The Bible is both a reservoir of
spiritual insight and a cultural icon to which lip service is still
paid in the Western world. Yet when the Bible is talked about in
public by both believers and critics, it becomes clear that
misconceptions abound. I do not believe that there are errors to be
found with in the bible. The misconceptions are found in “mankind’s”
interpretation, and influences by cultural conceptions.
As a whole the Christian church
system has turned a blind eye concerning the abuse of women with in
the church and home. The common misconception of a women’s place in
the home, and Body of Christ, has led to a rise in physical,
emotional and spiritual abuse of women, by men determined to teach
women to stay in their place.
Women are generally told that their
place is in the home, that their identity is found in being a wife
and mother only. In many cases, women are viewed as good for the
comfort of man through marriage- Through providing sex - whatever
type of sex her husband demands or the leader teaches is proper and
for the benefit of motherhood, and not much else. They are told that
their salvation is insured through child birth, thus leaving barren
woman feeling lost, and often feeling punished by God.
Women are generally told that they
have no business working out side of the home. And can only seek
employment only in server cases of emergency and only with the leader
of the church denomination permission, and what he deems proper. In
some churches there is no excuse for working outside the home, even
if financial ruin is the option.
Women in some churches are under a
server dress code, much like Amish or Mennonites, which is also
strictly controlled even in public. The wearing of pants, shorts, and
dress that allow any part of the body (besides a woman’s head) to
show are seen as improper and a true sign that the women is immoral.
In some cases women are not allowed to wear makeup, stylish dress,
jewelry, including a wedding ring. These adornments are seen as a
signs of worldliness, and are condemned. For some women, failure to
wear a covering over their head is deemed as a sign of lack of
respect for the woman’s lord and master, her husband.
Women are kept from any meaningful
ministry in many denominational churches. They are told that God
made the (male) pastor to be the head of the church, and therefore
every women that attends is church is subject to him without
question. Single women, too, are to be subject to the (male) pastor,
as the leadership with in the church. A single woman, or divorcee, is
considered an oddity since marriage is the natural state of all
women.
The most damaging effect of these
kinds of teachings is that women are discouraged from building a
relationship with the Lord. Or developing their own identity and
ministry as a child of God. They are often told that their unnatural
dependence on the Lord is the result of false teaching.
I myself was raised to believe in
the fallowing lies.
- God Created Women as Inferior Beings, Destined to Serve Their Husbands.
- Women Is saved Through Child Birth.
- Women Can't be Fulfilled or Spiritually Effective Without a Husband or Children.
- Women Must Obediently Submit to Their Husbands in All Situations.
- Although the Head of the women is her husband, the ultimate authority figure in her life is her pastor.
Under these kinds of misconceptions, I
had no identity of my own, and often placed my pastor’s opinion
over my husband, causing further division within our home. These
same misconceptions caused me a lot of unnecessary pain due to
spiritual abuse.
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