Hollywood 'eager' to sexualize young girls (OneNewsNow.com)

Hollywood 'eager' to sexualize young girls (OneNewsNow.com)

Ok. I have been away for a long time. I understand if you may have thought I would never write again.

And I can't guarantee the next time I will write, but I am just riled up about what I have been seeing going on and I had to share.

The problem is, these young girls just can't understand. I know that it took Jamie sharing with Alicia at the Y one day how the older men were ogling the teen girls who were inappropriately dressed on the first row of treadmills in front of the other machines. These men, most of whom were married, would look up from the exercise to inappropriately stare at these girls. I know Alicia had no idea this was the kind of response that such dress had provoked. I would like to think that the majority (at least) of the girls exercising also did not truly understand how they were being objectified by these men.

Let's put this into a different light.

Who gains from the sexualization of young girls in this society? Have you ever asked yourself why some of the main leaders in the start of Women's Liberation were male? Were you aware that there are more females than males in our society and that in historically in societies where the men outnumber the women, these tend to be more conservative and have higher fidelity?

Let's face it. Men still have the greatest influence in today's society. Women have been gaining legitimate influence in the world, but they are being diverted and pushed off focus by the men whom want all the power and the pleasures such power affords to themselves. Overall, instead of women being seen as diligent homemakers, they are now seen as sexualized cougars and being told to flaunt their bodies. Who is truly gaining from this empty, shallow behavior?

This has all been predicted long ago in the writings of Paul to the Romans (Romans 1). Man doesn't want the things of God and wants to indulge his own pleasure and impulses. So God is giving man over to his depravity. Unfortunately, man wants to see young women in sexual positions. How else could the pornography industry make more money in a year than it would take to cure hunger in the entire year by BILLIONS of dollars.

And it makes so much sense.  I just don't think people WANT to think that there are really people out there who are intentionally trying to manipulate groups of people for their own sick pleasure.  But it is happening.  Sure, it may have started for ratings (sex sells), but why these particular behaviors?  Why have younger and younger girls participate in more and more provocative behaviors?  Especially, when the older women per this report are engaged more often in sexual discussions but not the acts.  Who does the "older man" leave his wife for and run off with?  So older women want to see younger women participate in sexual acts?  Do the younger girls want specifically to see these acts?  So the immediate gratification is there for men as well as the biggest weapen known to the modern world is also present.  That weapon, influence over the minds of the youth.  That is a post for another time, but the Nazi's, Marxist, Communist, all state in their manifestos of the importance of controlling what the youth are taught.

Oh, sure, Bailey is on a rant and only sees the one side, you might say.  You might be thinking that it is just for ratings and to influence the spending habits of the present and next generation of shoppers.  Ok then, what exactly would you be selling to sexualized young girls....besides therapy as studies (APA, 1990's) have shown that girls who are sexualized in their youth have more psychological disorders in later life than those who are not?   Are they trying to sell condoms or birth control?  Trying to market abortions?  KY?  Sexier lines of clothing?  What would be the logical end result of this train of influence?

So it really stands not if this is happening.... it is...but if there is a reckless negligence that is motivated purely by temporary financial gains, or is there something more pernicious, more sinister at play.  I think it is easy to see where I stand on that issue, but you need to decide that for yourself.  If the former, we need to write the advertisers and the networks and tell them the kind of programming we want and influence the market that way as has been done with the Narnia movies and projects like Facing the Giants and Fireproof.  If it is the latter, then you need to open your eyes and help those whom you love and want to protect to open theirs.  And pray.  Pray hard.

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." (Ephesians 6:12 NIV)

As hard as it is for me to let things go and put them into God's hands, that is the only place they are going to be addressed because it is not the advertisers, producers, directors, writers, people, etc who are doing this.  It is the force of the one whom has limited time in this world and is prowling like a lion trying to devour those whom he can while he still has time left.

Five Years

It is the longest I have been with a company since I started my career in telecom in 1993.  The close second is my first company that started me down this path and that was four and a half years.  I remember interviewing for my current company, who has since merged, so it is not really the current company, but my phone number and desk have been the same.  I almost feel like I am having a little pity party for myself today.  The announcement was made in the team meeting this morning, I get the expected round of applause, and even some points to trade in for prizes, and not to mention a jump to vacation time from 3 to 4 weeks a year.  I am hugely grateful I have a job and Go has made it possible to support my family and myself.  I just can't help but ask myself, besides productivity and being a resource for questions, would my presence here really matter.

Did I make any kind of impact in the five years I have been sitting at this same desk with the same phone number.  I have contact with at least 30 to 40 people a week.  Do I make a different in their lives?  Has something I said impact them in any way?  Has the way I acted and responded to pressure (...and to stupid questions) brought glory to God and pointed them towards the kingdom?

