Uniquely His
Resurrecting the Divine Design!
Subscribe to this blog
Categories:
Archives:
Meta:
10 Lies the Church Tells Women by Lee Grady
Published by Angela | Filed under Book Review
I’ve experienced deep, deep grief, a sense of mourning, sadness, frustration, and relief while reading this book. 10 Lies the Church Tells Women by Lee Grady exposes how the Bible has been misused to keep women in spiritual bondage.
The grieving of the Holy Spirit overwhelmed me as I read misguided quotes from theologians, historians, philosophers and well-meaning Pastors. I definitely felt frustration at the unbelievable misinterpretation of Scripture, the abuse and intolerance of the believers who have bought into the bias of ignorance and stupidity that has been passed down through the centuries. (Too rediculous to dignify on my blog). Yet, I was so very grateful to live in our century and in
Since I have grown up in a denomination that is more open to women in ministry and has used them as Pastors, Evangelists, Missionaries, Presbyters and in our headquarters to oversee ministries, I had no idea how oppressed other women have been in other churches. Women at times are just as guilty of the gender bias believing that they are following “scriptural mandates.”
I was also appalled at the amount of physical abuse apparent in evangelical churches where Pastors or leaders encourage the women to stay in the abuse, submit to the husband and just pray – even to the point of some being murdered. Their blood may be upon our hands if we do not seek out the truth.
Lethargy can definitely be detected as generation after generation perpetuates the lies, imprisoning more and more women, keeping them from fulfilling their God given design and gifts. It’s easier to just believe the lie than go against the tide of evil prejudice and disdain. It’s easier to just be told “this is the truth” than to learn for ourselves.
God has so much more for His daughters – your daughters, sisters, mothers and friends. God has so much more for our sons – your sons, brothers, fathers and friends. This lie has affected the men and entrapped them in having to be “everything” instead of sharing the load with their “counterpart, partner, Ezer – shield, warrior, life protector. God’s Divine Design of “cultivating, subduing and ruling together – man and woman is screaming to be fulfilled. The Cross not only redeemed our spiritually dead souls and made us alive to God, but the consequences of the Fall for man and woman so they can fulfill their original design. The gap between what has been redeemed and what is reality is grieving the heart of God and crippling the church.
Lee communicates his passion to see these lies refuted in Choleric style proclaiming the truth boldly. If you need a more Melancholy sensitive explanation go to God’s Women: Now and Then by Dr. Deborah Gill and Barbara Cavnass. But by all means, do not put your head in the sand and go along with the status quo. God is passionately in love with His daughters and is pursuing their freedom and dignity through raising up many voices. Whether you agree or not; at least be curious enough to read a book.
April 1st, 2008 at 10:31 am
I plan to read the book. Dignity and freedom are definitely worth the cost of a book. The sentence I would like to respond to is; Women at times are just as guilty of the gender bias believing that they are following “scriptural mandates.” Many of us have been mentored and taught by these women. Thankfully we are hearing the truth in order to be able to go forward with correct teaching as we teach and effect those God is calling us to…
April 1st, 2008 at 6:30 pm
This sounds like an interesting book. Unfortunately this is not a gender neutral/elite subject. I watched/ stopped my vehicle the other day and witnessed a couple fighting as the wife wailed on her husband and called him all sorts of things. Many things and scriptures went through my mind should I get out of the car and try to intervene and try to meet her verbally where she was at physically. Could I get her attention enough to help her realize she had a problem. If he had hurt her I would have called for help. There are a lot of cultural issues that the Bible has the answer for . . . I think the question is what is the Holy Spirit leading me to do in this situation or what is the most urgent situation and what can or should I do. I watched her calm down and get in the vehicle. I went home, talked to a friend and prayed about the situation. I’m not for people being in abusive relationships and yes there are times the only solution may be/is to walk out but God can even heal situations where people are abusive when the love and commitment are there and they want to do what God’s word says to do.
April 1st, 2008 at 7:23 pm
Dianne, I don’t believe most people mislead people on purpose. We just believe whatever we read or hear that people say without checking it out. Or, we don’t have the understanding of how to check it out. Hermeneutical interpretation of scripture takes time and effort looking into the culture of the time, the history of the era, the language and how it was used at that time, who wrote it to whom and why, were they writing about a specific problem or is it a universal truth for all time, the context of the book and chapter, etc. The normal person in the pew is certainly not taking time to do that so we expcet others to do it for us and trust that they are doing it without bias or prejudice which is pretty difficult for any of us since we are human. But looking at the context of the character of God and His ways can tell us a lot.
Elizabeth, you are right that abuse is not gender specific but statistics let us know that women receive it much more than men. Women are probably more guilty of manipulation. However, domestic violence is just one thing discussed in the book. The overall attitude about women in the church world is interesting to say the least.