Biblical Womanhood

 This post is inspired by today's post at Bare Marriage.

They are sharing their Biblical Womanhood Merch and giving Bible references to where these stories are found. So many women don't know the stories of Bible Women because those Bible Women mess up the doctrine of Biblical Womanhood that Piper and like want to peddle.

Bare Marriage lists a bunch of important Bible Women like Pricilla, Deborah, Huldah and Esther and point out where their stories are. And I appreciate them doing so today. In addition, I think I might buy some of their Biblical Womanhood mugs to give to friends.

Anyway, another Biblical Woman or Biblical Womanhood Ideal that I like is the Proverbs woman. Teachings on this portion of scripture has been mishandled by men who fear her. Instead of recognizing that she was a business owner/landowner/farmer/entrepreneur/philanthropist etc. these male teachers reduce the chapter about her down to making sure she keeps her house clean and cares for her children. Or, they use the chapter to shame women for not measuring up to their definitions of a few particulars mentioned.

I once heard a preacher on the radio going through Proverbs 31 and every time he dealt with a verse concerning how strong, independent, and capable this woman was, he had to add something like, now don't forget, she was submitted to her husband like instructed in Ephesians 5.

After a few minutes of him making sure the women in his congregation knew how important submitting to their husbands' was per Eph. 5, I finally said out loud. "Now I'm confused. Are you preaching on Proverbs 31 or on Ephesians 5? Because it seems to me, that you are way more concerned about Eph. 5 than anything God has to say about women in the Proverbs."

Looking back on that day, I've come to the conclusion that the preacher was afraid of the powerful image of the Proverbs Woman. And out of fear that the women in his congregation might get all uppity, he had to beat them back down with Eph. 5.

So, as I consider going to the website to buy those Biblical Womanhood mugs for friends and family, I also think to myself, "Be Powerful like the Proverbs Woman."

Narcissism and Spiritual Bypassing

 One of my favorite Youtubers that discuss Narcissism is Dr. Ramani. I don't see every video she puts up, but I've shared several of them here and with friends struggling with narcistic abuse.

Well, Dr Ramani put out a video today entitled "Narcissists and Spiritual Bypassing". I have never heard this term, but apparently it was coined in the 70s by John Welwood.

Though she speaks of this in terms of the latest self-help and health crazes, I find it very applicable to many things in Christianity.

The biggest being, of course, the sweeping under the rug of women being abused in patriarchy and complementarian circles. People, both men and women, spiritually bypass the pain of women being abused, telling them that they should just pray harder or submit more, blaming the victim and holding the victim responsible for the toxic behavior of their abuser.

I like this term "Spiritual Bypassing" and I wish that I had the term back when I was trying to figure out and talk about New Calvinism and how it seemed similar to Vulcanism (yes, Spock, Star Trek Vulcanism). So watch out world, Mara Reid is going to be using this term liberally in the future when discussing those who are just too spiritual to give a crap for those suffering in the church.

Piper Pipes In

I have no idea what he has said since I have not heard this yet. I'm so busy with personal life that my blog seems to have become my 'Pinterest' today, pinning this little blip from Piper concerning whether or not he regrets partnering with Driscoll. I'm pinning it so I can find it later. Piper may redeem himself. Or not. I have know clue. I'll find out as I listen to it.

Do you regret partnering with Mark Driscoll - Piper

I'm not a huge Piper fan. But Driscoll... wow.

Who's the Boss?

This question is very important to a lot of people.

Someone has to be in charge. If someone is not in charge, chaos will ensue, or so goes the thinking.

And, in case anyone hasn't noticed, if someone has to be in charge, there is a large number of men who will do whatever they can to make sure that it isn't some woman bossing them around.

Here is a quote from John Piper:
" And so I distinguish between personal, direct exercises of authority that involve manhood and womanhood because it's personal.  She's right there.  She's woman on man, and and I'm being directly pressed on by this woman in an authoritative way.  Should she be doing that; should I be experiencing that, and my answer is no.  I think that's contrary to the way God made us…"


Source for this excerpt is from TWW's TCC's 2014 Women's National Women's Conference.

Note that Piper says, "should I be experiencing (a woman's authority), and my answer is no. I think that is contrary to the way God made us..."

