ugly-princesses-just-kidding.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FVFWg+%28Once+Upon+A+Blog...%29" target="_blank">a lot of hate lately</a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">for being “chauvinistic”, anti-woman and generally bad for little girls. This isn’t anything new, however; people </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">have been accusing the
Disney princesses of having a negative effect on little girls <a href="http://bkhemphill.wordpress.com/2012/10/03/4-terrible-lessons-from-disney-princess-movies/" target="_blank">for years now</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Now, granted, I’d
hardly agree with every choice the company’s made (“Atlantis: The Lost Empire”
remains a cinematic atrocity), but I think it’s massively unfair to throw all
of the Disney princesses out the window as being bad for little girls to watch.
Why?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">First off, I believe that, if one looks for it, one can find
a lesson that is true, good, and beautiful in just about anything. But beyond
that, I have this crazy theory that I want to share with you. Are you ready? Good.
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My theory is thus: every Disney princess film contains a valuable lesson. Sometimes it's a lesson intended for all girls everywhere and sometimes it's a lesson for a very specific type of girl. Some might argue that these lessons were placed in the films intentionally, while others might argue it's simply coincidental (although I think this is probably naive).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Either way, the lessons<i> are</i> there and most of the time they're too awesome to ignore. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I’ve compiled a little summary of each of the Princesses complete with (to be fair) the arguments against them and the moral lesson I believe each attempts to present. But keep in mind that there may be many more lessons in each film than the ones I mention below. Take a look at the ones I provide, then post any other lessons that occur to you in the comments section.</span><br />
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<a href="http://images5.fanpop.com/image/photos/31500000/aurora-sleeping-beauty-31531407-800-600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://images5.fanpop.com/image/photos/31500000/aurora-sleeping-beauty-31531407-800-600.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"><i> <b> </b></i><b>1. </b></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"><b>Sleeping
Beauty</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>The Accusation</i>: “Sleeping Beauty teaches
little girls to be innocent and stupid, that love-at-first-sight exists, and it
sets them up to have their hearts broken.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>My Defense</i>: Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) may come
off a little shallow, true. She falls in love with her prince after only 5
minutes. However, she is no more naïve than her prince, who feels the same way.
<b>Their innocence is actually a valuable
lesson</b>. Far from the cynical worldview of their political parents, these
two lovers are able to find love by ridding themselves of worldly things (the
castles and such) and turning to the simple life of the woods. When their love
is challenged, Philip must defend it with “the sword of truth and the shield of
virtue”, as these are the keys to innocent love as God intended. I fail to see
how a “shield of virtue” is anything but a BA lesson for boys and girls
everywhere. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Moral of the Story</i>: Essentially, I see
Sleeping Beauty as a call to return a sense of innocence, purity, and virtue to
romance. Romance in our culture has been permeated with cynicism and distrust
and everybody could do to reintroduce a little purity and Disney-like trust
into their relationship.</span><br />
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<a href="http://images1.fanpop.com/images/photos/2400000/Mulan-Wallpaper-mulan-2471043-1024-768.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://images1.fanpop.com/images/photos/2400000/Mulan-Wallpaper-mulan-2471043-1024-768.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"> <b>2. </b></span><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Mulan</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">, Jasmine</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">, and </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Pochahontas</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>The Accusation</i>: “Jasmine starts out strong
and independent, but ends up selling out to a man who lies to her. Mulan
abandons her femininity totally and ends up with a jerk. Oh, and <i>Pochahontas</i> is just a stupid movie”.</span></div>
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<a href="http://sixstringsamurai.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Aladdin3-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="118" src="http://sixstringsamurai.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Aladdin3-1.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://images6.fanpop.com/image/photos/34900000/Walt-Disney-Screencaps-Pocahontas-walt-disney-characters-34914019-5000-2813.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="http://images6.fanpop.com/image/photos/34900000/Walt-Disney-Screencaps-Pocahontas-walt-disney-characters-34914019-5000-2813.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>My Defense</i>: I’m going to go ahead and lump Mulan,
Jasmine, and Pochahontas together because they each teach similar lessons. Each
coming from a patriarchal and strongly chauvinistic culture, they each teach
their respective audience how to find competitive strength without ridding
themselves of femininity, a valuable lesson in this day and age. Jasmine does
this with her wit, Pochahontas with her fortitude and courage. Now, you might
be arguing that Mulan has to shed her femininity; however, one must remember
that she is only able to defeat Shan Yu when she embraces her womanly strength
and dignity. As to Aladdin “getting the girl” by feigning charm, good looks,
and appearing to be rich and famous, remember that Jasmine initially dismisses
him for exactly these qualities. She eventually falls for him because of his
loyalty and spirit of self-donation and sacrifice. The story of Aladdin is not
one in favor of deceit. It is instead one which flies in the face of an
ever-rampant class system and hostility to love-marriages that is just as <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-18280997" target="_blank">extreme and awful today</a> as it every was.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Moral of the Story</i>: Each of these
Princesses are a shout out to the little girls of different chauvinistic,
woman-repressing cultures. The movies teach little girls to rebel against their
bigoted systems, embrace their feminine genius, and love whoever-the-heck they
want to love.</span><br />
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<a href="http://images5.fanpop.com/image/polls/956000/956359_1329657774430_full.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="http://images5.fanpop.com/image/polls/956000/956359_1329657774430_full.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"> <b>3. Beauty & the Beast</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"><i>The Accusation</i>: “</span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Beauty & the Beast</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"> is – at best – the story of an abusive
relationship and – at worst – a nerdy girl’s <a href="http://dearblankpleaseblank.com/permalink.php?viewid=96052" target="_blank">exploration into bestiality</a> (um,
ew?)”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>My Defense</i>: The Beast (Adam) may seem to be
a difficult character to defend, but let’s first look closer at the target
audience of this movie. “Beauty and the Beast” is geared towards girls like
Belle: bookish girls, the ones you see falling in love with characters they’ve
only read about on a page (hello, twilight fan-girls). The problem (generally)
with this type of girl is that they end up desperately searching for the kind
of guy they read about in those novels. Instead of looking for a guy who has
the chivalrous characteristics of their literary heroes, they turn to muscular
meat heads (cough, Gaston) who can never satisfy their emotional needs. Beauty
and the Beast teaches a girl like Belle to look a little deeper at the guy who,
despite his decided lack of a sixpack, may be her prince charming in disguise.
Additionally, let’s remember that Belle’s attitude doesn’t change as soon as the
Beast becomes kindly disposed to her. She starts to look differently at him
when he attempts to sacrifice his own life for her, defending her from wolves.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Moral of the Story</i>: People should learn to
look past the physical and into the heart of the person, and true love always
requires sacrifice. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/herald-review.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/7/4d/74d205b4-b637-11e2-be86-0019bb2963f4/518785950e3cc.preview-620.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="148" src="http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/herald-review.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/7/4d/74d205b4-b637-11e2-be86-0019bb2963f4/518785950e3cc.preview-620.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> <b>4. Cinderella</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"><i>The Accusation</i>: “Cinderella plays the martyr for
an hour-and-a-half of screen time and then gets ‘rescued’ by a guy she doesn’t
know.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>My Defense</i>: Ok, so Cinderella. This one is
the hardest to defend, because it has the largest target audience: everybody.
