Tags
atheism, blogging, cyberbullies, faith, love, men and women, religion, Vox Day
For those who don’t know, I am about as anti-feminist and pro-Christian as it is possible to be. Yes, I should love to douse Valenti and Marcotte in a vat of grapes, a la, I love Lucy style. It offends me that these two women are held up within the pop culture as experts on women, feminism, and politics. However, I am keenly aware that their feminism, their secularism, comes in response to something unpleasant, and that underneath the bloviating and ideology beats a real human heart.
So where in the world would you acquire the false idea that men hate you and God is so awful, He should be rejected entirely?
From people like Theodore Beale and his merry men, his group of psuedo-Christians who encourage and promote such things with their own cyberbulling, men so full of brokenness and wounding they wouldn’t know the love of Christ if it bit them on the behind.
Here are Beale’s “Christian” words from the other day:
“..Open up your hate and let it pour over them. Don’t think for even one nanosecond that they don’t deserve it every bit of the criticism, of the contempt, of the disdainful dismissal that overwhelms them. They are trying to destroy Western civilization. They are trying to destroy marriage and civil society. They are advocates of child murder. They are advocates of a philosophy that makes National Socialism look merciful and Communism practical and Fascism coherent by comparison. Do not hold back. Speak back twice as hard. Speak back until they fall silent. Women are particularly susceptible to shame. So shame them relentlessly…”
This garbage literally makes me sick to my stomach. I cannot think of anything more awful then hatred promoted in the name Christ, than dehumanizing His people, His daughters, just so you can experience a little biological bliss hit of one-upmanship on the internet.
This is so wrong, but there are none so blind as those who cannot see. Beale reveals the rot in his own soul with these words, a darkness that is far worse than anything Valenti and Marcotte bring to the table.
A few have tried to appeal to Beale’s honor but he doesn’t seem to have any. Others have tried to reason with him, but he is so full of repressed knee jerk emotionalism he cannot hear. Some have tried theological arguments. He is quick however to delete even the most patient and loving comments, if they threaten his own sense of self righteousness.
“Open up your hate and let it pour over them..shame them relentlessly….”
I know women who have experienced exactly that from multiple men, often beginning as children and being reinforced over and over again. What we do is avail ourselves of the love of Christ, we forgive, we heal…. and we eventually go on to love men anyway. We achieve victory over hatred and shame and each unconditional act of love becomes a form of spiritual warfare. We are everywhere, all over the internet, praising husbands, fathers, brothers, loving people, yes even our enemies.
Beale doesn’t hate women, he hates himself. Those of us who are strong in the broken places can see that clearly. On behalf of those who are not yet strong, I apologize for Beale. Like it or not, he’s a brother in Christ or so he believes, and I’m forced to claim him. I am truly sorry for the harm he does.
sophiaschildren said:
Wow, that’s fairly amazing, particularly for people masquerading as Christians (because there’s surely no Jesus in those words or behaviors as you’ve cited for Theodore Beale and his ilk). ‘Pouring hatred’ out is actually the worst type of sorcery, and it has harmful, toxic effects. It’s concerning to know that anyone pays attention to them, but it does, no doubt, speak to the very injured hearts of many.
I also wasn’t really aware of the works of Ms. Valenti and Ms. Marcotte (I admit that I rarely read the rants, regardless of where they’re coming from). It’s always sad to me to see the cyberbullying and incivility returned measure for measure, though yes, Mr. Beale is a perfect example of why people turn away from and criticize these views and traditions. They’re not very good poster children for the movement, I’m afraid.
Thank you for sharing both posts. May the toxic sorcery of Mr. Beale and his friends be neutralized by the many who actually understand that Jesus … word and model … is a key part of Christianity.
Blessings,
Jamie
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insanitybytes22 said:
That’s a really good point about sorcery. I hadn’t thought of that, but hatred is something that can just take on a mind of it’s own, poisoning the whole well or in this case, tainting the whole loaf.
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The V-Pub said:
More hate from men in the name of religion. Don’t they realize that they do more damage than good when the spew such hatred?
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insanitybytes22 said:
No, apparently they do not.
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Paul said:
Where do you suppose his words come from? If one word is synonomous with God it is Love. Even God said so. And all else of Christanity falls out below that like a drop-down menu – just click on Love and all else is suddenly visible. How is it possible for anyone to miss that? It is written over and over and over – if any one topic can be said to be central to Chrstianity, it is Love.How is it possible to miss that?
Anyway IB, I, for one, am happy that you are not like that.
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insanitybytes22 said:
I have no idea how anyone could miss the love, Paul. It is written over and over again. I guess there are people who have never experienced that, that have no idea what it feels like. That’s an unusual thing however, Christians may be flawed, imperfect human beings, but hatred is just so contrary to everything Christ stood for.
