You know when you're in a room listening to someone speak and the atmosphere is electric, pregnant with energy, passion, a sense of collectivism and the possibility for change, well that's what my last two days have been filled with.
I was at an absolutely fantastic conference (http://www.ncofca.org.uk/). It felt subversive, radical, powerful and true. During the morning of the second day when we had the privilege of listening to Gail Dines I found myself praying urgently for her under my breath, as I watched a woman in front of me tutting and shacking her head. It felt intensely spiritual and had it bean a Christian event I'd have been tempted to say the woman in front was manifesting because the pure truth Gail was speaking was transformational. I don't know if Gail will appreciate my prayers but I will continue to pray for her; what she is doing is confronting some of the darkest places on this planet.
As I listened to her expose the lies of the porn industry, and as she kept reminding us; it is an industry, I just couldn't stop thinking that the church really really needs to rise up on this one. First of all we need a paradigm shift, we need to stop seeing this as an issue of personal purity, but as a major injustice and satanic oppression of human beings, but that's a blog for a latter date.
The last session was lead by Julia Long, discussing activism in the UK, it was a good note to finish on and made me very excited about what we can achieve. During the discussion someone made the point that there are many anti-porn feminists and pro-feminists, who tirelessly write and blog about these issues and you know what they face? Abusive responses, threats of violence, threats of rape, threats to rape their children. I sat there thinking 'and Christians think they're persecuted because very sensible health and safety laws mean they are not alowed to wear necklaces' (That is what the cross wearing is about by the way the woman at BA was told she could where a cross lapel badge).
As I watched a video of Feminist Friday's activists covering up lads bags with paper bags with feminist slogans on and then do an exuberant and joyful conga around Tesco's in their pyjama's. I thought that's the sort of subversive protest Jesus was talking about when he said 'go the extra mile'.
If Christian's want to understand what persecution is and what radical subversive protest is they could learn a lot of lessons from the feminist movement. I want to preach like Gail Dines and I want church to feel more like a feminist rally.
During the discussion at the end Gail referenced the civil rights movement in the states and that it had worked because it had mobilised the church and she asked what is our 'church' today. No guesses that the answer wasn't the church, people suggested PTA's, unison, it saddened me.
So the action I tock away was to think about how we can rally the church to respond, appropriately, any ideas? (I am aware that there was a Christian conference called 'Porn Scares' on the same day - was sad not to be able to be at both and interested about what came out of that.) Come on church lets get mad.
I was at an absolutely fantastic conference (http://www.ncofca.org.uk/). It felt subversive, radical, powerful and true. During the morning of the second day when we had the privilege of listening to Gail Dines I found myself praying urgently for her under my breath, as I watched a woman in front of me tutting and shacking her head. It felt intensely spiritual and had it bean a Christian event I'd have been tempted to say the woman in front was manifesting because the pure truth Gail was speaking was transformational. I don't know if Gail will appreciate my prayers but I will continue to pray for her; what she is doing is confronting some of the darkest places on this planet.
As I listened to her expose the lies of the porn industry, and as she kept reminding us; it is an industry, I just couldn't stop thinking that the church really really needs to rise up on this one. First of all we need a paradigm shift, we need to stop seeing this as an issue of personal purity, but as a major injustice and satanic oppression of human beings, but that's a blog for a latter date.
The last session was lead by Julia Long, discussing activism in the UK, it was a good note to finish on and made me very excited about what we can achieve. During the discussion someone made the point that there are many anti-porn feminists and pro-feminists, who tirelessly write and blog about these issues and you know what they face? Abusive responses, threats of violence, threats of rape, threats to rape their children. I sat there thinking 'and Christians think they're persecuted because very sensible health and safety laws mean they are not alowed to wear necklaces' (That is what the cross wearing is about by the way the woman at BA was told she could where a cross lapel badge).
As I watched a video of Feminist Friday's activists covering up lads bags with paper bags with feminist slogans on and then do an exuberant and joyful conga around Tesco's in their pyjama's. I thought that's the sort of subversive protest Jesus was talking about when he said 'go the extra mile'.
If Christian's want to understand what persecution is and what radical subversive protest is they could learn a lot of lessons from the feminist movement. I want to preach like Gail Dines and I want church to feel more like a feminist rally.
During the discussion at the end Gail referenced the civil rights movement in the states and that it had worked because it had mobilised the church and she asked what is our 'church' today. No guesses that the answer wasn't the church, people suggested PTA's, unison, it saddened me.
So the action I tock away was to think about how we can rally the church to respond, appropriately, any ideas? (I am aware that there was a Christian conference called 'Porn Scares' on the same day - was sad not to be able to be at both and interested about what came out of that.) Come on church lets get mad.
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