Mother’s Day Is Bad, Huh? A View From the Calvinista Side of Things

Read This Verse

 

 

Jeremiah 5:26  (The prophet speaking for God):…” for wicked men are found among My people…they set a trap, they catch men.”  Then, “An appalling and horrible thing has happened in the land. The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule on their own authority.” (vv. 30-31)

Jeremiah 6:13-14   For from the least of them to the greatest of them, everyone is greedy for gain, and from the prophet even to the priest, everyone deals falsely. And they have healed the brokenness of my people superficially saying, “Peace. peace,” but there is no peace.

special thanks to The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse by David Johnson and Jeff Van Vonderen

 

In order to keep you up-to-date with the latest thinking in the evangelical community, we once again take a break from our series on spiritual abuse.  Today we will address an article written the day after Mother’s Day, 2009, by one of the leaders of the New Calvinist movement.  Dr. Al Mohler, President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, located in Louisville, Kentucky posted an article entitled "On Second Thought — Why Mother's Day Is a Bad Idea".  As bloggers who need interesting topics to cover, we are delighted that Dr. Mohler is in such a prominent position.  Why?  His pronouncements are often so over the top that it gives us reams of material to discuss.
 

So, what’s he done now?  We'll provide you with a synopsis of Dr. Mohler's blog post along with a direct link to the full article.  We are committed to providing careful documentation of anything we cover on our blog.  Here is the link along with a condensed version: 
 

http://www.albertmohler.com/blog_read.php?id=3774
 

 

In Dr. Mohler's article he claims that some feminists with the wrong motives started Mother’s Day.  It was highly endorsed by the floral and greeting card industry to increase revenues.  He claims Mother's Day is a sentimental holiday, which allows people who are ill-behaved year round to throw a card at their mothers and be done with them for another year.  Besides, all the glory should go to God instead.  Dr. Mohler recommends that if one insists on observing Mother's  Day, then only Christian mothers should be honored because they are the ones truly doing God’s work.

 

Dr. Mohler writes:  “Mothers deserving of honor are handed cards and taken to lunch, when songs of praise should instead be offered to the glory of God.  Undeserving mothers, who abdicate their true responsibility, are honored just because they are mothers.  Children, young and old, who ignore and dishonor their mothers by word and by life throughout the year, assuage their guilt by making a big deal of Mother's Day.”

 

How cynical!  Once again, a couple of women have to take a Christian leader to task.  If one follows Dr. Mohler's ranting to its logical conclusion, then the following should be banned:  Veteran’s Day, Memorial Day, Father’s Day, Secretary’s Day, and birthdays.  Furthermore, we should ban Medals of Honor, programs to honor our brave firefighters and policemen.  Darn it, outlaw that pesky National Honor Society.  In fact, we shouldn’t even say thank you because all of the glory belongs to God alone, and we are just a bunch of screwed up sinners!
 

Here are two comments from other blogs on Mohler’s strange views:

http://www.christianity.com/blogs/mohler/11603418/dboe

 

 

May 11, 2009 at 4:52 PM

Um dude are you um, totally crazy? I mean totally crazy? It's a good thing I'm not a mother. Mothers should not have to meet some ridiculous standard to be honored, that's ridiculous. We are all growing, it is really tough to be a woman, and I'm sure it's tough to be a mother. Of course getting a mother a card is commercialized and what not and is not equal to her full honor, but its still a really nice idea. Mothers clean, cook, and they get very little to nil recognition most days of the year… so you want to get rid of the one day they could have…I know its not about recognition but still. Yet another reason why feminism still survives, you men say these ridiculous things… did you tell your own Mother what you thought about this? Seriously…

http://www.sgmsurvivors.com/?p=755#comment-19734

 

Walking Wounded

May 12th, 2009 at 9:29 pm

 

A classic example of hidden meaning was on the Girl Talk blog this week:


 

http://girltalk.blogs.com/girltalk/2009/05/a-bad-idea-1.html

 

 

It referenced Al Mohler’s blog about Mothers day. Al Mohler does not like Mother's Day (in part) because: “Undeserving mothers, who abdicate their true responsibility, are honored just because they are mothers.”

