"He offered me a glass of water. I accepted a liquid in a cup made out of a coconut shell. I recall coming back to consciousness briefly, then next thing I remember is seeing him in the hallway the next day. I have lived in this nightmare for 30 years, and it stops today". ~ Tychia Amet
The rise of the "Me Too Movement" continues to allow women and men to give shape and voice to their experience of sexual abuse. Accusations against the secular elite in the political, business and even entertainment industry have not only rocked our society, but have displayed that money cannot and does not fix or correct hearts.
Neither position, titles, public accolades, or money can change the hearts of men and cause them to walk in integrity. You see, it stems from Adam, as we (the human race) were "ALL" "shaped in iniquity" and conceived in sin, or brought into a sin filled world (Ps. 51:5) With the exception of Jesus, (as he was sinless ~ 2 Cor. 5:21) there is no one born of a woman that escapes the sin of this world without the hand of sin having made its deep impressions on our mind, hearts and ultimately character.
Within the Christian worldview, we understand this. We understand that our enemy is sin and that what Jesus came to address was the sin nature by not only removing the penalty of sin, through and by the substitutionary atonement and redemption of Jesus on the cross, but by also destroying the power of sin through that shedding of blood and the resurrection:
1 Cor. 15:17 ~ And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins
As Christians we are constantly and consistently driven back to our savior as a result of the relationship that we have to sin. Although sin does not rule over us any longer, we have an "advocate" who continues to wash us with the water of refreshing by HIS word, (Ephes. 5:26) advancing us past sin's strongholds. For some this may take a lifetime, for others it is an instantaneous reversion away from the sins that we recognize as hindrances to our lives. No matter the theological view or technical application of Christ's works against the sin nature, we have an answer for sin and the evil that results from it.
Unlike the Christian, the atheist has first, no outlined reason to exist at all. Under a purely materialistic paradigm, where only current laws of nature exist, there is no reason for life in general. In fact, under even the most advanced scientific postulation, there is no reason for material existence of any kind from a state of non-existence when "nothing" actually means "nothing".
Secondly, under a purely materialistic paradigm, there is no reason to believe that free-will exists at all or that man has any control or power over his own decisions and invariably his own thoughts. Under materialism, all thoughts, actions and even behavior would be based on some form or variation of predetermined chemical, biological response, and that is the only degree to which a man could be said to be "responsible" for their own actions.
Therefore, according to the materialist, we are victims of chemicals, and biological chemical responses and products of our environment and predetermined physiological and genetic predispositions. We are hopeless to avoid what a predetermined materialistic response to conditions will do and there is no ultimate method available to "save ourselves" except for the advancement of science and self-improvement.
Even America's favorite Black atheist cannot escape his own biological predispositions. according to Patheos Blog nearly 3 years ago self acclaimed, healer, teacher and musician, Tchiya Amet spoke out on the abuse that she suffered at the hands of her former professor, the now renowned Neil deGrasse Tyson from the article:
"He talks about obstacles to reaching his goal of astrophysicist. Did anyone slip him a mickey? Perhaps this was his way of eliminating the competition….what a scam YOU are Mr. Tyson…
How does it feel to know that YOU are the reason there is one less [black] female galactic astronomer on this planet? Yes, YOU. How many freshman students did you give A’s to when they were failing? Were they really failing, or was that just an easy way to get free blow jobs?"
Evidently, Ms. Amet was victimized by Mr. Tyson while she attended the University Of Texas as an undergrad student with dreams of becoming an astronaut. Not only did the alleged unwanted advances of Mr. Tyson stop Ms. Amet from reaching her goals, but they also caused her over 25 years of trauma summarized by a diagnosis of PTSD.
It seems that although Ms. Amet now embraces some form of Rastafarianism, she was at one point heavily influenced and accepting of many of Mr. Tyson's activist positions and what would have been considered a break from a traditional understanding of man's role in the world, which, within the Black community, by far and large holds to a more traditional, religiously centered position and understanding.
