Priscilla Paper | Winter 2014

VOLUME 28, NUMBER 1 WINTER 2014

“PRISCILLA AND AQUILA” INSTRUCTED APOLLOS MORE” PERFECTLY IN THE WAY OF THE LORD” (ACTS 18)”

15 Coming Alongside: Men Ideas Have Consequences: Making Sense of Gender Relations

Joining the Conversation on Equality Don Neufeld

5 Ideas Have Consequences: Faith,

19 No Woman or Girl Left Behind:

Gender, and Social Ethics Mimi Haddad

11 Facing Nabal: Working with Men Who Abuse Patricia Warford

Restoring Girls in China and Cambodia Lily Lee

24 Voices of Outrage against Rape:

29 Book Review: Derek and Dianne Tidball’s The Message of Women: Creation, Grace, and Gender Woodrow Walton

30 Poems: Mother and a Grave and Madonna without Child Hubert Edgar Hix

Textual Evidence from Judges 19 Deirdre Brouer

Chr istians for Biblical Equality | www.cbeinter national.org

Editor’s Reflections �

This issue is about ideas having consequences, finally centering, as we always do, on our target area: making sense of gender relations.

As all issues of Priscilla Papers, this present one has been pieced together over months (and sometimes years), and each editorial is written on a topic relevant to the issue. But, at the same time, each editorial is also written within a life context.

In the present instance, the life context and the topic are certainly related, as I, and everyone else I know here in Massachusetts, continue trying to make sense of the macrocosmic events of the Boston Marathon bombing. The rest of the country and the rest of the world have long since moved on to other incidences and concerns, but not Boston. The commemorating phrase “Boston Strong” has become endemic, a regular fixture in the speeches of Massachusetts politicians and news commentators, painted on commuter trains, present in seemingly every home in magnets on refrigerators, given away or sold as fundraisers for the victims by local hardware stores, and on and on. This event was to Boston as the slaughtering of children was to Newtown, or the Twin Towers devastation to New York, or the subway poison gas attacks to Tokyo. A population does not simply move on from something like this—it becomes an inseparable part of its identity. Those living in Boston and its environs continue to revisit this confounding tragedy. For the victims, it was, of course, a life-changing catastrophe, but, for the perpetrators, it was a tragedy in the classic sense, the result of

a character flaw that propelled two young men from a Muslim extremist-dominated section of Russia to kill four people, force the amputation of the limbs of seventeen others, maiming them for life, and wounding some 280 more, some of these critically— not one of whom they knew. What this devastation meant is that they took the life of a beloved eight-year-old boy, inflicted on his mother a brain injury, and destroyed his sister’s leg, though all of these members of a single family were complete strangers to them. Their thinking also compelled these men to murder a young male police officer only one year on the job, as well as two young women, one a 29-year-old restaurant worker renowned for her sunny disposition, the other, not even an American, but a 23-year-old Chinese graduate student who, we have been told, had been attending InterVarsity Christian Fellowship and was contemplating giving her life to Jesus.

Why would anybody do such a thing to strangers they might like or come to love, had they had the opportunity to meet them?

After all, nobody wakes up one holiday morning and says, “My, what a beautiful day. What should I do today? Maybe something totally different: a real change of pace. I know! Why don’t I make up some bombs and slaughter hundreds of people peacefully attending a globally oriented event designed to bring people together? That’s something I’ve never done.”

Of course not. Such a wide-sweeping devastation takes weeks, even months, of planning. But, even more, a decision with such far-reaching ramifications (in this case, the plan included further bombing in New York’s Times Square at the inevitable risk of the death of both bombers) only comes about by a growing idea based on a set of increasingly accepted premises that make its

DISCLAIMER: Final selection of all material published by CBE in Priscilla Papers is entirely up to the discretion of the editor, consulting theologians, and CBE’s executive. Please note that each author is solely legally responsible for the content and the accuracy of facts, citations, references, and quotations rendered and properly attributed in the article appearing under his or her name. Neither Christians for Biblical Equality, nor the editor, nor the editorial team is responsible or legally liable for any content or any statements made by any author, but the legal responsibility is solely that author’s once an article appears in print in Priscilla Papers.

Editor • William David Spencer Associate Editor / Graphic Designer • Deb Beatty Mel Book Review Editor • Aída Besançon Spencer President / Publisher • Mimi Haddad President Emerita • Catherine Clark Kroeger† Editors Emerita • Carol Thiessen† & Gretchen Gaebelein Hull On the Cover • Image from the United States Marines via Wikimedia Commons

Board of Reference: Miriam Adeney, Myron S. Augsburger, Raymond J. Bakke, Anthony Campolo, Lois McKinney Douglas, Millard J. Erickson, Gordon D. Fee, Richard Foster, John R. Franke, W. Ward Gasque, J. Lee Grady, Vernon Grounds, David Joel Hamilton, Roberta Hestenes, Gretchen Gaebelein Hull, Donald Joy, Robbie Joy, Craig S. Keener, John R. Kohlenberger III, David Mains, Kari Torjesen Malcolm, Brenda Salter McNeil, Alvera Mickelsen, Virgil Olson, LaDonna Osborn, T. L. Osborn, John E. Phelan, Kay F. Rader, Paul A. Rader, Ronald J. Sider, Aída Besançon Spencer, William David Spencer, Ruth A. Tucker, Mary Stewart Van Leeuwen, Timothy Weber, Jeanette S. G. Yep

Priscilla Papers (issn 0898-753x) is published quarterly by Christians for Biblical Equality, © 2014.

122 West Franklin Avenue, Suite 218, Minneapolis, MN 55404-2451. For address changes and other information, phone: 612-872-6898; fax: 612-872-6891; or e-mail: cbe@cbeinternational.org. CBE is on the Web at www.cbeinternational.org.

Priscilla Papers is indexed by Christians for Biblical Equality, the Christian Periodical Index (CPI), American Theological Library Association’s (ATLA) New Testament Abstracts (NTA), and Religious and Theological Abstracts (R&TA), and is licensed with EBSCO’s full-text informational library products. Full-text collections of Priscilla Papers are available through EBSCO Host’s Religion and Philosophy Collection, Galaxie Software’s Theological Journals collection, and Logos Bible Software.

2 • Priscilla Papers ◆ Vol. 28, No. 1 ◆ Winter 2014

idea of the Jihad, the “holy war undertaken as a sacred duty by monstrousness more and more conceivable as an ideal becomes Muslims,”4 is what allows terrorists to roar up on motorcycles in more real in one’s perspective than the event itself, thereby replaces like Pakistan and slaughter fellow Muslim guards, clearing placing, with a mitigating motivation, the heinous reality of what a way for themselves to shoot harmless Christians in worship, is actually being inflicted on innocent others. who are reckoned along with New York’s Twin Towers’ two hunIn the case of these two siblings, a family member noted “a dred innocent Muslim dead, the victimized commuters of the change in the older brother in 2000” with a “radicalization” that Spanish train bombing, and now Boston’s 8-year-old noncomba“had begun after he met a recent convert to Islam in the Boston tant, as well as countless others in simiarea.” As a result, the Russian governad ideas are with us daily, not only in lar atrocities, as necessary collateral in ment warned “the F.B.I.’s legal attaché” macrocosmic calamities but in the what is deemed the more important task at the American Embassy in Moscow of ushering in an ideal, namely what that future bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev microcosmic heartaches in our individual its perpetrators consider to be a better had “spent six months in Chechnya and lives and the lives of individuals all around us. world. Ideas have consequences.

Dagestan in 2012,” “both of which are As it did with his older brother, the idea took hold and then predominantly Muslim Republics in the North Caucasus region took over the younger brother’s life. The New York Times’ Erica of Russia,” which are considered “hotbeds of militant separatists.”

Goode and Serge F. Kovaleski report: The Russian concern was “based on information that he was a follower of radical Islam and a strong believer, and that he had At the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, Dzhokhar changed drastically since 2010 as he prepared to leave the United began to struggle academically. According to a university States for travel to the country’s region to join unspecified undertranscript reviewed by The New York Times, he was failing ground groups.”1 many of his classes. The transcript shows him receiving seven But, between his radicalization and his trip to join the underfailing grades over three semesters, including F’s in Pringround, Tamerlan already showed a tendency toward violence. In ciples of Modern Chemistry, Intro to American Politics and an interview after the bombing, his uncle reported that, in 2009, Chemistry and the Environment. According to the transcript, he was arrested on a “domestic violence complaint,” “because of Dzhokhar received a B in Critical Writing and a D and D- in his girlfriend.” “He hit her lightly.” “He was locked up for half an other courses. hour.” “There was jealousy there.” At the time he did the bombing, Tamerlan was married with a little child.2 The domestic vioThey add, “A former classmate at the university” speculated, “he lence was a sign of an increasing pattern that now moved outwas a really smart kid, but having a little difficulty in college beward from his home to the political realm, determining his mode cause going from high school to college is different.”5 of interaction with family and with strangers. He had become in Dzhokhar’s subsequent actions, however, suggest a far difhis matter of relating a violent person. ferent interpretation for his dismal performance in his classes: Years ago, during a trip with Gordon-Conwell faculty to Turbecoming preoccupied, then consumed, and finally lethally comkey, I asked our tour guide, a moderate Muslim, how she intermitted to an alternative identity from student to future killer. Bad preted the surah “Mohammed (The Battle)” in the Qur’an, which ideas can have horrific consequences. reads: “When ye encounter the unbelievers, strike off their heads And what is further disconcerting is that bad ideas are not an until ye have made a great slaughter among them; and bind them occasional occurrence. In varying degrees of impact, bad ideas in bonds; and either give them a free dismission afterwards, or are with us daily, not only in macrocosmic calamities, but in the exact a ransom: until the war shall have laid down its arms. . . . microcosmic heartaches in our individual lives and the lives of And as to those who fight in defence of God’s true religion, God individuals all around us. will not suffer their works to perish: he will guide them, and will “Look at this!” said my wife, pointing out an article from the dispose their heart aright; and he will lead them into paradise, of Salem (Massachusetts) Evening News, headlined “Man to serve which he hath told them . . . but, as for the infidels, let them per3–6 years for breaking girlfriend’s jaw.” I read, “according to court ish; and their works shall God render vain.”3 Our guide explained papers,” a man who “had been abusive . . . throughout their rethat Muslims these days took such words symbolically—that, to lationship” to a “young woman, with whom he had been living,” them, Muhammad meant struggling with evil thoughts inside was caught by her texting another woman at a bar they were atoneself and subduing them with God’s help. tending together. Angered, but careful, “she left, hoping to avoid Radicalization, however, apparently takes place when somea confrontation.” one adopts a different idea that literalizes these words in the The strategy did not work. At home they argued, and he broke Qur’an and applies their outworking not to oneself, but to others. her jaw. Reporter Julie Manganis explains, “She knew her jaw This is what happened in the case of the two young men who, was broken because, when she tried to close her mouth, her teeth according to the visual record, set their bombs down in places were in the wrong place.” where women and children were mainly gathered, the idea apNow the story follows an all-too-familiar pattern. The abuser parently being, not to kill, but chiefly to maim, achieving the takes her to the hospital, but on the way “the two agreed on a weakening of a society by forcing it to carry an extra economic cover story—she would tell doctors that she was struck while tryburden of caring for lifelong invalids, while, at the same time, ing to break up a fight.” increasing the impact of fear by instituting a myriad of daily Here now is an injured 26-year-old victim reporting to work reminders of the power of the action. Such literalization of the at her place of employment—a dentist’s office—obviously know-

B

Priscilla Papers ◆ Vol. 28, No. 1 ◆ Winter 2014 • 3

ing the cover story she had used for the hospital was not going to go over with dental professionals, so, we are told, she “came up with another cover story for coworkers, telling them she fell on the stairs while doing laundry.”

The dentist sent her back to the hospital for an operation.

Now the story drops into the bizarre abyss of so many similar accounts. To my sorrow, but, sadly, not to my surprise, I read: “Two days later, while still recovering and with her jaw wired shut, she agreed to see [the abuser] again, later explaining that she’d been with him a long time and believed that he loved her. An argument again ensued, however, and he punched her in the eye.”

