Tag Archives: submission

A Wedding Charge: On Being an Icon of Love and Death

A Wedding Charge: On Being an Icon of Love and Death

Posted on 03. Jun, 2010 by Tim Stoner.

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They asked me to deliver a serious charge about marriage. And after I was done and they had taken their vows they were going to be participating in the Eucharist as their first act together as husband and wife. So, I spoke to them about sacraments: about the transformative, communal, liturgical act they were engaged in and would be participating in–for the rest of their lives. I spoke about being a holy icon of the gospel for the whole world. And, since they wanted me to be serious and real, and I wanted them to be properly prepared for what was ahead, I charged them (especially the young husband-to-be) with the committment to die. Sacraments are costly and demanding things, after all.

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The Glory and Scandal of Femininity

The Glory and Scandal of Femininity

Posted on 10. May, 2010 by Tim Stoner.

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Inclusivism posits that at the core of Jesus’ life and teachings is a simple, non-negotiable message of absolute love, tolerance, and acceptance. Any belief or practice that jeopardizes this message is to be rejected, even if it is stated clearly in the Bible, was practiced by the early church, and was taught and believed by nearly all Christians for 2,000 years–for example the church’s historic restriction of the priesthood to males. Egalitarianism, which is what this novel teaching is called, contends that Jesus dismantled all sexually-based role distinctions. It is premised on the desire to promote equality among all members of the body of Christ. It affirms the Western commitment to individual rights while dismissing the gloriously scandalous vocation that the Virgen Mary exemplified. It also unintentionally denigrates the humble beauty of submission and surrender that I saw incarnated in my own home by a supremely gifted wife and mother.

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Virgin Mary: The Beauty of Surrendered Rights

Virgin Mary: The Beauty of Surrendered Rights

Posted on 17. Apr, 2010 by Tim Stoner.

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With the barest flick of the wrist the gauzy veil covering Setara’s black hair slips back as she sings in front of the panel of judges and millions of Muslim viewers. It was a defiant assertion of independence from binding, dogmatic constraints. While the rebel, Son of Liberty in me raucously celebrated, that loyalist Tory in me was dismayed and repelled. I was conflicted. As if I were in a rocking boat careening on the foaming waves of personal liberty only to slide down into the quiet troughs of dutiful submission. And, oddly enough, I thought of Virgin Mary who had to navigate a storm of her own to become the mother of God.

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“Spiritual–but NOT Religious!”

“Spiritual–but NOT Religious!”

Posted on 14. Nov, 2009 by Tim Stoner.

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To say “I am spiritual but not religious”, is like asserting, “I believe in sex but not marriage.” Marriage tames the wild, undisciplined (ultimately selfish), free-spirit and provides beneficial boundaries which help direct the flow of life-energy in a strong, focused, and societally healthy direction. (Or at least it is meant to.) Its legal and moral constraints place restrictions (rules, if you will) around the irresponsible sexual drive that runs amok in pursuit of personal pleasure rather than committed love. Religion serves spirituality in much the same way. It helps the savage become a saint.

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