I’m not “into” Chinese art the way Genie is and as my mother was, and so I’m ignorant about it. Unless Genie is with me to explain what I’m looking at, I rarely go to the Chinese galleries. But that day several ancient jade carvings “broke through.” They seemed so impossible. I thought, there’s no way anyone could carve so intricately without modern tools.
I started really looking. Maybe it had something to do with having talked to my Chinese seatmate the day before on the bus. Anyway, I forgot that I only wanted to spend a few quiet moments before heading back to take another look at a particular painting in that thronged Matisse show. I stood hunched over the glass case almost forgetting to breathe and peering through my reading glasses at microscopic gnarled pine trees and rocky paths cut out of green and gray semi-opaque rock, miniature worlds that drew me in as surely as those Bible stories that Mom read out loud used to enthrall me.
Looking at those jade landscapes, I felt as if I had been hiking with Mom and Dad through some alpine valley and the fog had unexpectedly lifted to reveal a heart-stopping view. I was also reminded of the evenings the previous winter when I had bundled Lucy up in my down parka and put on her hat and mittens and we’d go out into the garden to look at the stars.
I held Lucy clasped against my chest, and we stared up. Lucy gazed at the sliver of the universe we could see, and I stared down at my angel made of, and lit by, stardust. When she first looked upward at the vast glittering sprinkle of stars, Lucy’s breathing quickened, and then her breathing slowed along with mine as we both sank into a stunned reverie.
It was very much like the reverie I was gripped by when tumbling into those distant jade miniature worlds. Gazing at those jade universes, I connected powerfully with my mother’s enigmatic self as she was revealed in the sacrament of her flower arrangements. They were made of long-gone twig, moss, and leaf, but the liturgy they celebrated has survived in me. In the silence it struck me that Mom and I are very much alike: We each have spent most of our lives rescuing ourselves—from ourselves.
For my mother, Edith
INDEX
Abortion
clinics, bombing of
and compromise
extremes
and fetal viability
and health of woman
late-term
legalization of
legalization of, state-by-state
medical
and morning-after pill,
and pro-choice advocates, misuse of
public opinion on
and Republican Party, misuse of
restrictions on
statistics on
stereotypes
and Supreme Court
See also Antiabortion movement; Life issues; Roe v. Wade
Abortion and the Conscience of the Nation (Reagan)
Accountability, age of
Adultery
Afghanistan
Ahmanson, Howard
Al Qaida
Alice (nanny)
America Can Be Saved (Falwell)
American exceptionalism
American Law Institute (ALI)
Andrusko, Dave
Anscombe, Elizabeth
Antiabortion demonstrations
Antiabortion movement
and culture wars
and doctors, murders of
and documentary films
and doubt
launching of
and multi-billion-dollar industry
and Obama
politics of
and Republican Party
and secularism
and U.S. government
See also Abortion
“Anti-American,”
Apophatic theology
Assisted suicide. See also Life issues
Atheism
Augustine (saint)
Azaria, Hank
Bahati, David
al-Bana, Hassan
Barrett, James
Barzun, Jacques
Beck, Glenn
Belz, Joel
Berg, Robert
Bible
as blasphemy against God
as curse or blessing
as flawed
and government
old vs. new testaments
as pro-Israel book
sex in
vs. God
women in
See also Biblical inerrancy; Biblical law; Biblical literalists; Biblical prophecy; Holy books; Scripture
Bible Presbyterian Church
Biblical inerrancy
and children
See also Biblical literalists
Biblical law
imposition of
Biblical literalists. See also Biblical inerrancy
Biblical prophecy
Big-family movement
The Birdcage (film)
Blackmun, Harry
Blasphemy
against God, Bible as
Boccaccio, Giovanni
Bolton
Bork, Robert
Boston Globe
Britton, John
Buchfuehrer, Jim
Buckley, William F.
Bugliosi, Vincent
Bush, George H. W.
Bush, George W.
