Life as a Christian Woman

The experience of domestic abuse is not bound by religious beliefs, or a lack thereof. Christian women are subject to the same whims of violent men as their secular counterparts, but their options for coping with it are often limited by the views of the church. Divorce is forbidden, or at very least severely discouraged. Submission is expected. If the abuser is also a member of the church, silence by both spouses is strongly encouraged lest it cause a rift in the congregation. Prominent evangelical pastors counsel women to leave while the heat is on, then go back. These men also often add, “and avoid doing anything to make him angry.” So what do Christian women think about dealing with domestic abuse? From a United Methodist clergywoman, a devout Catholic, and others, some things are clear: You do not and will never have to deal with abuse alone — silence only encourages the sin of violence; the church has a responsibility to provide a safe haven for the wife and guidance for the husband; your life has a meaning, a purpose, and is precious to God — no man should be allowed to take away God’s creation; no matter what the church preaches, God will never ask you to repeatedly endanger your life — He has the power to change a man’s heart, but you do not.

The first entry comes from a United Methodist clergywoman. Her name and church have been withheld by request:

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Cain was the first man to commit murder, killing his brother Abel in jealousy over the Lord’s favor. It is amazing to me that within the first generation after the Fall, the sin of murder has already entered into man’s heart. It is also amazing to me that Cain’s wife stayed with him.

Cain was married to his sister, as the only women on earth at the time would have all been his sisters. “After he begot Seth, the days of Adam were eight hundred years; and he had sons and daughters.” (Genesis 5:4 NKJV). This marriage was not the taboo that it is today. Think for minute about the reasons we forbid marriage between close relations. The genetic mutations created by such unions cause mental and emotional problems, physical deformities and genetic medical conditions. But at the time of Cain and the other children of First Man and First Woman, the gene pool was pure. Adam and Eve had been created by God’s own hand, perfect in every aspect designed to live in a perfect world. So the union of Cain and his sister/wife would have occurred in a still-pure gene pool.

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August 13, 2007, is the deadline for the blog carnival Speaking Out on Abuse. This carnival is intended to address domestic violence and how Christian women should cope with it. Click on the link to read the full guidelines. You may submit your entries using the Contact button on the right side of the screen, or you may use the button to submit through Blog Carnival.com.

As a result of the blog carnival, Jocelyn Andersen, author of Woman Submit! Christians and Domestic Violence, will be appearing here on August 28, 2007. Jocelyn is a survivor of domestic abuse who has been led by God to turn her struggles into a ministry for others. She will begin with an introductory post, and then will answer questions and comments from readers as long as they continue to come in on that day. Please join us for discussion on this important issue.

Read more about Jocelyn’s scheduled appearance.

In other news around the site, 451 Press is holding a reader contest through the month of August. By visiting any 451 Press blog and leaving a comment, you are automatically entered for the contest. Three randomly chosen commenters will receive either $300, $200, or $100. The more you comment, the more your name is entered in the contest. With over 300 sites at 451 Press, surely you can find something that makes you want to put in your two cents!

Enjoy your Sunday, and God Bless!

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The one statement contained in the Gospel account that often gives women pause is His words, “Woman, what have I to do with thee?” A mother’s first instinct is to think, “Did Jesus just backtalk Mary?!” Jesus’ first miracle was to turn water into wine at a wedding feast. Compared to raising Lazarus from the dead, this may seem rather banal. It was a miracle, though, as no alchemist has ever been able to duplicate it. This is also a time when Jesus asserts his independence from his earthly mother, Mary. This act, more than the wine itself, is central to the story.

“And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come.” (John 2:3-4 KJV).

At first glance, this seems like the ancient equivalent of “No! I won’t do it!” What mother can hear those words and not immediately react in anger? But Mary didn’t react that way in John’s account. She simply told the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” (John 2:5). Mary knew it was the time for Jesus to begin his ministry of miracles and prove his lineage as God’s Son. Were His words to her backtalking, or the natural progression of any male asserting his own independence from his mother?

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For those of you who have had trouble viewing this site, the problems are slowly being fixed. There was a regional internet outage affecting the Southeast when a fiber cable was severed. I apologize for any inconvenience. I will get back to posting regularly as soon as I can be sure the difficulties have been fixed. As the internet traffic returns to normal, you may still experience slow pages or error messages. Please be patient, as this problem is affecting many businesses in the Southeast.

Have a blessed day!

Jocelyn Andersen, author of Woman Submit! Christians & Domestic Violence, will appear on Life as a Christian Woman on August 28, 2007. Her book has caused a stir among the Christian community and brings to light a subject too long kept quiet. Her own experiences as a battered wife made her cry out to God more than once to save her life. And despite the human odds, God healed her and led her to a place of safety, peace, and understanding. She now wants to offer women the support and insight lacking during her own fight for life.

Jocelyn will be posting an introduction and then will take questions and comments from readers throughout the rest of the day. Her experiences and research into this issue promise to provide lively discussion and Biblical insights. She is living proof that God can turn a horrible situation into good if we just trust and believe in Him. Jocelyn has been led from the darkness of domestic violence into a ministry for women suffering around the world.

Join Jocelyn on August 28, 2007, here at Life as a Christian Woman and learn from her how to help yourself or others who may be crying out to God through the bruises of domestic violence.

