↓
 

SOB: Son of a Bos'n

There are three states of being... Alive, Dead or at Sea.

SOB: Son of a Bos'n
  • About
  • The Boatswain
  • eQuoria
  • Salute the Flag
Home→Tags Spirituality

Tag Archives: Spirituality

The Rape of Tamar

SOB: Son of a Bos'n Posted on October 13, 2015 by BobOctober 18, 2015  

It has been many years since I’ve read the story of Amnon and Tamar. At the time I didn’t pay much attention to it.

Desolation of Tamar, James Tissot (1836-1902/French)

“Desolation of Tamar” James Tissot (1836-1902)

However, in my readings this morning I came across an interpretation of that story the spoke to me.  The author also writes about Jessica Lenahan, whose three children were murdered because the local police refused to enforce a restraining order against her husband. The U.S. Supreme Court had the audacity to rule that she had no constitutional right to enforcement of the restraining order.  What, pray tell, is the purpose of a restraining order if it can’t be enforced?

There is a pattern to this, however.  In the USA, most of us claim to be part of a Christian society, yet according to the 2010 National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, about one in four women in the US has been the victim of serious physical violence at the hands of an intimate partner.

We, as a society that claims to be Christian, need to step into the gap and become open to God’s desire to protect those who are being abused.  How can we, as a community, stand silent and pretend all is well?  I don’t know what God’s universal call to action is on this topic, but I believe it begins with dropping the curtain of silence.

After the Supreme Court ruling, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) found that the United States violated the human rights of Jessica Lenahan and her children.  Yet it was mostly Christian administrators, police, judges and lawyers who acted to violate those rights.  How can that be?

I believe I perceive a pattern here.  Tamar had no rights under Jewish law, because she was a woman.  I suspect the men who decided to ignore Jessica Lenahan’s requests, did so because she was a woman.  There is still a masculine superiority aspect to all of our cultures.  That has been the case since Adam was given authority over Eve.  The problem is, with that authority came power and responsibilities.  Unfortunately, many of us only see the power and do our best to ignore the responsibilities.

Let me plant a seed in your mind.  From this day forward, every time you hear someone say something bad about a member of some other cultural or religious group, suggesting that all members of that group behave in some immoral manner, remember the women like Tamar who live among us today.  How many of those women are being abused by someone in their family, while others tell her to keep quiet and the community around her, the “Christian” community, turns away in denial or fear.

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?  How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?  You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”  Matthew 7:3-5 New International Version (NIV)

Until we deal with this “plank” in our eye, we have no right to judge any other community, religion or culture.


To be continued in part two.

 

Posted in Commentary, Spirituality | Tagged Commentary, Spirituality | Leave a reply

The Korean Madonna

SOB: Son of a Bos'n Posted on April 4, 2010 by BobApril 5, 2010  

Back in 1975, the USS Tripoli (LPH-10) visited Busan, South Korea.  While there, I visited a Roman Catholic priest who was assigned to a local parish.  I spent the weekend with him, meeting parishioners and attending Mass with them.  After Mass, an elderly lady approached me and handed me a roll of silk. When I unrolled it, I found this image; This image is hand painted on silk.  The flowers in the background are formed into the shape of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Spirituality, US Navy | Tagged 1975, Spirituality, US Navy | Leave a reply

He does not lend at usury or take excessive interest

SOB: Son of a Bos'n Posted on September 4, 2006 by BobOctober 7, 2015  

The psalm this past Sunday, Ps 15:2-3, 3-4, 4-5 is a reflection on Ezekial 18:5-9, a description of a man of virtue. This one line from that reading hit me, simply because I have credit card debts that are years old, that I’ve been trying to pay “forever”. In California, the legal rate of interest is 10% for consumers; the general usury limit for non-consumers is anything over 5% greater than the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco’s rate, yet … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Politics, Spirituality | Tagged Commentary, Politics, Spirituality | Leave a reply

Marriage: The separation of the Sacred and the Profane

SOB: Son of a Bos'n Posted on May 11, 2004 by BobJuly 14, 2016  

You’ve all seen crying and hand-wringing by those who believe that Same Sex Marriages [samesexmarriage.ca] somehow violate the sanctity of marriage. (See: Bush vows to defend ‘sanctity of marriage’ [washtimes.com].) My position is simple. By mixing the secular or profane recognition of legal and financial contracts, known as marriages, with the theological or sacred unions of a man and a woman, also known as marriages, the churches have opened themselves up to this problem. The major theme behind the drive … Continue reading →

Posted in Alive, Commentary, Family, Politics, Spirituality | Tagged Commentary, Family, Spirituality | Leave a reply

Recent Posts

  • Community Involvement
  • U-Turns on Alum Rock
  • Viva Calle SJ & VTA — Almost, but no cigar
  • A feral kitten hits the jackpot — It found us.
  • Walkability Is Key for Transit Use

Community

  • Ashworth-Remillard House
  • Five Wounds Urban Village
  • Silicon Valley VTA Sprinter

eQuoria

  • eQuoria
  • The Boatswain

Categories

  • age-friendly
  • Alive
  • At Sea
  • Commentary
  • Dead
  • Family
  • Life as a Brat
  • Politics
  • Spirituality
  • Technology
  • The Poetic Side
  • US Navy

Login

  • Register
  • Log in

Archives

  • August 2017
  • April 2017
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • June 2016
  • March 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • December 2014
  • October 2014
  • March 2014
  • January 2013
  • September 2012
  • June 2012
  • April 2012
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • April 2010
  • January 2010
  • February 2008
  • March 2007
  • September 2006
  • July 2006
  • May 2004
  • November 2003
© 2017 eQuoria
↑