Several movements actually are "afoot":
Read or listen to Revive Our Hearts with Nancy Leigh DeMoss for more on the True Woman movement - which is of Christian women realizing the truth of the differences between men and women of God, and their desire to move toward God's plan for true womanhood.
Do a search on headcoverings (one word or two words) and read about all of the women of the world who are "re-awakening" to the design of covering their heads, or hair, while in worship, or even all the time. Notice as you walk around, or watch or read the news, how head scarves and hats are "back in" fashion. For a variety of reasons, we have a movement toward more humility and chastity and modesty among us all.
Another movement that I have noticed (and perhaps you have too) is that within the various churches, a desire to return to the simple one truth of the gospel of Christ. For examples: you find "Biblical agrarians" who wish to return to living simply in communities and with the earth, using the Bible and the "old ways" as their guides; you find huge numbers of churches forming in homes, where folks are attempting to return to the meetings of the Christians "from house to house"; you find the old, traditional, yet modernized, denominations full of folks who are questioning the modernizations, and bucking their local leaders and theologians even, in order to return to the purity of the Bible alone. Little blogs here and there that I've noticed where Protestants, Catholics and even Orthodox writers are questioning, and reasoning with the Scriptures over what the true church of Christ really is and should be as established in the Bible. In the Catholic world, for example, this means a movement of folks towards the traditional Latin masses, and all that the older traditions had established. Scores of blogs are out there about folks who are searching out and finding the Orthodox churches as the "ancient path". Women attending these services are seeking out head coverings in a variety of ways, and not just the old fashioned mantillas and "babushkas" - I trust my readers have met "Light and Good Order" for some neat examples there. (One Catholic lady writes of her journey recently here, and here, though I've read many others as well. Just notice the comments on her blog.)
Oh, yes, there's a movement or two afoot, and they all seem to be one, really: that swing of the proverbial pendulum, back from extreme liberality in doing whatever we want, toward seeking and finding out what God, the Creator and King, really said and taught his desciples to write down for us. As we seek - from atheists and agnostics to Muslims, Jews and Christians of every individual belief - we will find the One Truth that One God has written for us. As we find that feminine behaviour is more pleasing to God, we add on modest dress and head covering; or perhaps it is the reverse order. But we continually add on other things as we learn and grow, such as true love, patience, self-control and inner peace and joy that we were designed for, which shine as lights to others around us. Maybe we are all on separated paths now, but with prayer and continual seeking, I believe that many of us will find the One Path, because those who seek do find. Those who join a movement because everyone else is doing it won't, but those who are really moving ... will.
Keep reading and studying. Be encouraged. Be blessed by your choices, and be a blessing to others though those same choices.
8 comments:
"and even Orthodox writers are questioning, and reasoning with the Scriptures over what the true church of Christ really is and should be as established in the Bible."
Really? Who? Seriously, this is pretty basic from an Orthodox perspective and not something an Orthodox Christian would question.
I"m not trying to be argumentative, but am curious for you to point to some specific Orthodox who are neatly fitting in with this "movement" in this manner.
Thanks.
I appreciate your question, Alana - and I do see what you mean by reasoning with Scripture should be pretty basic for a Christian. Thing is, I think that there are a lot of people who have been "going through the motions" and not understanding why they do what they do. For examples, I can only say that when I began looking for headcovering Christians in my area, the local Orthodox churches had no ladies who covered, except for the one man who wrote back to tell me that many times when they first moved here from somewhere in Europe they did, but headcoverings and clothing styles change after a while here. I have read a few blogs - and I can't name them individually, I'm sorry - where questions about why things are done are explained, though seemingly things that should be already understood and practiced, because so many apparently don't understand or practice them. I suppose too, I include you and others who have written only about their headcovering and modest dress journeys, or their spiritual journeys in seeking a local church with whom to worship, but where they are the "only ones" in their congregation, or one of few, or even in one case that I know of, where the leadership tried to discourage the lady from covering her head in prayer.
For the most part, I was making blanket statements about Christians from all sorts of backgrounds, who are searching the scriptures more diligently, not necessarily that any one group is wrong or anything like that, but that within each group, it seems that I am seeing more individuals who are not just "following party lines", as we sometimes do in our busy lives.
This doesn't mean that I think that most folks are not questioning and affirming their beliefs and understandings either - we are all at different stages in our growth, and so where I am coming to see a new truth, like headcovering for example, someone else may have understood it for years, but they may be just coming to understand some other basic precept of scripture that I "grew up with".
There are a variety of churches and denominations who all claim to be either the one true Church, or a branch of the One Church of Christ (is Christ the head of multiple bodies?). This is nothing new, nor is the ongoing dialogue between Christians who interpret the scriptures differently new. I suppose what I mean with bringing up the idea of new movements, is that there seems to be a trend toward more "conservativism" - a going back to basics, even among the most basic of believers. A return to modesty, to an awareness of the difference between men and women, to an awareness of doing what we do out of faith, and not out of "religious tradition" just for its own sake. I hope this makes sense.
Lisa,
What a beautiful post this is. This is really observant of you. Also, I'd say that I'm noticing (or hearing about) more folks who are being drawn to the 'mysteries' of the faith, and who want to engage in worship services more representative of the mysterious beauty of the faith, like litugical worship services. I am definitely one of those. Here, I live in the inner city, considered myself pretty post-modern and not terribly conservative --- and all of a sudden, out of nowhere, I'm feeling the need to cover my head? I go to church where folks "shout", stomp their feet, clap their hands (and wave them in the air), and suddenly I want the quiet serene of a candle-lit service? One side of me wants to say, "have you lost your natural mind?!" The other side of me says, "Yes! I've lost my natural mind to my spiritual mind." Hey, that's good. I think I'll quote myself. ;-]
I love the way you pull in all this information and not only make it useful, but beautifully unified as well. Keep doing what you do so well!
Grace!
M
Thanks for your explanation, Lisa. I think I might have misunderstood what you were saying, at first.
peace.
True.It's a very small 'movement' here in my city, but I do see it over there!
Lisa your post today is wonderful. Mother Teresa said that each of us must be true to our own beliefs--you pray in your way and I in mine and together we will all make something beautiful for God. She was very clear on knowing what you believe and why and then respecting others in their search for God.
If there is a movement afoot and I agree I believe there is it is even beyond our definitions of rewligion or politics or tribe This year all of us of the Christian persuasian will be reading the Book of Revelations sometime around the Lenten season. "And I saw a great host from every tongue and every tribe.." are we preparing for that day? Do the headcoverings go beyond modesty feminity submission and such to the deeper reality of being recognised by the angels and by each other as being invited to the banquet?And what of the others outside the tribe? Is there no foo d for them? Even if they "take the kingdom by force" if they are true seekers of the One True God can we not recognise them as well and invite them to come and eat without money and drink without price?
Perhaps we are leveling the road perhaps we are preparing the way for a new reality when the original order of union and partnership will be ushered in. Read the curse backwards---see what it would have been like in the garden---it is now at hand. As woman had been taken out of man so now "the Man" has been taken out of woman. And we in this era are the sign and symbol of that reality which has room aplenty for all.
Do not be surprized that they do not understand this or that there are questions regarding our motives or that we are seen as uppity when we wish to be humble or arrogant when we wish to be obedient for such was the experience of the prophets before us.
Thank you all for these comments and encouragement.
Thanks for coming to my blog. Not really posting much any more. Mary R. (C*villa)
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