Esther’s Call

Last summer God blessed me with a fabulous internship at a leading Christian justice magazine and advocacy organization in Washington, D.C. Many Christian authors send their publications to our magazine for review and in the summer the un-reviewed books are put out for employees to take home. As an admitted book worm and broke intern this made my day! Is this a Christian book? I thought the book was more suitable for Cosmopolitan or an episode of Sex and the City than a faith and justice magazine. Didn’t Ethridge know we were in an election year? As a single woman I like to read about marriage in preparation for my own. When I got back to my cubical I was curious to see what the book was about because on the back cover I discovered that Ethridge was a co-author of Every Woman’s Battle which is apart of a respected Christian book series on purity; proof that this was indeed a Christian book!

I guess I was under the impression that this would be another prepare yourself for marriage via spirituality and purity book-just with a controversial title. As I looked through the book I discovered that this was an open and honest work about the importance of an enjoyable sex life within a Christian marriage. The author shared her testimony of coming from a very promiscuous background to a place of health and happiness within a Christian marriage. What surprised me about the book and left me confused is that this author has a chapter entitled Tantalizing Sexual Techniques and there were pictures! Additionally the author advocated wearing lingerie (and other costumes for your husband), discussed homosexuality, and basically how to have an enjoyable sex life within marriage. When I described the book to friends I jokingly summed it up with “she’s teaching you how to drop it like it’s hot for Jesus.” I also described it as the Christian version of The Joy of Sex.

This book garnered strong reactions from my group of friends. These women are saved, sanctified and opinionated! My one friend felt strongly that Ethridge was trying to take what she learned in her pre born-again life and “run it through the blood” (of Christ), to justify sinful desires. Other friends felt that the book’s message was needed and some felt the book was fine but only for the married. Though I am a virgin I believe that Christians should have the healthiest and most enjoyable of sex lives when married. I think Christians need comprehensive sex education that stresses not only abstinence, but teaches about: sexually transmitted diseases, family planning, the difference between “true” and “technical” virginity, and how to have an enjoyable sex life within marriage. With the divorce rate in the church at 50%, the current debate over the definition of marriage, and cases of STD outbreaks at Christian schools it is apparent that whether you agree with Ethridge’s approach or not we can all agree that an honest dialogue about Christian sexuality is desperately needed.

The Sexually Confident Wife gave me a few questions to prayerfully consider: Why did I initially feel it was wrong for this book to be sent to a Christian social justice magazine? Isn’t sexuality a justice issue too? With the amount of sexual assault and exploitation in our society shouldn’t Christians dedicated to justice also be dedicated to promoting healthy sexuality? It’s interesting that when I attend Christian justice events we can discuss AIDS and human sex trafficking but we can’t discuss sex. Why is this? Should Christian married couples attend workshops and read books to enhance their sex life? Are their sexual boundaries that Christians need to follow even after they are married? What does Hebrews 13:4 practically mean for Christian marriages?

For more information on Shannon Ethridge’s work as an Advocate for Healthy Sexuality and Spirituality visit: http://www.shannonethridge.com/.

Since December 2008 when Bernie Madoff turned himself over to authorities for pulling a massive $65 billion ponzi scheme I like most of you have read the countless stories of victims and reporters trying to make sense of it all. In my reading of the Madoff story I have noticed a very disturbing trend of playing into anti-Semitic and class stereotypes implying that Madoff’s ethnic group and humble beginnings in Queens were the cause of his scheming.

As much as things change they stay the same...

In New York Magazine’s Bernie Madoff, Monster Mensch cover story the question is posed: What made Bernie Madoff, a man who helped revolution Wall Street and built a completely legal billion-dollar business, perpetrate the greatest fraud in history?(Steve Fishman, pg. 18 New York Magazine March 2nd 2009). Some of the reasons given were: “His grandparents had made their lives on the Lower East Side. He lived with them for a while, and that evening, he recalled how poor and rundown their neighborhood had looked”. He still had, as one observer put it, a whiff of Queens about him. He didn’t look like a leader of Wall Street…. Bernie Madoff’s story begins as that of the classic Jewish outsider, storming Wall Street gates in pursuit of fortune. He entered the financial business through a dirty disgusting outback” (Steve Fishman, pg. 18 New York Magazine March 2nd 2009). Entitling the article Monster Mensch is a play on the Yiddish (A Jewish Dialectic) term. One Vanity Fair author reported that: “Bernie was poor and from Queens…She said Bernie and Ruth (his wife) still had a Queens’s accent, adding playfully you could tell they weren’t from Switzerland” (Mark Seal Vanity Fair April 2009, pg. 129). When Palm Beach Post reporter Jose Lambiet started writing Madoff stories “the anti-Semitic messages started immediately” (Seal Vanity Fair, April 2009, pg 134).

Each racial or ethnic minority group has stereotypes that they have been striving to overcome. Jewish people have had to struggle against stereotypes related to money. Sadly, Madoff has hurt his own people the most; he stole from mostly Jewish charities and institutions. A Palm Beach resident who lost millions due to Madoff stated “what Hitler didn’t finish, he did! (Seal, Vanity Fair April 2009, pg. 134)”. An area hardest hit by Madoff was the Jewish Palm Beach Country Club, some in the area were resentful of Jewish people moving in. Palm Beach Post writer Lambiet stated: “It took decades for the Jewish community to get past this thing, and now…The anti-Semites are ecstatic, said one resident. Supposedly, there was a crack made at a local club: This is terrific now maybe we’ll get our land back. These people were not pleased at the way Jewish wealth has come into this community…” (Seal Vanity Fair pg. 134 April 2009). Sadly the Madoff case hasn’t just brought to light anti-Semitic sentiment but has shed light on Hispanic prejudice and classism as well-in the same April 2009 issue of Vanity Fair there was an article about a Swiss Brazilian family that worked closely with Madoff and the stereotypes abounded: “loud Brazilian Women in the family, brash, new money, inconsiderate, hugging and kissing everyone…” and it appears that there is a “logical” conclusion being made that of course this Latino, new-money family would work with a thief like Madoff. What can we expect when we let “those people” in our neighborhoods and financial firms?

I do not think a certain ethnic group or class is to blame for the Madoff scandal I think that out of control free market capitalism is to blame. As Christians we cannot play into anti-Semitic stereotypes realizing we worship a Jewish savior. We should pray for the Jewish community and everyone who has been hit by this crisis. I am a student at Columbia University and the law school lost 7 million to Madoff. Elie Wiesel famous Holocaust activist and author of Night was robbed by Madoff as well. Let us pray that prejudice does not lead to the scapegoating of minorities and the poor for this crisis. As minorities our greatest desire is “to be judged not by the color of our skin (or our religion or class) but by the content of our character” Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

As a Christians we know that Galatians 3: 28 states: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Let us remember this as we speak out and pray against stereotyping and scapegoating.

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