WOW!! I looked up the scriptures he was talking about and I agree that God was referring to men (as opposed to women), but I wonder why he would preach on that and not the deeper meanings of the scriptures.I would think that this issue would be cultural rather than Biblical. I raised two boys and for sanitary reasons, I gave them two choices, sit down or risk having to clean the bathroom. Outdoors, of course, would be a different situation.My guess is that the gentleman is American??? Some Americans can be very closed-minded to other cultures. We (Canadians) joke about the weather programs on TV here - according to American TV, there is no weather north of the 49th parallel or south of the Mexican border. What do you think about it?
It is a rather strange perspective isn't it?I agree that Americans do seem to be very closed to anywhere outside their own backyard, and generally ignorant of other cultures.I suppose it's true of many places. It's probably worse because America is so dominant in terms of global economic and cultural power.I think Australia's history and location has always made us more aware of the world "out there". Early on it was a dependence on the UK then on the US, but lately we have seen our place more in Asia. It's amazing the number of people who holiday in Asia and not just to stay in the tourist ghettos but to experience the culture. We also have requirements for a limited amount of language teaching in schools, although that is limited by a teacher shortage- but at least there is an attempt there.BTW our new Prime Minister is fluent in Cantonese, having once been a diplomat. I think that is both a source of pride and amusement! I don't think George bush is fluent in anything other than Texan is he? :)
Unusually for a small town in Australia, we have many people from many ethnic backgrounds living here, possibly because we have three internationally recognised scientific research stations here.At one stage we had a Muslim lady from Bangladesh coming to our church, which was interesting!This particular lady was a networker and when her little boy had his second birthday she organised a party for him in our church building. She invited every person from overseas that she could find to bring their traditional food and organised a big lunch. She invited us also, and we had a great time and made some new friends.What was interesting was that there were people from Serbia and Croatia there who were friends despite their home countries being at war at the time.It was a big eye-opener for us because we assumed that our town was pretty much mono-cultural, but there are at any one time a couple of hundred people who are a long way from "home."
No, he probably isn't. Nor are many others in the US. When I lived in Toronto, it was very multi-cultural. In grade 12, there were only 2 Canadians in my class, so if you wanted to have friends, you had to overlook any differences in culture. We took it a step further - once a week, we would go to someone's house and experience the food, music and other things from wherever they came from. We thoroughly enjoyed it and learned a lot. I guess it gave me a little different perspective and I find it strange now in the US to see such attitudes about America being the "one and only". Kind of sad because I think they are missing a lot.
WOW!! I looked up the scriptures he was talking about and I agree that God was referring to men (as opposed to women), but I wonder why he would preach on that and not the deeper meanings of the scriptures.I would think that this issue would be cultural rather than Biblical. I raised two boys and for sanitary reasons, I gave them two choices, sit down or risk having to clean the bathroom. Outdoors, of course, would be a different situation.My guess is that the gentleman is American??? Some Americans can be very closed-minded to other cultures. We (Canadians) joke about the weather programs on TV here - according to American TV, there is no weather north of the 49th parallel or south of the Mexican border. What do you think about it?
ReplyDeleteIt is a rather strange perspective isn't it?I agree that Americans do seem to be very closed to anywhere outside their own backyard, and generally ignorant of other cultures.I suppose it's true of many places. It's probably worse because America is so dominant in terms of global economic and cultural power.I think Australia's history and location has always made us more aware of the world "out there". Early on it was a dependence on the UK then on the US, but lately we have seen our place more in Asia. It's amazing the number of people who holiday in Asia and not just to stay in the tourist ghettos but to experience the culture. We also have requirements for a limited amount of language teaching in schools, although that is limited by a teacher shortage- but at least there is an attempt there.BTW our new Prime Minister is fluent in Cantonese, having once been a diplomat. I think that is both a source of pride and amusement! I don't think George bush is fluent in anything other than Texan is he? :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful and fun oppportunity to learn about others!!
ReplyDeleteUnusually for a small town in Australia, we have many people from many ethnic backgrounds living here, possibly because we have three internationally recognised scientific research stations here.At one stage we had a Muslim lady from Bangladesh coming to our church, which was interesting!This particular lady was a networker and when her little boy had his second birthday she organised a party for him in our church building. She invited every person from overseas that she could find to bring their traditional food and organised a big lunch. She invited us also, and we had a great time and made some new friends.What was interesting was that there were people from Serbia and Croatia there who were friends despite their home countries being at war at the time.It was a big eye-opener for us because we assumed that our town was pretty much mono-cultural, but there are at any one time a couple of hundred people who are a long way from "home."
ReplyDeleteNo, he probably isn't. Nor are many others in the US. When I lived in Toronto, it was very multi-cultural. In grade 12, there were only 2 Canadians in my class, so if you wanted to have friends, you had to overlook any differences in culture. We took it a step further - once a week, we would go to someone's house and experience the food, music and other things from wherever they came from. We thoroughly enjoyed it and learned a lot. I guess it gave me a little different perspective and I find it strange now in the US to see such attitudes about America being the "one and only". Kind of sad because I think they are missing a lot.
ReplyDelete