However, the lesson is still somehow often missed. This isn’t just a story of
boy meet girl, boy marries girl five minutes later. Let’s remember that it
wasn’t Cinderella’s beauty that won her the prince, but her virtue. In the
ballroom scene, the Prince is surrounded by beautiful women, but he yawns and
is bored by them. It’s only when Cinderella, whose virtue earned the attention
of the Fairy God Mother in the first place, arrives that he sits up and takes
notice. He then goes on a crazy intense hunt for her because she stood out THAT
MUCH. Call it shallow if you like, but I feel that Cinderella is a “Gentleman
Prefer Virtuous Chicks” story (as opposed to “Gentleman Prefer Blondes”), and
that’s a lesson I’ll be happy to share with my future daughters.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Moral of the Story</i>: Virtue makes you more
beautiful than looks ever could and, when the time comes, the right guy will
notice that.</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://imgdonkey.com/big/SW1GU0VrZg/sometimes-when-i-get-hit-on-at-my-work-convenience-store-this-is-how-face-looks-flattering-but-you-just-told-me-a-story-of-got-arrested.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://imgdonkey.com/big/SW1GU0VrZg/sometimes-when-i-get-hit-on-at-my-work-convenience-store-this-is-how-face-looks-flattering-but-you-just-told-me-a-story-of-got-arrested.gif" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Does that sound like a bad message?<br />
Cinderella sure doesn't think so.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="http://www.whydidyouwearthat.com/wp-content/uploads//2011/01/sw_kiss.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="145" src="http://www.whydidyouwearthat.com/wp-content/uploads//2011/01/sw_kiss.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"> <b>5. Snow White</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"><i>The Accusation</i>: Criticisms of <i>Snow White</i> abound. There's the accusation that it's simply an "age vs. beauty" story, as well the familiar criticism that Princesses fall in love with their Princes just <i>too quickly</i>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"><i>My Defense</i>: Snow White is the last one I’ll talk about, but
it’s easy to defend: it’s a Christ story. The reason the Prince isn’t much of a
character is because he doesn’t have to be. When the story was written, and
when the film was made, anyone with any sense would’ve realized “Oh, that’s
kinduv like Jesus”. It’s the same reason Aslan doesn’t have a complex
backstory. Look at it this way: There’s this innocent girl (man, pre-fall) who
lives in the paradise of her father’s castle (Eden) but her stepmother (Satan)
is jealous of the love shown to Snow White by her father (God). Out of this
jealousy, the stepmother kicks her out of the paradise. Snow White has to
venture out into the horrifying woods (the post-fall world), but finds shelter
with 7 dwarves (there are lots of connotations with them. One could argue
they’re the major prophets, while others argue that they’re the 7 Holy
virtues). There is, of course, the added tidbit of Snow White eating a poisoned
apple given to her by the Satan character in disguise. Snow White is then
resurrected by the son of a King, and taken back to his castle to live with him
in paradise. Again, I see this as a great thing to share with my future daughters.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"><i>Moral of the Story</i>: Jesus and stuff.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Obviously I can’t write much more
without this post becoming excessively long, but keep in </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">mind that my argument
that each Disney Princess is purposely written as a lesson for a certain </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">type
of girl holds true with the other princesses. Rapunzel? A message for an
anorexic </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">generation of girls bullied and subdued into low self-esteem by their
mean-girl moms. Tiana? A </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">love letter to exactly the kind of feminist that
normally hates Disney films, telling them that, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">with a little openness, their dreams
can come true too.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So what about you? What are some
good messages you’ve found in Disney films? Let me know </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">in the comments
section.</span></div>
The Holy Foolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14599390387236193474noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1900510306165130405.post-40316948940226866642013-06-01T22:25:00.000-07:002013-06-01T22:25:32.835-07:00The Bikini Question: a Rebuttal<div class="MsoNormal">
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<a href="http://images.meredith.com/fitness/images/2011/05/ss_Bikini-Nude-Beach.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://images.meredith.com/fitness/images/2011/05/ss_Bikini-Nude-Beach.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Recently, a <a href="http://madeinhisimage.org/the-bikini-question/" target="_blank">post on modesty</a> has been making the rounds. The
article is simply the latest post to specifically target certain types of
swimwear (namely, bikinis) as being objectively immodest, while also
perpetuating a kind of false-modesty which operates under the premise that <b>men need women to control their desires for them</b>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The problem with the thoughts expressed in the article is
that, though obviously and laudably well-intentioned, they’re not exactly in
keeping with authentic Catholic teaching. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This rebuttal will attempt to explain true Catholic teaching
on the subject of modesty, but before we go any further, two disclaimers:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"> 1)</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 7pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">In this post we will be operating under language
and ideas which have been established in greater depth in a previous post on
the subject, <a href="http://theholyfool.blogspot.com/2013/03/modesty-once-and-for-all.html" target="_blank">Modesty Once and For All</a>. It’s not terribly long, but it is
encouraged reading it if you don’t want to be confused. In addition, if you’d
like to further familiarize or educate yourself regarding the theology
presented in this post, check out two really excellent posts on purity at
<a href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/badcatholic/2013/05/is-female-purity-bullshit.html" target="_blank">Bad Catholic Blog</a> and <a href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithonthecouch/2013/05/dirty-sex-accidental-heretics-and-the-cult-of-purity/" target="_blank">Faith on the Couch</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 7pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">2) The information you’re about to discover is not
widely popularized and is therefore likely to strike you as foreign. I’d
encourage you to come at this post with prayer and open-mindedness. If you feel
yourself becoming frustrated, feel free to take a step back, pray a little, and
return to this post at a later date. The purpose of this article is not to
educate you to true Catholic teaching overnight, but rather plant the seed for
a greater knowledge of Catholic teaching to grow over a period of Holy Spirit-infused
time.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now, without further ado:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Lust and Attraction:
the Same Thing?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Though the article does not specifically mention it, much of
the information presented operates upon the findings of a widely <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/02/19/women.bikinis.objects/" target="_blank">popular study</a>
by Princeton University on men’s mental reactions to bikini-clad women. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The study showed images of women in various states of dress
to 21 heterosexual undergraduates at Princeton University, each image being shown
for only a fraction of a second. It was found that men tended to associate
images of fully clothed women with third-person verbs (“She does”), but it also
showed that men tended to associate images of bikini-clad women with
first-person verbs (“I do”).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The conductors of the study concluded, based on the
information presented, that men associated a personal sense of ownership with
scantily-clad women and therefore were more likely to objectify them.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now, as previously implied, the Church has a major
theological problem with the conclusion of the study. Before we get into that,
however, it’s worth pointing out some objective flaws with the study itself. A
journalist friend of mine writes,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 115%;">“The men in this survey
were rated as <b>hostile sexists</b> in the
test that determined who would be part of the study. These men, in the
questionnaire before the study, said that [they believed] women are controlling
and invaders of male space.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></i><i><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">[Also], these images did not picture the faces
of the wo<span class="textexposedshow">men. <b>The
heads were cropped off</b>. If one is looking at an image with no face, one
cannot make a human connection. When one views a sexualized, faceless body which
is scantily-clad and in a seductive pose, it’s no surprise that one would view
said body as sexualized.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br />
<br />
<span class="textexposedshow">[Finally], the reactions of the men were sub-conscious
rather than willed. A man, through use of his faculties, can will a proper,
humanized response to such images. Humans are not animals. We have free will
and use of reason.”</span></span><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<i><span style="background: white;"><span class="textexposedshow"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">All of these are excellent points, particularly the third
point that <b>men have more power to
control their impressions and responses than they’re often given credit for</b>
(more on that later). </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">However, let’s assume for the sake of argument that this
study wasn’t flawed at all. Even if this were the case – and it’s not – the
Church would still take major issue with the conclusion of the study. Why?