While there are many lessons to learn here, I find that all men, religious and non-religious, suffer from the same plight of humanity and its evils and no matter what a man or person does to escape, finds that our natures are inescapable and incompassable without repentance and faithful adherence to God and HIS word.
Critical Assessment
Now, the critic will assert that we see priests, pastors and other religiously centered people engaging in sinful behavior every day, and observing their failures are ample proof that there is no difference in the ethics of the religious and nor the ethics of the irreligious.
If that were the only argument, we would have to admit that the atheist makes quite a point here. However, that is NOT the only argument.
The argument centers around the pure exercise of free-will. God has not destroyed free-will in the process of saving us from sin. He yet expects free-will agents to freely serve HIM and accept HIM and even follow HIM for what and who HE is. It is the exercise of free-will that makes the Christian uniquely different when all things are considered. The atheist only has what "appears" to be free-will. He cannot change (according to his beliefs) He can only act on what he is made of and is a product of chemicals, environment and genetics. Whereas, the Christian can decide, by an act of his volition, which path he or she chooses to follow.
Unfortunately, not all Christians maintain their choice or exercise their free will to pursue Christ and righteousness consistently. THUS, herein is the major difference:
The Christian has a solution to sin and evil that he or she can actualize, that is beyond self that can be accessed to superseded genetics, biology and environment. The atheist is left to a hopeless predeterminism rooted in all of those things, masqueraded as self-determinism. This is the ultimate delusion. The delusion that predetermined factors can somehow act differently than they are predetermined to act!
My Invitation To Every Atheist Confronted With The Limits Of Self
All the money, attention and accolades in the world cannot save Mr. Tyson, myself, or any man from their sins...ONLY the blood of Jesus and repentance and faith in that redemptive act can do that. HIS act of redemption upon the cross opens a door beyond materialism into a world where true free-will and freedom of the heart and mind from sin and evil exists. Certainly as long as we are here, upon this Earth, we will struggle. However we can overcome in HIM:
John 16:33 ~ These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome
the world.
As a Christian, I have certainly committed actions that I am not proud of. Every day has not been on the mountaintop over the last some 35 years of being saved...HOWEVER, I THANK GOD that I have an advocate who has redeemed me from sin and the curse of sin as I have committed to HIM my mind, heart and body! It is that GOD that I and countless other Christians turn to to find help in the time of need and freedom from the power and ultimate penalty of sin, guilt and condemnation of failure in this world.
I hope that Mr. Tyson and every other atheist can join me in finding that peace, because outside of that, is only the fictitious make-believe that man can redeem himself from evil and ultimately the evil of his own heart and mind.
You already know I applaud your appeal the need for all to know truth through the Gospel. That fact is undeniable.
ReplyDeleteBUT you gotta know Rev...I'm going to have to go in on THIS ONE!
After 30 years, REV? And once again against another high profile, elite personality. (BTW, I could care less about Neil DeGrasse Tyson. I think this guy is a complete MORON, a puppet actor, mainstream "scientist"(not even a good one) who perpetuates the lies of Atheism and Darwinism.)
All of a sudden, this woman, Tchiya Amet, now inspired by the #METOO movement, makes her story known before the public. Frankly, I'm leary of any type of these "movements"...ie. BLACK LIVES MATTERS movement, the FEMINIST MOVEMENT, the GAY RIGHTS MOVEMENT. This one included, even though my personal conviction is no ONE (and I mean NO ONE should be violated sexually).
Like YOU say about Neil, he needs the GOSPEL, so does this woman, who seems to have adopted the religion of the Rastas, and is deeply in the Horoscopes. Even when writing her story, she says her "posting is in alignment with the Divine Natural Right Order."
Then when you go to her TWITTER page, and when she was asked about evidence / claim to her story, she responded "The people that I did tell, therapusts, professors, are staying silent now".
