{"id":1038,"date":"2024-05-31T12:42:08","date_gmt":"2024-05-31T16:42:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithandcriticalthinking\/?p=1038"},"modified":"2024-05-31T12:42:08","modified_gmt":"2024-05-31T16:42:08","slug":"the-speech-butker-didnt-give-what-were-you-born-to-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithandcriticalthinking\/2024\/05\/the-speech-butker-didnt-give-what-were-you-born-to-do\/","title":{"rendered":"The speech Butker didn\u2019t give \u2013 what were you born to do?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Photo by MD Duran on Unsplash<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Congratulations, Class of 2024!<\/p>\n

You have all worked very hard to get to this point, and your hard work has paid off!<\/p>\n

A world of opportunities awaits you\u2026. Some of you will join the workforce, others will go on to<\/p>\n

graduate school and some may become homemakers. Each is a valid option, and the decision is<\/p>\n

yours to make!<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

To the men in the audience<\/strong><\/h2>\n I would like to address the men in the audience, since you have been told diabolical lies by society.<\/p>\n You\u2019ve been told that being masculine means always being the \u201ctough guy,\u201d never showing<\/p>\n emotions, never shedding a tear, or showing any sign of weakness. I\u2019m here to remind you that<\/p>\n the ability to show emotion is an essential part of being human. It doesn\u2019t make you a \u201csissy;\u201d it<\/p>\n makes you human. Even Jesus wept.<\/p>\n Toxic Masculinity<\/em><\/h3>\n Despite what society has told you, toxic masculinity is not the way of Christ.<\/p>\n So, if your life circumstances are such that you find yourself being a stay-at-home dad, know that<\/p>\n it\u2019s nothing to be ashamed of. Your children need you as much as they need their mother.<\/p>\n To address the issue of toxic masculinity, let\u2019s take a look at examples from the New Testament.<\/p>\n \u201cJerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Matthew 23: 37 (NIV)<\/p>\n This was Jesus \u2013 comparing himself to a female! Imagine that! He applied female imagery to himself in<\/p>\n the above verse, as did Paul in writing to the Thessalonians.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u201c<\/sup><\/strong>Instead, we were like young children\u00a0among you.<\/em><\/p>\n Just as a nursing mother cares for her children.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n 1 Thessalonians 2:7 (NIV)<\/p>\n The use of female imagery by Jesus Christ and Paul run contrary to the toxic masculinity that is so<\/p>\n prevalent in today\u2019s church. Christ and Paul were not concerned about protecting their male egos; they<\/p>\n were secure in who they were. Using female imagery did not make them any less male.<\/p>\n To the women in the audience<\/strong><\/h2>\n For the women in the audience, if anyone tells you that your life will start when you get married<\/p>\n and start having babies, please remind them that your life started the day you were born.<\/p>\n Marriage and childbirth are major milestones, but<\/p>\n not the beginning of life and should not define you. God created you with a unique identity and<\/p>\n personality, not so that you would have your identity subsumed by someone else. Society works<\/p>\n best when all of us, regardless of gender, lean into our individual vocations and do what we are<\/p>\n called to do.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n If anyone has told you can\u2019t pursue a certain profession because you are a woman, I hope you<\/p>\n will be inspired by the story of Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell, America\u2019s first female physician.<\/p>\n She was admitted to Geneva Medical College in New York, after being rejected by other schools. The<\/p>\n Dean had asked the medical students (150 males) to vote on whether Elizabeth should be accepted.<\/p>\n Elizabeth would have been barred from admission, if even one student had voted against her admission.<\/p>\n The students must have thought it was a joke \u2013 they voted unanimously to accept her, and ended up being<\/p>\n surprised when she arrived at the school!\u00a0Elizabeth Blackwell graduated in 1949 and her younger sister<\/p>\n Emily, also became a physician. They both went on to support medical education for other women.<\/p>\n To the members of racial minority groups<\/strong><\/h2>\n If anyone tells you can\u2019t pursue a certain career because of your race, you can tell them about Dr.<\/p>\n Rebecca Crumpler.\u00a0 Did you know that America had a black female physician as early as 1864? It was Dr.<\/p>\n Crumpler. If she could attend medical school in the 1800s, you can pursue your dreams in 2024! (Can I <\/em><\/p>\n hear an Amen?)<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Go, be free<\/strong><\/h2>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Class of 2024, I congratulate you again. I hope you have been inspired. I hope you will be<\/p>\n motivated to pursue your God-given passions and to develop your gifts and talents in the service<\/p>\n of humanity. I wish you all the very best, regardless of which path you choose, whether that is<\/p>\n pursuing a career, being a homemaker, or both. Your calling is unique to you \u2013 it is yours to<\/p>\n determine and yours to fulfill.<\/p>\n I leave you with the words of Beth Allison Barr, PhD and Rick Pidcock (Provoke Wonder):<\/p>\n \u00a0Go, be free!<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0Don\u2019t fear the lies told over you.<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0Go, be free!<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0And then do what you were born to do.<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Author\u2019s Note: This essay was written as a reaction to the graduation speech given by Kansas<\/p>\n City Chiefs kicker, Harrison Butker at Benedictine College (a Catholic institution) on May 11, 2024.<\/p>\n In her book, The Making of Biblical Womanhood<\/a>, Beth Allison Barr writes that she dismisses<\/p>\n her students from class with these words: \u201cGo, be free<\/em>.\u201d She ends her book with the same<\/p>\n admonition. Rick Pidcock\u2019s (Provoke Wonder) song, Go be free<\/a><\/em> which includes the lyrics above,<\/p>\n was inspired by Beth Allison Barr\u2019s book.