Because the Church doesn’t view sexual attraction in the same way that the
secular world does.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://wac.450f.edgecastcdn.net/80450F/screencrush.com/files/2012/07/lip_licker.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://wac.450f.edgecastcdn.net/80450F/screencrush.com/files/2012/07/lip_licker.gif" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Basically, secular society wants you<br />
to believe that all men are like this.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">To a secular society, attraction and lust are the same thing.
When a woman attempts to be attractive to a man (or vice versa), she’s also
attempting to arouse lust. When a man becomes attracted to a woman, he’s
lusting after her. The world sees lust and attraction as one and the same.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Therefore, when a study – however flawed – shows that a man
is attracted to a woman wearing a bikini, the secular conclusion is that said
man is lusting after said woman. With this lust comes a sense of ownership, a
desire to possess, and a desire to objectify. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>To the Church,
however, lust and sexual attraction are two very different things</b>. Lust, on
the one hand, seeks to own, enslave, possess and objectify. It’s a warped and
incomplete version of attraction which puts both the lusting and the lusted-after
in the position of being tools or objects of use. Sexual attraction, on the
other hand, is not only a necessity for any creature which reproduces sexually,
it is also a divine call to serve.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">See, when a man is attracted to a woman (or vice versa), it
is his divine obligation to turn that attraction outwards and to use it as an
impulse which leads him to serve her better; to communicate to her as best he
can her dignity and worth as a child of God. This original purpose and point of
attraction is strikingly different than the purpose and point of lust, hence
the Church discriminates lust while openly endorsing attraction.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For this reason, when the data of the Princeton University
study reports that men associate bikini-clad women with first person verbs (“I
do”), the Church does not join the secular world in its conclusion that they’ve
just discovered a biological predisposition for lust in men. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Rather, the Church
points back to its own understanding of the point of attraction, that is, a
divine call to serve. Of course the men associated first person verbs with
those women who they were more attracted to! When a man becomes attracted to a
woman (and vice versa), his entire body signals him to love her, serve her, and
communicate her dignity as a child of God back to her, all of which are calls
to action on <i>his part</i>.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For this reason, a faithful Catholic has no reason to buy
into the secular conclusions of the study (that bikinis innately lead men to
lust and that men have a biological predisposition to lust).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Alright, but even if
that’s true, aren’t bikinis still immodest?</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Before I get into this question, I want to make something
abundantly clear: this article is not to be taken strictly as a defense of the
bikini. Rather, this article primarily seeks to further correct
misunderstandings regarding the Church’s definition of modesty and dispel negative
stereotypes regarding men and their chastity. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">With this in mind, before we can speak to the supposed objective
immodesty of bikinis, we have to explore what constitutes immodesty.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Pope John Paul II writes in Love and Responsibility that, </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“<b>Immodesty is present only </b>when
nakedness plays a negative role with regard to the value of the person, <b>when its aim is to arouse concupiscence</b>,
as a result of which the person is put in the position of an object for
enjoyment… There are certain objective situations in which even total nudity of
the body is not immodest, since the proper function of nakedness in this context
is not to provoke a reaction to the person as an object for enjoyment, and in
just the same way the functions of particular forms of attire may vary. Thus,
the body may be partially bared for physical labor, for bathing, or for a
medical examination. If then, we wish to pass a moral judgment on particular
forms of dress we have to start from the particular functions which they serve.
<b>When a person uses such a form of dress
in accordance with its objective function we cannot claim to see anything
immodest in it</b>, even if it involves partial nudity. Whereas the use of such
a costume outside its proper context is immodest, and is inevitably felt to be
so. <b>For example, there is nothing
immodest about the use of a bathing costume at a bathing place</b>, but to wear
it in the street or while out for a walk is contrary to the dictates of
modesty.”</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.lolsaints.com/sites/lolsaints.com/files/imagecache/main-saint-image/saint-story-images/JPii.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.lolsaints.com/sites/lolsaints.com/files/imagecache/main-saint-image/saint-story-images/JPii.jpg" width="169" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">At this point, I understand if some of my readers may have
to take a step back. This is pretty revolutionary thought!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">First, immodesty has little to do with <i>what</i> is being worn and has everything to do with <i>why</i> it is being worn (intention) and <i>where</i> it is being worn (situation/environment).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Secondly, and perhaps more surprisingly, JPII is saying that
immodesty cannot be present when an article of clothing is being worn in the
way that it was created to be worn.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So, with this new and startling information in mind, we turn
to the question of the objective immodesty (or lack thereof) of the bikini.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimpONFz98btTzn56_eIicvec2bfGl2_PzyThaNaAoHSrHHZhrkSOtO9NtFnpcSv1LtRtpp4U2GCK3Cm8RfT41huQZXrJRH1SrvuPzYiGzNUXcE7bQL6U8myX0wXk7ECb9Gb9stCI1LtrBE/s1600/american-gothic3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimpONFz98btTzn56_eIicvec2bfGl2_PzyThaNaAoHSrHHZhrkSOtO9NtFnpcSv1LtRtpp4U2GCK3Cm8RfT41huQZXrJRH1SrvuPzYiGzNUXcE7bQL6U8myX0wXk7ECb9Gb9stCI1LtrBE/s200/american-gothic3.jpg" width="173" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If worn with the intention of<br />
arousing lust, even this stuff<br />
is immodest.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Are bikinis immodest? Sometimes, if they’re worn in an inappropriate
situation (church or the library are some particularly humorous examples) or if
they’re worn with the intention of arousing lust. However, even when they are
worn with the intention of arousing lust, they are <i>no more</i> immodest than any other article of clothing worn with the
same intention.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Likewise, believe it or not, bikinis can sometimes also be
completely modest, if they are worn in an appropriate venue (a beach, perhaps)
and without the intention to arouse lust.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Therefore, to say that <i>any</i>
article of clothing is objectively immodest is directly contrary to what the
Church teaches regarding modesty, even if that article of clothing is the
bikini.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What about men?
