The other day I had a conversation with a good friend, and pastor, about a number of subjects, but "marriage" was prominent among them. One of his favorite sayings is that we should be "the church of no traditions", to describe the idea of rejecting any falsehoods that are cloaked as "religion" but have no basis in Scripture (or worse!) -- and knows that I usually point out, at least privately, just what ONE of those particularly prominent "traditions" is! As such, he knows some, but not all, of my background and "church-related" concerns, and wanted to talk with me about regarding his concerns about my interest in polygyny.
He is aware that I consider the "One Bride" teaching of the "evangelical Church" to be a heresy. We agree that much of what is taught as "doctrine" is in fact nothing more than pagan traditions dressed up in faux-bible justifications.
My friend started by pointing out that we do not disagree on what Scripture says about marriage for the most part, but wanted me to understand that some things were just more "important" than others. We disagreed on a few nuances, I responded, but not the important issues.
BUT - If we (those of us, I argue, who fellowship together) are in fact a church which rejects "traditions", it is important to understand which traditions are most in need of rejection! And if we are not willing to speak His truth "boldly" -- ALL of it, and ESPECIALLY parts which bear directly on key aspects of His relationship to us, and our families -- then are we not "hypocrites" as well? And SO much of the "prophecy" that we are interested in watching unfold is CRITICALLY dependent on that understanding!
I think we understand each other better at this point -- but there is more to say about this issue of "tradition", and our roles in the family.
It is amazing to me just how pervasive some "traditions" are - and how they contradict Scripture. Many here are aware of what I like to call the Idol of Monogamania, the "egalitarian", feminist, anti-patriarchal, and ultimately anti-Scriptural tradition that men and women are "equal", marriage is a "partnership", and that "there can be only One".
Is there a more fervently-held tradition -- I continue to ask -- than 'Monogamania'? (Even when it comes to Saturnalia and related pagan issues of 'the season' - I suspect most self-described Christians probably have a harder time with Exodus 21:10 and Isaiah 4:1 than they do with Jeremiah 10!)
But by now I suspect some of your are beginning to wonder what the heck any of this has to do with the title above!
It came directly out of a dream, and a couple of things that were connected for me that way. I wrote 'em down in a notebook kept at bedside for that purpose, and then try to do my best a bit later to "flesh out" the revelation, and look up the Scripture.
What does the phrase "bringing home the bacon" really mean? Isn't that what the popular (mis)conception of "patriarchy" supposed to mean? After all, next to the media image of a Bible-believing "patriarch" being an iron-fisted, humorless, (probably wife-beating) autocrat -- the slander that such men believe all women must stay home "barefoot and pregnant" is probably a close second.
After all, doesn't the Bible say that a Real Man must "bring home the bacon"?
This seems like a particularly poignant issue to me during the time of the increasingly-obvious onset of the Far Greater Depression. Even us genuine Believing Patriarchs who reject the popular stereotype of Husband-as-Dictator can fall prey to the equally-destructive stereotype that says, "therefore if you FAIL to bring home the bacon -- if you get laid off, for example -- you are a failure as a husband, and a man."
And the point here is not to talk about food, or even (directly, anyway
) the issue of what is "clean", and what is "unclean"; it's just to take a look at what the Bible really teaches. (For that matter, as most long-term BF folks know, I'm not particularly fond of the popular rendering of the Hebrew word תּוֹרָה "torah" as "law", of course, since the usual connotation of the word ignores the deeper meaning of the original use of the word for God's "teachings" or "instruction".)
But take a look at Leviticus chapter 20, for just one example. How many times does YHVH say almost the same thing in Scripture: You are to be "separate" (qadosh) because "I AM" (qadosh) קֹדֶשׁ
And take a look at such things as Deuteronomy chapter 12, or the end of chapter 7 in particular, to get a feel for some of the things we are to separate ourselves FROM. Those things He calls 'abomination', we are warned not to try to salvage, and not even to "bring it into your house"!
Separate yourselves, in other words, from the "unclean world", because "you should be Mine". (He tells us how to get "washed", and cleaned up, too, of course -- and that's really "another part of the Same Story". But note that the same warning is repeated in Rev. 18:4 near the End of that Story as well.)
So how many of the Fathers - the "patriarchs" -- in the Bible "brought home the bacon"? How many even brought home a paycheck? Does that mean we should not? Of course not...but note that the real JOB of those men was FAR more important than what they did to provide food and shelter for their houses.
Kings like David, and perhaps similarly men like Joseph (but he spent a LOT of time in jail first!) were the main characters that had "jobs", per se. Jacob and Moses herded sheep, but that seemed to have as much to do with learning how to LEAD as it did economics. Mostly, folks, they were managers...they ultimately learned how to be good stewards of what God gave them. My own take, only a bit tongue-in-cheek, is that we are ultimately called to be 'gardeners', and tend to the seed that He gives us to plant.
