As a formerly battered Christian wife who is alive only by supernatural intervention of God, it is my belief (backed up by experience, studies, and statistics) that strongly held beliefs in male leadership are responsible for domestic violence and abuse. That is why I write about in, Woman this is WAR!, and work so hard to raise awareness of the connected and intertwined issues of male supremacy and domestic abuse within the Christian community.
Woman this is WAR! Gender, Slavery & the Evangelical Caste System: Andersen, Jocelyn: 9780979429323: Amazon.com: Books
Woman this is WAR!, examines Bible commentary and translation practices which have historically been androcentric (male centered) and even misogynistic (anti-woman). These have adversely effected understanding of the scriptures, relations between women and men, the happiness of men and women, and, in general, has hindered the work of the gospel, by forbidding women to preach, pastor, or serve as elders or deacons. The book chronicles the early history of the women's rights movements, as well as the role of church leadership in aggressively suppressing both women's rights and the historical record of Christian initiatives within the movements. Through the complementarian movement, many of the same arguments used to support the institution of slavery, are still used today in suppressing the rights of Christian women. This book documents identical arguments used by Christian leaders against both movements and is an unparalleled resource for all who desire an in-depth study of gender equality from a Christian perspective. The history of women’s rights is traced back [much further than usual] to the very first feminists…who were Christians—godly women, who brought the issue of women's rights to the forefront as they struggled to alleviate the suffering of others, and found they were hindered in doing so for no other reason than the fact of their sex. This work, provides valuable historical insight into Christian initiatives in the movements for women’s rights, that are rarely included in Christian literature.
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https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/woman-this-is-war-gender-slavery-the-evangelical-caste-system-jocelyn-andersen/1126755949?ean=9780979429323
8 comments:
I recently received your book and it is amazing...I haven't finished it yet, but thank you for speaking out on this topic.
Finally! Some Christian woman has the Guts to say it, and it's true, so true.
It's not enough to just address women in ministry [which won't do nada for women, haven't they learned from the failures of gender equity attempts in politics, Iran good example there] or addressing women being able to work, outside of the home,
oh no, the root, needs to be deconstructed, and Patriarchy IS that root.
Sad to say, the patriarchy in religion, is only one branch--it's banality of evil reaches even into the most liberal of secular. But 'men'sianity' is I think, second to Islam, the strongest root of both patriarchy And outright
misogyny.
Jane
Yes, patriarchy leads to abuse. That's why I abuse my wife all the time.
Note: In case you missed it, that was sarcasm dripping off the above comment.
Oh yes, the fact that there were good and kind slaveholders proves that slavery didn't lead to abuse either. We can just ignore all the stripes on the backs of those other slaves. Those masters and slaves just weren't doing slavery right.
True response, Kristen.
I have to wonder what Wes's wife would say, especially if she felt free to respond in honesty.
Patriarchy is at its very core abusive, because it sets men as above women. It is nowhere near Christ-like, for Christ came as one who serves, and patriarchal men clearly demand to be served! The very definition of patriarchy- father rule- demands servants, underlings, subordinates- choose your synonym.
May I suggest your wife check out the power and abuse wheel at
http://www.lifeskillsintl.org/Power_and_Control_Wheel.html
Couldn't get the link to work Shadow.
Along the some lines, as Wes and Kristen. I suppose we should go back to having kings since that's what they did in the OT and no all kings were dictators. Just some of them.
Well, I guess if one wants to be a true blue patriarch and rebaptize the Old Covenant I would advise that you sell your home and become a nomadic tent dweller for starters. Secondly, I would advise that you go look for your second wife and maybe a few slaves so that you will be properly served and every need attended.
In case you missed it, that was sarcasm dripping off of the above comment.
Instead what we have is small nuclear families (not family clans or tribes). A man with only one wife and no slaves.
Hierarchalists think patriarchy is Christian. But, in fact it is part and parcel of the fall. Wes will not wrestle with nor will he embrace any of the qualifications that would make him a 'true' patriarch in the biblical sense. Patriarch for the small rural or suburbian man has to boil down to 'power over others' as every other example above would be to repugnant to even consider in our day (to an evangelical chrisitan). Power over wives is a patriarchs 'last thread'.......do you think he is going to let go of it? Not on your life!
(Terri Tippins)
It's true that when women don't listen to and obey their husbands like changing a the subject of a conversation when speaking with him, ignoring, minimizing, and interrupting him while he's speaking, for example, are often hit around and hacked. Also according to Christian teachings, women are more prone to sin and temptation like Eve, which is why they're instructed to listen and obey their husbands like children with their parents.
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