Shouldn’t women help protect their men’s hearts against unchastity?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Ah, the old “let’s protect the opposite gender’s chastity
for them” argument. Alright.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When we’re talking about sexual self-mastery, what we’re
really talking about is the virtue of continence.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Pope John Paul II writes in the Theology of the Body,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>“In
order to reach mastery over this drive and arousal, the personal subject must
devote himself or herself to a progressive education in self-control of the
will, of sentiments, of emotions, which must be developed from the simplest
gestures, in which <b>it is relatively easy to put the inner decision into
practice</b>.”</i> (128:1)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI5CnvDtrUq5FYKD16YctuK9Cyh6sIbUBzZGUcYG5vxgeB-Pstw1UaouaWTRGKKm1LB-YiZCI4_jCqdG8dL65hfQcPTVphUPrm7XyPNKJhcGYaB2CgXI9vM_EoEwArQUXQkOW-WthEuJov/s1600/He's+right+you+know.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI5CnvDtrUq5FYKD16YctuK9Cyh6sIbUBzZGUcYG5vxgeB-Pstw1UaouaWTRGKKm1LB-YiZCI4_jCqdG8dL65hfQcPTVphUPrm7XyPNKJhcGYaB2CgXI9vM_EoEwArQUXQkOW-WthEuJov/s1600/He's+right+you+know.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The journey to continence is one that each person must take
largely on his or her own. Now, I understand this may sound harsh, but think of
it this way:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If you wanted to get physically stronger, would you go
around telling everyone else to <i>stop </i>working
out so that you can <i>look </i>stronger by
comparison? When lifting weights, would you lift five pounds at a time, once a
month? Of course you wouldn’t. If you want to build up muscle, you have to work
hard and not shy away from a challenge. Likewise, a man (or woman) cannot build
spiritual muscle by hiding away or requiring everyone around him to dress in a
way that directly supports his lifestyle. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">To this argument, many people (including the writer of the
original article) would argue that God “assigns to every woman the dignity of
every man”. This is certainly true, and it’s a fair point. However, it isn’t
conducive with protecting the dignity of men to cater or enable their sin.
Allowing men to blame women for their lack of chastity, freeing themselves of
responsibility, is not protecting a man’s dignity. It’s openly discriminating
against a man’s dignity. <b>To support the dignity of the human person is to
encourage the human person towards spiritual and moral growth, but nobody grows
if everyone’s constantly doing their work for them</b>.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In a grander way, catering or enabling a man’s sin isn’t
just discriminating against that man’s personal dignity, it’s discriminating
against men everywhere.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN5UoRvmVbFn3nxfgtenAO0HnlDYbqAMO95d28scO8vWX_G54HwsiK8STB12Gl-0Z3zkWDeZGVBNLJ13RnICl8lZHw52TSa9Vmk02PIWZBW5PbmtBrMHJThsO9HnfxRKy-DrQsSTmw9z8w/s1600/photo+(8).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN5UoRvmVbFn3nxfgtenAO0HnlDYbqAMO95d28scO8vWX_G54HwsiK8STB12Gl-0Z3zkWDeZGVBNLJ13RnICl8lZHw52TSa9Vmk02PIWZBW5PbmtBrMHJThsO9HnfxRKy-DrQsSTmw9z8w/s200/photo+(8).jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just one example of the truly terrible<br />
theology that's out there.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As represented by the original article’s highly offensive
chocolate cake metaphor, there exists a false stereotype which claims that men
are, as a general rule, grimier, more carnal, and more predisposed to lust than
any woman could ever be. The problem with this “chocolate cake” mindset, this “boys
will be boys” mindset, this “Women should help men because men can’t help
themselves” thought process is that it is damaging to the entire male gender. Sure, it might be
a little easier for men to feign chastity if everyone around them is enabling
and catering to their weakness. But in addition to stripping men of any moral
responsibility, it also strips them of the nobility and well-deserved pride
that comes with achieving continence for themselves. It forces men into a
negative, self-hating stereotype which ensures that, no matter how much
self-mastery they obtain, they will always feel gross or lecherous. On a
personal note, I actually know of certain boys who have doubted their own
masculinity when they don’t have major issues with lust, so potent is the
stereotype that to be masculine is to be lustful. This is just one example
which illustrates that negative stereotypes which belittle a gender – however well-intentioned
– hurt everyone.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The darkest and most serious example of this is the fact
that such “chocolate cake” mentalities directly contribute to rape culture.
Think about it: telling a girl to avoid wearing a bikini to protect a man from
lust is the same as telling a girl that, because she wore a bikini, she led a
man into lust. And sadly, telling a girl that she led a man into lust because
of the way she dressed is not a far cry from telling her that the way she
dressed is what led a man to rape her.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now this has all gotten very dark and heady, but hopefully
by this point, you’ve discovered the seriousness of what we’re talking about.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">To recap, saying that men everywhere have no choice but to
struggle with unchastity is a false and hurtful stereotype. To say that women must
take responsibility for men’s chastity puts unfair responsibility on women,
absolves men of their own responsibility, and directly contributes to rape
culture.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So what’s to be done?
What’s the proper response?</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The proper response is this: let’s all stop worrying about
our wardrobes. Instead, let’s focus on modifying our entire culture with
behaviors that directly combat unchastity.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Let’s reclaim attractiveness as a divine call to serve. Let’s
remember it, own it, and be unafraid of it.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Women, love yourselves. Dress in a way that <i>makes you feel dignified</i>. If that’s a
bikini, so be it. If it’s not, that’s also fine. As long as what you’re wearing
is appropriate for the venue and is being worn with the genuinely holy motive
of communicating your strength, worth, confidence, dignity and beauty to the
world, more power to you.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Men, let’s start taking responsibility for our actions,
thoughts, and desires. I promise you that you are capable of so much more than
the culture tells you. I promise you that it is possible to become chaste
relying on nothing but yourself and the Holy Spirit! I promise you that there
is no greater feeling than being in the presence of a woman who may or may not
be dressed immodestly and being able to look at her with nothing but love,
chastity, and a desire to communicate her dignity to her in any way you can.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Isn’t this all just
too idealistic? It is even possible to achieve such things?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Of course it’s idealistic! But isn’t all of Christianity?
