tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14300599.post113107521161261884..comments2023-10-09T07:56:32.564-05:00Comments on Sacramentum Vitae: The burka and the bikiniMike Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09060404905348849140noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14300599.post-1131681052622585142005-11-10T22:50:00.000-05:002005-11-10T22:50:00.000-05:00Brian:I don't think I'm competent to discuss the q...Brian:<BR/><BR/>I don't think I'm competent to discuss the question whether the exposed female breast <I>ought</I> not to arouse lust. No doubt lust of any kind—i.e., any form of inordinate sexual desire, which tends to objectify the desired person—ought not to be; but since the Fall it's been a fact, and the question what tends to arouse it this or that culture is a secondary question of more scientific than theological interest.<BR/><BR/>Best,<BR/>MikeMike Lhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18100363229707213441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14300599.post-1131644109839952822005-11-10T12:35:00.000-05:002005-11-10T12:35:00.000-05:00Mike, Your reflections are very good regarding the...Mike, <BR/><BR/>Your reflections are very good regarding the burkha and bikini. I do question though the thought though about topless bathing in Europe. <BR/><BR/>I am more interested in the discussion that we Americans shaped greatly, whether Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Orthodox, or even protestant, by Puritan notions. How does the breast become so sexualized? Why do you not go after indigenous cultures where breasts are just part of the body. The problem with us is that we seem to have reduced breasts to playthings (a lie) and forgotten their life-giving and nuturing purpose. <BR/><BR/>If you would want to move further and say that because of that lie, the breast has become irredeemably lost, that's different... and I think wrong. <BR/><BR/>Peace,<BR/>BrianGeekChurchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13734017463840940541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14300599.post-1131165667477888252005-11-04T23:41:00.000-05:002005-11-04T23:41:00.000-05:00MikeMy auxiliary bishop said no body has to stay i...Mike<BR/>My auxiliary bishop said no body has to stay in an abusive marriage and I could even remarry if that came up. No, it's my bishop that does not like divorce. That is ok. He is going to retire anyways. And we love each other so it is ok.<BR/><BR/>You know what Mike? I am really mad about Catholic men who fall away from the church, fall into carnal sin, and refuse to practice natural family planning. What's up with that? And putting all on the woman as if it is all HER responsibility to practice nfp. And not just men do this, mother-in-laws and godmothers too. It is simply AWFUL. Hello? The man has to abstain too. Yuck. Dude there are feasts and fasts in the Orthodox church just like there is nfp in the Catholic church. Oh I am so steamed about this tonight. Everybody is jumping on me because I DARE to bring up the topic of <I>sexual abuse</I>, heaven forbid. <BR/>Lord have mercy!<BR/><BR/>Regards<BR/>Olyexistentialisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18121706260786532883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14300599.post-1131138543742951732005-11-04T16:09:00.000-05:002005-11-04T16:09:00.000-05:00Oly:I often blog about Islam for two reasons. One,...Oly:<BR/><BR/>I often blog about Islam for two reasons. One, the radical "Islamists" are at war with us, and it's a war we cannot escape. Two, so long as traditional interpretations of Islam predominate—as they continue to—Muslims as a whole will always adopt a stance of <I>jihad</I> toward everybody who isn't Muslim. In many cases <I>jihad</I> is non-violent; but in the distant past it was often violent, and it is becoming so again. We had better wake up. If they become powerful enough to destroy Israel, they won't let up after Israel. I should think 9/11 made that crystal clear. This is very serious.<BR/><BR/>Your taking the burka as a sign of "wholeness" is perhaps a sign of your longing for stability and virtue in a very tumultous time of your life resulting from your decision to end a mistaken marriage. But I stand by what I said about the burka.<BR/><BR/>I am not surprised you are in conflict with your bishop about your claim that your marriage was "sacramentally invalid." That is a Catholic concept that has no clear place in Orthodox tradition.<BR/><BR/>As I've said before, if you were Catholic you could get your marriage annulled fairly easily. In Catholic doctrine, the ministers of the sacrament are the couple themselves; the priest or deacon is only a witness. So, if one or both party's intentions or capacities are proved to have been radically defective, the sacrament is judged never to have been validly conferred. But in Orthodoxy, the minister of the sacrament is the priest; when remarriage is allowed after divorce, that is only on the application of <I>oikonoumia</I>. Annulment in the Catholic Church is a form of <I>oikonoumia</I> too; but the traditional Orthodox application of it to marriage and divorce is more elastic than that of the Catholic concept of validity and thus more liable to abuse.<BR/><BR/>Best,<BR/>MikeMike Lhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18100363229707213441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14300599.post-1131123496236429682005-11-04T11:58:00.000-05:002005-11-04T11:58:00.000-05:00Hi MikeI am finding your blog to be a refuge from ...Hi Mike<BR/>I am finding your blog to be a refuge from the world, even my bishop! I am currently hashing it out with him in front of 308 people about my 'sacramentally invalid marriage' He doesn't buy that. <BR/><BR/>At any rate I appreciate this post. You know as a Western woman, I have always desired to look like a cover model, and even if I attract all the straight men's desire in the world, it doesn't satisfy me. Interesting. What is the point of wearing a bikini? None.<BR/><BR/>On the other hand I do desire to wear a burkha. Why? Because I do desire to hide my face. My friend told me my face is like a movie screen. Well what do you expect going through divorce in front of the church?! I WISH I could wear a burkha. I greatly admire my Muslim neighbors and wish I could be like them. They seem so much more whole than me. <BR/><BR/>I notice you often blog about Islam. Do you have a personal beef with Islam? I personally would like to join an Orthodox-Islam interfaith discussion group. Know of one?<BR/><BR/>In Christ's love<BR/>Olympiadaexistentialisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18121706260786532883noreply@blogger.com