I'm reminded of this passage from C. S. Lewis's A Grief Observed: "I once praised her [his wife, Joy Davidman] for her 'masculine virtues'. But she soon put a stop to that by asking how I'd like to be praised for my feminine ones.... It is arrogance in us to call frankness, fairness, and chivalry 'masculine' when we see them in a woman; it is arrogance in them, to describe a man's sensitiveness or tact or tenderness as 'feminine'. But also what poor, warped fragments of humanity most mere men and mere women must be to make the implications of that arrogance plausible."
I’m curious what you think of her hypothesis that the reason men no longer pursue careers/industries that have shifted to be predominantly female, is that they have been “feminized”. I don’t have any data on the subject, but it certainly seems like there could be other explanations. For one, it could just be to avoid the discomfort of being outnumbered. Regardless of the reason, development of virtue (for men and women) is always going to make for more constructive society. Thank you for focusing the conversation on that very valid point.
My impression is (no links close to hand) that as a job becomes female dominated, pay and prestige drop. And, of course, the social norms may shift to a mode that feels less natural for many men.
I'm entirely with you on the argument about development of virtue. I do not understand how your commenter can think that one can develop virtue by simply removing the poison of vice,.because "when vice is destroyed, virtue remains". This is not at all how it really works. What's left is a vacuum if the vice is far enough developed; there's a story about being freed from seven demons that comes to mind here.
Virtue is a choice and we all know that - could Jesus have been more clear? We are not born virtuous. We can see that by looking in our own hearts. Or we could look into history, or have a brief discussion about original sin, all of which will help us be sure of that.
And what what what does it mean to say "when vice is gone". Does that ever happen? Do we have to wait for that to have virtue???
Reading: The Body God Gives - A Biblical Response to Transgender Theory
by Robert S. Smith (Lexham Academic 2025).
Very well organized, excellent prose style, and very thorough review of relevant philosophical and theological issues. For the first time someone has enabled me to understand (or at least get a better grasp of) Judith Butler…
Reading: 1. Idols in our everyday life! "Counterfeit Gods" by Tim Keller. Such a full-flowered vision of how when you think you've extracted one idol and are now going to be closer to God, new idols jump right in (or.. you possibly haven't gotten the real one). And how to get out, both implicitly and explicitly.
2. "Code Name: Lise: The True Story of the Woman Who Became WWII's Most Highly Decorated Spy" (just the like last 1/3-1/2 of it, where she has been captured and suffers interrogation & torture. Because it nerd-sniped me at the library.)
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Thinking about: 1. Teaching the great sweep of Genesis 12-51 to children.
2. The way that the Old Testament really contains the call to love God, but, e.g. language and bad translations have obscured this, decisions and teaching at various time have amplified the problem - and how to get back the beauty and vision of it, and what that vision contains. (Thanks to an awesome OT theology nerd speaking about Deuteronomy for 3 hrs on Saturday.)
3. Telling someone one has just met "I was homeschooled by an angry atheist, so..." sure is a way to get their attention. (not what people expect for some reason!)
4. Something like "It would be fun to see some sort of debate between Leah Libresco S and the aforementioned Deuteronomy/Ezekiel scholar nerd." (yes that thought was in there. I don't have a lot of exposure to people who speak in a way that calls to mind all kinds of different debates and goes along defusing this argument, laying out that argument / invites people to THINK alongside them by doing it.)
5. Questions about revival.
6. The spiritual gift of Mercy - how can this (or one particular person's use of this gift) be used on behalf of people who are faithful Christians in a good place, seeking God; doesn't it usually make as its focus people who are really broken?
7. Ceva's Theorem and Menelaus' Theorem.
8. "What is my toolbox for teaching young precocious [math contest] students?"
9. And, of course, "How do I get myself to clean my house some more, and when should I do that?"
I'm reminded of this passage from C. S. Lewis's A Grief Observed: "I once praised her [his wife, Joy Davidman] for her 'masculine virtues'. But she soon put a stop to that by asking how I'd like to be praised for my feminine ones.... It is arrogance in us to call frankness, fairness, and chivalry 'masculine' when we see them in a woman; it is arrogance in them, to describe a man's sensitiveness or tact or tenderness as 'feminine'. But also what poor, warped fragments of humanity most mere men and mere women must be to make the implications of that arrogance plausible."
Yes! Excellent connection
I’m curious what you think of her hypothesis that the reason men no longer pursue careers/industries that have shifted to be predominantly female, is that they have been “feminized”. I don’t have any data on the subject, but it certainly seems like there could be other explanations. For one, it could just be to avoid the discomfort of being outnumbered. Regardless of the reason, development of virtue (for men and women) is always going to make for more constructive society. Thank you for focusing the conversation on that very valid point.
My impression is (no links close to hand) that as a job becomes female dominated, pay and prestige drop. And, of course, the social norms may shift to a mode that feels less natural for many men.
I'm entirely with you on the argument about development of virtue. I do not understand how your commenter can think that one can develop virtue by simply removing the poison of vice,.because "when vice is destroyed, virtue remains". This is not at all how it really works. What's left is a vacuum if the vice is far enough developed; there's a story about being freed from seven demons that comes to mind here.
Virtue is a choice and we all know that - could Jesus have been more clear? We are not born virtuous. We can see that by looking in our own hearts. Or we could look into history, or have a brief discussion about original sin, all of which will help us be sure of that.
And what what what does it mean to say "when vice is gone". Does that ever happen? Do we have to wait for that to have virtue???
In short, Leah, stick to your guns.
I was also thinking of the seven demons!
Reading: The Body God Gives - A Biblical Response to Transgender Theory
by Robert S. Smith (Lexham Academic 2025).
Very well organized, excellent prose style, and very thorough review of relevant philosophical and theological issues. For the first time someone has enabled me to understand (or at least get a better grasp of) Judith Butler…
Reading: 1. Idols in our everyday life! "Counterfeit Gods" by Tim Keller. Such a full-flowered vision of how when you think you've extracted one idol and are now going to be closer to God, new idols jump right in (or.. you possibly haven't gotten the real one). And how to get out, both implicitly and explicitly.
2. "Code Name: Lise: The True Story of the Woman Who Became WWII's Most Highly Decorated Spy" (just the like last 1/3-1/2 of it, where she has been captured and suffers interrogation & torture. Because it nerd-sniped me at the library.)
-----
Thinking about: 1. Teaching the great sweep of Genesis 12-51 to children.
2. The way that the Old Testament really contains the call to love God, but, e.g. language and bad translations have obscured this, decisions and teaching at various time have amplified the problem - and how to get back the beauty and vision of it, and what that vision contains. (Thanks to an awesome OT theology nerd speaking about Deuteronomy for 3 hrs on Saturday.)
3. Telling someone one has just met "I was homeschooled by an angry atheist, so..." sure is a way to get their attention. (not what people expect for some reason!)
4. Something like "It would be fun to see some sort of debate between Leah Libresco S and the aforementioned Deuteronomy/Ezekiel scholar nerd." (yes that thought was in there. I don't have a lot of exposure to people who speak in a way that calls to mind all kinds of different debates and goes along defusing this argument, laying out that argument / invites people to THINK alongside them by doing it.)
5. Questions about revival.
6. The spiritual gift of Mercy - how can this (or one particular person's use of this gift) be used on behalf of people who are faithful Christians in a good place, seeking God; doesn't it usually make as its focus people who are really broken?
7. Ceva's Theorem and Menelaus' Theorem.
8. "What is my toolbox for teaching young precocious [math contest] students?"
9. And, of course, "How do I get myself to clean my house some more, and when should I do that?"