My wife no longer trusts me because I usually select a war movie and then plead that the film contains such a compelling storyline, that she’ll soon forget about the blood and guts and guns and bombs and tanks and fighter planes. But I don’t think she’s bought into my feeble rationale. Let’s face it, there are just some movies that men will like more than women and vice versa. With Father’s Day on the near horizon, it seems a good time to recommend two such movies that Christian dads might enjoy, so, I will examine two—one a recent release on DVD and another that has been out for a few years. Both films are based on true historical events.

Defiance

Defiance was released to home video earlier this month. It is the story of two Jewish brothers—Tuvia Bielski (played by Daniel Craig) and Zus Bielski (Liev Schreiber)—in German-occupied Poland during World War II  who escaped into the forests in the face of Hitler’s SS. Under the leadership of Tuvia and a few other men, more than 1,200 Jewish citizens eventually come to live and survive in the forest—braving raids by Hitler’s death squads, the cruel winter elements and the Gen. 3 fracturing of relationships that causes periodical fights among community members. The brothers Tuvia demonstrate incredible bravery in the face of unspeakably evil tyranny and show what it means for men to serve in their God-ordained roles as the protector, provider and leader of women and children. The move is rated R for some language and war violence—though this rating may not be justified as it seems to fit better in the PG range.

To End All Wars

Released to DVD five years ago, this is one of my all-time favorite war movies and is perhaps one of the most gripping films I have seen. This is particularly true because the Gospel rings crystal clear in a true story of redemptive, Christ-like suffering in a Japanese concentration camp during World War II.  Members of the 93^rd regiment of the Scottish Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders are captured and herded into a camp where conditions were squalid and the punishment brutal and endless. Once there, they are forced to build the Burma railway, while living on meager, insect-infested rations.

The storyline focuses primarily on two soldiers, Ernest Gordon (Ciaran McMenamin) and his superior officer Ian Campbell (Robert Carlyle).  Gordon recovers from an illness that has him on his death bed and then agrees to teach a number of his captives Plato, Shakespeare and the Bible. God’s Word is particularly prominent within the teaching. As this group of soldiers begin to learn, and particularly as they catch a glimpse of Christ from Scripture, their attitudes toward their captors and their work ethic in the camp is transformed, eventually catching the notice of their captors. Meanwhile, Campbell, who sneers at Gordon’s educational efforts, leads a smaller band of soldiers in planning to murder guards and escape from the camp. They both the escape and four would-be escapees are shot execution-style in front of the entire camp. Campbell is saved when another soldier demands to be killed in his place. Because the soldier is a follower of Christ, the Japanese crucify him on a cross before the entire watching camp and Campbell is set free. The good news of substitutionary atonement could not ring more clearly. This movie is a deeply compelling illustration of the Gospel and its ethic as expressed in Matt. 5:43-44 (“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy,’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”) and Rom. 12:17-21(“Repay no one evil for evil…Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

The movie is rated R because it depicts in chilling detail the brutality and evil of the human heart that was openly on display in so many corners of the world during WWII. But it is this awful darkness that so starkly illumines the awesome power of the Gospel in the second half of the movie. If you have not seen this movie, go immediately and rent or buy it. If you are a reader, you may want to pick up the autobiography of Ernest Gordon—who after the war served as dean of the chapel at Princeton University—titled, Through the Valley of the Kwai.

Governor John Lynch signed a bill on Wednesday that makes New Hampshire the sixth state to legalize same-sex "marriage." The governor has changed his position on the issue, having previously supported civil unions but not gay "marriage." The New York Times reports:

Mr. Lynch . . .said in a statement that he had heard "compelling arguments that a separate system is not an equal system."

"Today," he said, "we are standing up for the liberties of same-sex couples by making clear that they will receive the same rights, responsibilities — and respect — under New Hampshire law."

A couple of items of note here. First, notice the governor's allusion to the infamous "separate but equal" doctrine from Plessy v. Ferguson, the Supreme Court decision that institutionalized racial segregation in the U.S. It appears that the governor has bought-in to the argument that the gay population should be a protected class (just as racial minorities are protected) and that it is impossible to give gay people a "separate but equal" status vis-à-vis marriage (such as a "civil union").

Second, Christians who oppose gay "marriage" do so not because we believe in a "separate but equal" doctrine. In the first place, we simply do not recognize sexual preference as a basis for creating a protected class. In the second place (and even more importantly), we believe that marriage gets its meaning and definition from God, not from culture. Thus, the culture may be undergoing an ideological shift on these matters, but faithful Christians are not. Marriage is nothing other than the union of one man and one woman (Gen 2:24; Eph 5:31). Thus we do in fact believe that the covenanted union of one man and one woman should be privileged in law over all other kinds of unions. That is in fact why Christians should be no more comfortable with so-called civil unions than they are with gay "marriage."

I hate to say it, but I don't believe that the governor of New Hampshire is alone in his conclusion that gay "marriage" is a civil rights issue. The culture at large appears to be moving in the same direction. As more courts and legislatures adopt this view, gay "marriage" will eventually become a reality for every state. The ideological ground is moving beneath our feet, and we are witnessing nothing less than a full-scale cultural revolution- the implications of which we have only begun to ponder.

No, the ladies at Girl Talk  did not recently engage in cosmetic or reconstructive surgery to their faces.  But their website  has received some significant modifications. Not only is their new look sleek, they also have a handy new Resources page .  The Resources page has categoriesof blog posts  (marriage, womanhood, singleness, etc), Books and Audio , and Series PDF’s .  Because of their consistent and extensive contribution over the years, their resources are almost encyclopedic.  

