To Fear or Not to Fear

Traditional teaching would have us believe I Peter 3:2 commands wives to have chaste conversation coupled with fear, yet four verses later, in I Peter 3:6 they are not to fear. “Even as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement.”

Q: Why would Peter tell wives to be afraid, and then tell them to not be afraid? (Both fear and afraid are some form of phobos.)

A: He didn't. I Peter 3:2 is the only time “coupled with” is used in the whole Bible.
“Coupled” is in italics, which means it was added by the translators.

If we delete the added “coupled,” the verse reads: “While they behold your chaste conversation with fear.”

That actually makes sense! When a wife becomes a new Christian, and her husband is still following a self-centered and ungodly lifestyle, when she acts Christ-like, he would have good reason to be afraid.

Consider someone from our own culture. The couple goes to drinking parties or worse, uses vulgar and 4-letter words a lot, considers lying acceptable as long as they aren't caught, cheats if they can get by with it, etc. When the wife becomes a Christian and refuses to do those things, the husband becomes afraid because his whole life has turned up-side-down and he has no control over it. To him life looks out of control. He is studying her spirit-filled living and it makes him afraid!

It is not her chaste conversation that has fear attached to it. It is her husband who is afraid. And verse 6 seconds that fact, saying she is Sara's daughter if she does well and is NOT AFRAID.



Waneta Dawn is the author of "Behind the Hedge, A novel" See www.wanetadawn.com A Mennonite woman fights to save her family yet keep her faith.

Wives take Authority over your Husbands

Where in scripture are wives told to take authority over their husbands? We could claim I Tim 5:14 in the original tells wives to rule their husbands, since husbands are part of the household. (I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, ["guide the house" should be "rule the house"] give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully.) But notice wives are not extrapolating wife authority from that verse. Perhaps this omission means wives are amiss in their obedience to this scripture.

Husbands do not have even that much in scripture commanding them to rule their wives. Instead they are told to love, sacrifice for, honor, and love their wives as they love their own bodies. The verse in Timothy about managing their households specifically mentions their children, not their wives.

Eph 5:25-29 “Husbands love your wives even as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it;” and “So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.”

I Peter 3:7 “Likewise ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honor unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life: that your prayers be not hindered.”

Colossians 3:19 “Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.”

Since God does not command husbands to take authority over their wives, but commands them to love and honor their wives lest their prayers be hindered, and since He also says male and female are equal, who is following the Bible? Those who practice husband authority, or those who practice functional equality?

God does command us all to submit to one another. God also commands us to be kind to one another. If taking authority over another adult is kindness and submitting one to another, then women need to obey the command to be kind and submit by taking authority over husbands, too.

If authority over is “suffering long, being kind, not envying, not vaunting itself, not being puffed up, not behaving unseemly, seeking not her own, not easily provoked and thinking no evil, (I Cor 13:4-5) then wives should be doing this authority over, too.

This is not an argument from silence. If anyone claims it is an argument from silence, then women could claim the silence about wife authority also means they are to take authority over their husbands. It is an argument that carries no water.

In fact, complementarians teach the opposite of God's commandment to husbands. The command to wives to submit to their husbands is NOT a command to husbands to take authority over wives any more than the command to husbands to sacrifice for their wives is a command to wives to be the masters of their husbands.

It is time complementarians follow God, not man.


Waneta Dawn is the author of "Behind the Hedge, A novel" See www.wanetadawn.com A Mennonite woman fights to save her family yet keep her faith.

New Coalition Demands Apology from CBMW

The Seneca Falls 2 Evangelical Women's Rights Convention met on July 24, 2010 and culminated in a demand for an apology from the CBMW, and demanded the cessation of promotion of the Danvers Statement, which has perpetrated so much damage on Christian families.

Jocelyn Andersen, master of ceremonies, opened the Convention and introduced each speaker. www.womansubmit.com

The Faith Family Singers began the proceedings with a number of songs.

The first speaker, Cynthia Kunsman, spoke on the methods used to push a doctrine onto a group of people who would otherwise reject such a doctrine. http://undermuchgrace.blogspot.com

Shirley Taylor reminded us of the rights we currently have that women did not have as she was growing up. Examples: women could not buy their own car, and were required to quit work when 3 months pregnant. http://www.bwebaptist.com/

Dale Felix sang both before and after the morning break.

Jocelyn Andersen presented Dale Felix with a copy of her newly released book, Woman this is War! Gender, Slavery, and the Evangelical Caste System, honoring African Americans who fought side by side with women of European descent for equality and freedom for both women and slaves.