“Jesus won’t help you!”

With those words ringing in my ears, John
brought his loafer-encased foot crashing down onto
my face. Then, as suddenly as the violence
started—it stopped.

I sent up a silent prayer of thanks, saying, “Yes
you did, because everything stopped.”

Read the first chapter of Woman Submit! Christians & Domestic Violence.

christian, christian women, abuse, domestic violence, Jocelyn Andersen, Woman Submit Christians & Domestic Violence, religion, faith, ministry

Joyce Meyer Ministries will hold its annual women’s convention, Purpose and Passion, on September 20-22, 2007. The convention will be held in St. Louis and is the 25th anniversary of the gathering. This year’s guests include CeCe Winans, TD Jakes, Christine Caine, and music group Delirious?.

Thousands of women attend the annual convention each year. No men and no kids allowed; it is a weekend of renewing your spirit and faith as a woman in Christ. Joyce Meyer Ministries tackles the tough issues faced by women today and teaches you how to face those challenges with hope in God’s promises. Abuse, divorce, marriage, sex, emotional problems, health problems, and raising kids are all a part of her special ministry to women.

To register or learn more about this year’s Purpose and Passion, visit Joyce’s website. Vidoes of past conferences are available under the “Highlights” section.

Joyce Meyer teaching on, “Are You Hurting Emotionally?”:

In other news, stop by to see Allison at Find Religion. Each Monday, she offers a list of free religious give-aways from around the net.

christian women, Joyce Meyer, Purpose and Passion, women’s convention, St. Louis, religion

So far, I have received several entries and inquiries into the current blog carnival on domestic abuse in Christian marriage. It is apparent that this issue strikes a chord with a lot of women who feel that the church does not give the proper attention to this very real problem. You still have until August 13 to submit entries and have your voice heard.

What do you think a Christian woman should do when she is being abused by her husband? Is divorce the answer? Does she leave when the heat is on, then go back? Is the church providing enough support for these women? Are we losing women to the secular world because of lack of support?

For an explanation and guidelines for this blog carnival, read the post Blog Carnival: Speaking Out on Abuse. All opinions are welcome. Anonymous posts are also welcome; simply send your entry to me via e-mail and tell me that you do not want your name or site to be linked.

blog carnival, christian women, abuse, religion, domestic violence

Anne Rice became famous for her books The Vampire Chronicles and the Mayfair Witches. The dark supernatural events, seductive language and brilliantly developed characters created a readership of millions that hung on every word and dreamed of encountering Lestat on dim street or climbing the stairs of the Mayfair house with Michael. Anne’s announcement of her conversion to Christianity shocked that same readership, and opened a whole new world for Christian book lovers. In 2005, Anne’s book Christ the Lord was named Best Book of 2005 in the Christianity category by Amazon.com. The same detail and literary genius she had put into creating the world of vampires went into exploring the world of Christ.

Anne has become more accessible to her readers and continues to put in appearances around the country. Her website is now dedicated more to Christian content and invites readers to e-mail her personally. One of the ways you can do this is by answering questions from Anne about your own religious practices.

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If you have been watching the news since last night, you already know the first prayer we need to add to the list. A bridge across the Mississippi River collapsed in Minneapolis at about 6:05 p.m. yesterday, plunging cars into the river and stranding others as they rode the falling concrete on its 65 feet drop. As of this morning, the death toll was lowered to 4 but the search through the water continues. The motorists and their families need our prayers this morning. Also pray for strength and guidance for the rescue workers as they continue to comb the wreckage.

Another addition to our prayer list needs to be for our teachers and school personnel as they prepare to start a new school year. Safety for our children is prominent in my mind after witnessing the horror of my local highschool being hit by an EF-4 tornado in March. Hundreds of school children will continue to be displaced here not only from the devastated high school, but also the elementary school that was next to it. It will be two to three years before new permanent schools are completed for these students and teachers. Many of them will suffer the traumatic effects of the disaster for a long time to come. Please keep them in your prayers as they attempt to make the best of a bad situation and try to gain some normalcy for this school year.

As always, pray for those fighting in the Middle East. Whether you believe in the war or not doesn’t matter. Men and women on both sides of the conflict are fighting for, and losing, their lives. Pray for guidance for the leaders and that God’s will be done.

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Norma Gabler began scrutinizing textbooks in Texas after being appalled at the some of the things her children were reading in them. The education sector has long known that if a textbook isn’t accepted by the Texas Board of Education, it most likely will not even be printed. Gabler and her husband began their campaign in 1961 from their kitchen, and by 1973 had incorporated to form Educational Research Analysts. According to the New York Times, their goal was “to rid schoolbooks of content they considered antifamily, anti-American and anti-God.”

The Gablers’ “scroll of shame” of factual errors found in textbooks led to publishers being fined for not making the corrections. Other shames pointed out by them included history books that gave more attention to Marilyn Monroe than George Washington, and more space to the French Revolution than the American Revolution. Gabler also worked to ensure that marriage was defined as a life-long union between a man and woman.

“Prayer, preparation, and persistence” guided the Gablers into being the most effective textbook editors in the country, despite the fact that neither of them had a college degree.

Norma Gabler’s son, James, reported that she died of Parkinson’s Disease on July 22. She was 84.

Source: New York Times

religion, education, books, christian, christian women