Now she has a broken jaw and a black eye. Reporter Julie Manganis describes this situation so well with a terseness peppered with astutely selected evocative words that she brings a reader to only one logical response: “What is wrong with the thinking of this woman? A broken jaw wasn’t enough? Doesn’t she realize she could have ended up in an even worse state than temporarily sight impaired? She could have ended up dead?”

Easy for us to say, but the cycle of abuse creates its own reasoning. Nobody wakes up in the morning and says, “What shall I do with my life? What career track shall I follow? How about I become a lifelong victim?” Of course, nobody says that. Often, the preparation is earlier abuse, a toxic setting that knocks normality askew, allowing the acceptance of a deception, a pernicious idea that takes hold like mildew, spreading out into one’s inner being, polluting one’s self-image, subverting one’s will, dissipating one’s élan—the life force that keeps us resolved to live and fight or flee.

In “Rappaccini’s Daughter,” Nathaniel Hawthorne, the great North American writer, tells of a young woman reared among poisonous plants and flowers. After a lifetime breathing their noxious fumes, she becomes dependent on them and cannot leave them, but any normal suitor who enters her environment to woo her is soon overpowered and begins to die. So it is with the inverted worldview of the enabling victim. One is imprisoned in a noxious idea. In this scenario, an abuser places the idea in the mind of the victim: this abuser needs me. He (in this case) really loves me. I need to be more understanding of his frailties.

I need to work more diligently to be a better common-law wife.

He says he’ll never do this again. How can I not believe him? The idea creates in the victim a new worldview that excuses the abuse by presenting it as normal, merited behavior, then promotes the fabrication of a series of customized explanations designed either to deceive or, if possible, even recruit subsequent audiences to regard the havoc wreaked as acceptable.6 The court, however, worked on the basis of a different idea that promoted a different, more communal worldview built on a just treatment of all, which drew a different conclusion. Rather than allowing itself to be deceived or recruited, the court’s perspective convicted this abuser of “assault and battery causing serious bodily injury, two counts of assault and battery, and witness intimidation,” sentencing him to jail, and mandating him, after serving his sentence, to “a batterer’s treatment program.”7 Hopefully, the court will also send the victim to a victim’s treatment program to learn a whole new perspective and a replacement set of ideas about what relationships are supposed to be like.

Comparing these two cases, one might speculate that the two young men who wreaked horror on nearly three hundred inno4 • Priscilla Papers ◆ Vol. 28, No. 1 ◆ Winter 2014

cent children, women, and men are, themselves, also the victims of abusive ideas—not necessarily having themselves received corporal abuse from those closest to them, but still the victims of an abuse that comes from being reared in an environment of lethal thoughts whose end is death.

Jesus, on the other hand, said in John 10:10, “I came in order that they may have life and abundantly have [it].”8 Jesus’s good news puts positive thoughts that lead to life in the minds of all who encounter him, and this is what our present issue is about: examining the consequences of ideas and suggesting a better way to think and act to achieve the abundant life offered in Jesus both in our own lives and in the lives of those whom we seek to influence.

Our issue begins with our CBE president, Mimi Haddad, expounding the truth that ideas have consequences, especially at the intersection of faith, gender, and social ethics. Next, psychologist Patricia Warford and clinical social worker Don Neufeld analyze the motivations, beliefs, and plight of men who abuse, while Pleroma Home for Girls founder Lily Lee reports on restoring victimized girls in China and Cambodia. Denver Seminary adjunct professor and CBE 2013 student contest winner Deirdre Brouer shows us the outrage against rape in Judges 19. Our book review is by former dean Woodrow Walton, and our poems on Mary are by our award-winning poet Hubert Edgar Hix to round out a thought-provoking issue.

Every day we are bombarded with ideas seeking to change the way we look at ourselves and at our world. These seek to orient, and, thereby, control the way we act in order to bring about an outcome desired by others. But only one Other is the proper creator of worldviews whose ideas should be orienting our lives and guiding our actions, and that One is the One great Triune Lord God Almighty. May that God, through the guidance of the Bible, the Christian community present and past, and our own experience as guided by the Holy Spirit, order the way we think and act in regard to ourselves, each other, and this world that this same God is in the process of reconciling.

Blessings,

Notes 1. Eric Schmmitt and Michael S. Schmidt, “Investigators Dig for Bomb Suspects’ Radicalization,” New York Times, Apr. 22, 2013, www.nytimes.com/2013/04/22/us/boston-marathon-bombing-suspects-hopedto-attack-again.html?pagewanted=all&.r=0, accessed May 2, 2013.

2. Erica Goode and Serge F. Kovaleski, “Boy at Home in U.S., Swayed by One Who Wasn’t,” New York Times, Apr. 20, 2013, www. nytimes.com/2013/04/20/us/details-of-tsarnaev-brothers-boston-suspects-emerge.html?pagewanted=all, accessed May 2, 2013.

3. The Koran, trans. George Sale (New York, NY: American Book Exchange, 1880), 390.

4. Random House, Random House Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary (New York, NY: Random House, 2001), 1029, col. 2.

5. Goode and Kovaleski, “Boy at Home.”

6. In the opening story of my recent novel, Name in the Papers, I present just such a deception, where a charming abuser seeks to foster an inverted worldview in the minds of two women he has deceived.

7. Julie Manganis, “Man to serve 3–6 years for breaking girlfriend’s jaw,” The Salem News, March 28, 2013, 4,col. 1–2.

8. Translation by present author.

Ideas Have Consequences: Faith, Gender, and Social Ethics Mimi Haddad The unilateral authority of males is evident in shaping nearly every culture throughout history. Further, when patriarchy is framed as a biblical ideal, it is not only at odds with the teachings of Scripture and the purposes of God’s covenant people, it also becomes a deadly spiritual disease that chokes life all around it.

As Jesus said, if the fruit is bad, the tree also is bad (Matt 7:17–20).

This is not to say that gifted men should not exercise authority, but, at the same time, they should affirm the gifts and authority that God grants women as well, working mutually to lead and serve the church and the world. As a balance, it was thrilling to see three women receive the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011 for their courageous activism in advancing democracy and justice for women. Three days later, a blog appeared by CBE member Jenny Rae Armstrong, who wrote: I haven’t stopped grinning since I heard the news about the Nobel Peace Prize recipients. You see, it was in Liberia that I first witnessed the true ugliness of gender injustice, first understood that a tiny seed of pride and superiority dropped into the heart of a man would blossom not into a sheltering tree but into an ugly, invasive weed that choked . . . life . . . around it.

My “Damascus road” experience happened when I was nine years old, peering out the window of our second-story apartment in Monrovia. Just outside our gate, a woman was curled up on her side under a palm tree, [a] tee-shirt stretched thin across her torso as she shielded her head with her . . . arms, her knees tucked close to her chest. The man kicking her wore camouflage, and had a government-issued machine gun slung over his shoulder.

I was horrified. It wasn’t that I hadn’t witnessed beatings before—to the contrary, they were common in Liberia. But this was different, an armed man beating a helpless, cringing woman. And I had heard the whispers, the muted conversations adults thought I was too young to understand, about what men with guns did to women.

I heard my father approaching and froze, expecting to be shooed away from the window. But he stopped a few steps behind me and just stood there, watching the scene unfold over my head. Then he sighed, turned, and walked away without a word.

The tectonic plates in my young soul shifted. For the first time, I realized there were some things my father, the strong, sensible, white American male, couldn’t fix. That, if he went out there and did what every fiber of his being was undoubtedly screaming to do, he would only make things worse. To rush into the street and put himself between a murderous mob and a thief was one thing, and he did it on a regular basis. But to put himself between a man and a woman would constitute such an insult that the woman could very well end up dead.

That’s when I realized that violence against women isn’t a social problem; it is a spiritual problem, a highly contagious disease that eats away at hearts, souls, minds and bodies. . . .

You can’t address the problem by treating the symptoms— you have to go deep under the surface and neutralize it at its root—the ROOTS! that . . . pride . . . and superiority allowed to germinate in the soul.

That is precisely what the women of Liberia have been doing for the last decade, recognizing their God-given worth, claiming their voices, and banding together to demand not just national, but personal shalom, for themselves and the next generation. Consider the words of Leymah Gabowee as she led hundreds of women to the capital . . . in 2003. She said: “We the women of Liberia will no more allow ourselves to be raped, abused, misused, maimed and killed! Our children and grandchildren will not be used as killing machines and sex slaves!” Liberia still has a long way to go. We all do. But where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom, and this hope makes us very bold.1 Armstrong is not alone in her observation. In 2011, Lyn Lusi received the $1 million Opus Prize. At a banquet in her honor, she “threw down a gauntlet,” reporters said, in calling churches to stand with abused women. Lusi runs an organization called HEAL Africa (an acronym for Health, Education, Action, and Leadership) for women and youth in Goma, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the second largest country in Africa. At her acceptance speech, [Lusi] highlighted the vital role that churches play in communities in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. . . .

[They] provide what amounts to the only services and social safety net available. They can be the real glue of the society.

But she also told a sobering story . . . as several congregations came together for discussion and training. . . . They did not agree that women who were raped should NOT be excommunicated [from church] . . . the attitude that women invite, even deserve rape extended so deep [within] . . . the church communities and leadership that they could not see their way to compassion and support. Where women should be able to find comfort, consolation, and support instead they met rejection and blame. The story points to the crying need for MIMI HADDAD (PhD, University of Durham) is president of Christians for Biblical Equality. She is a founding member of the Evangelicals and Gender Study Group at the Evangelical Theological Society. Mimi is an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Fuller Theological Seminary (Houston, Texas), an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Bethel University (Saint Paul, Minnesota), and an Adjunct Professor at North Park Theological Seminary (Chicago, Illinois).

Priscilla Papers ◆ Vol. 28, No. 1 ◆ Winter 2014 • 5

deep reflection and change within Christian communities. . . . the Opus prize will allow her to work for that goal.2 In the last decade, more and more Christians like Lusi are banding together to address the violence and abuse perpetrated on girls and women globally. To borrow a headline from Books and Culture, make no mistake about it, the church today is on a “Justice Mission.” While this may seem like a new and exciting turn of events, the truth is, our Christian and evangelical tradition is one with a deep and successful history of advancing justice in Christ’s name.

Early evangelicals The early evangelicals were quintessential social reformers, and we have them to thank in large part for abolition and suffrage in the United States. The early evangelicals from North America and beyond were also responsible for the largest missionary impulse of all time—what we now call the Golden Era of Missions.

Perhaps it was golden not only because of the sheer numbers coming to faith.3 It was also golden because the theological convictions that drove the early evangelicals included a passion for the gospel that embraced social action. As historian David Bebbington notes, these early evangelicals believed that “those who had crossed the deepest line in life,”4 from spiritual death to life in Christ, were expected to lead a holy life and to make the world a more just place. In many ways, today’s younger evangelicals are the true offspring of an earlier evangelical tradition, because for them evangelism is inseparable from social action.

These early evangelicals, like many evangelicals today, were devoted to causes such as the abolition of slavery and dismantling the global sex trade. For them, social justice is the fruit of their own Christian conversion. They, too, recognized the roots of gender abuse. After decades of rescuing sex slaves, the early evangelicals believed that their efforts, though necessary, would inevitably fail without addressing the spiritual or philosophical issues that were continually ignored in their work rescuing girls forced into brothels. The early evangelicals perceived an integral relationship, an inescapable link, between a view of females as innately inferior and their marginalization and abuse. Those in positions of power often legitimate their domination by defining their victims, those they abuse, as inferior by birth. This is key: it is often the voice of religion that provides the most exalted, convincing, or irreproachable devaluation of people groups, whereby their subjugation is justified. If you can devalue a person based on a fixed and unchangeable condition like gender, ethnicity, or class, it is a small step to their marginalization and abuse, as history makes clear.

The spiritual roots of abuse consist of this: Religion has consistently declared that women are, in their being, inferior to males. It was precisely this issue that the early evangelicals challenged more than one hundred years ago. To end the sex trade meant that they had to show from Scripture not the devaluation of females, but that girls and women were equally created in God’s image. They were equally responsible for sin and equally redeemed by Christ, and that destiny does not follow biology.

Rather, destiny follows our spiritual rebirth in Christ. Their bib6 • Priscilla Papers ◆ Vol. 28, No. 1 ◆ Winter 2014

lical challenge was aimed not only at Christians, but also at the many religious and philosophical traditions that have declared females inferior at birth. The following examples show the capacity of religion and philosophy not only to devalue females, but also to drive worldviews in which the daily lives of females are made wretched—because ideas have consequences.

