Oh please, may I vomit now?

I just got an article (click on the image - it should enlarge it) forwarded to me about Rebecca St James, and that was so not a good way to start my Monday morning - there's only so much gooey, sickly sweetness that I can handle at one time, after all, and Monday mornings are times when I'm particularly intolerant to it (or anything, really. A pox on Monday mornings!).

It annoys me that she's classed as the 'voice for the modern Christian woman,' at least by the author of the article.

Yes, purity is great, and so is waiting for marriage to the right man (or woman, if you're a man. Nothing said on the gay issue, although I assume that it'd either be the same principal (if they were allowed to marry, but seeing as they're not... let's stop that thought there before my head explodes) or the old 'do not pass go, do not collect $500, pass directly to hell' position on things). I'm not disagreeing on the purity front (although I've heard a lot of criticism about her book on the subject from Christians). Purity is good, even though I find it a little odd that she says that she won't drive alone with a man. I'd say it'd be easier to engage in certain activities while the car is stationary, rather than while rolling down the highway, but hey, let's be puritanical about this...

It's other issues that bug me. Like her living a "protected" lifestyle (and still living at home with her parents at the age of 27).

That's one big thing that REALLY annoys me about Christians and Christianity, and maybe that's from my perspective of feeling like I'm on the margins of Christianity. The 'protected' lifestyle thing. It's so stupid. So many of us have this attitude of totally avoiding 'the world' that we miss the point of what Jesus told us about being in the world and making a difference in it. Instead, there's a fortress mentality where a select few are allowed in, like some sort of exclusive golf club or something like that. That is a totally, totally wrong attitude towards Christianity and most of all, towards Jesus and God.

Of course, "she is a voice of the conservative right," which also makes me want to puke. How on earth can anyone have unquestioning faith in Dubya after all of this time? "...they believe (he) will lead them back to a time when everything was safe and good and simple..." Errmmm, yes... riiiiiiiiiight *insert appropriate lashings of sarcasm* Honestly! The world has really gone to hell in a handbasket since he became President, and with his idiotic foreign policies and lack of attention to pertinent social and economic issues in his own country, I don't think that things will improve there until there's another President (Go Hillary!) who has a better grip on foreign policy and how democracy actually works.

And then there's the perpetuation of the myth of the Prince Charming riding up on his white horse to whisk you away for a happy marriage and a happily ever after, which she says is what she believes all people know is the 'ideal' that they 'long for.' Blah blah blah BLAH! Fairytale pish tosh! Yes, it's a nice idea, but personally, I can't say that I've ever wanted the Prince Charming thing. Maybe it's because I grew up with a love of fairytales by George MacDonald, where women weren't the weak, simpering, passive semen-receptacles that they are in many other tales. They helped to kill giants (The Giant's Heart), they went on quests (The Golden Key), they hated the prince when he first arrived, but got to know him over time and appreciate him for who he was (The Light Princess).

Add to that all: She 'giggles', "I'm preparing for when I meet the man who will be my husband. I'm reading books about how I can be the best woman that I can be, becoming a great soul mate for somebody. That's exciting. That's fun." So what about someone loving you for yourself, rather than yourself with the additional changes thanks to some self-help manuals and a dose of a Christian Dr Phil (if there is one)?

*sigh*

Little wonder I feel marginalised as a Christian woman.