Newsweek is running a piece, "MySpace Generation Brides Go for Sexy, Not Virgin" that chronicles the sexualization of weddings and offers this concise statement of where things are:

In response, sociologists say, the sexier dresses and the handoff of pin-up pictures—which was introduced into the wedding prep about three years ago—are ways to add spark to an already-established couple’s sex life and mark the marriage as a monumental life change. “When a girl left her parents’ house to be married, she was making an enormous transition,” Wallace says. “The wedding celebration was to help her negotiate the change. Now very often there is no functional difference between marriage and living together.”

One wonders how long the tradition of the white bridal gown will last. It does not, after all, signal purity for many brides today, as it formerly did. It is merely a holdover from a quaint age and an aesthetically pleasing choice for brides today.

The sexualization of weddings is really quite strange, if you think about it. Weddings (should) celebrate the complete union of a couple, but this is a private matter, not a public one. It’s very strange, and quite twisted, to have brides attempting to draw the eyes of men other than their husband on their wedding day. One doesn’t need to be a Christian to see this. It’s just common sense. It’s downright weird for a woman to sexually advertise herself on the very day that she announces to the world that she is permanently taken.

Weddings ceased to symbolize purity long ago, of course. Bachelor parties, for example, have little pure about them as practiced by many men. Though we justly decry this, does it really surprise us? Everything good in this world faces the assault of Satan and his weapon, sin. That includes marriage, and weddings, and everything else.

This reminds us of the tremendous opportunity every Christian woman has to offer an unmistakably clear witness to lost people. Every act of modesty, however small, is significant. A total commitment to modesty brings great glory to God, firstly, and also has incredible cultural power provided that a Christian woman knows unbelievers to witness to.

We are reminded on this matter that we Christians need to be in the world so that our witness can shine among the lost. It is great for Christian women to all be modest together–we need that. But we need them, however they can, to be modest as a mode of witness.

This does not have to mean–in most cases–something extreme. It’s fine for Christian women to look normal and even fashionable. It’s nice for a woman to feel confident about herself and her appearance. Women should not feel the need to wear huge dresses, billowing blouses, or the like to avoid keeping men from stumbling. Honestly, if a woman is being modest, the power of the Holy Spirit is sufficient for men to avoid lust.

We need to wrap up. Many brides today don’t dress modestly. Christian women should, knowing that they are imaging something greater than their own marriage. As they have preserved themselves for their husband and chosen carefully about how to act and dress, giving constant precedence to modesty, so the church of Jesus Christ will one day meet her husband in a ceremony celebrating the Savior who has given His bride the greatest gift the world has ever known–righteousness, pure and dazzling, that outshines the most immodest show this world can offer.

Additional reading:

All Dressed in White: The Irresistible Rise of the American Wedding by Carol Wallace

Marriage, a History: How Love Conquered Marriage by Stephanie Coontz

By John Starke

This last week has been a sweet-remorse for CBMW.  We say good bye to our very dear friend, Brent Nelson.  The Lord is taking Brent and his family to a new post of Kingdom work.  For those of us who have had the pleasure and honor to go shoulder-to-shoulder with Brent over the issues so prevalent to CBMW, we know the great loss that we suffer.  Brent provides pastoral wisdom mixed with a joyful spirit to all that he does.  I emphasize the joyful spirit.

It might be helpful to disclose why he is so joyful.  Brent strategically places his joy in the cross and the forgiveness of sins in all that he writes and says.  Not only has his joy in the Gospel instructed his smile, but it has also been applied to all his efforts here at CBMW.

CBMW and the battle for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood need more men like Brent, whose complementarianism is not undergirded by social concerns or agendas, but specifically informed by God's sovereign Word.  Brent is gifted in untangling the confusion in today's world with Gospel truth.  While another Kingdom post will benefit from his wisdom and joy and we rejoice in God's providential hand in his life, we will miss him.

Most of all, I will miss my dear friend.  Brent, I have never left your company without being encouraged.  Never.  Your family has been a sweet gift to us.  With tears, I know my daughter will say good-bye to your sweet little girl - her best friend.  Thanks so much for your frienship.  All the blessings to you.

By Jeff Robinson

"A friend loves at all times and a brother is born for adversity." (Prov. 17:17)

One of the singular greatest gifts that God gives to His people is a community of fellow pilgrims who are marching to the Celestial City, fellow pilgrims to encourage and exhort them, fellow pilgrims whom they can properly call "friends." Genuine friendships, even within the church, take time and labor and patience and their health requires grace from Him who is the infinitely faithful friend of sinners. Over the span of one's life, genuine friendships are rare and we know them when we see them: Frodo and Sam, Whitefield and Wesley, the T4G guys, the Mahaneys at Girl Talk, Jesus and the Peter/ James/John cohort.

God has graced me with numerous substantive, cherished friendships through the years, particularly within the church. Some of them have been and continue to be colleagues. Brent Nelson, my fellow laborer in the cause of Christ here at Gender Blog these past couple of years and co-teacher at Clifton Baptist Church, is one such cherished friend.  

Thanks to God's grace to me through the means of his friendship, I walk with my eyes fixed more certainly upon our dear Lord and Savior; thanks to his irenic example of Christ-honoring, others-centered discourse, I seek to address the themes of theology and gender with a greater awareness of the my need to walk in accord with 1 Tim. 2: 24 ("And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach...").

Brent, as you go to fulfill this most sacred of callings, please know that your gracious pen and your inestimable pastoral wisdom will be deeply missed in this tiny corner of God's world, but go knowing that your brothers here will be praying for you; we will be praying that God will strengthen you, that He will grant you endurance in the truth and godliness and joy and courage as a good soldier of Christ, and that He will be pleased to bear much fruit in and through you, your precious family and your ministry, for the fame of His matchless name.