Reflections and Hope

2011 was a rough year for me.

I was laid off from a job in early January with the promise that I would be called back by the end of February. That never happened, and I spent a full 5 months being unemployed, struggling to keep the lights and phone turned on so I could look for work as I slipped further and further behind on everything.

Looking for Great Movies for Kids

Margot Magowan at the Ms. Magazine blog has a list of 14 questions to ask when choosing a movie for your kids:

1. Is the movie titled for a male star?
2. Is the movie centered around the quest of a male?
3. Are the females in the movie helping the male achieve his goal?
4. Which character goes through a transition?
5. What is the ratio of males to females? Main roles? Crowd scenes?
6. What are the females wearing? Does their clothing expose belly buttons and other body parts?
7. How many lines do the female characters have?
8. How many of the females’ lines have to do with what they’re wearing, what they look like, romantic relationships, or shopping?
9. How many of the males refer to the females only in reference to romance and how they look?
10. How do the females in the movie interact with each other? Do they interact at all?
11. How are female friendships depicted in the movie? Are there any?
12. Is a female character rescued by a male character?
13. Does a female character make a rescue?
14. What heroic acts or acts of bravery do the female characters perform?

I think this is a great start, especially as the mother of an 8-year-old daughter.

I Really Like Some Christmas Songs

I’m not hugely into Christmas music, but there are a few songs that I like to listen to around the holidays. One is explicitly atheist, a few are secular favorites, and a couple are more traditional. Enjoy!

“White Wine in the Sun” – Tim Minchin
This is probably my favorite Christmas song ever, and Tim Minchin does a wonderful job of delving into the complex feelings that many atheists have about the holidays. This year, there is a new animated video for it.

How do atheists do Christmas?

The short answer, in my household at least, is pretty much the same as the rest of my family–just without God. The long answer is somewhat more complicated, and it continues to become more so as my daughter grows up, asks more questions, and tries to figure out what she believes.

I was raised Catholic, but like many US American Catholics my family was never particularly religious aside from going to mass most Sundays and making sure that my sister and I had first communion and were confirmed at the appropriate ages. Holidays with my family were and are primarily secular affairs, days for eating too much pie and spending more-or-less quality time together.

I Am Not a Princess

This unofficial video by ELY was my introduction to Marina and the Diamonds, and it’s amazing.

 

10 Biblical Reasons for Women to Avoid Christianity Like the Plague

Al Stefanelli has a longer post on this topic, but I think these verses (direct from the Bible!) that he quotes stand on their own and make the point as well as anything else we can add to them:

1. “No wickedness comes anywhere near the wickedness of a woman…..Sin began with a woman and thanks to her we all must die” (Ecclesiasticus 25:19,24).
2. “A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I don’t permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner” (I Timothy 2:11-14).
3. “The birth of a daughter is a loss” (Ecclesiasticus 22:3).
4. “Keep a headstrong daughter under firm control, or she will abuse any indulgence she receives. Keep a strict watch on her shameless eye, do not be surprised if she disgraces you” (Ecclesiasticus 26:10-11).
5. “As in all the congregations of the saints, women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission as the law says. If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.” (I Corinthians 14:34-35)
6. “When a woman has her regular flow of blood, the impurity of her monthly period will last seven days, and anyone who touches her will be unclean till evening. Anything she lies on during her period will be unclean, and anything she sits on will be unclean. Whoever touches her bed must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean till evening. Whoever touches anything she sits on must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean till evening. Whether it is the bed or anything she was sitting on, when anyone touches it, he will be unclean till evening” (Lev. 15:19-23).
7. “If a man takes a wife and, after lying with her, dislikes her saying, ‘I married this woman, but when I approached her, I did not find proof of her virginity,’ …and no proof of the girl’s virginity can be found, she shall be brought to the door of her father’s house and there the men of the town shall stone her to death. She has done a disgraceful thing in Israel by being promiscuous while still in her father’s house. You must purge the evil from among you.” (Deuteronomy 22:13-21)
8. “A bad wife brings humiliation, downcast looks, and a wounded heart. Slack of hand and weak of knee is the man whose wife fails to make him happy. Woman is the origin of sin, and it is through her that we all die. Do not leave a leaky cistern to drip or allow a bad wife to say what she likes. If she does not accept your control, divorce her and send her away” (Ecclesiasticus 25:25).
9. “Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God…A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man. For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. For this reason, and because of the angels, the woman ought to have a sign of authority on her head” (I Corinthians 11:3-10).
10. “They called out to Lot and said, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Send them out to us so we can have sex with them! Lot went out to them at the entrance and shut the door behind him. He said, “Don’t do this evil, my brothers. Look, I’ve got two daughters who haven’t had sexual relations with a man. I’ll bring them out to you, and you can do whatever you want to them. However, don’t do anything to these men, because they have come under the protection of my roof.” (Genesis 19:5-8)