 

On Girl Talk, Nicole posts “let’s give faithful, godly mothers appropriate honor all-year long. ”
Sounds great, but what was she really saying?

Of course she is saying don’t honor your mother unless she is a faithful, godly mother.

 

What does the Bible say about honoring your mother?

 

Exodus 20:12 Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
 

(By the way go to the above mentioned Girl Talk site for an indoctrination into the views of the female family members of C J Mahaney, self-professed Head Apostle.)

 

Dr. Laura Schlessinger once offered some motherly advice to a caller who complained about her own mother.  The caller explained that she was cursed with a mom who ignored her and had recently died.  Dr. Laura advised this caller to think back on the things that her mother had done right.  For example, she did not abort her baby.  Instead, she elected to care for, feed, and clothe her, which many parents throughout the world are unable to do.  Yes, even mothers who are not Christians can do some things worthy of praise.
 

 

I (Dee) would like to tell you about my own non-Christian mother.  She did not teach me the faith; however, she loves me dearly.  She has been a constant support throughout my life, always cheering me on.  She even dropped me off at a local church youth group in which I would eventually come to my Christian faith.  When I became a Christian, she was happy for me.  I believe it was her love that allowed me to be open to hearing about the perfect love that God has for me.  She is now elderly and lives nearby.  She still does not know Jesus, but I never cease witnessing to her in both word and deed.  I love her and I am grateful that God allowed her to be my mother.  She deserves my unending gratitude despite the fact that she is not a Christian.  I gave her flowers and treated her to a nice dinner on Mother’s Day.  Even though I appreciate her throughout the year, it is a joy to honor her once a year and remember the great sacrifices she made for me.
 

 

Of course, God is the giver of all good things.  Dr. Mohler’s words are condescending.  Most Christians recognize this fact and don’t need Dr. Mohler to assume that they don’t.  God uses imperfect humans to accomplish His will.  Many soldiers have died and been maimed for defending the freedom for Al Mohler to write such a ridiculous article.  I make it a point to buy meals for soldiers at restaurants in anonymity as a way to honor them for their service.  Perhaps I should have saved my money and given it to Mohler’s Presidential Fund to honor him (oops, I mean God) instead.
 

 

The Bible clearly makes the point that the world will know us by our love.  In the early days of the Christian faith, the believers formed burial societies.  During that time, the dead were often thrown over the city wall to burn on the garbage heap.  These dear Christians would go to their neighbors and offer to bury their dead.  They lovingly cared for the body and, during those moments, offered their love and condolences to those left behind.

 

They compassionately explained that the body was precious because God designed it and that they respected the life of these loved ones.  Guess what?  They did this honoring service to those who were not Christian as well.  Their acts of love and kindness greatly contributed to the spreading of the Christian faith in those early days.
 

 

We are busy humans.  Yes, we should slow down and remember our mothers more regularly; however, it is good to be reminded to honor our mothers at least once a year.  The medieval church had set times during the day that they would turn to the Lord in prayer.  The church bells would chime to remind them to do so.  Of course we should pray without ceasing; but many of us often need a reminder. Mother’s Day is a bit like those bells.
 

 

Al Mohler and other Reformed Christians have joined together to create an interesting organization called the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW).  This group does not believe women should be in any position of leadership within the church.  They claim that women are more easily deceived than men.  Perhaps Mohler has a secret agenda in his denigration of Mother’s Day. 
 

 

In the next few days we will be looking at CBMW and the beliefs that it espouses.  Why?  Because Randy Stinson, CBMW's president, is making the rounds among churches and sharing his views on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood.  Tomorrow the following question will be addressed:

 

Who gets to define Biblical Manhood and Womanhood?
 

 

I sincerely hope that Dr. Mohler’s musings do not reach the secular press as many of his comments do.  His mean-spirited pronouncements will be ridiculed by most of the world.  What kind of Christian witness is that?  To his credit, Dr. Mohler tries to recoup himself at the end, but it's too little, too late.  You see, as a mother I enjoy receiving cards, flowers, and kisses from my children.  I have kept all of their sweet cards over the years because their expressions of love mean so much to me.
 

 

Happy belated Mother’s Day to all of you great moms out there!  God, and we, are grateful for the unending sacrifices you make for your children.  The world is a better place because of you! 
 

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