Jocelyn Andersen also presented our response to the Danvers Statement, which is included in its entirety here:

Our Response to the Rationale based on the Danvers Statement and Our Affirmations

We have been moved in our purpose by the following contemporary developments which we observe with deep concern:

1.We are concerned about the widespread uncertainty and confusion within our churches regarding the divinely mandated equality between men and women and the inordinate attention given to the deeply harmful and prejudicial concepts of Biblical masculinity and Biblical femininity as perpetuated by the council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood;

2.The tragic effects of this confusion in overturning the balance of perfect equality of men and women, within the church and marriage, is inestimable. With men and boys assuming the posture of lords of creation while girls and women fall prey to an unscriptural inferiority;

3.We are concerned about the increasing promotion given to male dominance along with accompanying distortions and/or neglect of the functional equality portrayed in Scripture between redeemed husbands and wives;

4.We are concerned about the widespread ambivalence regarding the value of women except in regards to what is perceived as their “roles” as “vocational” homemakers and other ministries historically performed by women;

5.We are concerned about the spurious charges that equality between the sexes leads to addiction to pornography and radical lifestyle/worldview changes in favor of homosexuality or lesbianism, which it does not.

6.We are convinced that the prevalence of abuse in within Christian families is a direct result of patriocentric theology;

7.We are concerned about the growing number of churches enforcing rigid roles for men and women that do not conform to Biblical teaching but backfire in perpetuating the oppression of women and in hindering and crippling men in their efforts at being biblically faithful witnesses;

8.We are concerned about the increasing prevalence and acceptance of hermeneutical oddities such as the trinity marriage paradigm based on the heretical Arian doctrine of an inferior Jesus.

9.These hermeneutical oddities pose a threat to Biblical authority as the clarity of Scripture is jeopardized and the accessibility of its meaning to ordinary people, is withdrawn into the restricted realm of Hebrew and Greek “scholars” who attempt with “scholarship” to refute that in Christ there is neither male nor female Jew not Greek slave nor free but that all are one.

10. And behind all this, is the apparent accommodation of leaders within the evangelical church to the spirit of male dominance at the expense of biblical authenticity.

We Affirm the Following, Based on our Understanding of Biblical Teachings:

1.Both man and woman were created in God's image and are equal before God in every way both in theory and in practical function and application.

2.Distinctions in “masculine” and “feminine” roles are man-made ordinances and were not ordained by God as part of any “created order.”

3.The man’s headship in marriage was not established by God before the Fall, nor later as a result of sin. The doctrine of male “headship” does not exist in scripture.

4.The Fall introduced distortions into the relationships between men and women, the most significant being the universal dominance of males over females as both prophecy and all history attest. In the home, the husband's loving, humble, companionship tends to be replaced by domination or, if he cannot be in charge, by passivity, and if a wife does not joyfully submit to male domination, she is accused of usurping his supposed authority. In the church, sin inclines both women and men toward a worldly love of power or an abdication of spiritual responsibility, and inclines such women as are called to the ministry to view such calls as gender inappropriate and to rebel against the legitimate call of God in accepting limitations imposed upon them by the unbiblical injunctions of men. As women, we assume full responsibility for our own neglect of the use of our spiritual gifts in ignoring the call, the responsibility, and the authority to carry out whatever ministry God has called us to do.

5.The Old Testament, as well as the New Testament, manifests the equally high value and dignity which God attached to the work and words of godly men and women. The New Testament affirms the overriding principle that all individuals, whether male or female must work out their own salvation with fear and trembling. The patriarchal and racial hierarchy evident in parts of the Old Testament, which is exclusively prophetic and applicable to the Old Covenant Nation of Israel only, is lifted completely, in the New Testament from both Jew and Gentile by the redeeming work of Jesus Christ. There are no longer any legitimate hierarchies involved in race or gender.

6.Redemption in Christ aims at removing the distortions introduced by the curse. In the family, husbands should forsake harshness and the selfish idea that they are mandated by God to rule their families and, instead, to grow in love for their wives; wives should forsake blind submission to the false doctrine of male headship. Wives and husbands should grow in love for each other preferring the other before themselves.

7.In the church, There are no governing and teaching roles restricted to men only. Redemption in Christ gives both men and women equal share in the blessings of salvation as well as in governing and teaching roles within the church.

8.In all of life, and in every situation, domestic or otherwise, Christ is the supreme authority and guide for both men and women. Men are not mandated by God to replace the Holy Spirit in the lives of Christian women.

9.In the church, both men and women should repent of gender prejudice and respond obediently to a heartfelt sense of call to ministry. Obedience to God should never be set aside in favor of submission to traditions of men. Commands to abstain from obeying the Holy Spirit in regards to ministry gifts and callings are blasphemous and heretical. Biblical teaching—not traditions of men—should remain the authority for testing our subjective discernment of God's will.

