False accusations of idolatry and the irresponsibility of gift of singleness advocates
Captain Sensible writes: I have only just come across this comment posted by Lisa Brown on Debbie Maken's blog, which can be found in its entirety under the "Voice of Reason" thread.
There is so much good stuff in it on idolatory and the "gift of singleness" (GoS), that I have taken the liberty of posting a few extracts here. I hope that is okay with you, Lisa?
"Accusations of idolatry are especially cruel and painful to bear, particularly when they are hurled at us by people who are supposed to be our brothers and sisters in the Lord. Of course, such people usually seek to excuse themselves by saying that they are 'speaking the truth in love', and if you happen to be hurt by it, it is your own fault, it's further proof that your heart is not right before the Lord. I am extremely concerned about the amount of emotional blackmail disguised as "Christian love" that is being directed toward single Christian men and women. It is absolutely appalling to me that a vast majority of people who make these accusations are married with children of their own. Speaking as a Mother with a young child, how anyone who has a child, who knows the love of their own child, how that person can then turn around and be so heartless, how they could dare to tell a hurting, lonely person that it is a sin to want to be loved and to have a family is unfathomable, utterly incomprehensible to me. In my opinion, such conduct toward lonely single people is reprehensible, and I have no respect for people who make such statements."
"In my opinion, the GOS advocates have not thought through to the end result of their teaching. In coming decades, there will be untold thousands of Christian men and Christian women who will be heading into old age without the comfort and support of a husband/wife, children or grandchildren. Tragically, I do not see the GOS advocates stepping forward to fill the gap in these people's lives. I do not see a majority of GOS advocates visiting single people in nursing homes, reading the Bible to them, praying with them, providing comfort and solace to these people in their final days on this earth. On the contrary, most GOS advocates that I have seen refuse to take any action towards alleviating the suffering of single people. They refuse to accept any responsibility at all for the mess that their teaching has helped to create."
"(A)lthough accusations of 'idolatry' are upsetting to any human being with feelings...I do not take such accusations seriously. More importantly, neither do I take the people who make such accusations seriously."
There is so much good stuff in it on idolatory and the "gift of singleness" (GoS), that I have taken the liberty of posting a few extracts here. I hope that is okay with you, Lisa?
"Accusations of idolatry are especially cruel and painful to bear, particularly when they are hurled at us by people who are supposed to be our brothers and sisters in the Lord. Of course, such people usually seek to excuse themselves by saying that they are 'speaking the truth in love', and if you happen to be hurt by it, it is your own fault, it's further proof that your heart is not right before the Lord. I am extremely concerned about the amount of emotional blackmail disguised as "Christian love" that is being directed toward single Christian men and women. It is absolutely appalling to me that a vast majority of people who make these accusations are married with children of their own. Speaking as a Mother with a young child, how anyone who has a child, who knows the love of their own child, how that person can then turn around and be so heartless, how they could dare to tell a hurting, lonely person that it is a sin to want to be loved and to have a family is unfathomable, utterly incomprehensible to me. In my opinion, such conduct toward lonely single people is reprehensible, and I have no respect for people who make such statements."
"In my opinion, the GOS advocates have not thought through to the end result of their teaching. In coming decades, there will be untold thousands of Christian men and Christian women who will be heading into old age without the comfort and support of a husband/wife, children or grandchildren. Tragically, I do not see the GOS advocates stepping forward to fill the gap in these people's lives. I do not see a majority of GOS advocates visiting single people in nursing homes, reading the Bible to them, praying with them, providing comfort and solace to these people in their final days on this earth. On the contrary, most GOS advocates that I have seen refuse to take any action towards alleviating the suffering of single people. They refuse to accept any responsibility at all for the mess that their teaching has helped to create."
"(A)lthough accusations of 'idolatry' are upsetting to any human being with feelings...I do not take such accusations seriously. More importantly, neither do I take the people who make such accusations seriously."
posted by Captain Sensible at 2:27 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home