GAR GAR GAR
I tried to laugh at this article Crazy Religious Person Calls for Burning of Video Games, but as I kept reading I ended up at this “youth program”:
“For young ladies, we have a ministry called Vessels of Honor. It’s about life skills for young women. We try to be more proactive than reactive, so we do counseling to prevent teen pregnancy, and even if you do become a teen parent ,you can still succeed. We have a youth service every second Friday of each month.”
Oh no he didn’t. He did NOT just say that. He did NOT just use a word which has been used to belittle and oppress women for centuries in the name of religion. I’m sorry, Mr. Pastor, you have lost all credibility. I am more than just a Vessel. I, too, can apply for jobs and do more than push out babies.
And besides that, the term “vessel” used to describe a woman’s role in reproduction is damaging and misleading. Now we have science that tells us that women do MORE than just carry the child of a man. We actually CONTRIBUTE to the entire process. Half of that child’s genes are from the mother. I understand the desire to live in the dark ages (well, sort of), but this sort of language is really not appropriate.
You’ll notice the lack of any career-based programs for young women. This is even more appalling because it is important, if not necessary in our society right now to have women in the workforce, both individually and for the economy as a whole, but I suppose he wants us in our place.
I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that crazy religious people are sexist and destructive, but I always am.
No related posts.
Your last paragraph pretty much sums up my reaction.
When they start by calling for the burning of video games, no amount of bigotry and idiocy will surprise me.
Religion and gender roles have always confused me. As a spiritual woman who works towards interfaith movements, I don’t feel justified in condemning religions. Religion in the extreme frightens me (gosh – anything in the extreme is frightening), but I always feel compelled to add a “but” at the end of each sentence.
On my college debate team was a devout Muslim, foreign-born in a Middle East country. Doing research on global events one day, we got into a heated debate on the role of women. He believed that women and men had different roles in life. I thought this idea disgustingly sexist – what if a woman could and was better at the man’s job and vice versa? There was no resolution to the argument, but it struck me, because during no point did he ever admit that he felt women were inferior, even though he was constantly inferring it. It frightens me how we can hold onto our beliefs without recognizing their impact or truth.
In Judaism, at least, the concept of being a vessel (k’li) for holiness is not at all sex-linked. Are you sure it is in this case?
I didn’t read the article about video games, and I’m certainly not going to support that position, but regarding the use of the word vessels, I think you may be reading something into it that isn’t intended.
My frist thought on seeing the title of the group was from the bible passage in 2 Timothy verses 20 and 21
20But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour.
21If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.
¶22Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
Maybe it was meant as you said, but the idea that we (Christians, not women) are vessels is used in several places in the New Testament and is a fairly common thought in many churches. Not vessels for procreation, but vessels that can fill ourselves with things that bring honor to our Lord or that bring dishonor Him.
As Christians, many of us attempt the former and also attempt to help fellow Christians do the same.
Regarding the term “vessel” as sex-linked –>
I am taking the vast majority of my information from history classes rather than religious dogma, so I appreciate your explanations, since I am fairly oblivious to most of the smaller points of the Christian (or just about any) religion, except when it pertains to situations which are exceptionally historically significant.
However, it is hard for me to make the connections that you have made when I assume that the youth program is titled effectively for its purpose. You’ll notice it focuses on pregnancy, rather than about accepting the love of a god or acting in whoever’s name (I’m assuming this is a goal as well, but not the focus of the group itself). If this WERE the case, I could certainly see your point, or if it were fairly gender-neutral on either account (encouraging women to be good workers or encouraging men to be good fathers).
I wish I could link an article I read about 5 years ago regarding this exact issue, but I can’t find anything like it, as it seems the hot topic right now is about abortion rights, not historical precedence of the term.
I agree with Aaron about the use of the term “vessel.” Maybe it’s just a matter of perspective, because the idea that “vessel” had anything to do with carrying a child never crossed my mind.
In addition, might we consider giving Mr. Pastor the benefit of the doubt on the whole women aren’t allowed to do anything but have babies? When I read his description of the women’s program, I understood the references to teen pregnancy as something additional that is specific to the program for young women.
Based on this interview, I don’t know enough about his thoughts on the proper roles for women to be able to condemn him for thinking women can’t have careers. He may feel that way, but I don’t think we can make that assessment based solely on the information in the article.
Regarding the burning of cd’s and video games, I don’t have a problem with it, for several reasons.
First, as near as I can tell, no one is being ordered to burn anything. Just because Mr. Pastor says it, doesn’t mean I’m going to dump Halo 3 on the fire. If you feel like a game does not have a positive affect on you, you are welcome to come on down and participate in the burning.
Second, one might argue that parents may make a child burn a game the child doesn’t want to burn. So what? Certainly we are not going to say that a parent is not allowed to control what his own child is allowed to do. If a parent doesn’t want a child to see R-rated movies until the child is 16, for example, we might disagree, but are we going to deny that parent the right to parent as he sees fit?
Third, these are games that are owned by these individuals, and they are generally free to dispose of them as they see fit. I might prefer selling them back to the game store to get a bit of money out of it, but it’s not my place to tell them what they have to do.
Fourth, haven’t we all heard of those rituals where a woman burns old trinkets and photos that remind her of an old boyfriend, in order to help her get over him and move on? Again, we might think it’s silly, but it’s harmless if done safely, and who are we to judge?
Finally, why not just throw them in the trash? Why couldn’t the woman in point four do the same? Because fire and the idea of burning can have deep symbolic resonance. Burning something is not the same as dumping something in the trash. I could imagine that trying to improve your life as you see fit, trying to come closer to God, it might be an effective gesture of moving on and changing.
It seemed fairly clear from the article that any burning would be voluntary; he wasn’t trying to mandate that all video games in the entire county be destroyed.
So, while burning games might not be my cup of tea, I don’t think I would condemn them for doing it.