Patriarchy Is Not Supported by Scripture

This is something most of my readers already know.

But in case anyone new has come along and you have had 'biblical patriarchy' thoroughly and repeatedly shoved down your throat and you'd like to see arguments to the contrary, then take a trip over to Retha's blog, "Biblical Personhood" where she refutes the hierarchy that power hungry men claim exists in the Bible.

How often does the Bible say that men should be the heads of their households?

Shaking up the Patriarchs

The patriarchal empire builders have a serious threat on their hands.
Her name is Rachel Held Evans, if you are missing the hoopla. It's all over the Internet. Just Google her name and "A Year of Biblical Womanhood" and you'll get an idea.

Anyway, you can find info all over about it.
But I'd like to direct your attention to a comment may by Val over at TWW. I believe she nails it on the head why Piper, Driscoll, and The Gospel Coalition don't like her and why some even question her salvation etc.

Val's Comment on The Wartburg Watch

Read it and see if it doesn't make sense to you.

Christian Counselor Speaks about Role Burn Out

Okay, he doesn't call it that. He's just talking about counseling people who have drunk deeply of the role kool-aid and how they have suffered from it. This is from the comment section of Baptists for Equality blog.

Bob Edwards says: Link

Bob Edward's book can be found here: Link

I Love Homeschool, But I Hate What Patriarchy Has Done to It

When I homeschooled I never got involved with the patriarchy groups and that's a good thing. Because quite frankly, they have ruined it for nearly everyone.

Exhausted Moms

I'm so disgusted with what the patriarchy camp has done that often I just walk away rather than deal with it head on.

The Myth of "Creation Order"

Or "Natural Order", or "Created Order", or whatever label anyone wants to put on this myth.

That's right. I called it a myth because it absolutely cannot be proven using scripture without a great deal of twisting some verses and suppressing other verses that prove the contrary.

Like my friend, Marg, I have run into this when debating with comps. The assumptions they pull out of their...  er... ears to support this myth and their devotion to it, holding it up as undeniable proof of their pet (false) doctrine are like a brick wall of foolery against sound reason and honest Bible study..

I've tried to write on this in the past but due to serious time constrains I've been unable to pursue it the way I want. So, I'm glad my friend Marg has addressed this on her blog over at Newlife.

The Complementarian Concept of "Created Order"

An Abuse Survivor Addressed John Piper's Cold-heartedness

It is an open letter from a guy, actually. I know I focus a lot on the damage done to women by compism and hyper-Calvinism and their teachers. But it cuts both ways. Rigid legalism and bowing to the idol of marriage over person hurts both men and women. If you have time, please take a gander at:

An Open Letter to John Piper about His View on Divorce

Defining Rape, Defining Women

For those who are triggered by rape discussions, please skip this link.

For those who are able and willing to look at this, Sarah at "Sarah over the Moon" has this to say about (some) complementarians and (all) patriarchs and their narrow/oppressive view of rape:

Complementarianism's Ugly Relationship with Rape

Cold-hearted Patriarch Begets Cold-hearted Patriarch

In my job we often use the saying, "The nut doesn't fall very far from the tree." It's true in dysfunctional families and is also true in dysfunctional, religious dynasties.

Here is a post concerning the father of misogynist, Doug Wilson. Long before Doug Wilson began spewing his "sucks to be you" doctrine toward women, Jim Wilson was pushing his graceless, compassionless doctrine promoting the idolatry of marriage over person.

Abuse and the Wilsonian Theology: A Survivors Story

Spotlight on Kristen's Forgotten Women Series

The moment I knew that my long time (in internet years) friend Kristen was starting a blog, I made sure to put the link to it in my blog role. Kristen is knowledgeable, compassionate, and fair in her words and treatment of everyone, including those who oppose her and her understanding.

Since she has started her blog, she has quietly written about many things of interest and pertinent to the issues of gender and the church. Of particular blessing is her series on "Forgotten Women in Church History".

Today, I want to spotlight one of her posts in that series on a woman who lived in Mexico from 1651-1695. Sor [Sister] Juana Ines de la Cruz is credited with writing "the first feminist manifesto" and with being "The New World's first great woman."

Please take time to read Kristen's post on: Sor [Sister] Juana Ines de la Cruz

Who Is Jezebel?

Well, for starters there are two listed in the Bible.

I wrote a post sometime back concerning the one mentioned in Revelation:
Did You Hear the One about Jezebel?

But the blog post I'd really like to direct you to is the one by Libby Anne who is examining Debi Pearl's Created to Be His Helpmeet (CTBHH).

Libby does a good job of reigning Debi in on a few outlandish assumptions that she makes about the two Jezebels mentioned in scripture:
CTBHH: The Jezebel Type

Jezebel is another woman that is judged from the depravity of hierarchy rather than from a level place of logic, justice, and reason. Yes, both Jezebels are guilty of certain things. But what they are truly guilty of is completely lost because of church hierarchy agendas.

Depravity Promotes "Biblical" Hierarchy Teachings...

...like complementarianism and patriarchy.

Though I'm not a huge fan of the Calvinist TULIP teaching because they lose me at the "T" - Total Depravity, I must admit, I agree with Jenny Rae Armstrong that what really supports complementarianism and patriarchy in religion and culture is depravity.

I'll let Jenny explain:

Keeping Women in Their Place: Why Education Isn't the Answer to Gender Inequality

Promoters of TULIP and Total Depravity like Piper and Driscoll can put this in their pipes and smoke it.

Let My Women Go...

Okay, this seems to be book/youtube Saturday.

Bob Edwards has written a book called (actually) "Let My People Go: A Call to End the Oppression of Women in the Church" and he is on youtube talking about his research on this topic. I did watch this since it wasn't very long. Again, leave a comment if you have one.

What Jesus Taught about Women, Book

Actually, the book is called "Ten Things Jesus Taught About Women" and I wanted to link a place where you can hear it read out loud.

Edie Hicks Reads Dr.Susan Hyatt on Youtube links

I haven't gone there yet so I have no idea if it's any good but I can imagine that it would be interesting. Anyone who wants to comment, feel free.

Men Judging Women...

...from the depravity of their own minds.

Let me specify because I do not want to imply, in any way, that all men do this.
But there is one man in particular who believes that he has great spiritual insight into the sin and wickedness of women and feels called to reveal that to his congregation concerning a certain Bible hero, Esther.

Rachel Held Evans is doing a good job of revealing the mishandling of Esther by Mark Driscoll. It's so good that I can't improve upon it and I'll leave her to it here: Esther Actually:What happens in the harem

But I want to draw one thing out that she says and quote it here:

"He rejects the story as given and replaces it with a story he wishes it to be, a story that lines up with some of his assumptions regarding salvation, election, gender, sin, and relationships."

This goes along with the quote from Nick Bulbeck that I've written about here:

"Driscoll isn't a teacher, he's merely adept at using the Bible as a sock puppet that always agrees with him."

Driscoll truly believes that he is getting to the heart of this story and that his revelations are Spirit led. The problem is that what he is really doing is revealing the depravity of his own views of women.
His misogyny is so thick that he projects his prejudices against all women onto Scriptures thereby making him completely incompetent as a Bible teacher when it comes to anything having to do with women.

But the worst part about all this is not his own depraved view of women. It is the silence of other male Bible teachers who must share in this depraved view of women because they never call him on it.