Non-Christian views on gender Consider that, in the ancient world, Aristotle posited, “the male is higher, the female is lower [being], the male rules, the female is ruled [purpose].”5 In line with this school of thought, in the Greek world, girl babies were abandoned far more than boys; the paterfamilias excluded females from social gatherings of males, political and philosophical determination, and control over children, property and self;6 and marriages were not monogamous.

Ideas have consequences.

Also, consider the ancient link between the value given females and the daily lives of women in Brahmanism. According to the writings of Manu, a Brahman social commentator, and also Pandita Ramabai, a Christian convert of Brahman caste, females were believed to possess a temper or nature that is mutable or inconstant.7 Females are also said to be destitute of strength and also of knowledge. They were considered as impure as falsehood itself, and this was viewed as a fixed rule.8 Ideas have consequences, and religious ideas have enormous consequences. In many Brahman cultures today, females are forbidden to read the sacred texts.9 They are accountable to male authority throughout life, to their fathers, husbands, sons, and grandsons.10 The gods are rarely evoked for the birth of girls. Ultrasound is used to select for gender. Girls remain sex slaves in Hindu temples. They are called devadasi, or devil’s whore, a term that illustrates their presumed moral inferiority.

Consider the relationship between the value assigned to one’s being and the treatment or purpose of women in Islam. According to Sahih Bukari, an Islamic social commentator, “The character of women is like a crooked rib, a crookedness that is inherent and incurable.”11 The Qur’an reads, “Men have authority [purpose] over women because God made the one superior [being] to the other.”12 In many Islamic cultures, though not all, females are held under male authority for their whole lives. Honor killings by male family members are not uncommon because the character of females is viewed as promiscuous. Genital cuttings are often performed to preserve marital fidelity. Females are not viewed as reliable witnesses. Females are denied medical treatment when female healthcare professionals are unavailable. Females are frequently excluded from public education and from working outside the home.13 They are not viewed as trustworthy.

Other groups have suffered a devaluation made at the level of being. Consider Nazi Germany. Before the Nazis could convince Germans to round up Jews and send them to death camps, they had to redefine Jewish being as distinct from that of the Aryan race. Triumphantly, the Nazis declared: “. . . there are only a few people left in Germany who are not clear about the fact that the Jew is not, as previously thought, distinct from ‘Christians,’ ‘Prot-

estant’ or ‘Catholics’ only in that he is of another religion, and therefore German like the rest of us, but that [they] belong to a different race than we do. The Jew belongs to a different race; that is what is decisive.”14 Remember also the devaluation of African Americans that supported the institution of slavery in the United States. According to Thornton Stringfellow, a prominent Virginia Baptist and an influential proslavery Bible exegete, “The African race is constitutionally inferior to the white race.”15 As a result of such thinking, French humanitarian Comte A. de Gasparin observed, “Slavery, in the United States, is founded on color, it is [based on the belief in] the native and indestructible inferiority [of] race.”16 Though defended by Christians in the South and elsewhere, slavery mocked biblical morality in manifold ways. Marriages were ignored, girls and women were defiled, and murder and maimings were common. The Emancipation Proclamation did little to eliminate ethnic abuse because the root—the devaluation of African ethnicity—had not yet been addressed. Though freed by legal decree, African Americans quickly encountered Jim Crow laws.

The United States Civil War did not end ethnic violence because slavery was only one manifestation of a spiritual illness: that ethnic superiority was posited as a biblical ideal. In fact, it would take many years before the U.S. was even made conscious of its own religious constructs that fueled oppression and injustice based on skin color.17 Ethics Daily published an apology for segregation practices that were once viewed as a religious ideal. Reporting on a social shift that may represent a larger leap than the election of an African American U.S. president, it noted that Bob Jones University, perhaps the most fundamentalist and segregated Baptist school in the world,18 has apologized for its practices and policies of racial segregation. In 1986, a member of the Bible department at Bob Jones had articulated the school’s position. Separation of the races, this faculty member wrote, was God’s design. The school was submitting to the authority of Scripture in its policies, it said.

Now, the school says something other than “biblical obedience” shaped its racial practices. The statement reports that policies were “characterized by the segregationist ethos of American culture. . . . We conformed to the culture rather than provide a clear Christian counterpoint to it. In so doing, we failed to accurately represent the Lord and to fulfill the commandments to love others as ourselves. For these failures we are profoundly sorry.”19 The failure to interpret Scripture accurately so as to regard African Americans as equal members of the human family made it possible for slavery advocates to ignore the profound ways in which slavery transgressed biblical ethics. Our value of human beings shapes our ethics, an observation made by the early evangelicals working to end the slave industry.20

Devaluation of women in the Christian church Women missionaries of the 1800s concluded that, for too long, they had been addressing merely the social symptoms of sex trafficking. While their efforts were necessary, they were inevitably insufficient without attacking the root—the belief that males are innately superior, a notion embraced as a religious ideal. For

Christians, particularly, the gender teachings and practices of the church were based on the idea that females are innately gullible.

Consider a few examples from early church history: n John Chrysostom (AD 347–407) contended, “The woman taught once, and ruined all. On this account therefore he saith, let her not teach . . . for the sex is weak and fickle.”21 n Augustine (AD 354–430) agreed, “Nor can it be doubted, that it is more consonant with the order of nature that men should bear rule over women, than women over men.”22 n John Knox (1514–1572) continued, “Nature, I say, does paint [women] forth to be weak, frail, impatient, feeble, and foolish; and experience has declared them to be inconstant, variable, cruel . . . [thus] a woman’s place is beneath man’s.”23 n John Calvin (1509–1564) did not disagree, explaining, “Woman should not hold authority over the man; for the very reason, why they are forbidden to teach, is, that it is not permitted by their condition.”24 Even a leader of a megachurch movement in Seattle wrote in 2010, when it comes to leading in the church, women are unfit because they are more gullible and easier to deceive than men. . . .

[W]omen who fail to trust [Paul’s] instruction . . . are much like their mother Eve. . . . Before you get all emotional like a woman in hearing this, please consider the content of the women’s magazines at your local grocery store that encourages liberated women in our day to watch porno with their boyfriends, master oral sex for men who have no intention of marrying them . . . and ask yourself if it doesn’t look like the Serpent is still trolling the garden and that the daughters of Eve aren’t gullible in pronouncing progress, liberation, and equality.25 Teachings like these represent a longstanding patriarchal influence in Christian culture suggesting that women are constitutionally inferior to males. The early evangelicals, especially women involved in opposing the sex-slave trade, observed that Christian teachings such as these were used to reinforce the superiority of males and placed girls at risk. Women like Catherine Booth, Josephine Butler, and Katharine Bushnell challenged the superiority of males as a biblical ideal. Who are these women?

Catherine Booth (1829–1890) was cofounder of the Salvation Army. She endeavored to free girls from prostitution in London’s East end. She also worked to raise the age of consent from thirteen to seventeen years. Josephine Butler was a British activist and prominent evangelical humanitarian who worked with Parliament to assess brothels established by the British military in India. Katharine Bushnell (1855–1946) worked as a physician and activist and missionary who shut down brothels throughout the United States. Bushnell, together with Josephine Butler, perceived the need to expose the spiritual teachings that maintain claims of male superiority, which they believed drove the sex industry. Bushnell was perhaps the greatest champion among the early evangelicals of gender equality and justice, both in her teachings and practices.

The youngest graduate of Chicago Women’s Medical College in 1878, Bushnell served as a medical missionary to China, but returned home to head the social purity department of the Priscilla Papers ◆ Vol. 28, No. 1 ◆ Winter 2014 • 7

Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) in 1886.26 As males. It was this idea that drove the sex industry, Bushnell reapart of her work with the WCTU, Bushnell interviewed girls ensoned. She realized that nothing would change slaved in sex camps at the iron mines of Michigan and lumber . . . until men come to understand that a woman is of as camps of Wisconsin. She entered these camps to gain firsthand much value as a man; and they will not believe this unaccounts, which she compiled and delivered to the state legislatil they see it plainly taught in the Bible. . . . Just so long as ture as an expert medical witness. Arriving to give her testimony, men imagine that a system of caste is taught in the Word of she once was met by an angry mob at God, and that they belong to the upa Wisconsin courthouse, enraged that he perceived a biblical worldview in which per caste while women are of the Bushnell was pressing for the equality women were, for the first time, systematically lower caste; and just so long as they for females at a time when the value viewed as equal not only by God’s design, but believe that mere FLESH—fate— of women had not been taken up sysdetermines the caste to which one also as created fully in God’s image. tematically as a biblical ideal. Bushbelongs; and just so long as they benell’s efforts in court were successful lieve that the “he will rule over you” of Genesis 3:16 is [preand led to a bill, dubbed by newspapers as the Kate Bushnell Bill, scriptive—or part of the moral teachings of the Bible, rathwhich sent men to long prison terms for enslaving girls in Wiser than descriptive—describing life in a fallen world] . . . consin, where this crime was particularly heinous.27 the destruction of young women into a prostitute class will From there, Bushnell traveled to India, where she infiltrated continue.30 brothels established by the British military in order to garner and retain British soldiers and officers. Her autobiography describes Bushnell spent many years learning Greek and Hebrew in order how she to research every text in Scripture, more than three hundred passages, that addressed gender. Bushnell published her findings in a . . . walked through the lines of encampments . . . [and] went book entitled God’s Word to Women, completed in 1919. It remains on to the little tents for women . . . and took their testimony . in print today. For Bushnell, the value of females is established in . . hearts melted and tears flowed, and they were eager to tell the early chapters of Genesis, where identity shapes purpose. us how they had been brought against their will, or by trickery Both Adam and Eve were equally created in God’s image;31 or thoughtlessly, into such a horrible life. More than once . . . therefore, both were called equally to be fruitful and to exercise they would not let us [go] till they prayed . . . to help them to an equal dominion in Eden.32 Their creational destiny to share get out of virtual imprisonment. We interviewed about 500 authority is disrupted by sin. Bushnell notes that Eve was not the such pitiful creatures.28 source of sin,33 and that God does not curse or punish females In discerning how these girls were forced into prostitution, Bushbecause of Eve.34 Rather, it was Satan, not God, who inspired nell asked hard questions about the complicity of Christians in the domination of men over women.35 God extends leadership the injustices these girls suffered. She asked: to those who do what is right in God’s sight regardless of their gender, birth order, nationality, or class.36 How can officials of high standing as Christian gentlemen be In assessing the teachings of the Apostle Paul, Bushnell arso indifferent to the wrongs of women and girls, so complagued that the apostle supported the authority and leadership of cent in the dealings with the sensuality of men and so ready women, provided that their leadership was neither domineering to condone their offences against decency? [Men had sent ornor abusive (1 Tim 2:12); that those who teach must understand ders] to under-officials to secure “younger and more attracand advance the truth concerning the gospel (1 Tim 2:11–12; Acts tive girls” for the British soldiers. . . .

18:26; Rom 16:1–5, 7, 12–13, 15); and that, when women pray and prophesy in public, they should not be disruptive, either by their Sir John Bowring, who wrote those beautiful hymns like clothing or their chatter (1 Cor 11:5; 1 Cor 14:34). Ultimately, Bush“Watchman, Tell Us of the Night” and “In the Cross of Christ I nell concluded that women’s value is not measured by the fall, Glory,” by his legislation at Hong Kong, brought into existence as so many theologians have argued throughout history. Rather, an ordinance making it punishable for any Chinese girl to live human value is measured through Christ’s completed work on but with her owner, who kept her for immoral purposes . . .

