Greetings!
Short introduction this week. Thanks for reading!
Here we go!
- Object Gillette?
A lot of talk is going around about the Gillette commercial “We Believe: The Best Men Can Be.” I’ve watched it a couple of time. If you haven’t watched it yet, here you go:
I think there are a lot of good messages in the commercial. What I get from it is boys and men should treat people with respect. That means don’t mistreat other boys physically or verbally. Don’t ogle over women, harass them or especially abuse them. Encourage other men and boys to follow same respectful guidelines instead of condoning wrong behavior, especially when it’s displayed in the entertainment world in a comical fashion.
So what’s wrong with the commercial? Al Mohler offers his thoughts in his Friday, Jan. 18 edition of The Briefing:
“The ad is a symptom of the larger cultural problem, condemning toxic masculinity while appearing to have no idea of what healthy masculinity might be. That’s going to be a problem for Gillette. Some of the responses on the internet to Gillette, some of the milder ones quotable on the briefing included men asking, ‘Does this mean we are now to start shaving our legs?’ There’s a huge confusion in the entire culture right now over what it means to be a man.”
Confusion over what is healthy masculinity—that could be a problem. From a Christian worldview, instructions of how to be a man of good character can be found in The Bible, and accountability to maintain good character can be found in spending time with other Christian men.
My friend Bubba Burcham offered his thoughts about the Gillette commercial on Facebook and how to handle the troubling issues featured in the ad:
“The solution is found in what I call intentional fatherhood. Dennis Rainey said ‘if a father doesn’t give his son a clear vision of manhood the world will.’ I have 4 sons, and it’s my responsibility to give them a vision for what manhood can be for them. Every young male needs a map, a guide to manhood. I refuse to stand by and let my sons stumble their way through life. I know it is my responsibility to guide them and inspire others to do likewise.”
Bubba is the new coordinator for the annual men’s retreat at Falls Creek Baptist Conference Center called Men’s Rewired, April 26-27. Men’s Rewired has been a difference maker for a lot of men over the years, and I am certain it will provide a lot of solutions for the issues presented in the Gillette ad.
Visit www.menrewired.com to find out more about this powerful conference.
- Pensive about Karen Pence
Before this week, would you have readily named Vice President Mike Pence’s wife’s name? I’m sure I heard it in the last three years, and I’m glad to know it’s the same name as my wife.
Karen Pence is now a part-time art teacher at a Christian school in Springfield, Va., which is outside Washington, D.C. That’s it. That’s the big news. This is what got the New York Times, Washington Post and CNN all in a ruckus.
I could give more detail, but I could not explain it better than what is presented in David Prince’s article “Karen Pence, Are You Now, or Have You Ever Been, Part of a Christian Ministry?” Even the title is a great alluding quip.
- Prince on Pence Part 2
Just as I was looking to link David Prince’s article in the previous topic, I came upon a follow-up article Prince wrote as he received backlash from the first piece, saying he condones bigotry. Again, this is about Mrs. Pence being a part-time art teacher at a Christian school.
I think it’s obvious there are two worldviews – the secular worldview and the Christian worldview. It is unfortunate so many people with a secular worldview come to the wrong conclusion about Christianity or willingly refuse to understand the Christian faith.
In his article “Love is Not Hate,” which he posted less than an hour before I’m writing this, Prince gives another excellent explanation.
“Just because you disagree with Christians doesn’t mean they harbor animus against you.”
- Pro-life Part 1
Today is the annual March for Life in Washington D.C. There’s lot of content on the internet this week sharing thoughts about the Sanctity of Life. To honor this annual stroll through our nation’s capital, I will share three great pieces reflecting the importance of Sanctity of Life.
The first one is from Southern Baptist President J.D. Greear, who gives fantastic responses to those who challenge Pro-life advocates. Check out “Sanctity of Life: Beware the distractions.” I love how Greear points out the majority of the arguments that pro-abortion people make are “red herrings.”
And it’s true. Abortion supporters constantly distract from the main argument that the unborn baby is a human life.
- Pro-life Part 2
Would you like to read a great synopsis on the March for Life? The one written by Alexandra DeSanctis is fantastic. Check out “Whom Are We Marching For?”
The whole piece is great, but here’s her final paragraph:
“These thousands of marchers believe what they say: that every fetus is a unique human being with the fundamental right to life, a right on which all of our other rights are predicated. What sustains the pro-life movement is that it has truth on its side.”
The part I bolded is exactly why I believe the right to life is the most important issue in our country. It is the issue I use to evaluate every politician and whether or not I would consider them worthy of my vote. I hope you consider the Sanctity of Life as strongly as I do.
- Pro-life Part 3
I share for my final pro-life piece a video of Oklahoma U.S. Senator James Lankford who gives a powerful address from the Senate floor on the Value of Life.
Here’s one of my favorite excerpts from his speech:
“I have folks that have recently said to me, ‘I understand this is a legislative issue, but it is really a faith issue. This is really about your faith, and your faith shouldn’t legislate who I am.’ Well, I would only tell you that cultures all make decisions, including our culture, not just about their faith but their values as a culture. Stealing is also a religious issue. It’s in the 10 Commandments, so maybe as a culture we shouldn’t ban stealing because the 10 Commandments says you shouldn’t steal. But no one would really say that because as a culture we all look at it and say, ‘Theft is a problem. You shouldn’t be able to do that.’ Cultures makes decisions based on their own personal values. So it is not just a religious issue, but our faith does impact our personal lives and decisions. And it does affect who we are.”
Here’s Lankford’s entire speech