And don't forget what the Bible teaches about wives, in the example set forth in Proverbs 31. Her value is "far above rubies", and the "heart of her husband safely trusts her", but what does she DO? Look at the amazing list -- not only does she "work willingly with her hands", and know that "her merchandise is good", but she buys land and plants it, takes care of her household, "stretches out her hand to the poor", and, in general does a number of things that should humble even the most proud 'modern' glass-ceiling-busting, Patriarchy-hating, don't-need-no-man, "I am woman hear me roar" Corporate Woman Exec!
(Calm down; a bit of hyperbole is intended to make a point. Almost all of us fall short, and probably have self-esteem issues when we read verses like "be perfect because I AM perfect". Thankfully, the great majority of men and women in the Bible are portrayed as FAR too flawed and human! We can learn from all of 'em. And I'm not done yet, either... )
So what is her truly blessed husband doing while his Proverbs 31 wife is being so incredibly industrious? He is "known in the gates, when he is sitting among the elders of the land." (I'll skip the obvious punch line; every single person reading this knows what the sitcom TV heroine would say about such a guy.)
It is easy to see how the Bible can be ridiculed by those (the majority, probably) who would rather "twist" what God has to teach us than understand it.
But the larger point is that I believe we are entering a phase of economic, political, and societal upheaval where it is increasingly obvious that "evil" is being called "good", and vice-versa. As husbands, and "heads of our own house", there are MANY tasks and responsibilities associated with "covering" our families that have little, and perhaps even nothing, to do with "bringing home the bacon".
Arguably, it is a goal of the Adversary to convince us that "nothing" is more important that our ability to "make money", and that those men who fall short of what we were once able to make, or are even being led in another direction entirely, are somehow "failures".
Whether everyone here understands the whole teaching or not, and whether some may disagree about what has been "done away with" or not - the metaphors in Scripture remain clear, and True. "Leaven" (as in yeast) is a metaphor for sin. "A little", we are reminded, "leavens the whole loaf" - just a little sin can fester. This is why, I contend, He is so specific about not "mixing" the set-apart and the "common", unclean, or profane,
And we are not only to KNOW, but to "teach the difference", between the clean and the unclean. Ultimately, the "head of house" is responsible for what comes in through the door, even when his helpmeets "provide food for the house" as well.
======================================
My job is not to "bring home the bacon", in other words.
It is to keep the "bacon" out of my house!
Blessings,
Mark
He is aware that I consider the "One Bride" teaching of the "evangelical Church" to be a heresy. We agree that much of what is taught as "doctrine" is in fact nothing more than pagan traditions dressed up in faux-bible justifications.
My friend started by pointing out that we do not disagree on what Scripture says about marriage for the most part, but wanted me to understand that some things were just more "important" than others. We disagreed on a few nuances, I responded, but not the important issues.
BUT - If we (those of us, I argue, who fellowship together) are in fact a church which rejects "traditions", it is important to understand which traditions are most in need of rejection! And if we are not willing to speak His truth "boldly" -- ALL of it, and ESPECIALLY parts which bear directly on key aspects of His relationship to us, and our families -- then are we not "hypocrites" as well? And SO much of the "prophecy" that we are interested in watching unfold is CRITICALLY dependent on that understanding!
I think we understand each other better at this point -- but there is more to say about this issue of "tradition", and our roles in the family.
It is amazing to me just how pervasive some "traditions" are - and how they contradict Scripture. Many here are aware of what I like to call the Idol of Monogamania, the "egalitarian", feminist, anti-patriarchal, and ultimately anti-Scriptural tradition that men and women are "equal", marriage is a "partnership", and that "there can be only One".
Is there a more fervently-held tradition -- I continue to ask -- than 'Monogamania'? (Even when it comes to Saturnalia and related pagan issues of 'the season' - I suspect most self-described Christians probably have a harder time with Exodus 21:10 and Isaiah 4:1 than they do with Jeremiah 10!)
But by now I suspect some of your are beginning to wonder what the heck any of this has to do with the title above!
It came directly out of a dream, and a couple of things that were connected for me that way. I wrote 'em down in a notebook kept at bedside for that purpose, and then try to do my best a bit later to "flesh out" the revelation, and look up the Scripture.
What does the phrase "bringing home the bacon" really mean? Isn't that what the popular (mis)conception of "patriarchy" supposed to mean? After all, next to the media image of a Bible-believing "patriarch" being an iron-fisted, humorless, (probably wife-beating) autocrat -- the slander that such men believe all women must stay home "barefoot and pregnant" is probably a close second.