Isn’t the idea that you’ve been saved from sin by the Son of God dying on a
cross and optimistic idea? Isn’t it utopian to spout off scriptures about
“Peace on earth and good will towards men”? Of course it is, but we still
believe and live those fundamental concepts of Christianity. Let us never
sacrifice any aspect of Catholic teaching because it seems too good to be true.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Sure, we’re fallen. But, with God’s grace, we <i>can</i> achieve
great things! We <i>can</i> be chaste, we <i>can</i> feel beautiful, we <i>can</i> be strong, and we
<i>can</i> change our culture!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://wac.450f.edgecastcdn.net/80450F/screencrush.com/files/2012/07/f1jt6b.jpg.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://wac.450f.edgecastcdn.net/80450F/screencrush.com/files/2012/07/f1jt6b.jpg.gif" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
The Holy Foolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14599390387236193474noreply@blogger.com70tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1900510306165130405.post-73257225586074352672013-03-30T11:10:00.000-07:002013-03-30T11:37:34.426-07:00The Truth About the Easter Bunny<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Somewhere along the line (God only knows when), people
decided that the Easter Bunny is evil. </span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYzQ1wCaGQU-xvCc6hTr2dOXhatudJzmwKp-VkwuCHnBNTT5xFy_emTKle2sXHBr5UK9w8pxMLbzOrkQf9RLolUNmllR0OycuOg8sUJlQD8GldBSpiWQAR2xM4N_LJ2T5wdtU2aBoRXf2l/s1600/vikingbunny.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYzQ1wCaGQU-xvCc6hTr2dOXhatudJzmwKp-VkwuCHnBNTT5xFy_emTKle2sXHBr5UK9w8pxMLbzOrkQf9RLolUNmllR0OycuOg8sUJlQD8GldBSpiWQAR2xM4N_LJ2T5wdtU2aBoRXf2l/s200/vikingbunny.jpg" width="162" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">I've come to eat carrots and pillage<br />
...and I'm all out of carrots.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">History Channel and its ilk
(i.e. Discovery Channel, the Internet) started preaching a while back that the
Easter Bunny was some kind of pagan demon-rabbit left over from the
pre-Christian days. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Then, Evangelical Protestants pretty quickly jumped on the
bandwagon, choosing to throw the Easter Bunny and his festive eggs on the
(sometimes) proverbial evil-burnin’ fire along with Harry Potter books and joy.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">But here’s the thing: whenever you see History Channel and
Protestants uniting to say something’s pagan, it’s usually a pretty good
tipoff that said-something actually has deeply Catholic roots. This rule holds
true for Santa, Christmas trees, Halloween, Valentine’s Day, and <i>especially</i> the
Easter Bunny.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Before we get to the Easter Bunny’s origins story, however,
let’s take a moment to debunk the popular argument for his paganism.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The trouble pretty much starts and ends with a 19<sup>th</sup>
century piece on the origins of Easter customs written by Jakob Grimm (yeah,
the fairytale guy). </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGq_bLo0Jmzx-8AJTZIxnEIUnNrfTooVoWbTbuq7ytY2ns-jKEMrhlymxCY2U84_4QOMdUI4cqQh5ArAdfhP9VG35j4L6fRt5w-PAiBy241iyLP8RRBQ53sFoKtmbE76mo-nc4ClknUKs8/s1600/Ostara.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGq_bLo0Jmzx-8AJTZIxnEIUnNrfTooVoWbTbuq7ytY2ns-jKEMrhlymxCY2U84_4QOMdUI4cqQh5ArAdfhP9VG35j4L6fRt5w-PAiBy241iyLP8RRBQ53sFoKtmbE76mo-nc4ClknUKs8/s200/Ostara.jpg" width="146" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ostara you... you have<br />
a lil' something in your hair</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">
In his writings, Grimm mentions an ancient Germanic
fertility goddess known as Ostara who returned every Spring bringing rabbits
and general sexiness. He cited this goddess as the origins of the Easter Bunny,
Easter eggs, and other fun stuff like that.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The problem with this theory is that Grimm was literally the
</span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">only person</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> to ever document any such custom. In fact, the mention of Ostara is
almost a throw-away comment, making up no more than one sentence in his
writings. This, coupled with the fact that Grimm was </span><a href="http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/grimm095.html" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;" target="_blank">strongly anti-Catholic</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">,
means that using his writings as an argument for the Easter Bunny’s pagan
origins is flimsy at best.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So what are the Catholic origins of the Easter Bunny?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Our story starts with crappy science. See, despite the fact
that <a href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithonthecouch/2013/03/he-blinded-me-with-science-conversations-with-an-atheist-on-the-christian-roots-of-reason-and-science/" target="_blank">the Catholic Church pretty much invented science</a>, the Middle Ages still
put out some truly bizarre hypotheses regarding the natural world. Many of
these animal “facts” were then picked up by clergy and religious artists to
make theological points. <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf7HE3E4yV1WI2VDm_jrAXfoffnXpw5s1BbDVa2beRluELX_r-IMrM-cnchhXvmC0rkrHsRYl-hOv78OQW8BlnfxaUvK_Qwfo5E0cUxMEzx2ee04NvURhCJs-PHdVE10VMLKTNudupKCV3/s1600/eucharist+pelican.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf7HE3E4yV1WI2VDm_jrAXfoffnXpw5s1BbDVa2beRluELX_r-IMrM-cnchhXvmC0rkrHsRYl-hOv78OQW8BlnfxaUvK_Qwfo5E0cUxMEzx2ee04NvURhCJs-PHdVE10VMLKTNudupKCV3/s1600/eucharist+pelican.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At first I thought this was<br />
weird, but then...<br />
No, it's weird.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For instance, the observation of the bizarre way a
pelican feeds its young (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-q3c-hZNQc" target="_blank">vomit soup</a>, anyone?) led medieval scientists to
conclude that pelicans fed pieces of their own body to their babies. The Church
then picked this up and rolled with it, using the pelican as a <a href="http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/religion/re0682.html" target="_blank">Eucharistic parallel</a> in everything from paintings to stained-glass windows.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now, as we all know, rabbits have a tendency to multiply
like… well, rabbits. Today, we recognize that this is due to <a href="http://mentalfloss.com/article/29870/are-rabbits-prolific-everybody-says" target="_blank">insane levels of copulation</a>, but in the middle ages they blamed parthenogenesis. Unable to
fathom any species that would mate <i>that
much,</i> medieval scholars concluded that female rabbits could conceive
without the necessity of males. Rabbits began to be associated with purity and
perpetual virginity, white rabbits even more so.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhptwwN6aD1CSrbqXnSmIlbyg4IDy-AAAmANKAE-PTU7Thss4fFevXfTJ_xR0P3fkBy0Ay4WD_mb5BIL5fvbrq_NS3I0uNb7gTY4_fNjZoVCFTMilentTI2wUVz9_RgWgpkK81qwqzg1AKu/s1600/madonna+of+the+rabbit_the+louvre.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhptwwN6aD1CSrbqXnSmIlbyg4IDy-AAAmANKAE-PTU7Thss4fFevXfTJ_xR0P3fkBy0Ay4WD_mb5BIL5fvbrq_NS3I0uNb7gTY4_fNjZoVCFTMilentTI2wUVz9_RgWgpkK81qwqzg1AKu/s200/madonna+of+the+rabbit_the+louvre.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It is widely believe that Jesus'<br />