Piper wants to make sure that he never has to experience a woman's authority and he calls on his opinion that God agrees with him. He feels that God thinks Piper should not have to experience a woman's authority.

Piper and the other men who dread the authority of women go to great lengths to make sure they never have to experience this horrible thing. But someone has to be in charge... So they go to great lengths to make sure that they, the men, get to be that One In Charge.

Here is Shirley's second installment of her Desiring to be God series:

Desiring to be God-Part 2
(check out Part 1 if you haven't yet)

and here is a blog post examining the error made concerning Genesis 3:16:
Genesis 3:16 is not a mandate for husbands...it is a warning for wives...

So, who's the boss?

If you are a Christian, then it should be Jesus, not some mortal man somewhere that fears women.

Edited to add this blog post from a friend who gets comments from time to time from people obsessed with who the boss is and how much they want men to be the boss over women.
Submission, Obedience, and Authority
(Oh, how people obsess over this. It's unhealthy for the spirit life.)

And from another friend:
Was Sarah Bessey Right? (which goes into Denny Burk's Desire to be god over his wife, not in those words.)

There seems to be a pattern going on here.

Piper's Poem Problems

Yes, I read it. No, I couldn't get past the first scene in the video, though I may try again some other time. I was turned off by the fact that Calvinism is for a lot of young white men, a few older white men and then pretty much nobody else, including all women who, though they receive a title and mention of high praise, they really are nothing to the Calvinist but a parable. I'm a person. Not a parable.

That aside, two others have written on this self-absorbed and self-obsessed poem that put a lot more thought into what is really wrong with it than what I could get into. Hey, I'm tired of being marginalized by John Piper and his ilk. Analyzing his dismissive tone towards me and all women is not what I would call a good use of my time. But I don't mind reading other musings on Piper's pathetic pontifications, a poem that is an assault on both poetry and any doctrine not whoring after Calvinism.

Update: The Self-obsessed Calvinist

And

John Piper's WAMM Calvinist (White American Middle-class Male)

Is 'Manhood' Under Attack?... Really?!

Nothing like beating a dead horse.

Except it's not really dead yet.

The Wartburg Watch had a post back in September entitled "Act Like Men-Are Driscoll/MacDonald Merchandising Manhood?"

That's a long time ago in blog years. So why is a certain fellow named 'Ryan' coming along and commenting on it yesterday,  on November 5th?

Why is he saying, "my sense is that manhood is under attack and virtually neutered from the modern mainline churches. Do you believe this is ok? God honoring?"

So Ryan feels attacked in his manhood, right?
And Ryan wants to know if I feel it's okay and God honoring for the mainline churches to attack his manhood.

Well, here it is. If manhood is truly being attacked, then, no, I don't feel it's okay or God honoring. The problem is, Ryan has offered no proof that this is going on. So I can't make a stand on this issue due to lack of proof.

Now, here is my question to Ryan.

Do you think it is right to, first of all, accuse everything you hate about certain worship services as being "effeminate" and then declaring that all these things are evil, thereby indirectly attacking the feminine and deciding that masculine rules while the feminine drools.

Well, this is what Doug Wilson does in his, "Your Worship Service Might Be Effeminate If..."

This is well responded to by Internet Monk in "Esau Christianity, Doug Wilson Needs a Bible Study." and Board's Head in "Mary vs Effeminacy"

Also, Wilson is quick to blame anyone that he's mad at as serving the b!tch goddess of (fill in the blank as pertaining to whatever he's ranting about). This misogynist behavior is observed by Wenatchee the Hatchet in his "Doug Wilson almost channel's Eric Cartman."

Now, granted, the Wartburg comment thread is talking about Driscoll and MacDonald so one may wonder what the heck Doug Wilson has to do with any of this. Well I'm going to provide a link to a video of John Piper praising Doug Wilson while Chandler and Driscoll fist bump behind him. In the video, John Piper states at the 58 second mark (while Driscoll agrees with laughter and fist bump):

"Doug Wilson is one of the most careful and bright, reform, post millennial, objectivist, theologians around... and he's got people around him that are dumb. (laughter... fist bump... more laughter)"

Link to youtube video John Piper on Doug Wilson

So this is what Piper has to say about Wilson. That Wilson is brilliant and everyone else is dumb. Yet, as WTH points out, Wilson almost channels Eric Cartman (South Park) in his hatred and attack on the feminine.

