Confessions of a Recovering Pharisee

[Fox News]

A man who calls himself SAL9000 has married his virtual girlfriend with a public reception, MyFoxDFW.com reported.

The man reportedly fell in love with a virtual girl named Nene Anegasaki and plans to hold a public wedding reception in Tokyo.

Since the girl doesn’t really exist, SAL9000 reportedly took his Nintendo DS to Guam for a legal ceremony and honeymoon, and will livecast the upcoming wedding reception online, MyFoxDFW.com reported.

SAL9000 met his “bride” on the video game Love Plus, which requires players to take out the virtual girl on dates, buy her gifts and make their girlfriends happy like they would in real life.

Read more here.

[From me]

Sounds like he needs to get a virtual life.

What do you think?

[Christian Post]

Gayle Haggard, the wife of disgraced evangelical leader Ted Haggard, has signed an agreement with Tyndale House Publishers to publish her memoir in January 2010.

In Why I Stayed, Haggard will recall the choices she made after her husband, founder and senior pastor of the 14,000-member New Life Church in Colorado Springs and the president of the National Association of Evangelicals, confessed to having engaged in sexual immoral acts nearly three years ago.

“This is my story of choosing to love my husband through some of the most difficult challenges any marriage could face,” said Haggard, who was directing New Life’s women’s ministries, teaching women of all ages and overseeing 150 women’s small groups when her husband’s immoral acts were revealed

.

Out of the experience, Haggard said she has discovered a newfound passion for the central message of the Bible – the message of forgiveness and love.

After reading the manuscript, Mark Taylor, president of Tyndale House, he was “very moved by Gayle’s story.”

“It is a beautiful-though heart-wrenching-story of the crisis in her marriage and how (with the grace of God) she chose to love Ted, save her marriage, and protect her family,” he commented. “I am proud to have Why I Stayed come from Tyndale.”

Read more here.

[From me]

In a world where “love” is how you feel, Gayle Haggard is an example of what love really is. Love isn’t a feeling–it is a choice. People say they “fall” in and out of love but love isn’t something we feel–it is something we chose. Love is an action. I look forward to reading this book and believe that all of the people who said Gayle Haggard was a fool for staying with Ted need to read what a “REAL” love story is all about.

What do you think?

[Today on NBC]

This is from an article by Sandra Tsing Loh

Sadly, and to my horror, I am divorcing. This was a 20-year partnership. My husband is a good man, though he did travel 20 weeks a year for work. I am a 47-year-old woman whose commitment to monogamy, at the very end, came unglued. This turn of events was a surprise. I don’t generally even enjoy men; I had an entirely manageable life and planned to go to my grave taking with me, as I do most nights to my bed, a glass of merlot and a good book. Cataclysmically changed, I disclosed everything. We cried, we bewailed the fate of our children.

Read the article here.

Watch the video below too:

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[From me]

First, I’ve been blessed to be married 21 years so my answer is no. But as I read the article by Sandra Tsing Loh, I was struck by a few things. First it is obvious that both she and her husband care about their careers more than their marriage. Two, she is saying marriage doesn’t work after she had an affair. Is that her husbands’ fault? She claims that we don’t need marriage because it was for women before they got equal rights. That sounds like a business decision.

I didn’t get married to have someone take care of my children and put food on the table. I got married because I wanted to spend my life with a person I love. I know people who have been through divorces for many reasons. Most of them get remarried because they do believe in marriage and they never wanted a divorce. Marriage is hard work and some people don’t want to work at being married. If one partner says I’m done there isn’t much the other can do. Is marriage obsolete? Only if you want it to be.

What do you think?

[LA Times]

“Free speech really thrives when people are going back and forth, disagreeing sometimes and sometimes finding things each other says offensive, but there are limits, particularly in a school setting,” Jassy said after reviewing the lawsuit. 

[SCSU Collegian & NPR] Youth Radio’s Pendarvis Harshaw says that among his friends, the transition from condoms to no-condoms signifies a lasting commitment.

It shows trust, commitment, and the prospect of a shared future,” he adds.

As bold as the statement may be, it is a part of Harshaw’s essay, “Sex Without Condoms Is the New Engagement Ring,” where he explores the way today’s youth approach monogamy in relationships. 

The essay was submitted as a part of Youth Radio’s “What’s the New What?” series, which highlights new trends in youth culture.  In the on-air essay, Harshaw acknowledges the dangers of contracting STDs and the risk of unexpected pregnancies. He emphasized that while youth may ditch condoms in their sexual activities, other forms of birth control are still widely used.  After conducting an informal survey, Harshaw said he came up with the leading argument for his essay.

“[I spoke with] everybody from friends, to co-workers, to residents about relationships-how to approach getting into a monogamous relationship, and I saw a consistent trend,” says Harshaw. “A lot of people were talking about the most major step is the step toward unprotected sex.”

The controversial issue tackled in Harshaw’s essay has definitely raised eyebrows among the NPR audience and has received harsh criticisms and empathetic remarks alike.

“I believe the feedback was mixed because older folks just plain do not want to hear the truth about young people encountering heavy sexual situations at younger ages. These situations are definitely adult, and used to be taboo to even talk about, but children have been bombarded with so much sexual imagery by the media, that the situations themselves have become common,” says senior Matt Cody, film production major and founder of HowHood University Records.

Harshaw, who set out to shed light on youth perspective of monogamy with this essay, has been surprised and pleased with the feedback surrounding his argument.

Read more here and here.

[From me]

I admit, I don’t understand this.  I come from a Christian perspective in which sex is intended for people who married.  I don’t care what the divorce rates are, that is no excuse for skirting God’s design.  What is sad is when followers of Jesus don’t even follow his plans.  It breaks my heart when I hear about former students who made purity commitments don’t follow through on their promise to God and their future mates.  Now I realize there are those who make mistakes and God does forgive. But to say that the practice mentioned in the essay above is the new engagement is sad.

What do you think?