lklouise

Posts Written by lklouise

By lklouise • 13 years ago

My Witness and the Bush Library

Today was the groundbreaking ceremony for the George W. Bush Presidential Library at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX. I was privileged enough not only to be able to attend the peace protest, but to speak alongside some of my heroes- Col. Ann Wright, Medea Benjamin of CODE PINK, and Cindy Sheehan among them.

Myself and Col. Ann Wright

As a last minute fill-in speaker, I was given about 3 minutes to write a brief outline and stare into the Texas sun. I had spent the night before speaking about the protest on a local radio talk show of which I am a regular guest contributor, and I slept fitfully to say the least. This morning, I dressed in all black to mourn the loss of human life that occurred because of those fateful “16 words” that led to this unjust war.

I am a young activist. I wasn’t old enough to vote in either Bush Presidential election. Most of my work comes in the form of blogging, gathering and delivering letters to my senators or near anonymous phone-banking and block-walking. I am more than content to be a warm body witness standing in the middle of the crowd to clap and shout.

By lklouise • 13 years ago

“Muscular Christianity” leads to … La Familia Michoacana?

Today I’m not talking about Driscoll, as I expected, but about this fun news about the notorious drug cartel La Familia Michoacana making “required reading” of John Eldredge’s Wild At Heart. (H/T Audentia) Alternet had the best title for their coverage of the piece : Christian Book Touting Manly Aggression Inspires Violent Fundamentalist Meth Trafficking Cult. Really, you can’t make this up!

John Eldredge, of course, is angry about the abuse of his book as an endorsement to perpetuate the violence La Familia has done. How could Eldredge imagine his content would be so co-opted! Content that claims (WaH 117):

” ‘The kingdom of heaven suffers violence,’ Jesus said, and violent men take it by force.” (Matt 11:12 NASB) Is that a good thing ...

By lklouise • 13 years ago

The Values of Comprehensive Sexual Education

I originally wrote this while thinking about Comprehensive Sex-Ed and how it related to educational reform and my previous stated aims of education. I ended up posting this at Amplify Your Voice, a blog specifically for youth activists interested in comprehensive sexual education reform and the mission of Advocates for Youth.

Tuesday night, my new radio show, Civil Discourse officially launched. What stared as an offhand idea about a fun podcast a friend and I could create to talk about politics from a youth perspective somehow got picked up by a professional radio station, and I now have a producer, a sound guy, and a live Ustream videocast. The show is an attempt to stop the real-world meme of “Whoever Yells Loudest ...

By lklouise • 13 years ago

Comparing St. Thérèse of Lisieux to Abusive Priests? Another Vatican Fail

Growing up, I always knew I wanted to be inside the church. More specifically, I wanted to be a priest. When I was younger and had not yet realized my sex meant I could not fulfill this vocation, I was 100% sure of my calling to ministry.

As a teenager in the Baptist church, I heard that I could not be a pastor because Scripture willed it not: I was to be married and be saved through childbearing. I realize there are Baptist communities that allow women as pastors, but they were not my community, and they did not mean my calling would be recognized by those I held closest. It was not a real choice; I could hold the role ...

Growing up, I always knew I wanted to be inside the church. More specifically, I wanted to be a priest. When I was younger and had not yet realized my sex meant I could not fulfill this ...

By lklouise • 13 years ago

How to be “Approachable” with Alopecia

Reading the New York Times yesterday, I came across a Patient Voices article titled “A ‘Forest Fire of Hair Loss,’ and Its Scars” about one man’s auto-immune hair loss from alopecia areata. He isn’t alone. I also have alopecia.

A few years ago, I noticed a round loss of hair on my scalp. I assumed I had somehow burned myself with a curling iron. Moreover, the way I styled my hair hid the bald spot, and that it would eventually grow back. A routine haircut led my hairdresser to ask about the hair loss and hypothesized about its origins, only to be proven correct when I went to the dermatologist. I was diagnosed with alopecia areata, a disease with ...

By lklouise • 13 years ago

Mark Driscoll, Misogyny and Masculinity

This is an introductory post to Mark Driscoll’s theology, and in the coming weeks I will be covering him more in depth. For Feministing this means a focus on what Driscoll believes about sex and gender. Non-gender focused posts on his theology will be available at my personal blog. This post is about the core of his masculinity: misogyny, inerrant scripture, and Calvinism. Driscoll is a “shock jock” preacher who thrives on argument and the attention that gives him. Controversial remarks concerning biological sex and gender roles reverberate loudly in today’s society, giving Driscoll the attention he craves.

Mark Driscoll is the pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington. While this seems an ...

By lklouise • 13 years ago

Helping Teenage Mothers? Not Part of the New Program in Killeen

An article in the Killeen Daily Herald out of Killeen, TX painted the picture of everything wrong in Texas Education. In the Killeen school district there is an alternative school known as “Pathways” that has traditionally been the home of high school aged mothers due to its childcare center (run by non-profit CIS) on campus. The program is “updating” itself in order to promote the by-choice alternative school to more students in the district. Part of the update? Removing the on-campus childcare, leaving an entire district that covers 400+ square miles and has over 31,000 students (which includes all youth who live on Fort Hood Military Base) without a home for single mothers.

Apparently, a new $6 million facility and ...

By lklouise • 13 years ago

The Gender Politics of Masculinity vs. Manhood

This post is a continuation of a series on different understandings of Christian Masculinities, and the implications they create in sexual education reform and youth advocacy. It originally appeared at lklouise.com. The last post concerned Gender Hierarchies in Creation. Today’s post deals with “complementation” relationship views, which believe that the man should be the “leader” in any relationship, and that the woman is a biblically designed “helper” who finds her fulfillment in submission to that male leadership. This post deals with the implications of conservative christian language on gender politics.

Whenever I’m searching for sources about different Christian masculinities, I generally use the term “masculinity”. Unfortunately, what I’ve noticed is that the viewpoints I’m trying to find don’t use that term about ...