You know the subject. Now, let's look at history--both ancient and current.
Without knowing the history, there is no way you will understand the tugs and
pulls placed on women by societies and cultures dating all the way back to
Abraham. History was compiled by many people in the past centuries, and
carefully preserved for us--if we take the time and effort to see where we have
been and what we have done. It isn't pretty. After reviewing history, we will
move into scripture and come to the present. As always, the Christian message
will be the foundation for the eventual teaching--even if you don't like it.
Women have been treated much the same by cultures and society since
Day One. Unfortunately, treatment since Day One has worsened at a pretty
fast clip. Not only scripture, but history also fills in the blanks. In ancient times,
it was a physical world, and men were the hunters and protectors. The role of
women was confined to child bearing and "keeping the house". It was a tough
world out there, even for men. The pattern was set. This was the way it had to
be. The world was too fearful for women to go it alone.
Adam and Eve, and Abraham and Sarah were a part of this world as scripture
tells us. Woman was created as a helpmate and companion for man. The world
was still a tough place, and it wasn't safe for a woman to travel or live alone. It
seems man has always been an aggressor, and women were easier prey than
other men. You see that fear played a major role in the relationship because
physical protection was a "must". It's interesting to note that fear plays a major
role in everybody's life today.
There was a double standard for the sexes very early on. You see from both
history and scripture, that women were supposed to remain "pure" for their
husbands while men could do pretty much as they wished. In fact, men of most
cultures could have either multiple wives or concubines. Some of the biblical
leaders--the Chosen of God--had hundreds of concubines. They had children by
several women. Doesn't sound very Christian, does it? Even David, beloved of
God, had multiple wives. Solomon had so many women I doubt he could remember
the count.
We're starting with the Chosen, but almost all cultures in the world have always
had the double standard. That includes all the races, too. Women have always
been subservient to men. Oh, there were a few who broke away, and you can enjoy
their wickedness in reading scripture. Usually they were bloodthirsty murderers, not
sex fiends, and they enjoyed being dictators--just like the men.
The value of women has always been discounted, like money. This discounting
is so bad in some cultures that women have to live worse than mere slaves. Some
cultures think nothing of "killing" female babies, because they want boys who can
work at jobs not offered to girls. Then, there are the cultures that sell the young
girls into the sex business. All this is going on right now in many places around
the world. Some cultures kill a woman who has been raped in "honor" of her
family. The man goes unpunished.
In India recently, a woman was gang raped, and authorities were going to do
nothing about it until an uproar around the world appears to have caused some
activity by authorities. Note that in almost all such situations the authorities are
men. Now, let's get closer to home, and see that a rape occurred more than five
months ago in Steubenville, Ohio, that has just now been exposed. Two football
players took advantage of an unconscious teenage girl, stripped her naked,
carried her limp body around and raped her in front of dozens of witnesses who
took a video and pictures of the action. The coach permitted the football players
to continue on the team while the sheriff said you can't arrest the boys for being
stupid and carrying the naked and unconscious girl around in public. The district
attorney is one of the boys' mother, and the party was held in her house. When the
girl's parents went to file a complaint, they were told not to because it would cause
them a lot of grief, and they were afraid to begin the process. The sheriff was angry
because over 1,000 protestors thought he didn't do his job.
Right close to home, at least for me, is the case a couple of years ago in Columbia
County, Pennsylvania. Two football players raped a girl who was an honor student,
and still were permitted to play. Further, school administrators had high praise for
the character of these rapists. One of the boy's mother is a teacher at the school.
The girl had a clean record, but only the boys were supported. Fortunately, the
police and court did their job, and the boys were convicted. The atmosphere at
the school was so debilitating for the victim, she had to leave the school. There
are national organizations still working on this case. The school board places a
very high priority on the sports program.
In California recently, a convicted rapist had his conviction overturned because
a 200 year old state law said only a married woman could be raped. In the debates
leading up to the election two months ago, and in senate races in two states, we
heard some very unusual (to say the least) statements about rape from the
conservative candidates. I'm using their political label because it ties in with scripture
and the Christian church, as you will see. When a politician with no medical background
separates illegitimate from legitimate rape, you get the idea he didn't have much
schooling in any subject. You wonder how someone like that has the guts to run
for a national office and why he wasn't yanked from the party. He was asked to quit,
but refused. Both these candidates lost, fortunately.
This has all been history--it's a fact, friends, and you can do the research. Rather
than accept somebody's opinion or my writing, do the research. Now we move to
history created by experience--my experience. We have an outreach ministry, and
we work with families and women. Some of the women are single mothers. Some
do not have good characters and will probably always experience difficulties. But,
others have been tricked and trapped by conniving men. These are the sweet talkers
who promise love and companionship. They even persuade the woman to hold a job
and support their lazy lifestyle. When the woman becomes pregnant or delivers a
child, they disappear. Do you know why many of these victims accept the unmarried
lifestyle with a bum? They are afraid to live alone, and don't have a choice of where
to stay. They do this mostly out of fear.