Calvin, John
Calvinism
Campaign funding
Capital punishment
Career, vs. family
Castration, self-
Celibacy
Chalcedon Foundation
Challenging the Christian Right (Clarkson)
Chamberlin, George
Child pornography. See also Pornography
Child sexual abuse
and Orthodox Jews
Children
and biblical inerrancy
raising of, by professional Christians
sexual awakening in
spacing of
Chilton, David
The Chosen People
Puritans as
Christian Activist
A Christian Manifesto (Francis Schaeffer)
Christianity, vs. democracy
Christianity Is Jewish (Edith Schaeffer)
Christians United for Israel
Church Fathers, misogyny of
Circumcision
Civil disobedience
Clarkson, Frederick
The Coercive Utopians (Isaac and Isaac)
Coitus interruptus
Colson, Charles
Commentary magazine
Complementarianism
“Complete Submission Makeover,”
Conservatives
Continuity
Contraception. See also Family planning
Conversion
Corporate America
Coughlin, Charles
Couric, Katie
Cox, Archibald
Cranach, Lucas
Crazy for God (Frank Schaeffer)
Creationism
Creativity
Criswell, W. A.
Cross-dressing ritual
Crossway Books
Crowley, Mary
Culture wars
loss of
and pro-choice vs. antiabortion movement
and Roe “refined” by Bolton
and sexual dysfunction
David (king)
Dawkins, Richard
Decameron (Boccaccio)
Decter, Midge
Democracy
Demonization
DeMoss, Nancy
DeMoss, Nancy Leigh
DeMoss family
Dennis, Lane
Depravity, doctrine of total
Dershowitz, Alan
DeVos, Rich
Diaphragm story
Dignitas
Dines, Gail
Dionysius (archbishop of Alexandria)
Discipline
Divinity of Doubt (Bugliosi)
Dobson, James
Doctors (abortion), murder of
Doe v. Bolton
Dou
bt, denial of
Dysfunction. See also Family dysfunction; Sexual dysfunction
Ecumenical jihad
Ecumenical Jihad: Ecumenism and the Culture War (Kreeft)
Education, vs. indoctrination
Eisenhower, Dwight
The Elect
Embryo-destructive research
End Times biblical prophecies
Ensign, John
Esther (Old Testament queen)
Eternal Separation
Eternal torture
Euthanasia. See also Life issues
Evangelical ghetto
Evangelizing. See also Witnessing
“Exposing the Truth Behind Homosexuality and the Homosexual Agenda” seminar
Extremism sexual
Faith Theological Seminary
The Fall
Falwell, Jerry
Family
and big-family movement
the Family (aka the Fellowship)
and National Prayer Breakfast
and Uganda scandal
Family planning. See also Spacing, of children; Contraception
Family Research Council
the Fellowship. See the Family
Feminism
anti-
Feminists
Fertility, as punishment
Fetal viability
First Things
Ford, Gerald
Foreknowledge
Forever Music (Edith Schaeffer)
Fox News
France
Free Will
Gabriel (angel)
Gandhi (film)
The Gandhi Nobody Knows (Grenier)
Gay marriage
Gay rights and Uganda scandal
George, Robert
Giffords, Gabrielle
Gingrich, Newt
Ginsburg, Ruth Bader
God
existence of
jealousy of
mind-changing of
and rape
scripture by inspiration of
and sex
violent vs. loving
vs. Bible
vs. religion
and women
Gosnell, Kermit
Gospel Walnut
Government, biblically mandated role of
Graham, Billy
burial place of
as lifelong hypochondriac
and politics
public vs. private life of
Graham, Franklin
Graham, Gigi
Graham, Ruth
Graven images
Greek Orthodox Service of Forgiveness
Greenberg, Brad
Grenier, Richard
Griffin, Bryan F.