10.With half the world's population outside the reach of indigenous evangelism; with countless people in those societies who have never heard the gospel; with the stresses and miseries of sickness, malnutrition, homelessness, illiteracy, ignorance, aging, addiction, crime, incarceration, neuroses, and loneliness, no man or woman who feels a passion from God to make His grace known in word and deed can be excused for ignoring a heartfelt call to the ministry. Gender will not be excused in the day of reckoning for neglecting to fulfill any ministry to which we are called by God. With all authority, for the glory of Christ and the good of this fallen world. We should obey God and not man in all things.

11. We are convinced that a denial or neglect of obedience to the Word of God, and to the Spirit of God, in regards to the authoritative function of women, ,as well as men, in the home, church, and society will lead to increasingly destructive consequences within our families, churches, and the culture at large.

After lunch Waneta Dawn(that's me)spoke on how the male authority doctrine perpetrates domestic violence in all its forms, and how Christians must reject such doctrine in favor of the biblical loving sacrifice that is required of husbands, and how we can respond compassionately to abused wives and influence society to stop male entitlement beliefs. www.wanetadawn.com

Jocelyn Andersen announced the formation of the Freedom for Christian Women Coalition, stated that movement had been begun toward freedom for Christian women, and that we intended to keep it moving forward. The coalition requires no membership; only a network of people working together toward a common goal.

Shirley Taylor presented the demand for apology from the Council for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood.

Janice Levinson of Protective Mothers Alliance International spoke on the growing number of good mothers who are losing custody of their children due to a growing tendency of family courts to place the children with their abusive and violent fathers. 70%-80% of abusive fathers who sue for primary or sole custody win their children away from loving, protective, fit mothers. www.protectivemothersalliance.org

Doug Philips pastor of Oleander Church of God of Fort Pierce, FL spoke on the need to tear down the walls, the need for unity in the body of Christ, regardless of gender or color.


Demand for Apology

Freedom for Christian Women Coalition


July 24, 2010


Dr. Randy Stinson, President
Council on Biblical Manhood and Biblical Womanhood
2825 Lexington Road, Box 926
Louisville, KY 40280

And

Dr. J Ligon Duncan III
Chairman of the Board of the CBMBW
First Presbyterian Church
1390 North State Street
Jackson, MS 39202

The Freedom for Christian Women Coalition met on July 24, 2010, in Orlando, Florida, and agreed and affirmed this Demand for an Apology from the Council on Biblical Manhood and Biblical Womanhood because of the concerns as listed in the following pages.

For the sake of all Christians, men and women, we demand that the Council on Biblical Manhood and Biblical Womanhood, make a public apology for the misuse of Holy Scripture as it relates to women, and cease to publish or promote The Danvers Statement on Biblical Manhood and Biblical Womanhood.
Sincerely,



Freedom for Christian Women Coalition
Demand for an Apology from the
Council on Biblical Manhood and Biblical Womanhood
At a time in our church history that the main focus should be on winning lost souls and spreading the gospel to a hurting world, we fear for the future because the Council on Biblical Manhood and Biblical Womanhood has placed a greater priority on women’s submissive role rather than on the gospel of Jesus Christ.
It is with that thought in mind that we make these statements.

1.We are concerned that men are being taught that they are god-like in their relationship to women within the church and home. As the mothers, wives, and daughters of these men, it is our concern that this doctrine is setting them up for failure as Christian fathers, husbands and sons;

2.we are concerned about the sin that evangelical church leaders commit when they deny the love of Christ fully to women simply because they were born female;

3.we are concerned about the damage this causes to families when husbands and fathers are told that they have Headship over their wives and daughters;

4.we are concerned about wife abuse, girlfriend abuse, and abuse to female children that takes place in many homes where evangelical men are taught that they have earthly and spiritual authority over women;

5.we are concerned that the children who attend churches that subscribe to the principles of The Danvers Statement on Biblical Manhood and Biblical Womanhood will grow up not knowing the full redemptive power of the blood of Jesus for both men and women;

6.we are concerned for the mental and emotional development of girls and boys who attend churches that teach males have superiority over females;

7.we are concerned that men who are taught that they have Male Headship over a home and church do not feel that they are accountable for abusive attitudes and actions towards women;

8.we are concerned about the mistranslation of the scriptures by complementarian translation committees and by the false teachings propagated by the Council on Biblical Manhood and Biblical Womanhood;

9.we are concerned that pastors who teach and preach male domination/female subordination cannot relate in a loving, Christ-like manner to female members of their congregations because they have already judged them and found them lacking;

10.we are concerned that the issue of wifely submission, promoted so heavily by the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, is more about power and control than about love or obeying the Word of God.