Calvary. To be consistent, a correct interpretation of Scripture acts which cannot but seep hundreds, perhaps thousands, of as it relates to “women’s spiritual and social status”37 should be girls into prostitution.29 determined in the same manner as “man’s spiritual and social staHer challenge exposed the moral failings and the horrible consetus,” based on the atonement of Jesus. To quote Bushnell, “[We] quences that follow when leaders are indifferent to the sufferings cannot, for women, put the ‘new wine’ of the Gospel into the old of females. wine-skins of ‘condemnation.’”38 The cross is good news for men After decades working to end the trafficking of girls, Bushnell and women. It is the cross that brings reconciliation and holiness believed that God had called her to turn her efforts from dealto the whole human family. ings with the symptoms to addressing the root causes, the ideas Bushnell’s analysis of Scripture did something that had nevderived from a misreading of Scripture—namely, that females er been accomplished before in history: she provided a biblical are the cause of sin and are, therefore, in their being, inferior to worldview in which women were, for the first time, systemati-

S

8 • Priscilla Papers ◆ Vol. 28, No. 1 ◆ Winter 2014

cally viewed not only as equal by God’s design, but also as created fully in God’s image. What is more, she also argued that Scripture teaches that both men and women are equally responsible for sin, and both men and women are renewed by Calvary. In short, she offered a theological remedy—a biblical idea to replace the flawed, hierarchical one that women are inferior to men—and, in so doing, she parts company with previous generations of Christians who had imbibed patriarchy as a biblical ideal, thereby advancing a spiritual caste system that has choked women and girls for centuries.

Religious teachings on gender have vital implications for the gospel because they reveal a worldview that either accurately or inaccurately represents the moral teachings of Scripture, ideas that have enormous consequences in the daily lives of females.

Whether we realize it or not, our treatment of females and how we justify that treatment biblically constitutes a worldview that provides a rationale for justice, or, worse, injustice. For readers to gain an appreciation for the achievements of Kate Bushnell, consider the vast extent of the patriarchal worldview she challenged.

Choosing the right worldview elements A worldview will always include four basic elements, as Alan Myatt has so ably shown:39 (1) knowledge or epistemology; (2) being or ontology; (3) value or ethics; and (4) purpose or teleology.

These four elements have a dynamic interplay with each other.

When one is inaccurate or deficient, it throws the whole system out of balance. The patriarchal worldview argues as follows: n Ontology or being: It claims that males, in their being, are superior to females. Purpose follows being. n Teleology or purpose: It supposes that the destiny of males is to hold ultimate authority over females, and the destiny of females is to submit to the authority of males. Given their natures, females in marriages, families, churches, and communities are created to be submissive to males. (Of course, if you follow this flawed logic, you might ask why females should even hold authority over children or other females, as is so often required.) n Epistemology or knowledge: It proclaims that God has revealed, through Scripture and nature, that males are superior to females in their being and should therefore hold authority over females the whole of their life. n Ethics: Though said to advance social wellbeing, patriarchy or unilateral male authority has been noted as the cause of unhappiness and abuse in families and communities as studied by nongovernmental organizations, counselors and therapists, law enforcement officials, and social scientists.40 This is the essence of a patriarchal worldview, which encountered a biblical challenge by Kate Bushnell. She and her coworkers realized the danger it posed for females as it reached its logical conclusion in its lack of ethics or justice.

Bushnell offered an epistemological or biblical remedy to a flawed view of ontology or being. Hence, an egalitarian worldview argues as follows:

n Epistemology or knowledge: God has revealed, through Scripture, that males and females are equally created in God’s image and have equal authority in caring for the world as God’s regents (Gen 1:27–31). They are equally responsible for sin (Gen 3:13–17) and equally redeemed in Christ (John 3:16; 2 Cor 5:17). Both are gifted by the Holy Spirit for service (Rom 12:6–8; 1 Cor 12:7–11; Eph 4:11–12) and called to use our gifts for Christ’s kingdom (2 Tim 1:6). n Ontology or being: Scripture extends equal value and dignity to males and females. Christian faith does not view males as superior to females, and gender does not create a caste system or hierarchy of value. n Teleology or purpose: Biology is not destiny. Rather, God calls and gifts all Christians to service and leadership, based not on their gender or ethnicity (which are fixed and unchangeable qualities), but on their character, their intimacy with Christ, and the gifts God gives each for God’s pleasure and purposes. n Ethics or justice: The dignity and equality of males and females are biblical ideals that not only open positions of leadership and authority in church, home, and society to both genders, but, in doing so, overcome privilege and marginalization based on gender, thus minimizing opportunities for superiority, dominance, and abuse of males over females.

This egalitarian worldview, articulated by Bushnell, has remained intact to this day, with egalitarians and Christian scholars enthusiastically embracing and enlarging upon Bushnell’s views.

What is more, Christians in the last few decades have observed, as did Bushnell one hundred years ago, that the church will remain a weak vessel of justice until Christians interpret Scripture without reading a cultural devaluation of females into its pages.

Bushnell understood, along with Christians such as Jenny Rae Armstrong, Lyn Lusi, Pandita Ramabai, Catherine Booth, Josephine Butler, Katherine Bushnell, the early evangelical women, and all the supportive women and men to the present day, that, unless we as Christians make clear the equal value that God holds for females, the church will remain complicit in the destruction of girls and women. The social problem of gender abuse and injustice must have a biblical remedy so that Scripture is no longer used as a tool of devaluation that leads logically to the domination of males; that the “he will rule over you” in Genesis 3:16 is not prescriptive, or part of the moral teachings of Scripture, but is rather descriptive. It describes the consequences of human sin— consequences that should therefore be opposed by the church.

Ideas have consequences. We must embrace valuations that are consistently biblical so that positive consequences will follow.

Notes 1. Jenny Rae Armstrong, “Exciting News,” The CBE Scroll blog, Oct. 10, 2011, http://blog.cbeinternational.org/2011/10/exciting-news.

2. Katherine Marshall, “The Modest Heroine of the 2011 Opus Prize: Lyn Lusi, Huffington Post, Nov. 8, 2011, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ katherine-marshall/lyn-lusi-opus-prize_b_1077963.html. Elizabeth W. Andrew and Katharine Bushnell make the same point, namely, that the British also blamed the victims, declaring girls confined in brothels as immoral: “. . . this form of villainy is always excusing itself by slandering

Priscilla Papers ◆ Vol. 28, No. 1 ◆ Winter 2014 • 9

the oppressed women. . . . Most of these women are prostitutes by caste . . . ” and caste determines destiny. The Queen’s Daughters in India (London: Morgan and Scott, 1899), 54.

3. Dana L. Robert, American Women in Mission: A Social History of Their Thought and Practice (Macon: GA: Mercer University Press, 2005), ix.

4. David Bebbington, Evangelicals in Modern Britain: A Brief History from 1730s to the 1980s (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1989), 5.

5. Aristotle, Politics 5.3.

6. Sarah B. Pomeroy, Goddesses, Whores, Wives, and Slaves: Women in Classical Antiquity (New York, NY: Schocken, 1995), 79ff.

7. Manu IX:15–17, http//www.hinduwebsite.com/sacredscripts/Hinduism/dharma/manusmriti.asp. See also Pandita Ramabai, The High Caste Hindu Woman (New York, NY: Revell, 1901).

8. Manu IX:15-17. See also Ramabai, The High Caste Hindu Woman, 79.

9. Manu IX:18. See also Ramabai, The High Caste Hindu Woman, 81.

10. Manu IX: 2–3.

11. Sahih al-Bukhari, Arabic-English translation, vol. 7, Hadith no.

1113–14 (Alexandria, VA: Al Saadawi, 1996).

12. The Qur’an, with notes by N. J. Dawood (London: Penguin, 1990), 64.

13. Nicholas Kirstoff and Sheryl WuDunn, Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide (New York, NY: Knopf, 2009), 149ff.

14. “Our Battle Against Judah,” Aufklärungs- und Redner-Informationsmaterial der Reichspropagandaleitung der NSDAP, Lieferung 20 (August 1935), trans. Randall Bytwerk, in Nazi Propaganda Archive, http://www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/rim3.htm.

15. Thornton Stringfellow, quoted in Mark Noll, The Civil War as a Theological Crisis (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 2006), 62. Stringfellow was a Baptist from Virginia who offered some of the most influential biblical arguments supporting slavery.

16. Comte Agenor de Gasparin, The Uprising of a Great People, trans.

Mary Booth (New York, NY: Scribners, 1862), 103-04, and as quoted by Noll, The Civil War as a Theological Crisis, 119.

17. See Noll, The Civil War as a Theological Crisis.

18. Bob Jones University did not permit interracial dating.

19. Robert Parham, “Bob Jones University Apologizes for Racial Policies,” Ethics Daily website, http://www.ethicsdaily.com/news .php?viewStory=13489, accessed June 1, 2010.

10 • Priscilla Papers ◆ Vol. 28, No. 1 ◆ Winter 2014

20. Noll, The Civil War as a Theological Crisis, 73.

21. John Chrysostom, 1 Timothy Homily 9, emphasis added.

22. Augustine, Anti-Pelagian Writings 10, emphasis added.

23. John Knox, The First Blast of the Trumpet against the Monstrous Regiment of Women, emphasis added.

24. John Calvin, Commentary on 1 Timothy 2:11–15, emphasis added.

25. Mark Driscoll, Mars Hill Church, Seattle, WA, quoted by Denny Burk, “Mark Driscoll on Women in Ministry,” July 5, 2007, http://www .dennyburk.com/mark-driscoll-on-women-in-ministry-2,accessedMarch 24, 2010, emphasis added.

26. A timeline of the life of Katharine Bushnell is available online at http://godswordtowomen.org/gwtw_bushnell_timeline.pdf.

27. Katharine Bushnell, Dr. Katharine C. Bushnell: A Brief Sketch of her Life and Work (Hertford, England: Rose and Sons Salisbury Square, 1930), 4.

28. Bushnell, Brief Sketch, 9.

29. Bushnell, Brief Sketch, 12.

30. Bushnell, Brief Sketch, 14.

31. Katharine Bushnell, God’s Word to Women: One Hundred Bible Studies on Women’s Place in the Church and Home (Minneapolis, MN: Christians for Biblical Equality, 2003), 9ff.

32. Bushnell, God’s Word to Women, 10.

33. Bushnell, God’s Word to Women 39ff.

34. Bushnell, God’s Word to Women, 39–48.

35. Bushnell, God’s Word to Women, 43–75.

36. Bushnell, God’s Word to Women, 66–75.

37. Bushnell, God’s Word to Women, 169.

38. Bushnell, God’s Word to Women, 169.

39. Alan Myatt, “On the Compatibility of Ontological Equality, Hierarchy, and Functional Distinctions,” The Deception of Eve and the Ontology of Women, CBE special edition journal (2010): 29–33.

40. See Associated Press, “Baptists Have Highest Divorce Rate,” Dec. 30, 1999, http://www.divorcereform.org/mel/rbaptisthigh.html, accessed January 30, 2014. See also Andrea S. Larsen and David H. Olson, “Predicting Marital Satisfaction Using Prepare: A Replication Study,” Journal of Marital and Family Therapy 15, no. 3 (1989): 311–22, https:// www.prepare-enrich.com/pe_main_site_content/pdf/research/study2. pdf, accessed January 30, 2014.

Facing Nabal: Working with Men Who Abuse Patricia Warford Ideas have consequences. This is particularly true in addressing domestic violence. Men who abuse hold ideas—or, as we will term them, beliefs—that support their abusive behaviors. And, like the verbal abuse and lethal neglect of Nabal in the biblical account of 1 Samuel 25 that nearly led to his own and the death of his servants and children, such behaviors have dire consequences for the men themselves and those who live with them: wives, aging parents, partners, and children. To understand the cycle of abuse and the beliefs that support it, we must first understand the details and reality of those living in abusive homes by defining terms, reviewing the types and frequency of abuse, and examining the beliefs of men who abuse as well as assessing the consequences of these beliefs—and the subsequent actions they engender—on their female partners and children who witness abuse.

Finally, I will close with some basic tenets in challenging men who abuse and their belief systems. The standard in the domestic violence field is to address the issue using multidisciplinary teams or coordinated community responses.

The statistics about domestic violence are well known. Four million women per year are victims of violence perpetrated, in many cases, by the men who vowed to love, honor, and cherish them.1 Approximately 1,200 women will be killed every year by those same men.2 Domestic violence costs are estimated at U.S. $5 billion per year (including $4 billion in medical costs).3 The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE)4 studies have been produced for more than a decade. They provide the data supporting the conclusion that children witnessing abuse in their homes suffer lifelong consequences. These consequences include medical, behavioral, psychological, and spiritual difficulties.

The state of Oregon has defined domestic violence (DV) as: A pattern of coercive behavior used by one person to control and subordinate another in an intimate relationship.