After all, doesn't the Bible say that a Real Man must "bring home the bacon"?
This seems like a particularly poignant issue to me during the time of the increasingly-obvious onset of the Far Greater Depression. Even us genuine Believing Patriarchs who reject the popular stereotype of Husband-as-Dictator can fall prey to the equally-destructive stereotype that says, "therefore if you FAIL to bring home the bacon -- if you get laid off, for example -- you are a failure as a husband, and a man."
And the point here is not to talk about food, or even (directly, anyway
) the issue of what is "clean", and what is "unclean"; it's just to take a look at what the Bible really teaches. (For that matter, as most long-term BF folks know, I'm not particularly fond of the popular rendering of the Hebrew word תּוֹרָה "torah" as "law", of course, since the usual connotation of the word ignores the deeper meaning of the original use of the word for God's "teachings" or "instruction".)But take a look at Leviticus chapter 20, for just one example. How many times does YHVH say almost the same thing in Scripture: You are to be "separate" (qadosh) because "I AM" (qadosh) קֹדֶשׁ
And take a look at such things as Deuteronomy chapter 12, or the end of chapter 7 in particular, to get a feel for some of the things we are to separate ourselves FROM. Those things He calls 'abomination', we are warned not to try to salvage, and not even to "bring it into your house"!
Separate yourselves, in other words, from the "unclean world", because "you should be Mine". (He tells us how to get "washed", and cleaned up, too, of course -- and that's really "another part of the Same Story". But note that the same warning is repeated in Rev. 18:4 near the End of that Story as well.)
So how many of the Fathers - the "patriarchs" -- in the Bible "brought home the bacon"? How many even brought home a paycheck? Does that mean we should not? Of course not...but note that the real JOB of those men was FAR more important than what they did to provide food and shelter for their houses.
Kings like David, and perhaps similarly men like Joseph (but he spent a LOT of time in jail first!) were the main characters that had "jobs", per se. Jacob and Moses herded sheep, but that seemed to have as much to do with learning how to LEAD as it did economics. Mostly, folks, they were managers...they ultimately learned how to be good stewards of what God gave them. My own take, only a bit tongue-in-cheek, is that we are ultimately called to be 'gardeners', and tend to the seed that He gives us to plant.
And don't forget what the Bible teaches about wives, in the example set forth in Proverbs 31. Her value is "far above rubies", and the "heart of her husband safely trusts her", but what does she DO? Look at the amazing list -- not only does she "work willingly with her hands", and know that "her merchandise is good", but she buys land and plants it, takes care of her household, "stretches out her hand to the poor", and, in general does a number of things that should humble even the most proud 'modern' glass-ceiling-busting, Patriarchy-hating, don't-need-no-man, "I am woman hear me roar" Corporate Woman Exec!
(Calm down; a bit of hyperbole is intended to make a point. Almost all of us fall short, and probably have self-esteem issues when we read verses like "be perfect because I AM perfect".
Thankfully, the great majority of men and women in the Bible are portrayed as FAR too flawed and human! We can learn from all of 'em. And I'm not done yet, either... )So what is her truly blessed husband doing while his Proverbs 31 wife is being so incredibly industrious? He is "known in the gates, when he is sitting among the elders of the land." (I'll skip the obvious punch line; every single person reading this knows what the sitcom TV heroine would say about such a guy.)
It is easy to see how the Bible can be ridiculed by those (the majority, probably) who would rather "twist" what God has to teach us than understand it.
But the larger point is that I believe we are entering a phase of economic, political, and societal upheaval where it is increasingly obvious that "evil" is being called "good", and vice-versa. As husbands, and "heads of our own house", there are MANY tasks and responsibilities associated with "covering" our families that have little, and perhaps even nothing, to do with "bringing home the bacon".
Arguably, it is a goal of the Adversary to convince us that "nothing" is more important that our ability to "make money", and that those men who fall short of what we were once able to make, or are even being led in another direction entirely, are somehow "failures".
Whether everyone here understands the whole teaching or not, and whether some may disagree about what has been "done away with" or not - the metaphors in Scripture remain clear, and True. "Leaven" (as in yeast) is a metaphor for sin. "A little", we are reminded, "leavens the whole loaf" - just a little sin can fester. This is why, I contend, He is so specific about not "mixing" the set-apart and the "common", unclean, or profane,
And we are not only to KNOW, but to "teach the difference", between the clean and the unclean. Ultimately, the "head of house" is responsible for what comes in through the door, even when his helpmeets "provide food for the house" as well.
======================================
My job is not to "bring home the bacon", in other words.
It is to keep the "bacon" out of my house!
Blessings,
Mark