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Congratulations, Class of 2024! You have all worked very hard to get to this point, and your hard work has paid off! A world of opportunities awaits you\u2026. Some of you will join the workforce, others will go on to graduate school and some may become homemakers. Each is a valid option, and the decision […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5085,"featured_media":1062,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[498,345,501,492,495,30],"class_list":["post-1038","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-beth-allison-barr","tag-feminism","tag-gender-stereotypes","tag-harrison-butker","tag-kansas-city-chiefs-kicker","tag-toxic-masculinity"],"yoast_head":"\nThe speech Butker didn\u2019t give \u2013 what were you born to do? the-speech-harrison-butker-didnt-give-<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Congratulations, Class of 2024! You have all worked very hard to get to this point, and your hard work has paid off! A world of opportunities awaits you\u2026. I wish you all the very best, regardless of which path you choose, whether that is pursuing a career, being a homemaker, or both. Your calling is unique to you \u2013 it is yours to determine and yours to fulfill.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithandcriticalthinking\/2024\/05\/the-speech-butker-didnt-give-what-were-you-born-to-do\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The speech Butker didn\u2019t give \u2013 what were you born to do? the-speech-harrison-butker-didnt-give-\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Congratulations, Class of 2024! You have all worked very hard to get to this point, and your hard work has paid off! A world of opportunities awaits you\u2026. I wish you all the very best, regardless of which path you choose, whether that is pursuing a career, being a homemaker, or both. Your calling is unique to you \u2013 it is yours to determine and yours to fulfill.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithandcriticalthinking\/2024\/05\/the-speech-butker-didnt-give-what-were-you-born-to-do\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Where Faith and Critical Thinking Meet\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-05-31T16:42:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/1839\/2024\/05\/md-duran-1VqHRwxcCCw-unsplash-small.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Olapeju Simoyan, MD, MPH\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@pejune6\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Olapeju Simoyan, MD, MPH\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithandcriticalthinking\/2024\/05\/the-speech-butker-didnt-give-what-were-you-born-to-do\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithandcriticalthinking\/2024\/05\/the-speech-butker-didnt-give-what-were-you-born-to-do\/\",\"name\":\"The speech Butker didn\u2019t give \u2013 what were you born to do? the-speech-harrison-butker-didnt-give-\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithandcriticalthinking\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-05-31T16:42:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-05-31T16:42:08+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithandcriticalthinking\/#\/schema\/person\/b87822596c95c3e9a5bd14c4d51f7856\"},\"description\":\"Congratulations, Class of 2024! You have all worked very hard to get to this point, and your hard work has paid off! A world of opportunities awaits you\u2026. I wish you all the very best, regardless of which path you choose, whether that is pursuing a career, being a homemaker, or both. Your calling is unique to you \u2013 it is yours to determine and yours to fulfill.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithandcriticalthinking\/2024\/05\/the-speech-butker-didnt-give-what-were-you-born-to-do\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithandcriticalthinking\/2024\/05\/the-speech-butker-didnt-give-what-were-you-born-to-do\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithandcriticalthinking\/2024\/05\/the-speech-butker-didnt-give-what-were-you-born-to-do\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithandcriticalthinking\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The speech Butker didn\u2019t give \u2013 what were you born to do?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithandcriticalthinking\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithandcriticalthinking\/\",\"name\":\"Where Faith and Critical Thinking Meet\",\"description\":\"Dr. Olapeju Simoyan's column explores the intersection of faith, health and daily life. She has a special interest in religious abuse and trauma, especially with regard to women. Through her writing, she aims to show that critical thinking and faith are not mutually exclusive.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithandcriticalthinking\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithandcriticalthinking\/#\/schema\/person\/b87822596c95c3e9a5bd14c4d51f7856\",\"name\":\"Olapeju Simoyan, MD, MPH\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithandcriticalthinking\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/469e58520af3d0525230509bd30fa6d5?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/469e58520af3d0525230509bd30fa6d5?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Olapeju Simoyan, MD, MPH\"},\"description\":\"Dr. Olapeju Simoyan is a physician, board certified in family medicine and addiction medicine, with a special interest in the connections between faith and health. She strongly believes that faith and critical thinking are not mutually exclusive. As a female physician, Dr. Simoyan is also interested in women's issues and writes about religious abuse and trauma, with a focus on how misinterpretations of biblical texts have led to the perpetration of abuse within church settings. She has combined her writing and photography in several books, including Living Foolproof, a devotional based on reflections from the book of Proverbs. You can check out her author page on Amazon: https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/stores\/Olapeju-Simoyan\/author\/B0BP7RSYBL\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.thedoctorwriter.com\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/pejune6\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithandcriticalthinking\/author\/osimoyan\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The speech Butker didn\u2019t give \u2013 what were you born to do? the-speech-harrison-butker-didnt-give-","description":"Congratulations, Class of 2024! You have all worked very hard to get to this point, and your hard work has paid off! A world of opportunities awaits you\u2026. I wish you all the very best, regardless of which path you choose, whether that is pursuing a career, being a homemaker, or both. Your calling is unique to you \u2013 it is yours to determine and yours to fulfill.