REALLY? Isn't that's what therapusts are to do? The professors too...I don't know about this lady.
Someone questioned Tchiya Amet about a video she said she had of her confronting him about it an event. Her response was -
"No, I said I brought 3 friends with me to video but none of them did. They were speechless.I did promise to post a blog about what happened tho and I shall....PBS never did air the episode. It cannot be found, but there were 900 people there! SOMEONE must have the video clip!"
REALLY???!!!
Like my mother used to say "There is a dead cat on the line".
It's sad the devil created a "movement", and the way he does so CHEAPLY (though with BLM, Soros paid many to protest), where lots of deeds are based on allegations. A lot of these stories are not even rape stories, but rather stories of harassments (men harass / women harass). This movement is a horrible movement. And though sexual abuse occurs (sadly), this movement darkens to bring about much of the real truth, emotions and love needed of those truly victimized. Many people will be hurt by this movement. I won't be surprised, however, if many reap some of Satan's rewards, and cash in at the Bank for the parts they play in "the movement".
Certainly I believe some of the people claiming to be victimized may just be ashamed of their actions and chalk things up to being "abuse" or "harassment". We have seen false claims. Although I don't know the full details here, she seems to have spoken out on her own in 2014, but nobody cared and or moved to her assistance or aid. She was not taken seriously.
DeleteNow, that it is more popular and people have given it attention, her story is being heard. Just like the lady who began "me too". She had been speaking out, but no one cared or was moved. It wasn't until some high profile women came forth that her movement took wings.
So, No I will not discount what these women say nor am I looking for a way to discredit them. Why? Because as I have been engaged in advocacy of this sort for the last 10 years now solid, their stories and length of time in reporting is normal, not abnormal. Nearly no one that experiences harassment or abuse along these lines is heard immediately. That just is the fact. one would think that making a beeline to the police department would catch perpetrators red handed...that is NOT the case!
Women and men who experience this sort of abuse are often first shamed and ostracized when they make reports. This is why so many take years, 20 and 30 years to even come out.
Now, look at the Catholic Church...It took over 30 years for men, some of whom were altar boys at the time of their victimization, to come out. What we haven't heard from the public is doubt over their stories...We didn't hardly hear anything negative about those men, why? I propose because they were men! I also propose that the gender of the abused makes it more palatable for some individuals to believe their stories. I believe in general, people don;t want to believe women because they are biased in this area. Until something "disturbs" everyone, then they are taken seriously.
Example, recently the catholic Church entered into a settlement agreement to pay over 189 victims of sexual abuse, an average of $211,000 per individuals to the tune of over $40 Million. Some of the victims were over 30 years ago. Not too many people, including the courts are doubting them. Why? The majority of the claimants are men.
Not that because they are male is the only reason, but the fact exists that nearly noone is saying their stories, as a whole, or individually, are suspect. On the other hand, if it were 189 women only, folk would be protesting, asking what took them so long, and scrutinizing every detail of the story and I think that would be because of bias and nothing else but bias against women.
We've allowed that little pharisaic, patriarchal, and subjective view of women creep in to our assessments of their credibility. Some biblical interpretive systems even pose limits on women in the church commanding them to only teach and preach other women and certainly never lead a church. about the only thing a woman can do without any restriction under some interpretive is have sex, give money and pray silently. To call men into question over their sexual habits in relationship to women is somewhat taboo.
So I believe there are bad apples in ever bunch, but I don't reject anyone fighting for what they truly feel is injustice simply out of pocket. I am grateful "metoo" gave some people, both men and women, courage to come out, tell their story and make known what is happening...As I see it, it is accord with scripture...many of these men never repented. Didn't think they ever had to. Like David, on a throne doing business as usual. Then someone comes along and places perspective on it...their sins found them out. (Num.32:23)
Then, this is to the point of the article...in a world slipping further away from the truth, this issue looms vibrantly. Men say as we progress in science and materialism, we don't need God. The proof is that it is just the opposite. This "progression" is not making us better people at all. That's the lesson!