I have proved that the feminine is being attacked in Evangelical circles.

What does Ryan have to say about that?
Is there anyone attacking 'manhood' in mainline denominations as vicious as Wilson hates and attacks the feminine?
I doubt it.
But I'm willing to see any proof Ryan can provide.

Cold-Hearted Religion

I was going to call it cold-hearted Christianity. But true Christianity, the kind that Jesus preached, wasn't anything like this. Religions of all stripes, devoid of love, can look like this, including Christianity, Paganism, and Atheism.
But in his tweet (that fortunately was later removed) John Piper displayed just how heartless he can be.
Thanks to Julie Anne for seeing it and displaying it.

John Piper's most recent Twister Tweet

C. J. Mahaney Loves Being the Boss

He loves being in Charge and the perks of being at the top of his religious hierarchy food chain. He (allegedly) loves his paid for vacations in the Kiawah Islands (LINK!!!)*... Paid for by an abuser that Mahaney's authority protected so that the abuser could keep on abusing.

C. J. Mahaney Loves all the wonderful things that being the boss of hundreds of people brings to him.

C.J. Mahaney doesn't give a rip for the vulnerable little ones dangling at the bottom of his hierarchy food chain. He doesn't care that they were being consumed by ravenous wolves and trampled upon by mindless beasts, lusty bulls who gloried in their own strength and their own 'God-given', 'biblical',  'authority'.

C.J. and his hungry wolves and lusty wolves worship the idols of authority. They have sacrificed women and children on the altars of their gods. They have shorn and eaten the meat of the lambs they were supposed to feed and protect.

Sovereign Grace Ministries was built to worship the hierarchy structure that C. J. and his fellow wolves love to bow down to. May this SGM temple fall and may its captives be freed and its wounded healed by the One true God. The One that walked the Earth, Jesus Christ. The One that said:

Luke 22:²⁵ And He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who have authority over them are called ‘Benefactors.’²⁶ But it is not this way with you, but the one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the servant. ²⁷ For who is greater, the one who reclines at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at the table? But I am among you as the one who serves.


John Piper... The Gospel Coalition... Al Mohler...  Mark Driscoll... do you see where your devotion to the hierarchy god leads? It leads to abuse and makes the churches that serve this god look no different from the world that had always worshiped this dog-eat-dog god.

BTW... the hierarchy god has a name. Baal means "lord, owner, possessor".
Put that in your pipe and smoke it.
Then for your own sakes flee the temple Baal. He has no part in the Kingdom of God where Jesus is the bedrock and the Chief Cornerstone.

(*the link above inspired this tirade. the sgm  debacle just keeps getting uglier and uglier as more is exposed to the light. where or where are the real men among the yrr who will rise up and stop this. all i see are fake men, claiming to be men, thumping their chest and pointing at their own authority with pride as they seek new ways and more 'biblical' 'proof' to unrighteously rule over God's Kingdom.)

Churches... Safe Places?

Well some may be.

But some Churches involved in Sovereign Grace Ministries are definitely not. In fact, they (allegedly) have become hell holes where children are not only not protected, they are molested. It appears that those in charge have turned their backs on children and on God Himself. They have taken God's house, a house of prayer, and turned it into a den of thieves and predators.

I thank God for the hands of feet of Jesus who are going into these dens of thieves and turning over the tables of the money changers and pedophile protectors.

For those interested who are not yet aware and would like to find out about those taking action against the criminals in SGM here are a couple places to get you started.

House of Horrors (at The Wartburg Watch)

and

Amended complaint against SGM (at Spiritual Sounding Board)

How can Piper and Mohler support Mahaney? At best they are ostriches with their heads in the sand, a very vulnerable position. What are they at the worst? I'll leave that for others to discuss.

Christian Vulcanism

It has come up again. This time over at Spiritual Sounding Board. This movement among men to deny the emotional side of the human race and to turn it into something rigid and overly structured. We've seen it among men who drive us bonkers like Driscoll and Piper.
Unfortunately it is also cropping up among fellows who, except for saying a few stupid things, they are rather decent and caring.

