I would say that the following is a snarky, though disturbingly accurate portrayal of what its like being a woman in our culture. And we have it pretty good here in North America.

Rape culture is 1 in 6 women being sexually assaulted in their lifetimes. Rape culture is not even talking about the reality that many women are sexually assaulted multiple times in their lives. Rape culture is the way in which the constant threat of sexual assault affects women’s daily movements. Rape culture is telling girls and women to be careful about what you wear, how you wear it, how you carry yourself, where you walk, when you walk there, with whom you walk, whom you trust, what you do, where you do it, with whom you do it, what you drink, how much you drink, whether you make eye contact, if you’re alone, if you’re with a stranger, if you’re in a group, if you’re in a group of strangers, if it’s dark, if the area is unfamiliar, if you’re carrying something, how you carry it, what kind of shoes you’re wearing in case you have to run, what kind of purse you carry, what jewelry you wear, what time it is, what street it is, what environment it is, how many people you sleep with, what kind of people you sleep with, who your friends are, to whom you give your number, who’s around when the delivery guy comes, to get an apartment where you can see who’s at the door before they can see you, to check before you open the door to the delivery guy, to own a dog or a dog-sound-making machine, to get a roommate, to take self-defense, to always be alert always pay attention always watch your back always be aware of your surroundings and never let your guard down for a moment lest you be sexually assaulted and if you are and didn’t follow all the rules it’s your fault.

— Melissa McEwan (Rape Culture 101)

Exerpt from The Politics of Jesus

The believer's cross is no longer any and every kind of suffering, sickness, or tension, the bearing of which is demanded. The believer's cross is, like that of Jesus, the price of social nonconformity. It is not, like sickness or catastrophe, an inexplicable, unpredictable suffering; it is the end the end of a path freely chosen after counting the cost. It is not... an inward wrestling of the sensitive soul with self and sin; it is the social reality of representing in an unwilling world the Order to come. - John Howard Yoder, p. 96

God As My Reason

Lately I've realized that I've been avoiding God the Person. Last week when my friend asked me, "What has God been teaching you lately?" I didn't really have an answer. That sort of thing had stopped being something I think about too much anymore.

I think this has been going on for quite awhile now. Its slipped under the radar screen though because actually, God is a big part of my life. I'm a vegetarian because of God. I go to church because of God. I don't have sex because of God. I try not to support sweat shops or other forms of exploitative business because of God. I conduct my personal relationships in a certain way because of God. I'm starting a community house next year because of God. The list goes on and on. God is my reason for the way that I am living.

While that's all good, its caused me to interact with God in such a way that I do not think of Him as a Friend or a Father but simply as the justification behind my sense of reality. God is a concept, a concept that invented another concept called redemption, and I'm devoted to having that redemptive concept infiltrate my life. Its a beautiful philosophy and I love it.

But at one point, I just really loved God the Person. I loved going on walks with God and feeling His love shine down on me. I loved having every thought be like a prayer. I loved actually having a sense of God whispering this, that or the other thing into my heart on a regular basis.

I miss that. I miss God.

I seriously need to spend some quality time just with God.