These behaviors include physical, sexual, psychological, and economic abuse. Tactics of coercion, terrorism, degradation, exploitation, and violence are used to engender fear in the victim in order to enforce compliance.5 The definition I will use is: “Behaviors intended to exert power and control over another human being that wounds the body, soul, and spirit.”

Social psychologist Philip Zimbardo found that four principles allowed good people to do evil acts: First, we . . . redefine our harmful behavior as honorable. . . .

Second, we . . . minimize our sense of a direct link between our actions and [their] harmful outcomes by diffusing or displacing responsibility. . . . Third, we . . . change the way we think about the actual harm done by our actions. . . . Finally, we . . . reconstruct our perception of victims as deserving their

punishment, by blaming them for the consequences, and of course, by dehumanizing them, perceiving them to be beneath the righteous concerns we reserve for fellow human beings.6 The most commonly acknowledged form of abuse is physical abuse, which includes hitting, punching, kicking, pushing, shoving, slapping, restraining, grabbing, body blocking, throwing things that hit the person, spitting on, elbowing, and strangling.7 The list goes on. Physical abuse accounts for approximately 5 percent of the total abuse in domestically violent homes. Physical abuse is like the apex of a triangle. (See Figure 1.)

The next layer below physical abuse on the triangle is sexual abuse. Sexual abuse includes rape, but also includes speech that is disrespectful in a sexual way, pressure or coercion for sex, withholding sex, affairs, engaging in pornography or with those sextrafficked, pouting when not given sex, exposing someone to sex that is age-inappropriate, and self-gratifying in a sexual way that is unwanted by the other party. The “F-word” frequently comes under discussion in our groups as to whether its use constitutes sexual abuse; the groups always decide that it does.

Below sexual abuse on the triangle is property, financial, animal, and child abuse. “Property” includes hitting walls, slamming doors, throwing something (that does not hit a person), driving recklessly, and destroying property. “Financial” includes arbitrary decision-making regarding the family finances or spending money the family needs on the “wants” of the offender.

“Animal” includes violence or neglect of pets, taking anger out on pets or animals. Child abuse includes all the other areas, but also includes alienating the child or exposing the child to violence.

The next level moving toward the base of the triangle is verbal abuse. This includes anything said that wounds another’s soul or spirit. Examples include name calling, swearing, threats, sarcasm, yelling, sighing, demeaning or objectifying comments, hurtful humor, and mocking.

At the base of the triangle, psychological and spiritual abuse account for the vast majority of abuse perpetrated. All of the prior forms of abuse are also psychological and spiritual in nature. Abuses that are uniquely psychological include looks, stares, glares, puffing up, body posturing, or standing over. Spiritual abuse includes using God, the Bible, or religion to justify abuse or using religious position of superiority to self-justify.

While these are not exhaustive lists, the progression is found in abusive homes. Physical abuse is never seen in isolation; it is the end result of a process that begins at the base of the triangle and works upward. This triangle does not tell the whole story.

PATRICIA WARFORD, PsyD, is a licensed psychologist (Oregon and Washington). She has worked in the area of domestic violence for 20 years. This article is adapted from a presentation at CBE’s 2013 conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Priscilla Papers ◆ Vol. 28, No. 1 ◆ Winter 2014 • 11

“He only hit her once” reflects a belief that only hitting is abuse. Men who abuse are not the only ones who hold myths that support abuse. Several years ago, I asked the men in our group what they thought I should tell the faith community. Much of what they had to say flies in the face of what the community believes about abuse being unintentional. The men want the faith community to know:

Figure 1: The house of abuse

Murder Physical Sexual Property / Animal / Children Verbal Psychological / Spiritual

Abuse Power and Control

Control Beliefs

The triangle is like a roof of a house. Inside the house, more subtle behaviors of the offender control the tone and choices of others, including constant questioning of decisions made, using anger so family members do not have friends visit, or the silent treatment.

The foundation of the house, on which everything rests, are the beliefs held by the offender.

The house of abuse provides a framework for understanding frequency. Men who are court-mandated to our domestic abuse groups are required to complete a letter of accountability, which includes a full accounting of the abuse they had perpetrated after age 18 against intimate partners. For the purpose of this exercise, the acts are quantified. The men are asked to underestimate. If they believe they did an act once or twice a month, they count it as once a month. The number of abusive actions for a man in his 40s is commonly in the 40,000–60,000 range. As our groups are secular, we do not incorporate spiritual abuse. A colleague who leads specifically faith-based groups reports numbers in the hundreds of thousands.

To understand these numbers, we will start with one word: “dumb.” He calls her “dumb” three times a week, and they have been together twenty years: 20 years x 52 weeks x 3 = 3,120—and this is just for one word. He gives her a dirty look daily (psychological): 20 x 365 = 7,300. He mocks her every other day (verbal): 20 x 365 x 0.5 = 3,650. He slams a door once a week (property): 20 x 52 x 1 =1,040. He pouts about sex twice a year (sexual): 20 x 2 = 40. He hit her once (physical): 1. Total: 15,151. “But he only hit her once.”

12 • Priscilla Papers ◆ Vol. 28, No. 1 ◆ Winter 2014

n She was told by the church, “He’s a man; he has a right to do that.” n Abuse is hidden. n I knew I was doing wrong; instead of stopping, it gave me power. n I didn’t like myself, but it gave me power. n Children were the collateral damage. n All abuse is ultimately psychological. n If you don’t see abuse, you are not looking hard enough. It’s everywhere. n The more I took her power, the more I didn’t have to deal with my own loss of power. n I would pride myself that it was never physical. I did more damage with not being physical. n The women changed, but not the pattern of abusive behavior. n Don’t minimize psychological abuse. n Tell them about the numbers.

In addition to society holding beliefs that support abuse, the men’s own belief systems supported their behaviors and enabled them to justify, minimize, or deny the damage of their actions.

Beliefs that support abuse include: n n n n n n n n n n

I am the man, the head, the king of my castle.

I am the boss; I make the decisions regarding money and time.

If she isn’t submissive, then it’s my right/duty to make her submit.

If she makes me mad, I have the right to . . .

She is MY wife [in the sense of ownership] and is supposed to do what I want, meet my needs, anticipate my wants.

Women are opponents.

If it is not hitting, it’s not abuse.

God ordained me to be dominant in the house.

She is supposed to be the “perfect” woman for me.

I did what I did because she . . .

Such beliefs support domination of the husband and subjugation of the wife and allow gaining compliance by any means necessary.

The consequences leave their imprint on a victim’s mind, body, and spirit. Often, victims do not believe that God cares about them.

They believe that some fatal flaw resides in them that elicits the violence. For many of my female clients, their treatment goal was to make their husbands “less angry.” Many women have left the church, rejecting a God they hold responsible for mandating such behavior. Many fear that such rejection damns their own souls.

Research reveals that abuse impacts women’s health. While injuries from physical abuse are the most obvious, abuse also impacts the immune system. Women who have been victims of

domestic abuse have higher rates of autoimmune disease, heart disease, intestinal disorders, fibromyalgia, arthritis, alcohol and drug use, and pain disorders than women in loving relationships.

The ACE studies show that children who experience or witness abuse have higher rates of physical, mental, and behavioral difficulties into adulthood. For example, male children who answered yes to six or more of its ten questions were forty-six times more likely to use intravenous drugs in adulthood.8 One of the many consequences of abuse is early death.

Men who use abuse to control and dominate their partners hold a belief system that has been inherited from their families and faith communities. Their beliefs preclude them from listening to female voices. Few have had their beliefs or their actions based on their beliefs named and challenged. Most of these men will resist hearing another perspective unless forced (either by the courts or by her threat to leave). However, many love their families and want something different.

How can change be accomplished? First, we need to realize that challenging men who abuse includes challenging their basic beliefs which support abuse. The challenge has to be done in a nonabusive, nonviolent way. Consistent with 1 Corinthians 11:28, we must examine ourselves and our own beliefs about the role of men and women, dominance/submission, repentance and forgiveness, domestic abuse, and especially the myths we hold about victims and offenders. We must examine in what subtle ways we might be supporting the beliefs that men who abuse hold.

When a married couple only hears male voices, both are led to believe that only men’s voices matter. Jackson Katz,9 Al Miles,10 and many others hold that men must address domestic abuse.

Given that men who abuse will not listen to women’s voices, our brothers in Christ must model gender inclusivity in their writings, ministries, committees, and presentations.

Second, we must recognize that, in addressing abuse, we have all used abusive behavior. We have all sinned. We must restore a spirit of meekness (Gal 6:1). Otherwise, we will model the very abuse of power we wish to address. Abuse hurts the victim, the children, and also the abuser.

Third, we must have zero tolerance for abuse and examine how our theology on forgiveness, repentance, violence, headship, submission, and other issues may overtly or covertly support men who abuse. The safety of the victim and children must always be at the forefront.

Once we have examined ourselves, we can address with truth and grace the beliefs of men who abuse. Challenging abusive beliefs must begin with affirming the humanity of both men and women, who are all worthy of being treated as defined by Galatians 5:22–23: with love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control. Further, those who abuse must be called to accountability for their actions and the harm done without resorting to denying the negative consequences of their beliefs and behavior, redefining harmful behavior as honorable, or minimizing the link between their behavior and the hurtful outcome. Every one of us must give account for ourselves (Rom

14:12; Heb 4:13; 1 Pet 4:5.) Finally, new beliefs and behaviors that honor the victims’ healing must be incorporated. Beliefs that support non-abuse will also have consequences: healing, health, and wholeness.

Notes 1. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “NISVS: An Overview of 2012 Summary Report Findings,” http://www.cdc.gov/ violenceprevention/pdf/cdc_nisvs_overview_insert_final-a.pdf, accessed 2013.

2. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Understanding Intimate Partner Violence, Fact Sheet 2006,” http://www.cdc.gov/violence prevention/pdf/ipv-factsheet-a.pdf, accessed 2013.

3. USCDC, “Understanding Intimate Partner Violence.”

4. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study,” USCDC website, http://www.cdc.gov/ ace/, accessed 2013.

5. Oregon Judicial Department, “Guidelines for Developing Domestic Violence Plans and Protocols,” March 2000, rev. Aug. 2005, http:// www.nmadr.org/web_documents/oregon_rev_guidelines_for_dv_ plans_for_mediation_-_2005.pdf, accessed 2013.

6. Philip Zimbardo, The Lucifer Effect (New York, NY: Random House, 2008), e-book.

7. Choking is what someone does on food; blocking an airway is strangulation.

8. Vincent J. Felitti, “The Relationship of Adverse Childhood Experiences to Adult Health: Turning Gold into Lead” (San Diego, CA: Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program, 2002), http://www.acestudy .org/files/Gold_into_Lead-_Germany1-02_c_Graphs.pdf, accessed 2013.

9. Jackson Katz, The Macho Paradox (Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks 2006).

10. Al Miles, Domestic Violence (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress, 2011).

Priscilla Papers ◆ Vol. 28, No. 1 ◆ Winter 2014 • 13

2014

Medellín, Colombia Men and Women in Christ: Identity and Ministry

Milton Acosta

Professor at the Biblical Seminary of Colombia

“Women and Ministry in the Old Testament”

Aída Besançon Spencer Professor at GordonConwell Theological Seminary

“Silence, Women, and the Church”

Mimi Haddad President of CBE

“Christian Identity in Scripture and History”

William Spencer Professor at GordonConwell Theological Seminary

“Who is the Trinity?

And Why Is It Important to Egalitarians to Know?”

Journey with CBE to Medellin, Colombia on July 7–9, 2014 for our first conference in South America! We are partnering with the Biblical Seminary of Colombia to host this international conference, which will explore Christian gender identity and its implications for ministry. Come and join us in Medellin as we learn, fellowship, and praise God together.

Visit cbeinternational.org or call 612-872-6898 for more information 14 • Priscilla Papers ◆ Vol. 28, No. 1 ◆ Winter 2014

Coming Alongside: Men Joining the Conversation on Equality Don Neufeld

Introduction As a boy, I lived on a small family fruit farm. When springtime came, grasses and weeds that coexisted between the rows of fruit trees were ripped and carved so that the soil could breathe and be prepared to support the trees for the coming season. As the weeds were turned over, an important cycle of life was encouaged. When the spring rains came, the enzymes did their work to break down the organic matter to support new growth.

