Just in case you’ve somehow missed this, ‘lol’ is the internet/sms abbreviation of ‘laugh out loud’. So apparently getting laughs is the one good reason to rape.

Where to start with this?? I looked up urban dictionary’s terms of service. The ‘user conduct’ section includes the following

User Conduct

1. Users may not post Content (as defined below) that:
   1. is unlawful, threatening, libelous or defamatory;
   2. violates any party’s intellectual property; or
   3. is detrimental to the quality or intended spirit of the Website.
2. Examples of unacceptable Content or behavior on the Website include:
1. abuse, harassment, threats of violence, flaming, intimidation of any person or organization, or any other threatening behavior;
2. engaging in or contributing to any illegal activity or activity that violates others’ rights;

3. The Company has the right, but not the obligation, to limit or revoke the use privileges or editor account of anyone who posts unacceptable Content.

4. At any time, the Company can refuse to allow a posting or remove a posting at its sole discretion. However, Urban Dictionary is not obligated to restrict or monitor submissions in any way, or to block users who submit inappropriate content.

This leaves me wondering what exactly is the point of stipulating user conduct if you then free yourself from any obligation to hold people to that conduct?

Yet, I have given urbandictionary the benefit of the doubt, and emailed them about this entry. I am desperately hoping that they will recognise the extremely serious, destructive and illegal nature of this statement and remove it from their website. Hoping for a positive response from them.

emails can be sent to legal@urbandictionary.com

So, right now I should be studying. And I was just a few minutes ago. As I study I like some music in the playing in the background so I love the shuffle button on itunes. It makes me happy. But sometimes a particular song will come on that completely distracts me from what I’m trying to learn (currently a history of Catholicism in Australia). Monday it was Adele. Her voice is just so incredible that as soon as she started playing I couldn’t concentrate on study. Today it’s this song.

The thing about ‘The Rose’ is that we have history. When I was 14 I started singing lessons and this was one of the first songs I was taught. Around the same time my uncle was in hospital dying. One day we went to visit him and he asked my mum if she could go to his house and find his copy of The Rose. It was his favourite song and he wanted to listen to it. Obviously we found him a tape to listen to, but that day I sat next to him and sang it for him. No music. Just a girl singing to her uncle. With every other patient in the room (and their visitors) listening. Simultaneously one of the most embarrassing and amazing moments in my life.

But now I just can’t stop loving the song.

Obviously lots of biblical imagery here. Over at Pop Culture Christ Joel tell us what he thinks she is doing with this mash of Bible stories.

See, this song is not about Jesus, Judas or any other Biblical figure. It’s a song about betrayal and an unhealthy relationship. The imagery skirts around the real issues and in some ways acts as a smoke screen for what is really going on. The woman at the heart of this song is a woman betrayed by the man she loves. He sleeps around on her and she knows it. And she keeps coming back to him. Her self-esteem has been devalued to such an extent that she doesn’t feel she is worthy of a loving relationship. Her “Judas” has manipulated her and abused her emotionally. She is the victim of an abusive and destructive relationship. She wants to love the virtuous “Jesus” but “Judas is the demon [she clings] to”. She is trapped in a relationship where she is not truly loved but has been fooled into thinking that she doesn’t deserve better. She believes that she is beyond repentance and he is more than happy to perpetuate this lie.

Read this whole article here.

I don’t know what your circumstance is but I’m almost positive that if you’re single you’ve been on the receiving end of someone who is married taking pity on you in some way (I don’t believe that this is ever intentional). Most people argue that it is the world’s media & culture that has caused us to feel that being single is a type of incompleteness – which is definitely true, but I also think that the church has been involved… controversial I know!

I agree. Read her article here. It’s a good read.

See the P*rnland Invitation for details. RSVP to Collective Shout 

Here’s a closer look (from their website) 

You probably can’t see it but in the ad on the bus, on the bottom left it says ‘It’s all about jeggings”.

Let’s leave aside that jeggings are possibly the worst thing to happen to fashion ever, why isn’t this girl wearing a top?!?!?!? Seems like it’s actually all about a topless girl. A girl sexualised for the sake of selling pants.

And I say ‘girl’ quite purposefully – she is very young. If this picture was found on the computer of a middle-aged man wouldn’t we call it child porn? But driving around the city on the back of a bus it’s just good advertising right?

This biggest concern is that Supre’s main target is teenaged girls. Advertising like this teaches them that sex is currency and woman & girls are nothing more than objects. Way to go Supre.

Supre can be contacted here http://www.supre.com.au/Help—FAQ/Contact-Us.aspx – please get on board and tell them this is not acceptable.

Lady Gaga’s latest song makes some very interesting claims about wo we are, including our sexuality. And while she isn’t a source of theologically genius, she probably is a good barometer of culture.

What do you think she’s saying??

But singleness is not synonymous with immaturity, and singleness is not inherently problematic. While many singles are immature, the correlation is not direct. Many married men and women are just as immature. By and large I agree with the pastors attempting to engage the culture of “extended adolescence.” I simply disagree with their choice of language. “Grow up and get married” is too simplistic and dangerous.

First off, it sounds too easy. Anyone who wants to be married can simply do so at will?

Isn’t a spouse a gift from the Lord?

Isn’t God sovereign in the distribution of His gifts?

As a 32-year-old single male shepherding in the midst of a large church filled with singles, I know firsthand the sting of such half-truths. Some people are single because they are lazy, fearful, lustful or proud. But some singles are simply single because God, in His infinite wisdom, sovereignty and grace has not granted them a spouse. Singleness is not a curse. If singleness were the universal consequence for our sins, marriage rates would plummet to zero. Marriage is a gift, and all of God’s gifts are graciously undeserved. There are many married men and women mired in sin, and there are many singles pursuing deep holiness.

There is no direct correlation between sin and singleness.

Read the whole post here.

h/t the resurgence