Blogaround

1. Identity Mapping? (posted September 11) About the "wives, submit to your husbands" passages: "In that particular context, marriages were not typically entered into by men and women of similar ages and with similar life experience, but by adolescent girls (aged 14-15 or so) and fully adult men (aged 28-30 or so). ... For me to treat my wife as though she were less wise, discerning, mature, knowledgeable or apt to lead than I am would be insulting and a failure to recognize and love her for who she really is."

2. The 47 Percent, In One Graphic (posted September 18) 47% of Americans pay no income taxes, and this article explains that with some nice charts.

3. Because everyone deserves clean water (posted September 18) 7-year-old Tariku Savage, who was born in Ethiopia, then moved to the US when he was adopted, is asking people to donate money to build a well in Rwanda. This is especially interesting because he actually experienced life with contaminated water for 4 years- his perspective is incredibly unique. So go over there and donate to him.

4. ShePonders: Jezebel (posted September 18) "And now I wonder- do I have Jezebel's appetite in me? As a woman raised amid affluence, do I want more than my fair share? Do I consume copious amounts of stuff while others languish in hunger?"

5. True Love Does More Than Just Wait (posted September 18) This. Go read this! This is THE BEST article I have ever seen about purity. It's about all the problems with the philosophy "don't have sex, just hold out until you get married and then the sex will be TOTALLY AWESOME and solve ALL YOUR PROBLEMS!!!1!!!1" Instead of being "pure" so we can get "reward sex" someday, how about we don't have sex because we're obedient to God, and self-denial builds character?

6. Dear Mitt Romney, Here's My 47% Story (posted September 18) "As for my 'entitlement' to the health care that I received during that pregnancy, I felt no such entitlement. I simply needed it. I felt shame then, and it angers me that you are still shaming me now, nine years later. Without that medical coverage, Mr. Romney, I would have died."

7. Why No One Cares About the White Jesus of Mitt Romney's Mormonism (posted September 9) "Historically, America's Jesus has been white without words, because whiteness needs no description. It is blackness, of the kind so prominently displayed by Jeremiah Wright's sermons replayed in 2008, that anger and trouble people, and thus need explanation."

8. Being Poor (posted in 2005) "Being poor is making sure you don't spill on the couch, just in case you have to give it back before the lease is up." And a lot of other images. Go read this- it's profound.

9. A Convenient and Relaxing Kind of Christianity (posted September 20) "Cruise control" obedience means we "don't have to experience the fatigue that comes with seeking to obey Him with all our heart, soul, and mind." And that's not good enough.

10. Faith and Hope, 20% off! (posted July 2011) "And I'd have to smile, and take them over to the Harry Potter Is Evil!!!! section (right next to the Harry Potter Is A Christ Analogy And Totally Biblical!!!! section), and chat happily about how evil Harry Potter was..."

11. Disruptive faith (or, why we choose karma over grace) (posted September 11) "If the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob turns out to be real, my hope of maintaining order and control is forever lost."

12. "Creepshots" and revenge pornography latest frontiers in war against women (posted September 22) "Emma Watson has said that on her 18th birthday she realised that 'overnight I'd become fair game... One photographer lay down on the floor to get a shot up my skirt. The night it was legal for them to do it, they did it. I woke up the next day and felt completely violated.'"

13. Pregnant Rape Victims: Quit Assuming We Want an Abortion (posted September 21) "On the other side are those who perpetuate the myth that women and girls who become pregnant from sexual assault overwhelmingly want, need and benefit from having abortions. This also hurts women and fans the flames of prejudice toward those who do not want to have an abortion, even leading some to question whether a woman or girl who wishes not to abort has 'really' been raped."