I'm not going to touch most of this with a ten-foot pole - in part because my head hurts very badly and I don't have the time in general, and also because most of my points have already been made very eloquently by Terry.
I would like to point to the
Song of Solomon video series as an example of it being taught in churches. We did the video series in Sunday School a couple years ago and it was wonderful. There are also a number of Christian websites out there dealing with the same issues from a Biblical perspective [I'm not going to put links because of the necessarily 'adult' nature of the websites, but I would be happy to PM them to someone if anyone is interested]. But you are right, Ann, it's not often that it's taught from the sensual, sexual perspective in church.
I'm sure you and everyone else know this already but, documentaries etc. need to be trusted but verified. Evidence can be made to say just about anything anyone wants. Things that are 'true' aren't always 'true', if you know what I mean.
I have four kids [and get odd looks all the time - the last two times we announced babies were coming we got the 'you know how that happens right?' [to which DH replied more than once 'Yep and I enjoy it too'] or 'you know how to prevent that right?'], I choose to be a work at home mom and would love nothing more than to be a full time stay at home mom. DH supports me in that and you won't find me oppressed in any way. I get odd looks from 'both sides' if you will, because I have no desire to home school and even moved into a good district but I still desire nothing more than to be a stay at home mom - I believe, more than anything except perhaps being a wife to my husband, that is what I was created to do [yes, created but that's a different discussion
]. That doesn't mean I'm going to go to the extreme of the 'SAHM movement' as I know many have - including friends of mine who have finally agreed to disagree with me on the HSing thing.
A study shown on 48 Hours or 60 Minutes or Dateline or something [and this is true from our experience as well] said that when you actually sat down and crunched numbers - it's often cheaper for one parent to stay home [when you include the costs of childcare, eating out/ordering in more often, clothes for your profession, gas, etc] but many Americans at least don't look at all the costs that go into it. I have more than one friend who has done the Mr. Mom thing for a year or longer and it's been wonderful for them. It's not for everyone.
I agree more should be done by many people - and not necessarily the government - for single moms but there also needs to be protections for those who take advantage of the system [and this may be - in part - what that documentary was talking about - those who continue to have more and more children in large part for the welfare check - not all are that way, but some are]. Someday I hope to be able to say, as Terry did, that we've been blessed enough to have the finances to help with rent or even provide shelter for a time.
Okay I said more than I meant and my head hurts worse than it did when I started this and I know I didn't touch anything resembling 'Jesus as a feminist' but those were a couple of things in one or more posts that I thought I could contribute on. No offense was meant by anything said [Elisabeth and others - you have my utmost respect for home schooling, but it's not for me - I was a certified teacher at one point but let it lapse as I don't use it, but I know me and my kids and at this point at least, it's not for us].
Okay - back to Christmas with my family!
Carol