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithandcriticalthinking\/2024\/05\/the-speech-butker-didnt-give-what-were-you-born-to-do\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The speech Butker didn\u2019t give \u2013 what were you born to do? the-speech-harrison-butker-didnt-give-","og_description":"Congratulations, Class of 2024! You have all worked very hard to get to this point, and your hard work has paid off! A world of opportunities awaits you\u2026. I wish you all the very best, regardless of which path you choose, whether that is pursuing a career, being a homemaker, or both. Your calling is unique to you \u2013 it is yours to determine and yours to fulfill.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithandcriticalthinking\/2024\/05\/the-speech-butker-didnt-give-what-were-you-born-to-do\/","og_site_name":"Where Faith and Critical Thinking Meet","article_published_time":"2024-05-31T16:42:08+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":800,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/1839\/2024\/05\/md-duran-1VqHRwxcCCw-unsplash-small.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Olapeju Simoyan, MD, MPH","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@pejune6","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Olapeju Simoyan, MD, MPH","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithandcriticalthinking\/2024\/05\/the-speech-butker-didnt-give-what-were-you-born-to-do\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithandcriticalthinking\/2024\/05\/the-speech-butker-didnt-give-what-were-you-born-to-do\/","name":"The speech Butker didn\u2019t give \u2013 what were you born to do? the-speech-harrison-butker-didnt-give-","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithandcriticalthinking\/#website"},"datePublished":"2024-05-31T16:42:08+00:00","dateModified":"2024-05-31T16:42:08+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithandcriticalthinking\/#\/schema\/person\/b87822596c95c3e9a5bd14c4d51f7856"},"description":"Congratulations, Class of 2024! You have all worked very hard to get to this point, and your hard work has paid off! A world of opportunities awaits you\u2026. I wish you all the very best, regardless of which path you choose, whether that is pursuing a career, being a homemaker, or both. Your calling is unique to you \u2013 it is yours to determine and yours to fulfill.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithandcriticalthinking\/2024\/05\/the-speech-butker-didnt-give-what-were-you-born-to-do\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithandcriticalthinking\/2024\/05\/the-speech-butker-didnt-give-what-were-you-born-to-do\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithandcriticalthinking\/2024\/05\/the-speech-butker-didnt-give-what-were-you-born-to-do\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithandcriticalthinking\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The speech Butker didn\u2019t give \u2013 what were you born to do?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithandcriticalthinking\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithandcriticalthinking\/","name":"Where Faith and Critical Thinking Meet","description":"Dr. Olapeju Simoyan's column explores the intersection of faith, health and daily life. She has a special interest in religious abuse and trauma, especially with regard to women. Through her writing, she aims to show that critical thinking and faith are not mutually exclusive.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithandcriticalthinking\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithandcriticalthinking\/#\/schema\/person\/b87822596c95c3e9a5bd14c4d51f7856","name":"Olapeju Simoyan, MD, MPH","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithandcriticalthinking\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/469e58520af3d0525230509bd30fa6d5?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/469e58520af3d0525230509bd30fa6d5?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"Olapeju Simoyan, MD, MPH"},"description":"Dr. Olapeju Simoyan is a physician, board certified in family medicine and addiction medicine, with a special interest in the connections between faith and health. She strongly believes that faith and critical thinking are not mutually exclusive. As a female physician, Dr. Simoyan is also interested in women's issues and writes about religious abuse and trauma, with a focus on how misinterpretations of biblical texts have led to the perpetration of abuse within church settings. She has combined her writing and photography in several books, including Living Foolproof, a devotional based on reflections from the book of Proverbs. You can check out her author page on Amazon: https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/stores\/Olapeju-Simoyan\/author\/B0BP7RSYBL","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.thedoctorwriter.com","https:\/\/twitter.com\/pejune6"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithandcriticalthinking\/author\/osimoyan\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithandcriticalthinking\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1038","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithandcriticalthinking\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithandcriticalthinking\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithandcriticalthinking\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5085"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithandcriticalthinking\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1038"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithandcriticalthinking\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1038\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithandcriticalthinking\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1062"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithandcriticalthinking\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1038"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithandcriticalthinking\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1038"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithandcriticalthinking\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1038"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}