NAIVE CHRISTIAN ZEAL

From City Light News, October, 2007. When a sinner repents to follow Jesus he is at once perfectly right with the LORD whose wrath was set to turn him over to hell at the moment of death. The righteousness of Christ is laid to his account. But in the Christian’s practice, though his stony heart has been made alive to God by a divine regenerative act, perfection does not instantly follow in all his deeds. This is why the new Christian is called a ‘babe’ in the Bible. He has a lot of growing up to do now that he’s been born into God’s family. And like a literal babe, he’s fascinated by all that he sees, and out of genuine, instinctive zeal for growth, he puts a lot of stuff in his mouth besides milk: dangerous objects that he doesn’t comprehend are bad to eat. The babe is zealous. This is good, even wonderful. He is also naïve. This, in spite of new eyes that see spiritual matters old philosopher kings are utterly blind to. Many Christians, possibly the majority of them these days when shallow theology is the main course, remain babes their whole life long. At the very least, every Christian remains a babe in many things, no matter how big he may get in some.

There is a kind of zeal the Bible speaks of that is ‘not according to knowledge’ (Romans 10.2.) This refers to Judaizers who go about working in vain for a righteousness they instead might have declared to them if only they believed on Jesus. The Christian babe often exhibits a zeal, I will not say as ignorant as that, for by faith he knows Jesus, but one that more perfect knowledge would help guide in the right direction.

I take it that The Miracle Theatre in Tennessee took issue mainly with those words I have underlined in the article. Is this statement ‘blasphemy’? Is it not probable that the work performed by she who made the comment is something we would loathe to have Jesus’ name associated with anyway? She may have spoken roughly, but did she not speak truthfully? Would that more actors repeated her very words upon receiving a like award! Pretty much all Jesus has to do with Emmy-like shows and awards is the part he plays in the Agency of upholding the universe for the actors’ continuance in it.

So The Miracle Theatre sends a petition to Hollywood executives concerning this matter. If members of this Christian theatre group were ‘simple concerning the evil’ (Romans 16.19) going on in Hollywood and the Emmys like they’re supposed to be, they’d not know who Griffin is, what she played in, or how to contact movie execs in the ‘city of angels.’ Artsy Christians are far too familiar with what’s going on in the ‘liberal arts,’ if you get my meaning. Their eyes are fixed on the awards of this world more than they care to admit. And just imagine a first century Christian performing a spectacle rather than being made one! It just doesn’t fit. That said: zeal for the Lord is praiseworthy; defending his honor is brave-hearted; and because of the good intention involved, even that zeal which is misguided may sparkle in God’s eyes. But chiding someone for saying Jesus had nothing to do with an award, when the production that won it is not something Jesus would approve of in the first place, this is that kind of wild baby zeal that too often misses the mark.

THE WEAKER VESSEL

Feminism has come a long way. Who can deny it? Women have won the right to vote. They wear pants instead of dresses. They crop their hair. They hang out in bars. They sleep around. Lassies now spit in public. And maidens walk around with uncovered behinds. That’s progress! Grown men are scared to say as much as boo against the feminist ‘cause’ because the wrath stored up from the suppression of her ‘true self’ is poised to unleash and devour at the slightest provocation or offence. But still, the female sex is the weaker vessel. And no matter how hard the older, rougher feminists try to fashion lionhearted she-men out of tender babes, the girls, weak vessels that they naturally are, still crack like pottery to loose their tears, especially when adversity ends in defeat.

God has charitably prevented feminists from expunging from the fawn-like sex the ‘sugar and spice and all things nice’ that she is providentially endowed with. Mannish men would lose the will to pursue her if the female person were made completely warlike and invulnerable.

Girls and women are taking up the attitude and putting on the appearance of male-like toughness. But their native weaknesses remain. And these weaknesses are taken advantage of by opportunistic men. The woman, being the weaker vessel, craves the security and romance of a marriage contract. “He took me in his strong white arms/He bore me on his horse away” (Christina Rossetti.) This is her desire. She can never entirely disown it. Even the so-called career woman, the woman who thrives on ‘girl power’ and whose motto is ‘I am woman, hear me roar’—even she craves the marriage certificate, even while, and especially when, she protests most against it. Our modern woman feels forced to obey the feminist command to act as if she needs no man. But her natural desire is for a lord to call her own. So she “takes on a sexuality that looks identical to male fantasy and calls it sexual liberation in order to legitimize pandering to men while still looking like a strong woman” (Joan Sewell.) If a woman can’t get a man by virtue, she’ll try and get him by vice. But this type of ‘sexual liberation’ she adopts liberates man to exploit her, as George Gilder put it. Do men not hold women hostage to sex by empty promises of marriage? Not only do these men abuse woman virtue, but they waste woman’s valuable time while they do it, sometimes until these poor concubines have lost their allure; and hence from there they must go it alone, broken, and bereft of the principal means for securing the marriage they’ve always dreamed of. This heartbreaking aftereffect is happening on a large scale. With virtue gone and beauty fading, what’s left to attract a man, good or bad? The intervention of God is greatly needed at such a time! The woman’s heart then cries about how “Sweet sweet love was/Now bitter bitter grown to me” (Rossetti.)

The weaker vessel is meant to dwell with a husband who loves and cares for her so much that she is not ashamed to call him lord (1 Peter 3.) But without such a husband and even with one, who could be more relieved than a weaker vessel to accept the invitation of Lord Jesus?—,“Come unto me, all that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11.28.)