Growing Up Straight: What Families Should Know About Homosexuality (Rekers)
Guttmacher Institute
Hagee, John
Haitians, defaming of
Harris, Sam
Health care reform
“The Heart of Salvation” booklet
“The Heart of Salvation” song
Heaven
age of babies in
life’s mysteries made clear in
Hedges, Chris
on Christian Fascism
Hefner, Hugh
Hell
Helms, Jesse
Heresy
Hill, Paul
Hippies
Hitchens, Christopher
Hitler, Adolf
Holocaust revisionism
Holy books
open interpretation of
See also Bible
Homeschool movement
rise of
Homeschools
Homosexuality
in Afghanistan
and the Family
and 9/11 terrorist attack
and Roman Catholic Church
in Uganda
How Should We Then Live? (documentary film)
How Should We Then Live? (Francis Schaeffer)
Howard, Thom
Hudson, Deal
The Human Faces of God: What Scripture Reveals When It Gets God Wrong (and Why Inerrancy Tries to Hide It) (Stark)
Human Rights Campaign
Humanism
Hunt brothers
Hutaree Militia
Hutchinson, Anne
Hyde, Henry
Hynes, Charles
Ice Woman sculpture
Idols
Illegitimate pregnancy
“The Increase of His Government and Peace” (Rushdoony)
Indoctrination
and homeschool movement
vs. education
Infallibility, of Scripture. See also Biblical inerrancy
Inferiority complex
The Institutes of Biblical Law (Rushdoony)
Intelligent Design
Internet
Internet pornography. See also Pornography
Ireland
Irish Catholicism
Irresistible grace, doctrine of
Is Capitalism Christian? (ed. Frank Schaeffer)
Isaac, Erich
Isaac, Rael Jean
Islam
and menstruation
and women
See also Muslims
Islamic Brotherhoods
Islamic law, and Reconstructionism, similarities between
Israel
Izzard, Eddie
Jerome (saint)
Jesus Christ
acceptance of
and adultery
denial of
and Jews
and Second Coming
and sexual dysfunction
Jesus Victims
Jews
and homosexuality
and Jesus
and Jesus, acceptance of
and menstruation
See also Orthodox Jews
Jihad, ecumenical
John Paul II,
Kalende, Val
Kato, David
Kemp, Jack
Kennedy, Ted
Thy Kingdom Come (Rushdoony)
Klimt, Gustav
“Knowledge of the big picture,”
Koop, C. Everett
and Republican Party
Kopp, James
Kreeft, Peter
L’Abri Fellowship ministry
and family life
founding of
funding of
growth of
as “hippie” community
Lane, Nathan
Law, Bernard (archbishop of Boston; and cardinal)
Leaders. See individual leaders; Political leaders; Religious leaders
Leary, Timothy
Left Behind novels
Lewis, C. S.
Liberalism, theological
Liberty University Law School
Life issues. See also Abortion; Stem cell research
Limbaugh, Rush
and Obama
Limited atonement, doctrine of
Lively, Scott
Love, John
Luke
Lust in your heart
Luther, Martin
Machen, J. Gresham
Male authority, submission to
“Manhattan Declaration: A Call of Christian Conscience” (George)
The Mark of the Christian (Francis Schaeffer)
Marriage
advice on
gay
same-sex
and sex
Massachusetts Citizens for Life
Masturbation
Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN)
McCain, John
McFadden, Jim
McVeigh, Timothy
Men
and male authority
and pastor as figurehead
uncleanness of
Menstrual blood
Menstrual synchrony
Menstruation
in Afghanistan
sexual intercourse during
See also Women: uncleanness of
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Mifepristone
Misogyny
and pornography
Misoprostol
Modernity
Monogamy
Morality, legislation of
Mormons
Morning-after pill,
Moses
and men, uncleanness of
and rape
and women
Muggeridge, Malcolm
Mugisha, Frank
Murdoch, Rupert
Muslims
and homosexuality
and Obama
See also Islam
Mussolini, Benito
National Prayer Breakfast
National Press Club
National Public Radio
Native Americans
Natural Law
Nelson, Thomas
Neoconservatives
Neuhaus, Richard John
New Atheists
New Covenant
New York Times
9/11 terrorist attack
1984 (Orwell)
Nixon, Richard
Noack, Sarah
Noah’s Ark story
Nocturnal emission
Nonbelievers
and biblical law, imposition of
happiness of
North, Gary
North, Ollie
Obama, Barack
and abortion
anger toward
and antiabortion movement
and health care reform
and Muslims
and Wright
Obama administration
Olasky, Marvin
Onanism
Operation Rescue
Orthodox Church
Orthodox Jews
and child sexual abuse
and spousal abuse
and women, purity regulations for
See also Jews
Orwell, George
Other, rejection of the
Palin, Sarah
Panic Among the Philistines (Griffin)
Pastor (male), as figurehead
Patriarchy Movement
Paul (apostle)
Perseverance of the saints, doctrine of
Pickering, Chip
The Pink Swastika (Lively)
The Plan
Plymouth Rock Foundation
Podhoretz, Norman
Political leaders
Politics
and Reconstructionists
and salvation
sexual
Pontifical Council for the Family
Pornland: How Porn Has Hijacked Our Sexuality (Dines)
Pornography
child
on the Internet
misogynist
Portofino (Frank Schaeffer)
Portofino (Italy) vacation
Potter, Beatrix
Prayer-Warrior women
Sex, Mom, and God Page 27