OK Rev...
DeleteThe founder of the "#METOO", Ms. Tarana Burke, said her message is getting lost in the #METOO movement. According to Ms. Burke, the movement was founded to center the voices of black women and girls of color. She comments further to say "if we don't center the value of "marginalized" people, WE ARE DOING THE WRONG WORK". We should never get pigeonholed into a racialized or a classist agenda".
The stories today involve the elite. Stories of rape and assault of "women and girls of color" are being left out and I believe this is intentional.
I hear you about Neil DeGrasse. No matter his belief, sin runs through the veins of us all. But something about this woman's story is "off" to me . I hear you about the Catholic Church too.
However, with regards to the church, I'm not so convinced we suffer much from pharisscal patriarchal views of women much these days. I believe on the contrary, the church has bought into Satan's lies the church is "misogynistic", and has made every attempt ordain women as ELDERS and TEACHERS and BISHOPS and PROPHETS and head ministry over men. I don't have any statistics, but I know the WORD of GOD is TRUE. I believe sexual abuse happen more now because women "ARE EMPOWERED", and head ministry over men.
"This is a TRUE saying, if a MAN desire the office of a bishop, HE desireth a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the HUSBAND of one WIFE..."
Sorry, not my WORDS, BUT God's WORD!
We need to be mindful when there is a violation of Scripture (suffer not a woman to teach, let them remain silent"), BAD FRUIT (sexual abuse and harassment in this case) will result.
I think the bigger problem is not so much lack of woman's role(s), but the ignorance of illiterate Pastors who lack teaching the BIBLE the gifts the Spirit gives to women.
"For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge ; To another faith; to another the gifts of healing; To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:
- WISDOM, WORD of KNOWLEDGE, HEALING, MIRACLES, PROPHECY, WORKING OF MIRACLES, DISCERNING OF SPIRIT, TONGUES, INTERPRETATION of TONGUES. (gift given by the SPIRIT to men and WOMEN).
Not only this passage, but verses in Ephesians -
"He led captivity captive, and gave GIFTS unto men. And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;"
- APOSTLES, PROPHETS, EVANGELISTS, PASTORS, TEACHERS (gift given by the SPIRIT to men and WOMEN).
And even here some illiterate pastors choose to limit spiritual gifts to what they call a "five fold ministry". How RIDICULOUS!!!
And not only in Ephesians, in Romans many pastors totally ignore -
"Having then gifts , whether prophecy, let us prophesy; Or ministry, let us wait: or he that teacheth, on teaching; Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth; he that ruleth; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness."
- Again PROPHECY, also MINISTRY, TEACHING, EXORTATION (this one gets no play), GIVING (this one gets no play, most of these false teachers never say they possess this GIFT. I wonder WHY), RULING, SHOWING MERCY (this one gets no play).
If this secular woman discern her message is being lost, church folks should discern there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING misogynistic about CHRISTIANITY. God made man and women in His image. He give gifts to men and women as He pleases.
Well, since you on the LATE TRAIN (and I am kidding-rotfl) I have addressed the role of women in the NT church in an article or two, but the primary one can be found HERE
DeleteI even think I have a PDF of that article that you can share with friends-LOL!!!!
To the issues...the NFL analysts have been accused as well as the guy on the Food Network and some more entertainers...I notice one thing, nearly all of them DON'T deny their actions or acts. Some do, but most don't. There is a difference between having an affair and what is coming out. none of these people claimed that they were having affairs, they allege that many of these men took privilege that they were not otherwise given.
Personally, I believe that it is a sign of what people say is wrong in public, but do in private. Some of these actions were done by men who interpreted the smile, and casual demeanor of some women to be sexual. Maybe that leads to a greater problem or uncovers a greater flaw within society itself...Why do women feel that they have to sexually accommodate me? Why do men feel that they have permission to sexually pursue women who they don't plan to embrace in significant or real love?
