When your blogger started this...blog...they had the idea that they had some kind of special service to offer via their news updates. In a way, they did. They had a service, so specialized that it had virtually 0 audience.
You have a blogger who:
- supports gay marriage
- is okay with the idea of polyamory (or at least with, other, people doing it)
- is fairly open-minded
- is open minded about socialism and a little capitalism and maybe even a little bit of communism
- is so liberal that they virtually regard Barack Obama as a conservative (almost....almost)
- is so sexually open minded about so many things...
- is a feminist and totally supports a world where men and women are totally equal in all things
- supports the protection of the environment (as we all should)
- is okay with sexual media (the tasteful kind, not necessarily the trashy porn stuff)
- is Eastern Orthodox
- supports women as priests, bishops...etc. And women's rites in general across the globe.
- is pro-life and considers being pro-gay a part of that (gotta have something to live for)
Your blogger isn't sure where exactly they manage to alienate everybody, but they have no doubt in their mind that they do.
maybe it's that fact that all the pro-lifers are the same Catholics who thinks gays are in a scheme to turn us all gay (or in the case of your blogger, get them to stop looking at tits...got news for them gays...ain't gonna happen, your blogger prefer only the breast in life). When posting about Orthodoxy...there's no doubt that the pro-feminist undertones to the links are already preaching the perhaps the smallest crowd in the history of Orthodoxy eva! The pro-sexual themes on the rest of the blog whittle down even that feminist Orthodox crowd to...well, nothing. No doubt the politics section doesn't fair too much better, how many liberals out there actually think Obama is comparable to W Bush? I mean sure they used to think the war on terror was a bad idea when Bush was doing it, now it's great because Obama's at the wheel...carrying on Bush's war.
It was a simple idea, Sex, Politics & Religion. Your blogger figured maybe there were other like minded Orthodox who believed it was okay to have female acolytes, or even female priests, and perhaps there are...just not with the same pro-sex almost, free-love attitude that's on the rest of the site.
And then there's the ethical part. At first your blogger was like, 'yeah this is great, I'll provide a news outlet to others with similar views' but after a while, posting highly liberal articles on sexuality and then posting highly religious articles that quote the Holy Fathers right underneath...it's down right uncomfortable!
It's a simple desire to reconcile the love for a nice soft pair of breasts and teach people about Orthodoxy in the same blog...guess what...it doesn't work.
Your blogger thought briefly about taking the blog in either, this direction (towards sexual politics) and in that direction (towards posting videos of Orthodox hermits in Romania (everyone should watch that video, btw)) but in my exploration of the one, I'd feel the desire to somehow express the other. Though your blogger does simplify the direction of, tits, it's more than that, there's tits, yes but also opening the readers eyes to new elements of sexuality that they may never have known about before (search this blog (or the web) for ANR ABF if you're interested).
Unfortunately the two sides don't like each other very much.
Couple this with the fact that the audience that this blog intends itself for must be a very, very small audience indeed (you're blogger doesn't even know if half the stuff posted is ever even read by anyone). Let's face it...how many Orthodox Christians out there support gay marriage? How many of them are even at least open minded about so called, "open marriages" let alone poly-amorous ones? And even of those said people...how many of them want to see artsy photos of nude women (there's a diff between "nude" and "naked") like this one, or this one? How many liberals are pro-life? How many gay marriage supporters are pro-life?
You're blogger fears they have specialized this blog into oblivion.
PS
Just like to say, for what's it's worth, that the blogger of Passion Within Marriage (listed in the bar to the right) is Eastern Orthodox too. Although, as much as she blogs about sex, you're blogger is sure she'd have a fit if she saw the stuff posted here, never-mind that she probably doesn't support gay marriage.
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ReplyDeleteWow. I wish you'd drop me an email. I think your blog, the commentary is well written, insightful and particularily honest. I did have a personal issue getting past the imagery but that is my problem. I can appreciate the difference and space between us. I can reconcile the pro femist who is pro life and pro gay rights who celebrates human form and devotes her efforts to human rights and civil liberties and humane treatment one to another in a word dignity. You are Orthodox as I am. You are as much orthodox as the next believer. I live more in the herd with my herd mentality. Continue your writing and sorting through all that consumes you. Each of us are working through the conflict within us writing honest accounts of our lives is risky and cathartic. It is for each of us to reconcile ourselves with our Creator our Saviour and our Church.
ReplyDeleteAnother thought...Conflict is good. The struggle shows growing and being pruned. What strikes me is your comment "And then there's the ethical part. At first your blogger was like, 'yeah this is great, I'll provide a news outlet to others with similar views' but after a while, posting highly liberal articles on sexuality and then posting highly religious articles that quote the Holy Fathers right underneath...it's down right uncomfortable!" This is your starting point this is the place you need to work. Can you have a sucessful (whatever that means) blog without the
ReplyDeletesoft porn without the lessons in sexual intimacy. Of course you can. Somewhere there is a divergence between whom we love which is private and how lust is expressed and put on display. I have been curious about why the need to repeatedly share your interest in the naked form. I don't think the conflict is in the liberty of women embracing their form but to what end? At some point there needs to be progress or movement. You don't have to dare people to listen to your insights or get to know you. Sex has its place nudity has its place just not all over the place. When we approach the Chalice we do so in constant preparation and though we are truly naked before God we are clothed in modesty before the church. Listen to what is inside you but don't isolate yourself lending an ear to demons God forbid! On a personal note I think porn any porn tends to oppress the individual more then it would liberate. I believe that sex is something to be respected and tempered as it has been used to abuse and assault the helpless and the needy throughout the ages.
Thanks for your comments, I was going to reply with a comment of my own until it turned into the post you see above.
ReplyDeletehey check out my blog for a repy to your most recent post.
ReplyDelete