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Eric said:
IB2:
I’ve debated with Churchian Gamers that the way to handle feminist women is to ignore them if they won’t listen to reason and reward non-feminist women with male attention instead. This likewise gets short shrift from the Churchian Gamers because they all solidly adhere to AWALT. None of them really believe there is any value in women at all.
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insanitybytes22 said:
“None of them really believe there is any value in women at all.”
I know. The problem with that is that it means you also than believe there is little or no value in your own self. That is what many feminists suffer from too, not knowing their own value as women.
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Rebecca LuElla Miller said:
Eric, your approach has a strong psychological principle behind it. As an educator I learned about “extinguishing” undesirable behavior, not by rewarding it with attention (even negative attention), but ignoring it. I don’t think we utilize that technique much with adults but maybe we should.
I wonder if that’s what Beale and his crew need, too. I don’t know though, when it comes to false teaching—because that’s what this stuff really is. If Christian men are saying, this is what you should do, and it’s contrary to God’s word, that’s false teaching.
Becky
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Eric said:
Becky:
To me that’s always seemed the logical course for defeating feminism. When young girls and women start to see that men shun relationships with those who practice feminist teachings but men turn instead to non-feminist women and give them happy homes and loving relationships—that example will change far more minds that most debate.
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ColorStorm said:
‘I’m forced to claim him,’ as a brother in Christ; that’s quite a statement, and more so if true. I understand the broken, the maimed, the unlearned, and even the ignorant, indeed I would be sympathetic. ‘I am the vine ye are the branches,’ said the Lord, and as you allude, some of us may be pretty far from the ‘trunk,’ but still connected.
What you say of this guy, and his type, are they really branches though? Fair question, just as you could ask this of me. Who are these people that the Lord says ‘I never knew you?’ yet, they traffic in scripture, are busy as bees doing things in His name.
I admit I know very little of him, gaming, (for some reason not interested) so maybe you see things more positively and that is commendable; but from what I’ve heard others say, its a whole lotta dark shadows, and if the word ‘hate’ keeps popping up from their own lips………….as if they really do own the hatred, I don’t know.
That said, I still think that is cool that you admitted if they are part of the vine, then you must own them. Speaks more to your heart of mercy, than it shows their (his) dark side.
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insanitybytes22 said:
That’s a tough one, ColorStorm. Spiritually and for our own sake we have to learn how to separate the wheat from the tares and turn away from that which has no truth to it. Also to trust that God will sort it all out in the end. with perfect justice and wisdom.
But in the world at large we are always so quick to declare, that’s not a real feminist, that’s not a real Christian, that’s not an “Islamic” extremist, as if we can claim only the cream of the crop and reject the unpleasant and our hands will remain clean. Like it or not, I get to pay the price for what the Beales of the world do. Those who flee from Christ because of him, pay and even higher price.
What can I say, the body of Christ is a bit like a family and sometimes we just really go and put the fun in dysfunction. 😉
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ColorStorm said:
Yea, its not easy, but we know the judge of all the earth will do right, perfectly as a matter of fact.
Now there is a topic, ‘judging the world perfectly.’ Humbling especially, because there is the idea of ‘judging angels.’
When it’s all said and done there really are only two to be concerned with, Adam or Christ. I could only hope I gave the latter more.
Excellent response to this btw ib.
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thetruthisstrangerthanfiction said:
“Theadore Beale”…? Sounds like some squeaky little student at Hogwarts, no wonder he opted for the more macho, quasi-superhero sounding moniker of “Vox Day”…
I admit, there is an odd sense of therapeutic cleansing that seems to go on, every time you write something which prompts me to click over into such swamps of male-gamer-nominal-“Christian”-idiocy… It has the reverberating effect of making me not want to touch a video game or expose myself to meaningless sci-fi/fantasy escapism, when I get a glance of just how ridiculously self-absorbed, and oblivious to the REAL world, that the extreme lengths of marinating oneself in those mental/emotional environments seems to foster…
These dolts make me want to just walk away from techno-society altogether and go build a cabin in the woods or something, where my wife and daughter would never have to worry about coming across the disgusting anti-Christ sentiments of guys like this ever again….
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insanitybytes22 said:
“…where my wife and daughter would never have to worry about coming across the disgusting anti-Christ sentiments of guys like this ever again..”
That’s a good point, truth. You know who really dislikes this stuff even more than I do? Men, people like you, like my husband, fathers, brothers, sons. There are men who do just that, wall themselves and their families off from church and religion because they simply refuse to have anything to do with such hostility.
This made me laugh, “marinating oneself. ” We have an ongoing blogging joke about being “immersed” in faith rather than “indoctrinated.” I’ll add “marinating oneself” to the mix. 😉
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ColorStorm said:
Geez, wish there was ‘edit’ chance.
That could have said a tad better. ‘Quite a statement,’ if He is a brother, not that I doubted ‘your claiming him.’
sorry if that was clear as mud ib.
