{"id":41691,"date":"2025-04-16T11:26:11","date_gmt":"2025-04-16T18:26:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=41691"},"modified":"2025-04-16T11:26:11","modified_gmt":"2025-04-16T18:26:11","slug":"can-i-title-this-lets-grow-a-pair","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/can-i-title-this-lets-grow-a-pair\/","title":{"rendered":"Can I Title This: “Let’s Grow a Pair?”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pre-Reading on modern Ideologies<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

Let me first state that I am painting with a broad stroke here regarding modern ideologies. Secondly, let me state that I am primarily looking through a Western, American lens. There are Islamic ideologies that are also growing that I do not have space to dig into.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Modernism: This ideology is based in science and data. Generally, modernism is adhered to by baby boomers and older generations. In religious circles, they focus on the facts of biblical truths and often want to scientifically defend Christianity. Essentially, they are focused on what is true?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Postmodernism: This ideology developed after Modernism and is based in the deconstruction of modernist beliefs. This is often adhered to by Generation X\u2019ers and Millennials. As part of this generation, I grew up questioning authority and deconstructing beliefs. Essentially the question is how do we know it is true?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Post-postmodernism: This ideology is new and doesn\u2019t really have a set name yet. It is more adhered to Gen Z and Gen Alpha. They look at postmodern deconstruction and say, \u201cwhatever, I choose to believe this anyways.\u201d Essentially the question they ask is: So what if it is true or not, I will accept it.<\/p>\n

_______________________________________________________<\/p>\n

Post Reading:<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the oft-repeated\u2014and arguably sexist\u2014statement made by Saad in this week\u2019s reading; Let\u2019s grow a pair! Let\u2019s tackle some difficult issues such as Islam and immigration.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

There was a freshness to reading Gad Saad\u2019s book, The Parasitic Mind, <\/em>that I did not expect. He was brutally frank and willing to argue against what he calls, \u201cparasitic viruses of the human mind\u201d[1]<\/a> which stem from the university setting. I appreciated his candor and willingness to go against the academic rhythms. I also appreciate the way he calls out obvious glitches with identity theories and incoherent ideologies. He describes himself as an evolutionary behavioral scientist. I might lump him into the modernist category as I described above. As a Generation Xer\/Millennial myself, let me do a bit of deconstructing.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Saad seems to be a classic Enneagram 8, a challenger,[2]<\/a> just like myself. Let me first highlight how he encourages everyone to join the fight and to \u201cmake your engagement count.\u201d[3]<\/a> The problem with this argument is that not everyone is designed to think and engage in the same way. He asserts that people just need to fight back and to \u201cgrow a pair.\u201d Often, when women try to behave in this way, they are labeled a Jezebel or some other derogatory term.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In the beginning of his book Saad writes, \u201cthe pursuit of knowledge does not always nearly fit into clean dichotomies. The penchant of many researchers is to map phenomena onto binary realities.\u201d[4]<\/a> Yet, this is what he seems to be doing when he addresses issues with Islam. He highlights the fallacies of mainstream media, and the way Islam seems to be given a pass instead of receiving criticism, but he does not seem to recognize his own Jewish bias towards Islam. Understandably, there is much history between Muslims and Jews, but he might not be aware of the extent of his bias in this regard.[5]<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Arguing against allowing immigration from Islamic countries Saad states, Muslims \u201cmanifestly do not add to our strength\u201d[6]<\/a> and that \u201cwe should never compromise the fabric of our modern societies in order to engage in a peace exercise of civilizational self-flagellation.\u201d[7]<\/a> He further argues that mainstream media and Democrats tend to sanitize Islam and that any blame gets attributed to outlying sects of Islam such as Wahhabism.[8]<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This is where I believe Saad has fallen into a binary model. I believe there is a third way. The third way is through the chaos and is not simplistic. It requires much of those who engage. Does the kingdom of Jesus offer us a third way? Might it be possible to care deeply about the culture and values of our country and yet also care deeply about those who are seeking safety and peace through immigrating here? Might the Holy Spirit be doing a significant work by bringing so many Muslims into our neighborhoods where they live next to Christians? Is it possible that we can be hospitable, by welcoming people not like us, and preach the gospel in word and deed?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Saad elevates some real concerns many in my community have with the Somali population who has immigrated here. People are afraid they are terrorists and want to force our community to follow Islam. This is where the tension of Islam can be so hard to grapple with. In just an hour, I will be sitting having a cup of tea and biscuits served to me by a Muslim Somali grandmother who treats me as her own son. She is welcoming, hospitable, and ever-so kind. It is completely true that many Muslims are very gracious hosts and incredibly hospitable and generous. Yet, not long ago, a Somali doctor was arrested in our city with connections to a terrorist organization. The Islamic village I lived in while in Kenya was often a target of Al-Shabaab recruiting and attacks nearby. It is completely true that terrorism often is associated with Islam and Islam values participating in jihad. These two versions of Islam exist side-by-side and it can be hard for the Western mind to comprehend.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It is also hard for our communities to comprehend a non-binary response to immigration and Islam. It is possible to engage in finding the way of the kingdom of heaven. It is a struggle. The road is not easy. It might require more than simply, \u201cgrowing a pair.\u201d It requires nuance and a pension for being willing to challenge the system and challenge other\u2019s beliefs. It requires wading through the chaos and false ideologies to help people move through their fears into relationship with the Person of Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n

_______________________________________________________<\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Gad Saad, The Parasitic Mind: How Infectious Ideas Are Killing Common Sense<\/em> (Washington, D.C: Regnery Publishing, 2020), 18.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> \u201cEnneagram Type 8: The Challenger,\u201d The Enneagram Institute<\/em> (blog), accessed April 16, 2025, https:\/\/www.enneagraminstitute.com\/type-8\/.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Saad, 182.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Saad, 24.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Pragya Agarwal, Sway: Unravelling Unconscious Bias<\/em>, First edition, Bloomsbury Sigma Series, book fifty-three (London, England: Zed Books, 2021), 154, https:\/\/doi.org\/10.5040\/9781472971364.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Saad, 127.<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> Saad, 129.<\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> Saad, 134.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pre-Reading on modern Ideologies: Let me first state that I am painting with a broad stroke here regarding modern ideologies. Secondly, let me state that I am primarily looking through a Western, American lens. There are Islamic ideologies that are also growing that I do not have space to dig into.   Modernism: This ideology […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":205,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3463,2967],"class_list":["post-41691","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-saad","tag-dlgp03","cohort-dlgp03"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41691","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/205"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41691"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41691\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41692,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41691\/revisions\/41692"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41691"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41691"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41691"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}