favorite story was, "Pat the Bunny".</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> Soon they were being used as
symbols of the Virgin Mary, as seen in Titian’s <i>Madonna of the Rabbit</i>. Like Mary, therefore, the rabbit was seen in
art as a herald for Christ, preparing the way for the Savior and pointing back
to Him. This is especially interesting when one considers the fact that the
Easter Bunny is traditionally held to visit on the eve of Easter (not Easter
Sunday), heralding the resurrection on the following day.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The rabbit’s popularity only grew over the years, due both
to its Marian identity in art and at least one major Eucharistic miracle
associated with the animal (you can read all about how rabbits protected
consecrated hosts from the elements <a href="http://cathapol.blogspot.com/2011/03/eucharistic-miracle-of-herentals.html" target="_blank">here</a>).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Pretty soon, the animal’s tendency to be viewed as a herald
of Christ got it included in Easter festivities around Europe. It also wasn’t
long before rabbits got lumped in with the popular <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/28/world/europe/vatican-pope" target="_blank">European emphasis on eggs</a>
which were used to represent the tomb (dying eggs originates from when
Catholics were not allowed to eat eggs during Lent. Rather than throw them
away, Christians would pickle their eggs, coloring them any number of shades
depending on the pickling method utilized. Hence, colored eggs in particular
became associated with Easter).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFhBVGf85MaRgqazUMKvnjzHVNe93TNzXFnRRq4ZhvpDRMZ_kzDMzetVD_jw6pQjjFvEMUPGUt_I2GPEwqBNeTpQZUwRZUWt69HqkERfFkbUDqzGg2jMpyUXmJmgUCoA206meo-2iJvvRA/s1600/osterhase-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFhBVGf85MaRgqazUMKvnjzHVNe93TNzXFnRRq4ZhvpDRMZ_kzDMzetVD_jw6pQjjFvEMUPGUt_I2GPEwqBNeTpQZUwRZUWt69HqkERfFkbUDqzGg2jMpyUXmJmgUCoA206meo-2iJvvRA/s320/osterhase-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Whether or not he came willingly is another story...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Rabbits and, by extension, their association with Easter eggs
became so popular that, in 1682 when Archbishop <span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georg_Franck_von_Franckenau" target="_blank">Georg Franck von Frankenau</a></span> published his
dissertation <i>De ovis paschalibus</i>
(About Easter Eggs), he saw fit to include the French tradition of a hare bringing
the colorful treats.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Eventually, as with most folksy holiday customs, Catholic
immigrants brought the “Easter Hare” (or “<a href="http://suite101.de/article/von-osterhasen-und-ostereiern-a43627#axzz2OroWe7yP" target="_blank">Osterhase</a>”) to America.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So there it is: The Easter Bunnies true (and distinctively
Catholic) origins story. And if you’ve lived most of your life believing that
Mr. Osterhase was pagan, it’s not too late! Go out, dye some eggs, buy yourself
a candy bar, and make sure to pass along the truth behind this proud Catholic
tradition.</span></div>
The Holy Foolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14599390387236193474noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1900510306165130405.post-27855900026933811722013-03-29T14:54:00.000-07:002013-03-30T11:10:47.159-07:003 Myths You Believe About Christ and His Passion<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Nobody knows </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">everything</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">
about Jesus and the Passion. I would venture to guess (humbly albeit
confidently) that nobody living can or would say such a thing. That said, it
doesn’t hurt to try to learn everything one can about Christ. With this in
mind, here are a few of the commonly-believed myths about Christ and the events
surrounding His death that deserved be debunked:</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> 1) “Jesus hated
Pharisees.”</span></h4>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This is an easy myth to
buy into because, at countless points throughout the gospels, Jesus reprimands
the Pharisees. However:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtsGCeENYrrVlsu_327y6n-lZ98OJH1pqwszKF4YKHJDvf4V4vQlVH7im4gbIPLxYf3pE1pH7l-8wAJe128TyVMwHwHHEU8nCCTvPA4I8YT5gud1IJ6nl0xMsXrktZFaK3R2gE8F7B-ylx/s1600/what+if+i+told+you.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtsGCeENYrrVlsu_327y6n-lZ98OJH1pqwszKF4YKHJDvf4V4vQlVH7im4gbIPLxYf3pE1pH7l-8wAJe128TyVMwHwHHEU8nCCTvPA4I8YT5gud1IJ6nl0xMsXrktZFaK3R2gE8F7B-ylx/s320/what+if+i+told+you.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It’s true. See, the
Pharisees were actually a sect of Judaism that – in contrast with the highly
traditional Sadducees – not only believed strongly in the Holy Spirit and
Heaven but also acknowledged the teachings of other prophets besides Moses. Far
from hating the Pharisees, Jesus was actually raised in the Pharisaical tradition,
a fact which is obvious when one realizes that Jesus often preached on the Holy
Spirit and Heaven and seemed to be constantly fulfilling the prophesies of
prophets other than Moses.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Jesus was tough on the
Pharisees for the same reason a skilled coach would be hard on a lazy player. In other words, Jesus was hard on the Pharisees because He knew what they could and should have been and yet He saw them failing miserably.</span><br />
<span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">2) “There was a rooster at the passion.”</span></h4>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Any decent Christian knows
the story of St. Peter denying Christ before the cock crowed. It’s a
particularly tragic event in the story of Christ’s Passion, and yet it also
lays the foundation for a beautiful lesson about Christ’s forgiveness.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span><br />
<span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But there’s a problem:
there were no chickens in Jerusalem during the life of Christ.</span><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> Because of
chickens’ tendency to defecate where you don’t want them to, the Talmud
strictly prohibited them entering the city lest they find their way into
the temple.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdP6XL5lpcK6Htoj2Nhg7U9ACb0JlwUBFxS3KdRvgDPZz9dxG9Y6W0NPesLckLVlrqpWantzxnUAEyneymhWxnOnyB8R8V8LgP7C5eIPOQyf9K4tA7OzjU0qlL5swcabbO9DL4cHHcGBHL/s1600/chicken.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdP6XL5lpcK6Htoj2Nhg7U9ACb0JlwUBFxS3KdRvgDPZz9dxG9Y6W0NPesLckLVlrqpWantzxnUAEyneymhWxnOnyB8R8V8LgP7C5eIPOQyf9K4tA7OzjU0qlL5swcabbO9DL4cHHcGBHL/s200/chicken.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Plus, chickens are really scary.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So why does the Bible say
that “the cock crowed”?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Well, according to <i><a href="https://secure2.convio.net/srmv/site/Ecommerce?VIEW_PRODUCT=true&product_id=1041&store_id=1101&JServSessionIdr004=d5utptzh5e.app228b" target="_blank">Because They Never Asked</a></i> author and Messianic Jew Lonnie Lane, the
original Greek text used the word “</span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">alektor</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">” to describe this “rooster”.
