Finally got a chance to read this, but did not watch the video. I would submit that Kathy Keller’s role perfectly fits what God calls women to be: helpmates. Wives and mothers are a significant part of that role, but they are called to help their husbands. My wife did even before I became a Christian. 43 years, 3 children and 7 grandchildren later I have been truly blessed by her.
Well-timed, interesting piece. Regarding potential archetypes for The True Believer, Penelope comes to mind as a possibility. Perhaps also Wisdom (thinking of Boethius).
This is one of those debates that I think we're dancing around the point, and it's wasting everyone's time. It's like with the "calling to singleness" nonsense that we're hearing. Nobody denies that several calls to unmarried service to the church can be found in scripture. People who feel that they need to devote themselves full-time to church service should be honored for that calling. But the bad-faith world-worshippers equivocate that call to service into a calling to single hedonism, and try to claim that there's a calling to throw yourself into careerism, luxury cars, and foreign vacations.
Careerism is a serious problem for modern Americans. Lots of people put too much of their self-worth and identity into their job. I'm not too proud to confess that I've fallen victim to that. I spent a lot of time during the COVID shutdowns feeling sorry for myself for getting laid off and justifying bad choices on the grounds that "professor" was my whole identity and if I couldn't be that I wouldn't be anything. So when we say "women have callings other than mother/wife", we need to specify that one of those callings isn't mere careerist ambition and pride. It's not ladder-climbing for its own sake. And most importantly of all, "calling" is not an excuse to neglect unwanted duties. I let bad things happen to my children, and I violated what I thought were fundamental principles of mine to mope around in self-pity because I was caught up in careerist attitudes.
Women who use "calling" as a dodge to avoid unwanted responsibility are in the wrong, just as I was in the wrong during the COVID shutdowns to neglect my family and bury my talent. We need to confront the people who are using this argument in bad-faith to justify hedonistic attitudes and secular status-chasers, and clarify the fact that God never calls people in ways that contradict what he's already revealed. My experience is that whenever someone gets too invested in a calling to a particular title, it's a sign that this isn't a calling but an ambition.
Aaron, I find it interesting that your piece on Servant Leadership said (a great point by the way) we shouldn't define our role as husband/men solely on how we relate to our wives/women; yet in this piece you seem to define the female archetypes and Kathy Keller only as she relates to her husband, Tim. I'm curious if this was on purpose or not. Regardless, I'm not throwing stones. I think it is a great piece and I could not begin to recommend "better" archetypes Kathy portrayed independent of her husband, just wanted to point this out and hopefully hear your insightful clarification. Best.
I meant to comment on your earlier piece: There are more traditional female archetypes than wife and mother. A few come to mind: nurse, teacher (I'm thinking primary school here), librarian. You mention king on the male side. I'm guessing that as long as we've had kings, we've had queens, and they aren't always accessories to the king. It was the Queen of Sheba that visited King Solomon. I don't think there was a King of Sheba waiting for her when she returned home. Your argument is an excellent one. Including a few more traditional female roles won't diminish it.
I really like this. As my wife and I have gone off the beaten path in terms of homeschooling, entrepreneurship, etc. that sense of shared mission is really there and she has had to embody many of these heroic female archetypes as I have had to develop into the male ones.
Aaron, thank you for this insightful piece. You're shining a light and furthering the conversation about the feminine and masculine in the Christian world today. This is one of the things you do very well - synthesizing the past and present, not harkening back to a world we'll never return to, nor abondoning Christian orthodoxy. I feel this work is a small step towards properly managing the new realities of gender in our world today. Thanks.
Finally got a chance to read this, but did not watch the video. I would submit that Kathy Keller’s role perfectly fits what God calls women to be: helpmates. Wives and mothers are a significant part of that role, but they are called to help their husbands. My wife did even before I became a Christian. 43 years, 3 children and 7 grandchildren later I have been truly blessed by her.
The Muse would be an interesting archetype to explore. I thought of King-Maker when reading that section.
Well-timed, interesting piece. Regarding potential archetypes for The True Believer, Penelope comes to mind as a possibility. Perhaps also Wisdom (thinking of Boethius).
This is one of those debates that I think we're dancing around the point, and it's wasting everyone's time. It's like with the "calling to singleness" nonsense that we're hearing. Nobody denies that several calls to unmarried service to the church can be found in scripture. People who feel that they need to devote themselves full-time to church service should be honored for that calling. But the bad-faith world-worshippers equivocate that call to service into a calling to single hedonism, and try to claim that there's a calling to throw yourself into careerism, luxury cars, and foreign vacations.
Careerism is a serious problem for modern Americans. Lots of people put too much of their self-worth and identity into their job. I'm not too proud to confess that I've fallen victim to that. I spent a lot of time during the COVID shutdowns feeling sorry for myself for getting laid off and justifying bad choices on the grounds that "professor" was my whole identity and if I couldn't be that I wouldn't be anything. So when we say "women have callings other than mother/wife", we need to specify that one of those callings isn't mere careerist ambition and pride. It's not ladder-climbing for its own sake. And most importantly of all, "calling" is not an excuse to neglect unwanted duties. I let bad things happen to my children, and I violated what I thought were fundamental principles of mine to mope around in self-pity because I was caught up in careerist attitudes.
Women who use "calling" as a dodge to avoid unwanted responsibility are in the wrong, just as I was in the wrong during the COVID shutdowns to neglect my family and bury my talent. We need to confront the people who are using this argument in bad-faith to justify hedonistic attitudes and secular status-chasers, and clarify the fact that God never calls people in ways that contradict what he's already revealed. My experience is that whenever someone gets too invested in a calling to a particular title, it's a sign that this isn't a calling but an ambition.
Aaron, I find it interesting that your piece on Servant Leadership said (a great point by the way) we shouldn't define our role as husband/men solely on how we relate to our wives/women; yet in this piece you seem to define the female archetypes and Kathy Keller only as she relates to her husband, Tim. I'm curious if this was on purpose or not. Regardless, I'm not throwing stones. I think it is a great piece and I could not begin to recommend "better" archetypes Kathy portrayed independent of her husband, just wanted to point this out and hopefully hear your insightful clarification. Best.
I don't have a comprehensive biography of Kathy. I only know about what the Kellers told us about themselves, so I'm limited to those areas. f
Hi Aaron,
I meant to comment on your earlier piece: There are more traditional female archetypes than wife and mother. A few come to mind: nurse, teacher (I'm thinking primary school here), librarian. You mention king on the male side. I'm guessing that as long as we've had kings, we've had queens, and they aren't always accessories to the king. It was the Queen of Sheba that visited King Solomon. I don't think there was a King of Sheba waiting for her when she returned home. Your argument is an excellent one. Including a few more traditional female roles won't diminish it.
I really like this. As my wife and I have gone off the beaten path in terms of homeschooling, entrepreneurship, etc. that sense of shared mission is really there and she has had to embody many of these heroic female archetypes as I have had to develop into the male ones.
Aaron, thank you for this insightful piece. You're shining a light and furthering the conversation about the feminine and masculine in the Christian world today. This is one of the things you do very well - synthesizing the past and present, not harkening back to a world we'll never return to, nor abondoning Christian orthodoxy. I feel this work is a small step towards properly managing the new realities of gender in our world today. Thanks.