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Karen B said:
“Known by our fruit” as is said. You nailed it on this one IB. How and why the Lord does not ‘step in’, just for the sake of His Name, remains a puzzle to me. I guess the more things change, the more they remain as they were.
Was it not the Bible-believing religious establishment who put Jesus to death? It was the ‘church’, not the world. What a relief God cannot be manipulated! Only way I understand one can get to His heart is through the narrow road of repentance. “It was me!”
Hosea’s words in the 2nd chapter still leaves me reassured (yes, sometimes frustrated!), that God deals with us not as we act to one another, nor does He extend His mercy because any deserve it. It seems to simply know we need it.
Flannery O’Connor says it far better than I: “To know oneself is above all to know what one lacks. It is to measure oneself against the Trust, not the other way around.”
“Father, forgive them…” thanks again IB
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insanitybytes22 said:
Thank you for your kind words. They are much appreciated. I don’t know why the Lord doesn’t step in for the sake of His name, but I do know that He is trustworthy and knows exactly what He is doing, always. Sometimes I catch a glimpse of His purpose and those times are delightful. Other times I’m completely baffled. I suppose that’s how He keeps things interesting for us 😉
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sonshinegreene said:
That’s why I can’t identify myself as a christian anymore. I mean, I follow the teachings of the Bible, as well as other religious texts, but have taken the step instead to call myself spiritual. I have nothing against organized religion, for those it works for it works.
But I found that for me, following a teaching that is essentially love (A prevailing theme in the new testaments and many other religious works.) is what works out best for myself and those around me.
The claiming of a brother is another thing I completely agree with. In the end, we are all the same stuff, made from the same substances of the universe. We are the universe experiencing itself, and as such, that man is included in it. So while i may not agree with what he says, I understand on another, deeper level, it does connect to all of us.
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insanitybytes22 said:
Yes, this is why many people don’t like to identify as Christian anymore. I just try to remember whose name that is in there and what He stood for.
I really liked this, “we are the universe experiencing itself, and as such, that man is included in it..” There is definitely an interconnectedness to us all and as much as I’d like to just poof a few people away, it doesn’t really work that way 😉
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lang3063 said:
An interesting thing comes up every time I read a post about deplorable behavior by people calling themselves Christians. “Oh yeah, that guy’s words and actions are what drove me from the church. I can’t be a Christian because of him.” Sorry but it doesn’t wash. Nobody determines my identity but God and me (the me part is arguable but it makes sense in this context.) I’ve found that committed believers have the strongest sense of their own individuality and the most secure identity. I don’t abandon my wife because I see rotten marriages.
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insanitybytes22 said:
That’s a really good point. What you go seek, you will often find. So if you’re looking for a good reason to not be a Christian, it will come your way just like clockwork.
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Arkenaten said:
One could just as easily say if one were looking for a good reason not to be Muslim, Hindu, or Jewish, Jehovah;s Witness, or Creationist.
In fact, I can think of a great many reasons.
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toomajj said:
Extremism of any form, whether feminism or shfnrjdism, comes when we stop living for the kingdom of heaven. Our unbounded desire for the infinity of God then turns to unbounded desire alone, insatiable thirst for exotic isms and theories, aliens and quantum foams, all the claptrap we pour inside ourselves so to compensate for our lack of importance by creating virtual self importance. Ismism is the common symptom of our fall from The Fall. Yes, it is a new low: We fell even from the fall. 😉
I hope as a man I’m allowed to be anti-feminist. I really love women but I despise feminism as I do any ism.
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Arkenaten said:
Sadly, the accusation, ”Why do atheists hate God?” it all too often bandied about, especially on the internet.
I cannot speak for other atheists, but personally I hate nothing. It is a waste of energy and I consider this the most ridiculous accusation it is possible to utter. For why would anyone hate something there is no evidence for or one simply had no belief in?
Love him or ‘hate’ him, Richard Dawkins regularly receives a lot of hate mail which he terms Love Letters.
Every Christian should watch this at least once.
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Frank S. said:
Beale in his typical slimy fashion has chosen to misrepresent criticism from Christians on his comments as follows:
“I was not surprised there has been an amount of pushback against the idea that a Christian should do anything except sit on his ass and prayerfully expect that God will take care of everything in due time.”
This is why you should never take his word for anything, but check with the source.
Proverbs 6:16-19 could have been written with him directly in mind.
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insanitybytes22 said:
Offensive little bugger, isn’t he?
As a Christian, very seldom have I ever been allowed to sit around and prayerfully expect God to take care of everything.
In fact, that’s part of the reason I wrote this post. Beale hurts himself and he hurts others too. I wish he would let me rather gently explain that to him, but if not, I’m compelled to speak out against this kind of nonsense, loudly and frequently.
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