Sure, I have had conversations with the Christian whose desk is across from mine, and I know people have overheard (you can't help but overhear).  But will people just remember me fondly if I were to move on or will there be a hole in the environment?  Will people miss the encouragement and uplifting words that are supposed to be spoken from my mouth instead of grumbling and complaining.  Will people know who to turn to when they are finding themselves short on options?  And it doesn't have to be me, but to the One who I should have been pointing to all along.

So I guess I can continue to feel sorry for myself, or I can do something about it.  I can chose to follow my emotions, or I can chose to follow Truth and the commandments of the One who has given me life.  So here I stand (or crawl...either way) and I state that my intentions are to move forward glorifying God in all that I do.

I know I will falter and fall and fail.  I will especially do poorly if I rely upon my strength.  How can I glorify God by doing things in my strength and with my know how.  What kind of glory would that be???  I mean seriously, it's like telling Payton Manning that I am going to glorify him by playing QB for him.  It's not anything anyone would want to see and I am sure Payton would politely thank me for the thought, but would rather by QB.  So I need to let God by God and I need to submit my like to His word, to His will, to His strength, and to His ways.  There may very well in lie the problems I have been having.  I have been trying to do what I think is right instead of submitting to His wisdoms and His ways for what He says is right.  After all, "there is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end leads to death (Proverbs 14.12 NIV)."

Talking Donkeys

In Numbers 22, God had opened the mouth of the prophet Balaam's donkey to protest the beating that Balaam was giving her.  In case you don't remember the story, Balaam was a prophet given the ability to bless or curse a nation.  This gifting from God to Balaam was able to be exercised as God had willed,  but also was able to be used outside of the will of God to curse Israel.  That is what Balaam was on his way to do (curse Israel for a price) before this miraculous event occurred.  Balaam was going to choose greed and things of this world over God's will; even being a prophet of the LORD whom had known God's power and presence.  You would think one who knew God's Spirit and Grace would not desire to go against God's will for his life.  But I guess much like the angels in heaven whom had served God and knew His glory but had chosen to believe the lie and rebel against the LORD, Balaam had chosen the potential for his personal gain over the glory of God's promises.

Balaam was on his way to receive the bribe from Balak, the king of Moab, to curse the nation of Israel.  Balaam had saddled his donkey the way he always had and was on the road, blinded by his greed and distorted reality.  God's sovereignty was not going to be usurped.  God had called for Israel to be a blessed nation and not to be cursed.  It would appear that Balaam had the ability to choose to rebel from God's will, but there was going to be a price to pay.  An angel of the LORD was sent to stop Balaam.  The angel blocked the road with sword in hand.  This angel was not the floating on a cloud with wings and a harp picture popular in the world, this was a mighty soldier (heavenly host) of the LORD with sword out ready for battle.  This angel, sent by God, was ready to take care of business however it needed to play out, including killing Balaam.

Balaam's donkey had seen the angel and had gotten the message and continued to try to turn away from the road, only to receive a beating from Balaam.  When Balaam, who did not have the ability to see the angel, continued to press his donkey to drive forward, God, in His power, sovereignty, and most importantly, His mercy, opened the mouth of the donkey to speak to Balaam.

Here is an interesting couple of points to note.  The first point is Balaam had set out with his two servants.  Two witnesses are what were needed in the Hebrew courts, so this is not something that happened in isolation.  The second interesting point is that when Balaam's donkey had spoken, Balaam had engaged in a conversation with his donkey.

Imagine being either so fixated on something that you miss the incredible miracles that are happening right before your own eyes or so expectant of God to do miraculous things around you that supernatural events aren't a surprise to you.  I think, unfortunately, most people fall into the first category.  I would love to live a life that actually anticipated God to be working in astounding and miraculous ways so much to the point that when prayers were answered and His work unfolded I would not be in disbelief.

The story ends with God continuing to show mercy on Balaam by opening Balaam's eyes (spiritual sight) to be able to also see and also converse with the angel of the LORD.  You think the donkey talking would have slowed Balaam down and not actually led to a conversation with the animal; as if it were an every day occurrence.  In seeing the angel, Balaam finally falls on his face.  The angel admonishes Balaam for beating his donkey who was only trying to protect Balaam because the angel of the LORD had already decided that he would kill Balaam had he not stopped.  Balaam confesses his sin and repents.  Then Balaam is able to be put back into useful service for God once again.  

It makes me want to sit back and focus on what it is in my life that I am being so narrow focused on that I am missing God's work happening right in front of me.  God has shown that He desires us to use the gifts he has given to us for His purposes and not simply for our gains in this world.  God's will will be done.  God is patient with me, not wanting me (or anyone) to perish but come into repentance (2 Peter 3:9 NIV).  The trick is for me to not go off head strong into my plans and my ways, arguing with a donkey (and looking like a donkey myself).  I do pray God will open my eyes before it is too late, because if not, there is a penalty that will be paid for my willful rebellion.  Personally, I prefer to be on the repentance and blessing side and be able to be put into useful service for the Lord.