The parable of the sower is included in the three synoptic gospels of our Bible. The parable describes scattered seeds that fell on hardened paths, where the birds have a feast; or in shallow soil amid rocks, where, after a brief life, the plants shrivel for lack of moisture and nourishment; or some that fell among thorns, where life was short as the vines and dominant plants monopolized the moisture and nutrients, smothering the fragile plants.

Each picture represents the life-giving word of God, which does not take root due to unwelcoming conditions. In the lives of the people I work with, as it is for all of us to some extent, God’s invitation to true wellness is unable to be fully realized due to various, often significant, hindrances. I have been struck with the fact that no mention is made of any soil preparations undertaken prior to sowing the seed. I have come to realize that my work as a social worker is to till and prepare the soil of people’s lives so seeds of growth and change can take root and flourish. In the journey in which I participate with my clients, their hardened paths, their stone-cold places, or the weed-infested portions of their existence must be tended to prepare a receptive environment where seeds of hope and change can germinate and grow.

During my eighteen-year career in child protection services, which is oriented primarily toward the protection of children and their mothers, men were labeled almost unilaterally as threats and seldom recognized and supported as assets in a family.1 When I stepped away from the child welfare field and have had the opportunity to work specifically with men, many of whom have been identified as putting women and children at risk, I have begun to hear and appreciate the stories of these formerly abusive men in a new way. When they are given the invitation to share and be heard fully, not simply categorized and condemned, the stories that emerge speak to their pain, shame, discouragement, and anger. Clearly, some of their attitudes, beliefs, and actions are unacceptable, and accountability is required. But even these men are human beings, and, as a Christian, I cannot ignore their value before God, nor can I ignore the deep tragedies that characterize their lives. The road toward change demands that we enter into a process focused on preparing the soil of their hearts for the seeds of justice, respect, positive problem solving, and healthy relationships. This means understanding and respecting their stories, delving deeper into the social context of their lives, recognizing their victimizing and the victimization that they have experienced, and inviting them to ethical practice that, I believe,

is much more prevalent in their desires than many realize or for which society is willing to give them credit.

Assessing the soil: the experience of men Various “soil” conditions exist in the lives of men, impacting their receptivity to messages that could bring health and wellbeing. These points are not meant to be exhaustive; they are observations that can start our thinking in helpful directions: first, to understand the soil in which their lives have grown, and, second, to speculate how to improve that soil to nourish them and the generations of men who will follow.

Men live in a confusing world. When it comes to their selfidentity, men have lost their job description, so to say. Traditional anchors of masculine identity, such as being the sole family breadwinner, the protector from the dangers of the world outside the family home, even the one to carry on the family name, are no longer exclusively masculine attributes. At the same time, many men feel “responsibility overload” as stressful economic realities intersect with shrinking opportunities to obtain the “American dream.”

For some, what is left is the pursuit of what Susan Faludi terms “ornamental masculinity,” focused on outward appearances.2 Many men have significant insecurities that are not named or understood. As authors such as Terrance Real3 have noted, cultures that force men to fear their emotional expressiveness while failing to teach healthy relational skills leave them without the tools to know themselves, respect their inner realities, and feel comfortable with an intimacy that is foundational to healthy self and healthy relationships. These insecurities, for many men, are especially troubling when relating to women who may be more confident and possess qualities that make them appear intimidating.

Much machismo has been, in reality, an overcompensation for those seeking some semblance of identity in a traditional “man’s world” that is not kind to those who do not measure up.

For those who fail in the competitive world of testosterone, the self-image of loser can be devastating. Popular culture and, unfortunately, some Christian leaders and men’s groups feed this hypermasculinity, pumping up the sense of entitlement and priming men’s propensities toward aggression and violence. Theologies of “justified violence” in relation to war or policing leave some confused when they try to justify the use of violence in their day-to-day lives.

Men’s struggles with their emotional vulnerabilities often end in extremes of shame or grandiosity.4 Many live with an unhealthy, negative, and defeatist sense of self and lack of hope, Don Neufeld, MSW, is a private practice clinical social worker in Saint Catharines, Ontario. This article is adapted from his presentation at CBE’s 2013 conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Priscilla Papers ◆ Vol. 28, No. 1 ◆ Winter 2014 • 15

leading to what has been described as “covert depression,”5 because many societies do not allow for open acknowledgement of depression in men. Shame becomes dominant, infecting many aspects of their existence, especially relationships. Men reared with little tolerance for shame tend to move quickly to the opposite end of the continuum: grandiosity. Exaggerated masculinity becomes the escape. Evidence of this can be seen everywhere: in the idolizing of sports and action heroes, rampant war-making, vitriolic political speech, the demand for gun rights, and the cool, “you can’t hurt me” air that pervades younger male culture. Real men are not allowed to be afraid, not allowed to show fear, not allowed to be vulnerable.6 For many men caught up in poverty or discrimination, telling them they possess “male privilege” rubs salt into the woundedness of their lives. Those who have been traumatized as children or who live in relationships where they feel victimized by a partner have been told to “take it like a man” and not speak out for fear of shame among their peers. A common theme in men’s groups that I co-lead is the mistreatment they experience in intimate relationships, including ongoing emotional or physical abuse by partners. Many will not contact authorities because they fear that they will be the one charged should police be called, even if they are the victim. The conventional wisdom in the therapeutic community regarding domestic violence has been to avoid providing any opportunity for men to speak about their own experiences of disadvantage, abuse, or injustice,7 seeing this as a distraction from men taking ownership of their behavior.

Generalizations about men being motivated primarily by power and control—seen in much feminist discourse and in the primary models for clinical response to men who have been violent—are simplistic and do not recognize the complexities of male existence. Men, at a very basic and often unacknowledged level, desire a healthy sense of self and relationships with others based on a secure sense of belonging and respect.8 Is this so different from the motivations that women have for their lives?

Statistically, men default toward physical and verbal aggression and overtly controlling methods of gaining this desired outcome more so than do women. Facing the challenges of life with an underdeveloped social toolbox, with media and culture fostering a sense of entitlement, too often leads men to default to what they know best: “defend at all costs,” and “the best defense is a strong offense.” Sadly, too many men have learned that their best asset is their physical strength, and that their greatest vulnerability is their emotional self. As therapist Alan Jenkins explains, men have been sold a “misguided blueprint for living,”9 with tragic results for many women and children—and for men!

Many victims of men’s violence are other men. Linda Mills points out, “Violence is dehumanizing not only for the victim but for the perpetrator as well.”10 Discourse on gender justice has focused primarily on women in the last fifty years, very appropriate after millennia of maledominated discourse. However, men have not fared as well during this time of change. For example, the numbers of women versus men attending university has shifted significantly. In 1971, 68 16 • Priscilla Papers ◆ Vol. 28, No. 1 ◆ Winter 2014

percent of university graduates in Canada were men; in 2006, 60 percent were women.11 What messages are boys and men receiving about their competencies, their value, and about hopefulness for their futures?

The traditional reading of Scripture has been a fallback position for many men. The rise of the so-called Christian men’s movement in the 1980s and 1990s, which continues in many forms today, anchors itself in themes of adventure, battle, and damsels in distress,12 tantalizing the male desire to return to days when “men were men.” The 2013 theme of the men’s organization Promise Keepers, “Awakening the Warrior,” plays on the fears of men and calls men to measure their worth and wellbeing against images of dominance and violence.

Finally, it seems to me that the male perspective in regarding gender justice has often been relegated to the sidelines, if not discredited completely. In a recent conversation with a male colleague on the issue of men and gender justice issues, I made some admittedly provocative statements about my concerns about how men are treated by the child welfare system. He literally ducked and looked side to side as if worried that someone might have heard what I said. I have lived a career in which I have felt that I needed to refrain from even asking some questions due to the fact that I, by virtue of being a male, had no right to ask.

Coming alongside men When we consider the changes demanded of men in a move toward egalitarian relationships, and sometimes the tone with which the message has been delivered, we do well to recognize the impact on men’s lives. Rather than dismissing the resistance as simply evidence of men holding on to privilege and escalating the intensity of our work of convincing men of their error, we need to come alongside men and begin to engage deeper values that may be present, but not yet aligned with this type of change.

We must join with men on this journey, and not see men as the opponents or targets, but as necessary partners. While requiring accountability for specific behaviors and challenging beliefs and values that support abuse and discrimination, we must also lay the groundwork for change by developing relationships and establishing credibility before attempting to speak into men’s lives.

As I have entered into the lives of men who are seeking change, I have seen honesty and vulnerability develop when safety is established and a respectful invitation offered to draw men into previously unexplored and possibly feared parts of their lives.

Scholar and author Brené Brown has identified that “vulnerability is the core, the heart, the centre of meaningful human experiences.”13 Thus, it is not surprising that attaining such vulnerability is often most difficult for men, and that men’s experience of insecurity and shame, inflated by societal demands of masculinity, creates enormous resistance. When it comes to gender equality and justice, the vulnerability required of men to step back from traditional vestiges of power and to admit complicity with privilege can be very daunting. How do we identify the resistance, and then how do we tend the hardened or shallow soil to create a fertile seedbed?

For those who are benefitting from the privilege of being men and enjoying it, there is understandable resistance, conscious or unconscious, to giving up their power and position. The best approach is indirect, preparing the soil and planting long-term seeds that might focus on empathy, God’s graciousness with our failings, and God’s call to justice in a broader way (for example, racial or ethnic justice). The insecurity that often lies behind a need to hold tight to the status quo must be replaced by a sense of peace and openness to alternatives.

For those who recognize their privileged position as men and are beginning to be open to change, initial exposure may strike at deep-seated shame and drive men toward depression or defensive grandiosity. These men need safety in facing shame through messages that differentiate guilt for behaviors from shame for being men and that invite men to consider how their core values might well align with values of gender justice.

For those who believe that messages of equality contradict the Bible, the ground is filled with competing plants that have deep and tenacious roots. There is much more at stake than gender equality when men hold tightly to what they see as a biblical position, since they have been schooled with fear-based messages about those who attempt to distort the “correct” biblical position.

These deep fears of the faith at risk need to be understood and tended. Biblical exposition must be assertive while understanding the context of the listener.

For those who feel that male privilege has not been theirs due to their own experience of victimization, they must hear messages of empathy and recognize that not only women have been the victims of abuse and oppression. Very fragile personhoods in men who are life-weary must be nurtured and supported so that the powers of abuse in their lives are named, along with the abusive dimensions of gender injustice to women. The hardened paths of lives impacted by trauma must be tenderly cultivated, and nutrients must be added to the shallow places to support tender shoots of wellness and justice.

For men who do not fit the masculine image portrayed by many traditionalist Christians and by modern media, we must recognize the dissonance created in their lives and reach out with empathy. This may include those who are by nature much more nurturing, creative, or artistic, and those who simply do not have the “accepted” characteristics of masculinity such as physical prowess, athletic ability, business acumen, or leadership ambition. This would also include those who may experience samesex attraction and may have pursued relationships with other men. In the testosterone-laden and performance-based world of masculinity, many of these men have experienced ridicule and bullying as children and youth, leaving deep wounds and resulting in feelings of inadequacy, alienation from men, and often alienation from Christian faith. We need to recognize how the expression of our theology of sexuality may become oppressive, making the entire message of Christian faith unpalatable. How do we position ourselves theologically and relationally while inviting these men to consider hearing Christ’s call in their lives, laying the groundwork for the message of equality?

For those who feel they have lived honorably as men, respecting their wives, possibly through the role of “head of the home,” as they have been taught, the negative characterization of men in the language of gender justice is a hindrance to their receiving the important message of equality. Honoring faithfulness may prepare the soil for the receiving of seeds of an alternative view of themselves as men and their relationships with their wives and women in general.

Ultimately, the key to cultivating a receptive and fertile environment is relationship. I have come to see my role as a therapist as one who cultivates and prepares soil, even more than sowing seeds. In the counseling setting, joining with the client and creating safety sets the stage. Honoring the client’s experience, even where there is regretful behavior, invites the client to honest self-reflection in a safe and accepting relationship. Seeds that are timely and suitable for the soil conditions are then gently sown to maximize the growth potential, and the seedlings are nurtured with care.

