Hi Sculpt,
Well unfortunately, I blasted through all my high-speed hotspotting for the month and I have a while before it resets, so I'm hoping I'll still be able to carve out a reply even though my internet is moving at the speed of a glacier (and without global warming.)
One of the reasons I brought this topic up is because it's something that's been affecting my own life in different ways. I had someone in my family who dated a woman about 25 years younger, and it caused a bit of a stir; in my own life, guys who are about 16-18 years younger ask me out, so I've been finding out what it's like to be on the other side of the coin.
I used a pop culture reference because I think that popular culture often bleeds into Christian culture. In another thread, there was a brief discussion about polygamy, and some people feel that God was ok with polygamy because men like David and Solomon were participants. Personally, I think it was something the cultures around them adapted and it bled into their lifestyles as well. God created male and female (a heterosexual marriage,) and only one of each, so my personal belief is that God never meant for polygamy to be seen as the norm. But I could be wrong.
The article I read had some of the alleged quotes that Madonna was receiving about her new boyfriend -- and I know it's just the world of social media, etc. But Dolph Lundgren (the blond guy "Russian" from the Rocky movies) is also in his 60's and was recently in an article I read where he was dating a woman with about the same age gap (along with countless other examples in pop culture) with no mention of any backlash, so I found the contrast interesting. If I knew of some big names in church culture who were an example of this, I would have used them instead. I don't know of any "big church" names, but I do know of people who have seen these things happen in their congregation.
So this thread is about age differences in the dating world, particularly when it's "reversed" -- an older woman vs. a younger man. At the time of writing this thread, I had happened to read a few articles about Madonna, and I found it interesting at the time, because I wonder if age differences were always meant to be, or if it's because of the surrounding cultures influencing the Christian community.
Back when I was more into dating (Christian dating sites,) it was very common for the older men to be going after younger women. But I think the landscape is changing, as I hear more stories about older women going after younger men, and the men don't like it, ironically.
Incidentally, Madonna also happens to be a bit of a lifelong cultural interest to me. I was a kid in Lutheran schools when she burst onto the scene, and I remember one of the pastors at school declaring, "Hell will be hot for Madonna." I felt like God was moving me to pray for her instead, and I have ever since. Maybe what he said was true, but I felt God told me to pray for her rather than condemn her.
She has a much lesser-known music video called, "Oh Father" which portrays her when she was a child. Her mother died of cancer when she was 5, and she has said in interviews that she would be a completely different person if that hadn't happened. She also said that she saw her mother (a devout Catholic) regularly pray while kneeling on uncooked rice and wire hangers until she was bleeding, and when she was little, this is who she was given the impression that God was -- someone who wants to punish us for our sins, and the punishment isn't fitting until we start to bleed.
Her "Oh Father" song is about her troubled relationship with her own eartlhy dad, who was left behind to raise 6 children on his own. In the video, the little girl ("Madonna") is watching her mother's funeral procession, and she runs up to the casket in mourning. As she gets up close to the casket and views her mother's body for the last time, the camera focuses in on the last thing a very young Madonna sees of her mother, which are the very visible stitches used to hold her mother's lips together.
I don't know if this was something she actually observed, or if it was symbolism of feeling silenced, but when I read articles about her, I always think of that scene, wondering what I would be like if that had been me. And I pray that if there is some way she would ever change her mind about God, that she could be saved. It's just what I feel led to do. Years later I had a beloved mentor who told me she often felt led to pray for Britney Spears, so even though I didn't mention my prayers for Madonna, it was nice to hear I wasn't the only one praying for someone who seemed too far out of reach. Maybe God isn't giving up on them, either.
How have you been, Sculpt?
Always good to see you in the threads. Thanks for taking the time to stop by!
Well unfortunately, I blasted through all my high-speed hotspotting for the month and I have a while before it resets, so I'm hoping I'll still be able to carve out a reply even though my internet is moving at the speed of a glacier (and without global warming.)
One of the reasons I brought this topic up is because it's something that's been affecting my own life in different ways. I had someone in my family who dated a woman about 25 years younger, and it caused a bit of a stir; in my own life, guys who are about 16-18 years younger ask me out, so I've been finding out what it's like to be on the other side of the coin.
I used a pop culture reference because I think that popular culture often bleeds into Christian culture. In another thread, there was a brief discussion about polygamy, and some people feel that God was ok with polygamy because men like David and Solomon were participants. Personally, I think it was something the cultures around them adapted and it bled into their lifestyles as well. God created male and female (a heterosexual marriage,) and only one of each, so my personal belief is that God never meant for polygamy to be seen as the norm. But I could be wrong.
The article I read had some of the alleged quotes that Madonna was receiving about her new boyfriend -- and I know it's just the world of social media, etc. But Dolph Lundgren (the blond guy "Russian" from the Rocky movies) is also in his 60's and was recently in an article I read where he was dating a woman with about the same age gap (along with countless other examples in pop culture) with no mention of any backlash, so I found the contrast interesting. If I knew of some big names in church culture who were an example of this, I would have used them instead. I don't know of any "big church" names, but I do know of people who have seen these things happen in their congregation.
So this thread is about age differences in the dating world, particularly when it's "reversed" -- an older woman vs. a younger man. At the time of writing this thread, I had happened to read a few articles about Madonna, and I found it interesting at the time, because I wonder if age differences were always meant to be, or if it's because of the surrounding cultures influencing the Christian community.
Back when I was more into dating (Christian dating sites,) it was very common for the older men to be going after younger women. But I think the landscape is changing, as I hear more stories about older women going after younger men, and the men don't like it, ironically.
Incidentally, Madonna also happens to be a bit of a lifelong cultural interest to me. I was a kid in Lutheran schools when she burst onto the scene, and I remember one of the pastors at school declaring, "Hell will be hot for Madonna." I felt like God was moving me to pray for her instead, and I have ever since. Maybe what he said was true, but I felt God told me to pray for her rather than condemn her.
She has a much lesser-known music video called, "Oh Father" which portrays her when she was a child. Her mother died of cancer when she was 5, and she has said in interviews that she would be a completely different person if that hadn't happened. She also said that she saw her mother (a devout Catholic) regularly pray while kneeling on uncooked rice and wire hangers until she was bleeding, and when she was little, this is who she was given the impression that God was -- someone who wants to punish us for our sins, and the punishment isn't fitting until we start to bleed.
Her "Oh Father" song is about her troubled relationship with her own eartlhy dad, who was left behind to raise 6 children on his own. In the video, the little girl ("Madonna") is watching her mother's funeral procession, and she runs up to the casket in mourning. As she gets up close to the casket and views her mother's body for the last time, the camera focuses in on the last thing a very young Madonna sees of her mother, which are the very visible stitches used to hold her mother's lips together.
I don't know if this was something she actually observed, or if it was symbolism of feeling silenced, but when I read articles about her, I always think of that scene, wondering what I would be like if that had been me. And I pray that if there is some way she would ever change her mind about God, that she could be saved. It's just what I feel led to do. Years later I had a beloved mentor who told me she often felt led to pray for Britney Spears, so even though I didn't mention my prayers for Madonna, it was nice to hear I wasn't the only one praying for someone who seemed too far out of reach. Maybe God isn't giving up on them, either.
How have you been, Sculpt?
Always good to see you in the threads. Thanks for taking the time to stop by!
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