Evangelical Church is Weak and Womanly

Please, Phil Johnson. Please come up with other ways to address issues that you have with the church. There is no need to scapegoat women over it.

How Many Strikes Does Piper Get?

I left this comment over at TWW. I'll link it at the bottom if you want to join the discussion over there and find out why I spelled bitter the way I did. But here it is if you are in a hurry.

You have heard of “3 strikes, you’re out”?

I think Piper is working on strike number, wait, I’ve lost count.

1. He loves Mark Driscoll’s theology. (this is a pretty big strike. in fact, “1 strike your out” kind of applies when it’s this big.

2. He doesn’t allow women to read scripture out loud in the assembly.

3. His contributions as editor and writer of that horrible piece of tripe “RECOVERING BIBLICAL MANHOOD AND WOMANHOOD.”

4. The stupid things he says concerning God’s sovereignty during times of disaster.

5. His abuse and over-use of flowery adjectives to make the b!tter pill of his b!tter gospel more swallowable to poor, unsuspecting souls. (hope it’s okay to use the word b!tter here.)

6. And now, to prove that he isn’t getting soft in his retirement years, he’s going to speak at SGM in support of CJ.

Gee, how many strikes are the referees gonna let him have before he’s out. He should have been out long ago. How can he even still be relevant in the minds of so many.

Day 100 and GRACE Helps the Sheep

Link to Nervous Little Man

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyBEoQFrids&feature=related

The Word is Getting Out

The gig is up, the news it out, they finally found it.
The renegade (video) The evidence.
The slick little cover up.

Sorry. I couldn't resist.
I know, I know. For most of you this is OLD news we have been over before. But a blog much bigger than mine is running the Piper video again. And it needs to be run again and again until Piper publicly admits his error in this.

Just admit it Piper. You kinda really blew it on this one. Just make a public service announcement that you didn't have all your facts and research straight. I totally get that it was probably an honest mistake on your part. Really. Most people don't get abuse. And when you said this, I could see that, at the time, you didn't get abuse. Now, if you still haven't researched the facts on abuse, please research it and publicly renounce what you said in your video.

The Wartburg Watch is now running it and they have far more followers than my dinky blog of no consequence. And they aren't done talking about it over there. They have more posts forth coming.

http://thewartburgwatch.com/2011/03/14/john-piper%e2%80%99s-response-to-the-question-%e2%80%9cwhat-should-a-wife%e2%80%99s-submission-to-her-husband-look-like-if-he%e2%80%99s-an-abuser%e2%80%9d/

Also, at this time, I MUST credit my friend Hannah, who blogged about this clear back in September of 2009 AND who had the presence of mind to post it on youtube herself, since the original version from Desiring God had been taken down. And it was taken down for good reason because it is an embarrassment. But now I'm waiting for the integrity at Desiring God to rise up and renounce the terrible advice Piper gives in this video.

Here's the link to Hannah's original September 2009 post:

http://eaandfaith.blogspot.com/2009/09/john-pipers-ignorance-is-killing.html

Loving Respect or Kowtowing

My regulars are already aware of the thread over at Suzanne's Bookshelf and have commented on it. That thread has shot up to over a hundred comments.
But those who visit here less frequently, I wanted to make you aware of it.

http://powerscourt.blogspot.com/2011/02/response-to-complementarian.html

I have been aware of Suzanne for several years, even longer than Charis/Gem who is also in my blog roll. She's a studier of Greek and Hebrew and cares about honesty in translations.

Somewhere in the middle of the comments I bring up this clip from Piper who is not Patriarchal or Quiverfull, as far as I can tell. But he still teaches version of wifely submission that many of us find distrubing. Yet even with the video evidence plainly displayed, people who are otherwise reasonable get funny and defensive when really they should just say, "Piper is wrong here."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OkUPc2NLrM&feature=player_embedded

One commentor is convinced that Piper models a good way for a wife to lovingly respect and submit to her husband when her husband pressures her into gross sin. He calls it a confrontation. But in my book it falls terribly short of confrontation.

Edited to add: Thanks to Hannah from over at Emotional Abuse and Your Faith for the link to video of Piper. She's another old friend on my blog roll.