As Bad as Crack Cocaine

Here is a must read article about the epidemic of our times: Pornography and Women

This information and implications in this article are staggering.  One of the greatest dangerous is not only because it is so secretive and insidious, it is also skewing our perceptions of reality and relationships.  And if you understand anything about God, relationships are a HUGE deal to Him.  In fact, the term righteousness deals with being in a right relationship, no about good behavior.

The (Not So) Gospel Good News of Predestination

Whenever I hear of a different religion or religious point of view, I like to do some research so I can gain a better understanding of what it is that the people believe.  Of course, without long term study, I cannot give any faith a fair enough shake.  What I do find interesting, and I believe this is a fair generalization, most people don't understand what it is that they claim to be a believer in or follower of.  So from asking enough questions to just gain information, you can find the answers begin to run a little thin.  But what I find more troubling than just surface knowledge is when people don't understand the implications of what they believe.

For example, many Mormons may not know that the Mormon faith believes in many gods (polytheism) and not the one true God of the universe.  They believe that if you do what you are called to do in the faith, that you can actually become a god and have your own universe to create.  This is not something that is normally announced during an invitation time or alter call, "if you want to diminish the God of the universe and the sacrifice of Jesus and elevate yourself to be a god as the serpent promised Eve in Genesis 3, come on down and join the church."  It is something that is introduced over time in little bites.

So what I am interested in for the sake of this post is the implications of the concept of Predestination that people who are considered Five Point or Hyper-Calvinists hold to.  I am NOT trying to pick a fight or contribute to disunity.  I am certainly not trying to demean anyone and hope if there are any comments, that they are based on the desire to see truth brought to light and God glorified.  God is sovereign and He can do what He wants to with us.  As I mentioned above, in a limited time I can only gather so much about the concept.  There are a lot smarter people than I who have spent a lot more time with this than myself.  So far, I see that the concept to be a gray area that is causing confusion and distress in the body; two things that the Bible clearly speaks against.  My point will always be: What is the character of God and how does the entirety of His word match with that character.  I know people have expressed that Predestination is a beautiful thing.  I think that they are missing the implications of what they are believing.

The (Not so) Gospel Good News of Predestination
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the universe.  God created the world and man.  And it was good.


God had predestined that evil would be brought into the world through the serpent, once a great and beautiful creation that God had determined needed to be damned to an eternal hell that God created only for the serpent and the other angels that God would cause to want to rebel against Himself.  God needed a way to bring  the evil that He created into the world so that He could have a way of eternally damning and separating His creation from Him.  The woman and Adam were compelled to take of and eat of the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  They had no choice.  If God had given them a choice, even though God would have been the one to have given the man and the woman the ability to choose, others would claim that God was not sovereign and then original Sin wouldn't have entered into the world.  If original sin didn't enter into the world, then God's sovereign plan from before time began to create and choose people to be forever damned into an eternal hell would not have taken place.  But since God is sovereign, Adam and Eve never had the free will to rebel against God's command and eat of the fruit.

Of course, the question would be, if Adam and Eve did NOT have free will to chose to accept the truth claim of God over the truth claim of the enemy, is it really sin?  Is it really rebellion if our actions are completely dictated by the Creator?  If you say that it is sin, and God is the one who pulled all the strings from His being sovereign, does that imply that God did the sinning or at the least that God created sin?  Does God tempt people and does God cause people to stumble and sin?

So, in Genesis 3, because of the fall of man, sin was made to enter into the world and all of creation was cursed.  But God had already made a way for His creation.  God spoke of the promise of the Seed, the coming of Jesus (God the Word in fleshly form as God the Son; fully God and fully man) who would come into the world to once and for all condemn all of those whom God had not chosen to be called His children.  Jesus would call to those whom the Father had given to Him and with His death on the cross, although able to redeem all of mankind and all of sin (past, present, and future) through this atonement, God chose that this mercy and justice would be conditional and limited to only those whom He was not condemning to an eternity in hell.


Jesus sent the disciples on the Great Commission, to go out into the world and be His witness to the condemnation that has befallen them.  For those whom God has chosen, they can become disciples, even if they didn't want to.  They can be forced by no act of their own will, love, and devotion to bring their praise and worship to the Father.  Since God loves a cheerful giver, then God will force certain people to cheerfully give.  The others who either do not give cheerfully, or do not give their full tithe, well, it is most probable that they are one of the condemned.  The witnesses will remind people that throughout their lives and their struggles, if they are not chosen, God is not their refuge.  God put the Spirit of the LORD on Him to leave the broken hearted unbound and to let the captive remain in captivity in this world and the one to come.


Here is the best part, no matter what you think you want or don't want, it doesn't matter.  It was predestined before time.  That confession, the repentance, the commitment, the surrender, it doesn't matter.  If you are not one of the elect, don't come to the cross, there just isn't room for you.

Organizing things

Just trying to reorganize things and get things adjusted.  Not a lot of extra time to do any writing.