It is because of these concerns that:

1.We demand that the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood acknowledge the harm that has been done to the church body by The Danvers Statement on Biblical Manhood and Biblical Womanhood, confess it as sin, and denounce it;

2.we demand that denominational leaders and all churches and seminaries which have adopted The Danvers Statement on Biblical Manhood and Biblical Womanhood do the same;

3.we demand a public apology from the Council on Biblical Manhood and Biblical Womanhood, and from all heads of seminaries and Bible colleges that have adopted The Danvers Statement on Biblical Manhood and Biblical Womanhood, for the inestimable damage this statement has done to all Christians whose lives have been influenced by it;

4.we demand that the Council on Biblical Manhood and Biblical Womanhood begin to promote the Biblical design of functional equality for all Christians, both men and women;

5.we demand that the Council on Biblical Manhood and Biblical Womanhood begin to speak out against pastors who continue to demean women and oppress Christians by the use of The Danvers Statement on Biblical Manhood and Biblical Womanhood;

6.we demand that the Council on Biblical Manhood and Biblical Womanhood chastise pastors who claim that abuse of women is acceptable and justified because the wife is not submitting to the husband;

7.we demand that the Council on Biblical Manhood and Biblical Womanhood make known to every boy and every girl who attend an evangelical church, that God is their head, and that authority over another human being can come only from God;

8.we demand that the Council on Biblical Manhood and Biblical Womanhood teach men that they share equally in the burden of society’s ills, and that all that is wrong with society today cannot be blamed on women;

9.we demand that the Council on Biblical Manhood and Biblical Womanhood do everything in their power to teach seminarians to show the love of Christ to both men and women;

10.we demand that the Council on Biblical Manhood and Biblical Womanhood teach pastors to be loving towards those Christian men and women who disagree with The Danvers Statement on Biblical Manhood and Biblical Womanhood;

11.and, finally, for the sake of all Christians, men and women, we demand that the Council on Biblical Manhood and Biblical Womanhood, make a public apology for the misuse of Holy Scripture as it relates to women, and cease to publish or promote The Danvers Statement on Biblical Manhood and Biblical Womanhood.

Shirley Taylor, bWe Baptist Women for Equality presented at the Seneca Falls 2 Evangelical Women’s Rights Convention July 24, 2010 in Orlando, Florida

Affirmed by the Freedom for Christian Women Coalition
at the Seneca Falls 2 Evangelical Womens Rights Convention
July 24, 2010 in Orlando, Florida

Signed by:
Shirley Taylor
Jocelyn Andersen
Waneta Dawn
Janice Levinson
Cynthia Kunsman

Waneta Dawn is the author of "Behind the Hedge," a novel about a wife who discovers traditional marriage advice doesn't always work. See www.wanetadawn.com

Setting up Boys to go to Jail for Beating their Future Wives

The teaching of husband authority encourages husbands to abuse their wives verbally, emotionally, physically, spiritually, sexually, and any other way. When boys are taught that they will have authority in their homes, and they see the authority that 25% to 50% of the men in their group wield, they look forward to the time when they are no longer controlled by their parents, but they can make the rules they want for themselves. When again and again they hear women being told to submit joyfully to their husbands, to subject themselves and set aside their wishes in order to serve their husbands, but do not hear the same weight of loving, yielding, and sacrificing taught to men, they arrive at their weddings expecting their wives to be their servants who will give them whatever the husbands want. When this expectation is in place, and the only teaching against this is to not hit one's wife, and wives are both blamed for being abused (Bruce Ware), and told to endure the abuse for a season (John Piper), the young men begin their marriages believing all other means of manipulation, domination, power and control of their wives are legal and biblical. Thus many of them begin their marriages throwing their weight around, doing whatever it takes short of hitting their wives to get what they want. They gripe and complain and put their wives down, which is non-physical assault. They mistakenly think when they choke their wives, shove them against the wall and pin them there, kick them, block them, elbow them, rape them, etc, that these are not physical violence or a crime. It is a very tiny step between these methods of abuse and hitting or beating one's wife. Since those who violate their wives both intensify the violence and speed up how suddenly and swiftly they assault their wives, and also grow in disrespect for their wives, they have less and less time to reconsider and stop the thinking that is causing them to attack their wives, as well as less and less motivation to stop themselves from the pleasure they receive when they rip her to shreds, whether verbally/emotionally, physically, spiritually, or both.

When so-called Christian doctrine ignores the actual biblical commands to husbands to sacrifice for and love their wives, which is a form of submission, and instead focus on controlling their wives, they are allowing the leaven of sin into their lives. That sin grows like leaven in the individual and he has no idea it is his belief and not the frustration of the moment or any action of his wife that caused him to assault her.

The sin also grows in the church body. Unless checked with jail time and other deterents, more and more males pick up the thought pattern and belief system that leads men to assault their wives, either physically or non-physically. It is this sin of lording it over, of disregarding the commandments of the Lord—both things the Gentiles do—that causes the downfall of the church.

"Sin will take you further than you want to go..."

Waneta Dawn is the author of "Behind the Hedge," a novel about a wife who discovers traditional marriage advice doesn't always work. See www.wanetadawn.com