However, what the original English translators of the Bible failed to realize
is that “</span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">alektor</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">” can describe not only a rooster, but also a specially
designated priest in the Jewish temple. In the days of Jesus, it was this
priest’s job to arise at dawn, open up the temple, and call the people to
prayer. Because he cried out at dawn, he was commonly referred to as “</span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">alektor</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">”,
or rooster, but this turn-of-phrase was lost on the English speakers who first
translated the holy text.</span><br />
<span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What’s even more
fascinating about this fact is that it adds another layer of meaning to the
story of Peter’s denial. When the priest would wake and call the people to
prayer, he would shout three things:<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">"All the</span>
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">cohanim</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> (priests)
prepare to sacrifice! All the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Leviim</span></i><span class="apple-converted-space"><i> (Levites)
to their stations! All the Israelites come to worship!”</i><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Now imagine you’re
Peter for a moment. You’ve just denied Christ when you hear the temple crier
call out his message to <i>sacrifice, serve,
</i>and <i>worship</i> God, the exact three
things you’ve just failed in doing by denying the Lord. How much more chilling
is this story – and how much more beautiful is Christ’s eventual forgiveness of
Peter – when we know this historical detail?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">3) "Jesus was a white guy.”</span></h4>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now I know what you’re thinking: “Of course Jesus wasn’t
white! Jesus was Jewish, everyone knows that!” However, this has some
connotations that you may not be aware of.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Firstly, Jesus was definitely much tanner than most
depictions would have us believe.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Professor Vincent Wimbush, of California's Claremont
Graduate University, who is an expert on ethnic interpretations of the Bible,
says the matter of the historical color of Jesus seems to him a "flat,
dead-end issue".<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"He's of Mediterranean stock, and it's quite clear what that means.
We see people like that in the world today, and that should end the matter."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Another interesting factoid</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> is Jesus’ facial hair. Despite the fact that Jesus is often depicted
as having a neat, trimmed beard, we have to remember that Jesus was devoutly Jewish.
This means that, in addition to having a long shaggy beard, Jesus also would’ve
had payis. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Payis, or “peya” as they’re also called, are the sidelocks (long
sideburns) worn by conservative Jewish men. They’re mentioned in Leviticus
19:27 where it is decreed, “You shall not round off the peya of your head”. Therefore, many modern Jewish men (and <i>all </i>Jewish men during the time of Christ)
would have sported the long curly sideburns as a symbol of their devotion to
God.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Because of this, Jesus would've looked less like this...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://blog.adw.org/wp-content/uploads/basilica-2-detail2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://blog.adw.org/wp-content/uploads/basilica-2-detail2.jpg" width="164" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"I am Thor, god of... wait"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">...and a lot more like this:<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2rS1eSVITYUJrrNlbM4PJ_d3rqADTYZkNVdFndE0SvqLm1DXJOlUdXbqCak0Qa-KK9Lbop1U8-wxgY62k7UOjUVea3DHJPdJZzAv7rCnKNdsHUfZpUpMlHu2kGVEnWnwL1p-ea3ukmpje/s1600/matisyau.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2rS1eSVITYUJrrNlbM4PJ_d3rqADTYZkNVdFndE0SvqLm1DXJOlUdXbqCak0Qa-KK9Lbop1U8-wxgY62k7UOjUVea3DHJPdJZzAv7rCnKNdsHUfZpUpMlHu2kGVEnWnwL1p-ea3ukmpje/s320/matisyau.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"The Kingdom of God is like...<br />
a fiddler on the roof!"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span><br />
<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In closing, I have to reaffirm
that it’s impossible to know everything about our Savior. Far better men than I
have written far more on some of the lesser-known details surrounding His time
with us on earth. However, it’s always nice to get some new insights into old
assumptions, particularly when those insights allow us to see new detail in the
story of our salvation.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
The Holy Foolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14599390387236193474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1900510306165130405.post-10019291900416310862013-03-18T20:52:00.000-07:002013-06-01T21:27:26.328-07:00Modesty, Once and for All<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-weight: normal;">It seems like we hear a lot about modesty nowadays. And yet,
as much as everyone’s talking about it, nobody really seems to know what it is.
In the absence of a clear definition, many well-intentioned Catholics turn to
non-Catholic definitions of modesty, largely protestant definitions that I’ll
refer to here as “false-modesty”. Somewhat oppressive, the definition of false-modesty
varies pretty widely in severity among individuals, but always focuses almost
entirely on women and takes a stark, black-and-white approach to what one
should and should not wear.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The fundamental problem with false-modesty, however, is that
it too closely resembles the world’s view of sexuality. Let me put it this way:
as a good friend of mine once put it, “Our culture says, ‘look at that woman
because she’s a sex object’ but the culture of false-modesty says, ‘DON’T look
at that woman because she’s a sex object.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Put a different way, false-modesty twists true modesty so
that its focus is on the negative. It commands a person, especially a woman, to
cover up because either her body is evil and lust-provoking, or at the very
least, the people who are looking at her body are evil and lustful. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This is simply wrong, however. The Church has always
regarded the human body as a beautiful thing to be expressed, glorified, and
yes, even shown off (with grace and humility and in the right context), as
exhibited in St. Peter’s Basilica. A huge percentage of Pope John Paul II’s
writings speak of the beauty of the body and human sexuality. Even the Bible
attests to the beauty and glory of the woman’s form, saying in the Song of
Songs, “Thy two breasts are like two
young roes that are twins, which feed
among the lilies.”<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4QU1dh3N_LfFDa_RLNZbJmdzCyPdch1k6Wyvb7OgCVUy8N7awvQ6y6gwTFKEUPAC7Y9CPK4Pe6KHx-cGr-rKEecIl5IKmt7Pn60ac1PC-bV-e0ArsezJEaYFfR8s6PPbilkAPfV7T_kVP/s1600/song+of+solomon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4QU1dh3N_LfFDa_RLNZbJmdzCyPdch1k6Wyvb7OgCVUy8N7awvQ6y6gwTFKEUPAC7Y9CPK4Pe6KHx-cGr-rKEecIl5IKmt7Pn60ac1PC-bV-e0ArsezJEaYFfR8s6PPbilkAPfV7T_kVP/s320/song+of+solomon.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not exactly what Solomon meant...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">If this is all true, however, then
where does modesty fit in? How do we live out modesty while still glorifying
our bodies and ourselves in a deeply Catholic way?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Before we can answer the question
of modesty, however, we must first look at why we must not be immodest. The
fundamental problem with immodesty is not what it shows, but what it doesn’t
show. Put differently, <b>immodesty is sinful because it distracts from the dignity
of the person inside, not because it shows too much skin</b>. For instance, many saints have stood naked in
public and yet have managed to maintain a holy modesty. Lady Gaga, on the other
hand, could wear a nun’s habit and still be totally immodest. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So what does it mean to be
immodest? How can a person know whether they are being modest or not?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Pope John Paul II writes in
‘Love & Responsibility’ that:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“Immodesty
is present only when nakedness plays a negative role with regard to the value
of the person, when its aim is to arouse concupiscence, as a result of which
the person is put in the position of an object for enjoyment… There are certain
objective situations in which even total nudity of the body is not immodest,
since the proper function of nakedness in this context is not to provoke a
reaction to the person as an object for enjoyment, and in just the same way the
functions of particular forms of attire may vary. Thus, the body may be
partially bared for physical labor, for bathing, or for a medical examination.