I don't believe that it is ever the victim's fault, however I believe that everyone has a responsibility (and I am referring to grown adults) to not place themselves in situations such as those that stir up these type of situations. Believe me, I'm not speaking from some ultra-righteous perch, however I am saying that this situation has caused people to stop in their tracks and realize that what they "thought" was normal, just may not be and more than that, may not be something that anyone wanted.
One more thing on this...women of color have been stereotypically seen as oversexed. Their story has never gotten credibility because of their skin color and that is just a truth. When this happens to white women, and there are enough of them, stories are suddenly taken seriously. There has not been enough written on this, but I have an associate who has done some writing and indepth studies on this phenomena and has spoken at length about it.
I believe Dateline did a story on the interpretation of pictures of dark skinned women vs. pictures of light skinned and white women. In nearly every case the dark skinned women was associated with sex, prostitution and schemes in general, while the lighter the color, the more positive the associations. this is truly a subconscious thing that has been repeated to many of us for generations and certainly has its effect on how the world around us is interpreted.
I think you and I can go on and on with this topic of sexual abuse and harassment. We both agree, NO ONE should ever become a victim or a perpetrator.
ReplyDeleteI believe the founder of #METOO had pure intentions. I'm not sure the MEDIA (one-eyed devil) has the public's best interest at heart. The devil will use very sensitive situations and matters to slide in his dirt and mud. Just the SUDDEN BURST of stories involving the elite (even as you mention NFL analyst, FOOD Network) is a red flag to me. What about the everyday Jane and Joe?
Even the December issue of TIME MAGAZINE listed its Person of the YEAR - famous women i.e. actress Ashley Judd, who was one of the first prominent Harvey Weinstein accusers, former Uber engineer Susan Fowler, and pop star Taylor Swift who successfully and publically sued a radio host for sexual assault. Even METOO founder. Ms. Tarana Burke got her hand in the money pot. YOU ALREADY KNOW these folks are getting their palms greased! I guess she may as well collect her cash, since she founded the movement. RIGHT? UNREAL!!!
I gotta get back to you on your article on the role of women. That's a long article Rev. Man you talk a lot. But I should expect nothing less from a long-winded COGIC preacher, RIGHT? LOL....
LOL...I don;t know if I like you yet, but you got me cracking my side over here!!!!...Anyway, I believe you are right as well...these people will take an otherwise helpful invention and use it as a money maker and pervert it well beyond..So I agree that we should cautiously watch this play out. While I believe in advocacy to the fullest as we both agree, we should be careful even in that. we can miss who really needs the help if we are not careful.
DeleteLet me let you get back to my longwinded article-LOL!!!! But you gotta stop and give me at least a 7 minute praise break every 2 paragraphs or so-LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LOLOLOL...
DeleteNow you know REV, if I would have done the 7 minute praise break as you suggested, that would take me into late next week. LOL...Anyways, I read most of your article, the role of women, but I thought the dialogue in the comment section was interesting. I thought both of you guys presented good arguments. I'm inclined to believe the commands about women are more universal rather than cultural. And like I suggested before, pastors really need to study and discern to rightly divide SCRIPTURES and teach the spiritual gifts and their meaning as posed in Corinthians, Ephesians and Romans. They really need to make practical application of these verses so women and me are aware the gifts SPIRIT of GOD gave them, so they can use them to edify the Body of Christ.
But back to some more abuse news, they are going after more strong "men", and just got sexual harassment allegations on Donovan McNabb, Heath Evans, Marshall Faulk, and Ike Taylor. I'm beginning to believe more and more this can be a "warlock" hunt against hetero men.
BTW, I commend you for the issues you raise on your blog. I wish more would engage to comment on the great topics you posed. Keep Up the good work!
Hey Rev.
