Right wing Telegram has been embroiled in a debate this week: "Which is more based, Christianity or paganism?" All one needs to do is look to see which one the left has spent all its time trying to destroy. Just observe which one has a centuries-long track record of maintaining traditional societies.

If that isn't clear enough, I'll give you a hint: It's not the one where they have gay orgies in honor of the penis god.

Why is wisdom portrayed as a woman in Proverbs?

Wisdom is defined as "the fear of the Lord." Fear, respect, and honor are feminine traits, seen most clearly, perhaps, as the defining quality of a wife's relationship to her husband. It's also seen in the Church's relationship to Christ, where she takes the feminine role.

Importantly, this does not diminish the masculinity of any of the individuals who constitute the Church, nor does it mean gaining wisdom is a feminine pursuit. On the contrary, another reason wisdom is presented as a female is that God has given men an unquenchable drive to prove themselves to a woman and so earn her admiration: "She will give you a crown of glory" (Prov. 4:9).

So wisdom is presented as a woman partially to tap into the masculine mindset. And of course, we should note two other things while reading Proverbs: 1) the opposite of wisdom, the honey-lipped harlot, is also a woman. 2) Almost the entire book is written as a father instructing his son (except for, ironically, Proverbs 31, which was an oracle taught to King Lemuel by his mother).

To function, society must reward wise long-term planning and the ability to defer gratification.

I will completely grant the validity of any criticisms of the greed and usury of high finance. However, interest itself is generally a good thing in that it penalizes people with high time preference who want cash immediately and benefits people who frugally save over time. (Of course, I'm thinking of individuals here; institutional players are a separate issue.)

For further reading: https://protestantpost.substack.com/p/the-ethics-of-interest-and-usury

This popped up on my YouTube feed today. What in the name of all that is holy.....

An interesting border restriction imposed by Mexico is the "forbidden zone." Essentially, foreigners are not allowed to purchase property within 100 km of the border or within 50 km of the coast. This discourages dual residences and aliens from purchasing property in the most valuable and populated areas (generally near the coast). Americans — myself included — are frequently unaware of how restrictive other nations' border laws are.

Hermeneutical question for y'all today. In a Twitter thread addressing the response of "What about Pricilla, Junias, Phoebe, Debrah…?" when talking about whether women should be pastors or not, the tweeter said:

"A great rule for reading the Bible is always to defer to the clear texts to interpret the unclear ones."

Even outside of the woman "pastor" conversation, what do y'all think about this interpretation method?

The Three Uses of the Law are commonly called the schoolmaster (to lead us to Christ), a curb (to keep us from sin), and a guide (for believers on the path of righteousness). In Calvin's words:

1) First, by exhibiting the righteousness of God—in other words, the righteousness which alone is acceptable to God—it admonishes every one of his own unrighteousness, certiorates, convicts, and finally condemns him.

2) The second office of the Law is, by means of its fearful denunciations and the consequent dread of punishment, to curb those who, unless forced, have no regard for rectitude and justice.

3) The third use of the Law has respect to believers in whose hearts the Spirit of God already flourishes and reigns.

The USA Bible Belt
https://redd.it/y5b7hg
@r_mapporn

Anyone attending Reform Con in Phoenix this weekend?

Oh yeah