Posted on September 26, 2015
“REALLY? You think you received something different from your mother and father?” is a question my college student daughter was recently asked in disbelief by a group of young women and a professor. These are all Christians. In their perspective, mother and father are interchangeable in terms of what they give their children–neither has something unique to give that the other could not just as easily give–if it was in their personality to do so. Man and woman are just not that different.
Posted on February 22, 2014
Note: What began as a blog entry became a behemoth. Of course, the question elicits a lifetime of answer. You may want to read this in a few sittings. I wish I could provide you with a bookmark and a large cup of coffee.
In the novel, One Hundred Years of Solitude, by Garcia Marquez, the author describes in his magical but realistic way a village suffering from an insomnia plague. As this plague continues, it gradually causes the loss of memory. To try and salvage memory, the people developed an elaborate plan that involved labeling everything, for instance, “This is a cow.” But even the labels lost meaning over time and needed to be further defined. So, for instance to “This is a cow,” they added: “She gives us milk. We add milk to our coffee.” Eventually the village put a placard at the entrance to town that said, “God exists,” as that knowledge too was slipping. Then the people began to forget what a mother was and what a father was and lost all language to describe it.