ReplyDeleteI didn't mean to repeat your post about the NFL analysts. I was just thinking what you and I hear others say how now this movement is on track, we gonna hear more "church women" come out with their stories. My wife believes the same. I kinda disagree because I think their real intent is to go after the power elite entertainers, politicians, and sports figures like you mentioned the NFL analyst.
I think church folks have already been exposed (ie. Catholic Church and preachers) because their intent was not to sympathize with the victim, but to put "religious" men on blast. YOU never saw any of the "altar boys" make the cover of TIME MAGAZINE. Like you said, we as Christians have to be careful to discern the works of the enemy as he seeks ONLY to kill and destroy.
Hey Rev, I'm an avid sports fan. I'm sure living in Chicago, you follow sports as well.
DeleteHave you noticed all these female now in sports broadcasting, as commentators and announcers and analysts lately? All this happening ALL of a sudden, so SUBTLE, but yet SO INTENTIONAL!? These women are being "EMPOWERED", that they have now crossed over into the SPORTS arena like a bunch of bumble bees.
No one is questioning how they got there, They just BOOM...and showed up! Don't get me wrong, I'm sure they are more than qualified, cause from what I can see, they display high intelligence when discussing sports topics. Not only that, but all of them are beautiful! It's almost hard for me as a man to listen to what they are saying because they REALLY REALLY are almost too GORGEOUS!
I'm telling YOU REV, you gotta discern what's put on the "one-eyed-devil". The "EMPOWERMENT" of women is getting WAY TOO OUT OF HAND! Women are being indoctrinated by a DIABOLICAL FEMINIST MOVEMENT, and this movement throwing women into an arena where there are lots of wolves and predators. We are called to "protect" women and children.
However, when you got a bunch of sick feminists who seduce women into becoming "empowered", and men who act like wolves seeking to prey on them, the weaker vessel will become susceptible to all types of abuse and harassment. My thing is, of all the "empowement indoctrinaton" women have received for many many years now, why is it that many of these "empowered" women are acting like afraid little girls, waiting for years to tell how they had been victimized? Huhmmmm...(dead cat on the line).
Even sadder, like I mentioned in one of my previous responses, the CHURCH has bought into this lies, the empowerment of women. The Church have "EMPOWERED" women making them elders and bishops and teachers and head of ministries over men. What a SAD SAD TESTIMONY!
And the latest REV, they got your boy Tavis Smiley (another one of the elites) on accusations that allegedly again happening years ago. Tavis is denying all claims against him. You said you wanted to see how all this is going to pan out REV. I suggest for you to stay with you "grass root advocacy ministry" and not get too hyped all this smokescreen in the news. Most of us are not even close to these elitists anyways. They could care less about the average Jane or Joe, folks you counsel on a regular basis. I am not buying into this #METOO movement ONE BIT.
Also Rev, in the news Dan Johnson, a Republican state lawmaker in Kentucky who defiantly denied allegations that he sexually assaulted a teenage girl in the basement of his home, died in an apparent suicide Wednesday night, the county coroner said. He was 57.
In the infamous words of Marvin Gay..."What's GOING ON", Rev? Come on preacher, tell us. I know you may not know the song by O Boy Marvin, since ya'll sanctified folks don't listen to the blues.
Hey REV...This thing is almost becoming comical. I can't resist to comment FUTHER...
DeleteHere's the conclusion of the matter according to Satan he says -
"I've already tricked women, just like I did Ole Girl Eve in the Garden, telling them they can become "empowered". Now that they "strong", (even though they are victimized, and God knows they are weaker and easily deceived), I will use them in their weakness to weaken men (like Ole Boy Adam).
I, as "prince of the air" will get everyone's attention over the airwaves through their #METOO movement, and through this movement, women will FURTHER be empowered and afraid, men FURTHER "weakened and afraid.
They both will FURTHER become confused, and RUN and HIDE, looking for clothes to COVER their SHAME.
Remember Rev...There is NOTHING NEW under the SUN.