Family

Diasporically Inspired Books of the Old Testament: Ruth, Judith, Esther, and Daniel & Susanna

Posted onWednesday 1 July 2009Tuesday 20 July 2010

Paper originally written for a fascinating The Bible as History & Literature class, circa the late 1990’s. In the time of the Diaspora, the Jews must have suffered a great crisis of faith. In fairly rapid succession, they got to see their lands overrun by foreign barbarians, their property confiscated, their families enslaved or sent…

Tolerance FAQ, take 2 (II of II)

Posted onThursday 11 June 2009Tuesday 20 July 2010

5. Homosexuals are destroying the institution of marriage The social ritual of marriage in the United States today is highly unstable, as the 50+ % divorce rate shows. I don’t think it’s fair to blame that instability on late-comers to the institution of marriage. That’s like seeing a tire is getting low on your car,…

Tolerance FAQ, take 2 (I of II)

Posted onWednesday 10 June 2009Tuesday 20 July 2010

Originally posted August 2004 Credits: Thanks go to Lou, Bob, George, & Ian, for input and answers to difficult questions My May Firestarter, Why not Same-sex Marriage? prompted some wonderfully fascinating discussion. I’ve been told by a friend this is the hardest he’s ever thought about issues like this. He thanked me for encouraging that,…

Reading the Romance: Women, Patriarchy, & Popular Literature

Posted onSunday 1 February 2009Tuesday 20 July 2010

In her book Reading the Romance: Women, Patriarchy, and Popular Literature, Janice A. Radway explores the apparent fascination of romantic fiction to many women, and examines the needs this literary genre fulfills for its readers. Our required reading was the Introduction and the first four chapters. The Introduction contains a more up-to-date critique of the…

Symbology in “The Women of Brewster Place” (II of II)

Posted onWednesday 21 January 2009Tuesday 20 July 2010

Naylor’s image of ‘Man’ is symbolized by all her developed male characters. Invariably, they are the doers and accomplishers in the story — and they always destroy what is around them. Thus for Mattie we have her father, the leader of the family, who also beats his daughter (almost to death, when she won’t tell…

Symbology in “The Women of Brewster Place” (I of II)

Posted onTuesday 20 January 2009Tuesday 20 July 2010

Book authored by Gloria Naylor. Book review originally written in 1996 for an English Writing & Composition class Initially, Gloria Naylor’s book The Women of Brewster Place seems to be stories of various women struggling under the inequities of poverty and racism. However, due to her use of symbology, thoughtful study can reveal a deeper…

Why Not Same-sex Marriage? (X of X)

Posted onWednesday 19 November 2008Tuesday 20 July 2010

4. Marriage should be just for child-rearing My first thought at assertions like this is: “Why?” Kids don’t care if there’s a piece of paper holding their family together — and that piece of paper has proven notoriously incapable of doing so anyway. However, let’s work through this theory rationally. If marriage is just for…

Why Not Same-sex Marriage? (IX of X)

Posted onTuesday 18 November 2008Tuesday 20 July 2010

D) What is civilization supported by? The common thread running through all the societies we’ve looked at so far is quite clear on this. For them, the so-called “cornerstone of civilization” is emphatically not one man-one woman marriage. What is the fundamental assumption of civilization, the underlying principle holding it all together for these societies?…

Why Not Same-sex Marriage? (VIII of X)

Posted onMonday 17 November 2008Tuesday 20 July 2010

Originality in the early US So, on to the United States of America, where we finally get to hear more from women, although they’re still mostly all White and upper class. When John Adams was helping to draw up the Constitution of the US in 1777, his wife Abigail wrote, Do not put such unlimited…

Why Not Same-sex Marriage? (VII of X)

Posted onSunday 16 November 2008Tuesday 20 July 2010

Christianity’s copy So where to next in this quick historical scan of cultural attitudes towards marriage? We turn now to Christianity. For once, women are not treated as disposable breeders; Jesus plainly states a man divorcing his wife is not acceptable. Nothing about marriage as a cornerstone of civilization, of course — just an admonition…