Can this same perspective inform the larger discussion on gender justice? I believe that adopting it is crucial. We need to know everything that can be known about the soil conditions that make up the lives of men in our society.14 Ultimately, we need men to know grace, that they are loved and respected simply for being men, and to hear that their experiences and existence are real and valuable. We need to trust that men truly do desire relationships of mutuality and love.

Men’s experience needs to be represented fully and viewed as integral to our efforts toward gender justice. We need to consider how responses to gender injustice, including legal and clinical interventions, may fail to address fully the experience of men, both victims and perpetrators. Failure to do so fuels opposition groups and discredits the good work of striving toward healthy mutuality.

Such change in discourse and approach needs to happen on two interrelated fronts: Men need to listen for and hear the call to this area of research and proclamation, and opportunity needs to be available for men to be affirmed and supported in this work.

Men need to own the masculine experience and take responsibility for holding each other accountable and for sharing the message of hope with other men. As the field becomes conscious of what may deter men from engaging fully in this pursuit, efforts are needed to invite men to take hold of the vision and to support and affirm the male voice in the dialogue.

Men coming alongside women Ultimately, men and women must come alongside each other to make gender justice truly an egalitarian effort. Justice must not be a zero-sum game, where the gains of one group result in an automatic loss for the other. Any increase in stature, or power, or even safety that comes at the expense of the other’s wellbeing must be challenged. Our framework must value and ultimately promote the wellbeing of all involved.

Our witness as Christians committed to gender equality is enhanced by how our own interactions as brothers and sisters demonstrate mutuality, respect, and love. We exist within a larger Priscilla Papers ◆ Vol. 28, No. 1 ◆ Winter 2014 • 17

conversation that is often adversarial and political, with groups posturing for influence, sometimes divided by gender, and also by various religious beliefs. Counselor Alan Jenkins writes, “Our parallel journeys are enhanced . . . as we attempt to collaboratively negotiate the traditionally adversarial politics which have resulted in mutual mistrust and suspicion and kept services for abusing and abused persons separate and often competing for resources.”15 How best do we as Christians create an environment, reflective of Christ’s sacrificial ministry, that shows mutuality and love in all we say and do in our ministry of healing and redemption where gender justice reigns? How can we raise the demand for a halt to hurtful behavior and abuse of power while reaching out to the perpetrators in loving concern for their wellbeing? How do we “love our enemies” in these interactions? How do we subvert adversarial dialogue by promoting mutual understanding?16 I find it very encouraging that men as well as women are active in Christians for Biblical Equality. A healthy and mutually uplifting interaction between men and women in a rich and rigorously faithful environment can both cultivate fertile soil and refine the seeds of change that can then grow and flourish with the Holy Spirit’s empowerment!

Notes 1. The reason for this focus is that statistics and history support the strong voices that have spoken out for women and children and have created the momentum establishing the protective functions of government for children and women. As developed further below, I question whether this approach is ultimately adequate to address the core needs of protecting our citizens.

2. Susan Faludi, Stiffed: The Betrayal of the American Male (New York, NY: William Morrow, 1999), 517, quoted in Mary Stewart Van Leeuwen, My Brother’s Keeper: What the Social Sciences Do (and Don’t) Tell Us about Masculinity (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2002), 20.

3. Terrance Real, I Don’t Want to Talk About It: Overcoming the Secret Legacy of Male Depression (New York, NY: Fireside, 1997).

4. See my article “Shame or Grandiosity or . . .” in CBE’s Arise enewsletter (Oct. 11, 2012), available at http://www.cbeinternational .org/?q=content/2012-10-11-arise-e-newsletter.

5. Real, I Don’t Want to Talk About It, 21ff.

6. Brené Brown, Daring Greatly: How the Courage to be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead (New York, NY: Penguin, 2012), 97.

7. Alan Jenkins, Becoming Ethical: A Parallel Political Journey with Men Who Have Abused (Dorset: Russell House, 2009), 57.

8. Jenkins, Becoming Ethical, 7.

9. Jenkins, Becoming Ethical, 4.

10. Linda G. Mills, Violent Partners: A Breakthrough Plan for Ending the Cycle of Abuse (New York, NY: BasicBooks, 2008), xii.

11. Statistics Canada website, “Why Are the Majority of University Students Women?” 2008, http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/81004-x/2008001/article/10561-eng.htm, accessed 2013.

12. John Eldridge, Wild at Heart: Discovering the Secret of a Man’s Soul (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2001).

13. Brown, Daring Greatly, 12. See also Brown’s 2010 video talk, “The Power of Vulnerability,” TED website, http://www.ted.com/talks/brene_ brown_on_vulnerability.html.

14. Mary Stewart Van Leeuwen’s My Brother’s Keeper is a rich resource in this pursuit of understanding men’s experience.

15. Jenkins, Becoming Ethical, 97.

16. Jenkins, Becoming Ethical, 98.

Posterity will serve him;

future generations will be told about the Lord.

They will proclaim his righteousness to

a people yet unborn—

for he has done it.

– Psalm 22:30–31

A charitable gift annuity allows you to establish a charitable contribution toward Christians for Biblical Equality for future generations, take an immediate charitable tax deduction, and be assured of an annuitized income stream for life. It is a way of realizing your heart’s desire for the future of CBE’s expanding ministry and of making a difference in the lives that follow.

For more information about charitable gift annuities, call 612-872-6898 or email cbe@cbeinternational.org.

18 • Priscilla Papers ◆ Vol. 28, No. 1 ◆ Winter 2014

No Woman or Girl Left Behind: Restoring Girls in China and Cambodia Lily Lee Former Prime Minister Wen Jiabao of China said, “The speed of a fleet is judged not by the fastest ones in the front, but by the slowest ones trailing at the end.” This imagery, unintended though it was for the women’s movement, provides a vivid depiction of women and girls who are left behind. Though gender equality has seemingly made significant strides inside and outside the church in the past few decades, there remain many overwhelmingly horrid stories of women and girls whose lives are severely broken by extreme abuse and exploitation. In the biblical framework of creation-fall-redemption, and against the cultural backdrops of China and Cambodia, we look into God’s intention in restoring lives of these violated girls.

Many women today are enjoying unprecedented rights and opportunities. Leading in the front of the fleet, we see women as presidents, prime ministers, secretaries of state, chief executives, scientists, astronauts, and more. However, trailing behind in alarming numbers are girls and women who continue to be intimidated, deprived, discriminated against, violated, abused, raped, exploited, brutalized, and even murdered simply because they are female. For example, Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai was shot in 2012 simply because she proclaimed that every girl has a right to an education.1 The female university student known as Nirbhaya was brutally gang-raped to death on a New Delhi bus.2 These horrific stories, not unlike countless others, have made the world’s conscience uneasy and sparked soulsearching about the place of women and girls in the world.

The global plight of women and girls The above are examples of violations, not just on females’ bodies, but also on their dignities and spirits. Gender brutality in our generation is extensive: n In the last half-century alone, the number of women and girls who have died as a result of gender discrimination exceeds that of all men killed in all the battles of the twentieth century combined.3 n For each decade in the past century, more girls were killed than the sum total of all those who died in genocides of the entire century.4 n More than ten times as many girls are being trafficked each year than African slaves transported during the height of the transatlantic slave trade.5 Gender injustice harms women and girls at two general levels: Discrimination and inequality: Gender discrimination results in a global gender gap in literacy. The United Nations has found that 35 million girls are not enrolled even in primary school.6 According to World Demographic Profile 2013, of all the world’s illiterate adults over age 15, two-thirds of them are female.7 In this information age, education and knowledge directly translate into power and wealth. Hence, unequal opportunities for education create and maintain serious gender inequality in areas such as

health and medical care, ownership of property, and work. The startling statistic from the United Nations dating back to 1980— that women work two-thirds of the world’s working hours, produce half of the world’s food, and yet earn only 10 percent of the world’s income and own less than 1 percent of the world’s property—remains almost unchanged forty years later.8 Preferring boys over girls harms women and girls not just in the older generations, but also in this generation and age.

Abuse and violence: There has been violence against women and girls since the fall of humanity. But is it ceasing as civilization progresses? The answer is an emphatic no. Take, for example, rape and mutilation as weapons of war. These have been happening since Old Testament times (2 Kgs 15:16; Hos 13:16; Amos 1:13), but seem to be escalating in severity and frequency in our age. Brutal gang rapes and sometimes mutilation have been used as war weapons in recent conflicts in Bosnia, Rwanda, Congo, the Darfur region of Sudan, Syria, and more. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the United Nations estimates at least 200,000 women and girls have been raped by soldiers, including girls as young as six.9 Shocking statistics from the International Center for Research on Women tell us that, every three seconds, a girl under age 18 is forced into child marriage, often against her will and usually to a much older man. There are more than 50 million child brides worldwide, a number that is expected to grow to 100 million over the next decade.10 The ripple effects of child marriage are devastating. It not only steals the innocence of millions of girls, but also perpetuates a cycle of poverty and ignorance. In China, the thousand-year-long inhumane practice of foot-binding was outlawed less than a century ago. The bound feet, or “three-inch golden lotuses,” considered a status symbol—or, more accurately, a status symbol of subjugation—was a cruel cultural ritual of breaking the girls’ toes, beginning with the age of four to seven, and binding them tight underneath the sole with bandages. Under cultural pressure, confronted with an “only marriageable” option, and for the selfish pleasure of men, the girls were sentenced to lifelong suffering and excruciating pain.

Such examples of pain inflicted on women and girls down through human history, and in all corners of the world, have been too numerous even to mention here. This article will look into three areas that are most shocking in our generation.

Lily Lee holds an MS in mathematics as well as MAR and ThM degrees from Westminster Theological Seminary. She is Cofounder and President of Fullness in Christ Fellowship (FiCF), which develops Christian women leaders and serves girls and women who are hurt and oppressed. She is Founder, Chair, and Executive Director of Pleroma Missions in Cambodia with its two ministries: Pleroma Home for Girls and Pleroma Education for Girls (PEG).

Priscilla Papers ◆ Vol. 28, No. 1 ◆ Winter 2014 • 19

Female infanticide/feticide: 100 million missing As early as 1992, Amartya Sen, recipient of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Economics, stated that “more than 100 million women are missing” globally,11 80 percent of whom are from China and India. On March 8, 2007, the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women formally put forth the statistic of 44 million in China and 37 million in India.12 The official Chinese news agency, Xinhua, put the national sex ratio at birth (SRB) in China at 117:100 in 2012, with certain provinces reaching as high as 133:100 boys to girls.13 The Women’s UN Report Network, referencing Xinhua, reported 119:100 as China’s SRB.14 This is almost 30 percent higher than the normal biological ratio of 103:100, skewing the SRB of the entire world to 107:100.15 China’s one-child policy, launched and enforced in 1980, originally intended as an emergency measure to slow population growth at the start of the Chinese economic reforms, has resulted in more than 37 million girls “missing,” either eliminated or abandoned; more than 336 million forced and coerced abortions; and 222 million forced sterilizations.16 These numbers amount to one baby’s life eliminated every 2.5 seconds, 114 baby girls abandoned every hour, and 500 women per day committing suicide out of despair due to forced abortion or abandonment of their daughters.17 “One child per family” is in reality a brutal policy of femicide, having become the world’s largest genocide ever.

Bringing about this lethal phenomenon is the fatal combination of the one-child policy, contemporary ultrasound technology, and China’s traditional preference of boys over girls. In addition to human rights violations, this policy has brought about other consequences, including the trafficking of women from the Chinese countryside and from neighboring countries (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, and Burma) as tens of millions of Chinese men of marrying age cannot find wives.

Author Ma Jian declared in a New York Times op ed, “The atrocities committed in the name of the one-child policy over the last three decades rank among the worst crimes against humanity of the last century.”18 Indeed, female infanticide and sex-selective abortion in unimaginably huge numbers due to the one-child policy is considered one of the greatest evils in human history.

Domestic violence and wife abuse One in three women experiences violence in her lifetime by beating, rape, or assault.19 The New York City police department announced in 2011 that there are more than 250,000 reported cases of violence against women each year in the city, on the average more than 700 cases every day. Among them, 4,000 are victims of Chinese ethnicity.20 In the United States, an average of five children die per day of abuse at home, 80 percent of them younger than four years old.21 Forty percent of sex abuse victims are younger than eighteen; a female is sexually violated every two minutes.22 In China and Cambodia, domestic violence and wife beating are not only common, but also accepted as normal gender relations.