If then, we wish to pass a moral judgment on particular forms of dress we have
to start from the particular functions which they serve. When a person uses
such a form of dress in accordance with its objective function we cannot claim
to see anything immodest in it, even if it involves partial nudity. Whereas the
use of such a costume outside its proper context is immodest, and is inevitably
felt to be so. For example, there is nothing immodest about the use of a
bathing costume at a bathing place, but to wear it in the street or while out
for a walk is contrary to the dictates of modesty.”</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So, according to JPII’s teaching, modesty
can never be determined by the question “what are you wearing?” Instead,
modesty can be figured out by asking the questions, “Why are you wearing it and
<i>where </i>are you wearing it?” <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY1uHm6ETCBSIdLcLh1e7nE1d_eYDNumxTsKGHqWERUXLKkNe37UhSxXQ98eZrXCAr6Gce2WrENOC9aljHqP8H8tIXgiIrYAFDfEUFcj6GtJTW-Qo2t85QhaUlyd09BasEGPfpdYmWF_d_/s1600/mind+blown.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY1uHm6ETCBSIdLcLh1e7nE1d_eYDNumxTsKGHqWERUXLKkNe37UhSxXQ98eZrXCAr6Gce2WrENOC9aljHqP8H8tIXgiIrYAFDfEUFcj6GtJTW-Qo2t85QhaUlyd09BasEGPfpdYmWF_d_/s1600/mind+blown.gif" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Didn't know that, did you?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Let’s break that down slightly:<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Firstly, <b>the modesty of anyone is directly determined by the motives of the
person</b>. If a person is wearing something because it makes him or her feel
beautiful and self confident, <i>and</i> if
that person is carrying themselves with humility and dignity, they are probably
justified in wearing whatever it is they’re wearing. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Secondly, <b>modesty is determined by the particular situation</b>. For instance, a
tasteful, modest ball gown can be totally immodest if worn in the middle of a
county fair.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now I recognize that this is a lot
to take in. Catholicism’s definition of modesty is a very cerebral and, dare I
say, liberating outlook. Still, it’s important for Catholics to do their best
to grasp the Church’s teaching and apply it to their own lives. Hopefully this
post will have begun you on the journey to a healthier and more Catholic approach
to modesty.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
The Holy Foolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14599390387236193474noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1900510306165130405.post-15986351519044630792013-03-16T18:21:00.000-07:002013-03-16T18:38:25.065-07:00I Love You Just the Way You Aren't<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">An oft-repeated phrase lately is “Always be yourself”. From</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wV1FrqwZyKw" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); -webkit-transition: background-color 0.1s linear, color 0.1s linear; opacity: 0.8; outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Lady Gaga"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Lady Gaga</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> to </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUMK4Da9Avg" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); -webkit-transition: background-color 0.1s linear, color 0.1s linear; opacity: 0.8; outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Willow Smith">Willow Smith</a>,</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> the entire culture seems to be channeling the sage wisdom of Pinkie Pie.</span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
<img alt="Pinkie pie be yourself haters gonna hate" class="alignleft" height="320" src="http://t.qkme.me/3oj52a.jpg" style="-webkit-transition: background-color 0.1s linear, color 0.1s linear; border: 0px; color: #999999; float: left; font-size: inherit; font-style: italic; font-variant: inherit; height: auto; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 20px 10px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="320" /></div>
<br />
<div style="border: 0px; color: #333333; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">T</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">his message is especially emphasized in romance. To paraphrase Princess Diaries, our culture now thinks of love as “being yourself, only with someone else”.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; color: #333333; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">However, despite the importance of staying true to our fundamentals (and I don’t deny that this is important), have we perhaps put too much stock in “being ourselves”?</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; color: #333333; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Let me explain: The current concept of what comprises “you” and “me” is a very wide definition. When I say that I want to “be myself”, what I’m usually saying is that I want to remain just as I am. The good, the bad, and the ugly. I accept every possible aspect of myself, and woe betide you if you don’t accept it too. If I plan to accept myself for “who I am”, then what you see is what you get.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; color: #333333; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Here’s the problem: If you’re reading this, chances are you’re human. (If you’re a hyper-intelligent monkey who’s learned to read, congratulations. The rest of this article doesn’t apply to you). As humans, we’re chock-full of some pretty nasty thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Maybe I’m too angry, or perhaps I’m too friendly (we all know that sometimes, that can be worse). Maybe you’re not a very clean person, or maybe you’re too clean and you make your friends uncomfortable. And no matter who you are (hyper-intelligent monkeys excluded), you know that you have a heap-ton of deep-seated emotional issues, probably all rooted in your childhood.</span></div>
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<img alt="Sigmund Freud - How does that make you feel?" class="aligncenter" src="http://cdn.memegenerator.net/instances/400x/23023160.jpg" style="-webkit-transition: background-color 0.1s linear, color 0.1s linear; border: 0px; clear: both; color: #999999; display: block; font-size: inherit; font-style: italic; font-variant: inherit; height: auto; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px auto 10px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And that’s the fundamental problem with “being yourself”. Our culture has put such an emphasis on self-acceptance that any potential for growth or self-improvement has been all but thrown out the window.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This is especially true in romance and relationships. Gone are the days when hopeless romantics searched for partners who would mold and form them into better people and vice versa. Now we look for lovers who can “love me for me” or “take me for what I am”.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The problem is, “who you are” sucks. And as I’ve already said, you’re not alone in this. But that’s the whole point of being in a romantic relationship with someone! Relationships aren’t about finding someone you’re moderately attracted to who tells you every one of your behaviors and desires are just dandy. The point of a relationship is to have what’s best about you emphasized by somebody who cares enough to do so, all while what’s worst about you is slowly carved away.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Sure, weeding out your issues and self-destructive behaviors can be painful sometimes, and we’ve all been there. But the point of love is that it carries lovers through those difficult periods and brings them out on the other side as substantially better people.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Instead of accepting who you are for what you are, try working to become a “first rate version of yourself” (thanks for that, Judy Garland). Instead of looking for someone who accepts you for you, try looking for a person who brings out your best qualities and pushes you to be a better person (Of course, they need to be ok with you pushing them to be better too).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And yes, pushing yourself to be first rate is a lot harder than accepting yourself at face value. It’s even harder to be pushed to be better by somebody you really care about. I promise, however, that you and your relationship will be stronger for it.</span></div>
<br />The Holy Foolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14599390387236193474noreply@blogger.com0