I'm opposed to across the board abortion, but to all the politicians and men who
talk about murdering babies, who is going to care for these single women and their
children? Yes, children. Plural. The sweet talkers become professional sweet talkers,
and frequently strike twice or more. The courts can't keep up with most of these
preying men. Welfare has to provide. Instead of cutting welfare, these politicians
should strengthen the net to catch these selfish men. If the men trashing all the
single mothers had to live in anguish and poverty, the laws would be changed.
The women always pay dearly, but the men continue to exploit the system. Fear
of being alone and unwanted is the tool used to ruin women's lives.
Fear is the keyword for this entire message, because it is fear in men that they
could lose their superior position in the battle of the sexes. This may start, for
Christians at least, with Isaiah 3:4, "I will give children to be their princes, And babes
shall rule over them," Bible expositors have explained that this may mean inexperienced
or bad leaders. It could also mean women. While this may be a warning, it does not
carry the strength and weight of the teaching of Christ and the Apostles.
Look at Ephesians 5:25-27, "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the
church and gave himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing
of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church , not having
spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish."
Continue with 5:28-29, "So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own
bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but
nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church." You can crosscheck this
instruction in Col. 3:19. Sounds like I'm really on the side of wives, right?
I'm on the side of obeying Gods Word, so we'll now see what He tells the wives.
Again turn to Ephesians, 5:22-24. "Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the
Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and
He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let
the wives be to their own husbands in everything."
Seems pretty clear the husband is the master and the wife is the slave, right?
Wrong. Just as Christ is not inferior to the Father, but is the second Person in the
Trinity, so wives are equal to their own husbands. A husband and wife have different
roles to the Lord. The wife's submission is voluntary and arises out of her submission
to Christ. You may have to think about this for a while. Concentrate on the meaning
of the Trinity and that the parts are equal in value, although each has a separate
and different responsibility. The key is voluntary.
In Ephesians 5:31 warns men that they have a primary responsibility as head of
the household. "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined
to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh." Verse 33 again tells the husband to
love his own wife as himself, and the wife should respect her husband. The husband
is still the protector and is to nourish his wife, while the wife is his partner and should
follow his lead as long as it is prudent and wise. She is not a slave who must agree
and submit to all his wishes and demands.
A sizable number of Christian men use these scriptural passages to assume total
control of their wife. Many churches teach this. Its a pretty good deal for men: just be
a Christian, persuade a woman to marry you, and you are a king for life. It doesn't
matter that she has some knowledge and qualities superior to yours. You are the
boss because the bible says so. Furthermore, you now control all the activities of
her body. In the matter of a baby, you can forget Ephesians 5:31. When she gets
pregnant, you two are no longer one flesh. Now you are three flesh. Now you alone
can decide who gets murdered if an abortion is the only option to save your wife's
life. Forget the two are one flesh. Let the wife die if necessary. Maybe you'll get a
healthy son. Or maybe, the baby will die. At least you have a chance if you sacrifice
your wife. After all, you're the boss.
Aren't you horrified when you read or see on television where an entire colony of
women have been led into a cult? The leader has a bunch of wives, often taking girls
not yet teenagers to wife (actually for sex). We have new cults rising up frequently.
A new one just surfaced out in Washington state. We know about those recently
in the news in Utah and Texas. There's no stopping them because they feast on two
main points. One is fear. With a cult, there is fear of being alone, but also fear of
punishment for disobeying or not being one of the submissive group. There is also
the promise of comfort and protection from the wicked world. The other point, and
the really unfortunate and SINFUL point is the use of God's Word to mislead these
women. Frequently when you see a photo or video of these cult leaders, they are
holding a bible and sometimes quoting from it.
In the Christian world, many of the pastors and teachers get the role of women
mostly wrong. There is much in scripture that needs to be fully understood before
it is taught. Is it wrong for a woman to have a leadership position in the church? I
know it is discouraged in some places, but you need to research the culture and
history of the time and place before accepting that instruction as blunt truth. If you
check out Judges, chapter 5 (Deborah), Ex. and Numbers (Miriam), you see that
women had leadership positions when the Lord so moved. Strong willed women
can cause trouble in a church, and it was imperative in the early forming churches
that this should be prevented. It takes training and the Holy Spirit to prepare both
men and women for leadership. There are many men who don't belong in the pulpit.
You can see the hint of fear in men when they falsely accuse a woman official of
faking injury to dodge responsibility when it is clear the accusation is unfounded,
There is also much ado about a man who is killed or badly injured if he is a well-known
personality. Much less is done for a woman with similar circumstances, while a rape
victim frequently becomes the villain. We see more and more women leaders in the
developed world because they usually earn their positions. Unfortunately we still
see the "good ole boy" method predominating many men's positions. In much of the
world, including dictatorships, men rule with savage zest.
By refusing to understand God's purpose and use of women, we are losing out
in our advancement of civilization and becoming less and less caring and gentle. By
teaching in the church that women are basically chattel or employees of husbands,
we are permitting us to be led astray by men who take advantage of becoming a
master simply by being a "Christian". A woman was the mother of Christ. No human
man was pure enough to be His Father. Shouldn't that tell us something?
Rev. Walbear
