Men are pigs – advice for women wallowing for courtship

Whitney Houston once asked, how will you know if he really loves you?  There are millions upon millions of single ladies out there, musing about the pairing possibilities in their general proximity. This is not unique to the human condition, but is ingrained within much of the Animalia Kingdom. Their eyes are peeled for the magnificent, and at times odd, courtship rituals that the opposite sex will use to entice them.  These displays assure the female that the male is strong, beautiful, capable of supporting a family, and healthy.  Sexual dimorphism is the reality and starting point for the continuation of humanity.  And it creates a wondrous sexual tension, a magnetism, perhaps an animal magnetism, to draw these anatomically divergent creatures together.

Plato recognized this tension in his theory of forms.  He contemplated that there was only one “formal” reality for humanity: and that the male and female sexes, were infact two different halves of that form.  Meaning, that men and women were akin to puzzles, and only find completion when they come together in a marital arrangement.  This was the only form, as far as I am aware of, that required two pieces to find completion, or wholeness.  I say this not because I’m a Platonist or that I believe you need to be married to he whole, heaven forbid, but to illustrate the “formal” beauty and purity seen in this relationship.  Paul was actually quite fond of the single lifestyle (1 Corinthians 7:8).  But even the pre-Christian ancient Greeks recognized the importance of this union.

Dark Spirits - A black hole trying to take your light

We decided to meet at a coffee shop.  Two strangers brought together by a flyer I posted around town.  A week prior, I had made a flyer inviting people who have questions about God to phone me.  It also invited those suffering from depression to seek me out.  I try things, and if they don’t work, I try other things.  Occasionally, by God’s grace, He elects to use me for some small task.  This was one of those days.

Prosperity doctrine – a graceful elixir, going to the highest bidder

The idea that holiness equates to monetary gain is not new.  It has enjoyed a resurgence over the last generation in the outskirts of some Christian circles: encompassing different forms, yet maintaining a familiarity in message.  I say this not to diminish these believers, for many undoubtfully have a “rich” relationship with the Lord (forgive the pun).  The Bible is a big book, and takes a concerted amount of effort to understand … lifetimes of effort.  As you read it to gain understanding for some query you had, you will find answers, and also more questions based on your greater understanding.  This leads you to dig deeper, perpetuating a cycle of ever increasing theological maturity:  weaning you from the spiritual milk and giving you some doctrinal beef jerky to chew on.  Your curiosity of superficial epidermal inquiry will gradually entice you to dissect deeper, and explore wider, until you find yourself at the bone of the matter, studying the marrow.  While admittedly there are some charlatan preachers amongst us, these are not representative of their congregants in the pews.  And it’s usually not difficult to help the confused scratch through the surface of the subject to see the furuncle a particular teaching can generate.