The two biggest concern Grace Driscoll. One is "Grace Driscoll Affair" and the other is "Grace Driscoll Abuse". I also get hits concerning Baal Worship, Doug Wilson or Voddie Bauchman being Misogynists, stripping women, anal issues (gee. I wonder why.) etc.
Recently I finally got the hit "sex a study of the good bits from Song of Solomon".
That title has always bothered me. The contents of the message that goes by that title are so disturbing they have been the focus of many a blog including my own tiny blog and the great John MacArthur's blog.
Getting this hit has stirred up my ire, again, concerning this title. The good bits from the Song of Solomon? The good bits according to whom? A porn addict trying to clean up and make acceptable that which is sold in porn magazines? A sex crazed dog sniffing at the behind of his b----? (sorry b---- is the actual term used for female dogs in the breeding industry.)
You see, the good bits that Mark Driscoll picked out for his infamous message in Scotland, besides being blatantly misinterpreted, are all about pornographic sex and forcing wives into engaging in it. Every other message that Mark Driscoll teaches concerning the Song of Solomon ignores the over all theme of the book. Driscoll is so hyper-focused on getting as much pornographic sex out of Grace (and as much money from everybody else) as he can that he ignores what the book is actually about.
One of the great themes of the Song of Solomon is completely ignored by Driscoll. That theme is the progression of a woman from the state of being oppressed to the state of being empowered.
It is highly understandable that Driscoll would completely ignore the best part of the Song of Solomon if it is about empowering a woman, any woman, since Driscoll is all about raising men up and putting women down into the little boxes that he wants women to say in. (Bonus feature: Here's one of the little boxes that he wants the Song of Solomon to stay in.)
I have an old post that deals with the first and last of the Song of Solomon.
But to lay it out briefly, here are the first and last verses which show, in chapter one, her slave status and her oppression by her 'brothers' (kind of like the supposed 'brothers' in the church who do all they can to put women down) and chapter 8 where she is in charge of her own vineyard and is the boss over those who take care of it for her (plus, she is free to do with it's fruit as she pleases and she chooses to give a portion to her husband and lover who helped her in her progress from slave to queen.)
Song of Songs 1:5 I am black but lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, Like the tents of Kedar, Like the curtains of Solomon.
Vs 6 Do not stare at me because I am swarthy (dark), For the sun had burned me. My mother's sons were angry with me; They made me caretaker of the vineyard, But I have not taken care of my own vineyard.
Song of Songs 8:11 Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon; he entrusted the vineyard to caretakers; Each one was to bring a thousand shekels of silver for its fruit.
Vs 12 My very own vineyard is at my disposal; The thousand shekels are for you, Solomon, And two hundred are for those who take care of its fruit.
For more detail on these verses, read my commentary on these verses here: First and Last Overview, SoS
And here is a middle verse to add to this:
Song of Solomon 6
10 ‘Who is this that grows like the dawn,
As beautiful as the full moon,
As pure as the sun,
As awesome as an army with banners?’
11 11 “I went down to the orchard of nut trees
To see the blossoms of the valley,
To see whether the vine had budded
Or the pomegranates had bloomed.
12 12 “Before I was aware, my soul set me
Over the chariots of my noble people.”
Verse 10 are the words of the 'chorus' speaking about the beloved, the female in this love story. She is becoming strong and awesome. Verses 11 and 12 are the words of the beloved. Verse 12, specifically speaks of her surprise at how she has been strengthened in her inner man (soul) so that now she is set over chariots. This could be either figuratively and/or literally. Figuratively it would just imply that she has been strengthened. Literally, it would imply, due to her marriage to the King, she has authority that she is only now becoming aware of.
There are more verses like this in The Song of Solomon that point to this great theme. But anyone learning about "the good bits" according to Driscoll will never see them. The last thing he wants is for any woman to be in charge of her own vineyard. Driscoll wants to keep women in Songs 1:6, under the thumb of her brother/husband (and ultimately Driscoll, himself, another false brother) and unable to take care of her own gifts and callings.
So, yeah. Driscoll's study of the good bits of The Song of Solomon is really a study in how he can strip women of dignity and turn them into their husbands' personal sex slaves for Jesus. It is deplorable and perhaps even taking God's name in vain declaring that Jesus commands women to do things Jesus has never said or even thought to say.
2 comments:
To propose to me, my husband wrote Songs 6:10 on a card with a bunch of roses: "Who is this that appears like the dawn. . . majestic as an army with banners?" And then he wrote, "The answer, of course, is you. I love you. Will you marry me?"
Of course I said yes, for here was a man who could love a woman for being strong and want her to be that way. This is indeed one of the "good parts" of the Song of Songs. Those who use the scriptures to disempower women, are not understanding the Spirit of Christ at all.
Yay!!!
This is an awesome story, Kristen.
The best I've ever heard about The Song of Solomon.
And this world is in sore need of good stories about The Songs.
I'm so sick of it being drug in the mud of a pig pen and used to abuse women. It grieves me what certain men have done to the book. I wonder what God thinks of what those men have done.
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