Human trafficking: modern-day slavery Of human trafficking, United States President Barack Obama stated, “It ought to concern every person, because it’s a debase20 • Priscilla Papers ◆ Vol. 28, No. 1 ◆ Winter 2014

ment of our common humanity . . . I’m talking about the injustice, the outrage, of human trafficking, which must be called by its true name—modern slavery.”23 Nearly 21 million people are victims of forced labor worldwide at any given time.24 Women account for 55–60 percent of all trafficking victims detected globally; women and girls together account for about 75 percent.25 With a multibillion-dollar industry of an underground nature, with an enormously dark power behind it, obtaining accurate data on the extent of the problem is almost impossible.

Whatever we know now is but the head of the monster. No country or region in the world is unaffected; every nation is either a destination country, a transit country, or a sending country.

Many countries can be two or even all three.

Ranked as having one of the highest rates of human trafficking in the world, Cambodia is “a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking.”26 Cambodia, originally a beautiful country, was shattered by decades of civil war and unrest. Although this country is apparently moving past the horrors of genocide of the Killing Fields of the Pol Pot regime and toward recovery and reconstruction, commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) continues to scar Cambodia. Victims end up in forced prostitution and sexual exploitation, held in service through psychological manipulation, debt bondage, and/or physical restraint. Humiliation and abuses inflicted on them include being caged, deprived of food, beaten, forced to perform sexual acts against their will, gang-raped until fainting, and more.27 It is sickening just to hear of the evils that one human being is doing to another.

As reported by CNN, the village Svay Pak in Cambodia appears to have a disturbing reputation as a place where little girls are openly sold for sex to foreign tourists. One of the girls—not named to protect her identity—says she was forced to work in a brothel before she could read. “I was about five or six years old,” the girl said.28 Worse still, when these girls try to reintegrate with society, they often feel unwelcome and are marginalized even (or especially) in evangelical churches.

CSE is to be condemned because, first of all, the image of God in these women and girls is horribly violated and damaged. Second, the damage inflicted is not limited to the physical (including HIV and AIDS), but is also psychological and spiritual, being violently hurtful to the core of their souls, and even causing death. Third, these women are doubly victimized: although they have been sinned against, they are blamed for being the sinners, cast out, and ostracized.

With the passage of new human trafficking control policies in 2011 by the Cambodian government, some nongovernmental organizations are claiming that the number of human trafficking victims is decreasing. However, according to Ros Yeng, the country director of Chab Dai Coalition in Cambodia, the number is actually on the rise. The reason for an apparent decrease is that, after governmental policies/strategies changed in 2011, CSE networks changed their ways of doing business. The pimps use more deceptive schemes; for example, some develop cover-up facilities in place of regular brothels or use “loans” to the girls and families instead of directly paying for trafficking as before.29 As the old Chinese saying goes, “While ‘Tao’ is one foot high, evil-

ness is ten feet tall.” What is actually decreasing is the number of arrests, not the rate of CSE. Also, victims are now mostly disguised as labor trafficking and pushed into sex trafficking later.

According to Ros Yeng, 5,000 Cambodians are trafficked across the Thai borders each day under “labor trafficking” and later sex trafficking.30 Driving Cambodia toward the number-one rank in human trafficking in the world, Ros maintains, are factors such as corruption, ineffectiveness in enforcing laws, poverty, and a lack of education and job opportunities overall in the country.31

Cultural worldviews that create and maintain abuses Clearly, the magnitude and severity of discrimination, brutalization, and elimination of women and girls are beyond human comprehension. What, then, are the root causes of gender abuse?

The grand biblical narrative of creation–fall–redemption One Hebrew word sums up the beginning of human history: shalom. As given in Genesis 1:26–28 and 2:18–25, God’s original intention for men and women was that they be created equal in God’s image, equal in blessing, equal in missions, equal in relation, mutual in partnership, and one-flesh in unity. Men and women had equal value and equal rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Why, then, is the reality of women’s plight today such a total negation of the original fullness intended in creation? As we can see in Genesis 3, after Adam and Eve rebelled against God, patriarchy developed in both Eastern and Western cultures: men ruling and women submitting. Women were now seen as the property of men. They were considered innately inferior, less worthy of freedom and equality. These erroneous ontological gender biases not only encouraged discrimination and abuses, but also provided the perpetrators justification for their abusive actions. Hence, God’s original plan for harmonious gender relations was ruined by sin, and the original fullness and glory in women was lost.

The stories of millions and millions of women, precious daughters of our heavenly Father, outside of Eden and under the “rule, authority, power, and dominion of the world” (Eph 1:20–23) throughout human history, have been marred by the evils of footbinding, femicide, wife abuse, and sex trafficking, not to mention female genital mutilation and suttee (wife sacrifice), which are not addressed in this article. Unlike other human pains and sufferings, oppression and violation against women are pains inflicted categorically by one gender, which is half of the human race, upon another gender, the other half of the human race. Down through history, men selfishly misinterpreted God’s description of the sinful gender culture that developed outside Eden, “your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you” (Gen 3:15b), claiming that the description was prescription, ordained by God. Thus, as we know it, the world outside Eden has become the battleground where “enmity between the serpent and the woman” (Gen 3:15a) is played out. Another drama deep beneath the surface is taking place: a drama that is much more brutal and deadly.

Yet, God’s eternal plan is that the drama move toward a hopeful redemption and restoration in Christ, as described in Genesis 3:15: through the offspring of the woman, God will crush the serpent’s head, destroy the dominion of sin, and tear down the wall

that divides God from human beings and male from female, restoring the fullness that was lost, especially in regard to the value of women. However, that is a long and difficult path, a long and fierce battle between females and the serpent. Because of the vicious attacks by Satan on generation after generation, this battle continues to be brutal, cruel, extensive, pervasive, and prolonged.

Looking into the core of this evil, Kristyn Komarnicki says it well: “Eve was singled out for special attack because Lucifer, so radiant and beautiful before pride led to his fall, loathes her as the representation of all that he lost and all that he desires to be.

Satan hates Eve . . . for her beauty and her ability to produce life— the two things in which she most clearly reflects God’s image.

For me, that goes a long way in explaining the variety and depth of oppression to which women have always been subjected.”32 Combating the abuses of women and girls is indeed a huge spiritual battle against the forces of evil that have been dominating the world since the fall.

In this overarching theological structure of creation-fallrestoration, men and women are seen as equal in the original order of creation, and domination of one gender over the other is sinful and a curse. Instead, women should be called into full equality in the redeemed family, church, and society.

Hence, the teaching of the Bible urges us to be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. (Eph 6:10–12 NRSV) Yin-yang philosophies presupposing women as the origin of evil In China, the suppression of women for four thousand years was initiated and maintained by folk religion, the syncretism of Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. This combination made the lives of women in China miserable and unbearable.

The presupposition of Buddhism is that women are the origin of sin, being tempters and the personification of evil. The yin-yang dichotomy of Taoism developed into a gender paradigm/worldview of “Yang as noble and good, hence to be exalted; and the Yin as lowly and evil, hence to be suppressed.”33 The Confucian gender paradigm of men leading and women following completed the deeply gender-biased Chinese worldview of males being preferred over females, and, if this heavenly order be upset, this would be disastrous for society. Women were required to follow their fathers when young, husbands when married, and sons when old. Among the neo-Confucian sayings most oppressive to women are: n “A woman’s duty is not to control nor take charge.” n “Woman’s greatest duty is to produce a son.” n “A woman ruler is like a hen crowing.” n “For a woman to starve to death is a small matter, but for her to lose her chastity is a great calamity.” n “Disorder is not sent down by Heaven, it is produced by women.”34

Priscilla Papers ◆ Vol. 28, No. 1 ◆ Winter 2014 • 21

The use of violence by a husband is justified as a norm of society beyond questioning. Cambodia, whose culture is deeply rooted in Buddhism, has a similar discriminatory gender worldview, voiced by the Khmer proverb, “Men are as pure gold, women are but white cloth.”

Since 1949, Maoism, with its socialist strategy and ideology of productivity and class struggle, brought drastic changes to women’s roles for the first time in thousands of years. Apparent changes since Mao’s era include economic independence for women and gender equality in the workplace and public sphere. Women’s liberation is heralded as “women holding up half the sky.”

However, the Marxist-feminist approach has focused on the economic value and productivity of women rather than their intrinsic value. So, when the one-child policy was implemented in 1980, the world quickly witnessed the resurgence of women’s devaluation, and emerging with it was an even scarier monster of sex-selective abortion and female infanticide—the most shocking obstetric atrocities ever committed against the human race.

Not left behind, but restored In the face of all these evils of gender injustice, as Christians following the footsteps of Jesus Christ, how should we respond?

First, let us look into one of the many stories of how Jesus treated women in a discriminatory culture.

Jesus’s example In ancient Israel’s society, where religion, culture, and politics were all integrated, Jairus, a synagogue leader, hence also a community celebrity, came to Jesus and pleaded with him for the healing of his dying twelve-year-old daughter (Luke 8:40–56). While Jesus was hurrying to Jairus’s home, being followed by a crowd made up of almost the whole town, he deliberately stopped for a woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years (the twelve years might not be just a coincidence). She was considered ceremonially unclean, and, hence, untouchable, nor could anyone be touched by her, so she was marginalized, stigmatized, to be avoided, an outcast of society (Lev 15). Jesus’s stopping for her was intended to convey a message to the whole town that God cares for the neglected over the popular. Jesus then exemplified for us a holistic ministry model of (1) challenging gender injustice of the time—letting the crowd know that it is acceptable to be touched by a bleeding woman; (2) restoring her self-image (psychological healing)—encouraging her to testify before the crowd; (3) meeting her physical needs (physical healing)—healing her bleeding ailment and making her whole; (4) bringing her the gospel of salvation (spiritual healing) by proclaiming, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”

More than once, Jesus put aside what the world deemed important and popular, what it gave priority and even favoritism, for the hurting women who were forgotten, abused, oppressed, and downtrodden. He is indeed the Messiah who “will bring justice to the nations. . . . A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out” (Isa 42:2).

22 • Priscilla Papers ◆ Vol. 28, No. 1 ◆ Winter 2014

Pleroma Missions in Cambodia (PMC) Cambodia is one the highest-rated countries for human trafficking in the world, as we have noted. Statistics reveal that poverty and illiteracy are the two major reasons why girls become prey to commercial sexual exploitation; 97 percent of CSE victims are recruited due to poverty-related issues, and more than 32 percent of females in the country are illiterate. In response to God’s calling, and following the example of Jesus, our organization, Fullness in Christ Fellowship, started praying, exploring the establishment of Pleroma Missions in Cambodia to combat the social evil of human trafficking there.

Instead of simply offering charity to women and girls, Pleroma Missions in Cambodia creates a more compassionate and just environment, a God-honoring world in which women and girls can be healed, grow, thrive, and flourish to their full potential and live out the abundant life as promised by Christ. In the New Testament, the term fullness, or plēroma in Greek, is often used to describe the nature of God as manifested in the incarnate Christ, being filled with the glory of grace and truth (John 1:14).

By his becoming flesh and dwelling among us, as fully human and obedient unto death, those who believe in him are redeemed and brought to the same glorious fullness of his grace and truth.

To advance the biblical truth about the value of females, two mutually reinforcing holistic ministries have been developed in Cambodia. Pleroma Home for Girls, established in March 2011, is a safe haven for girls under 18 who have been victims or who are at high risk for being victims of sex trafficking and/or sex-abuse victims. They are nurtured holistically to realize their full potential as God’s precious daughters and experience the fullness of God in Christ for them, with the glorious image of God restored to them. Holistic Christian formation programs enable them to grow physically, mentally, socially, intellectually, and spiritually.

Vocational training is also provided to empower them toward self-sufficiency and reintegration into the society.

Pleroma Education for Girls (PEG), a preventive approach, aims at raising the general educational level for girls in poor urban or rural areas in order to make a long-term impact in the lives of girls otherwise doomed to repeat the vicious cycle of poverty and illiteracy. PEG provides remedial/catching-up education on one hand and equips future women leaders on the other. Our aim is for girls to grow up to be educated Christian women and mothers, well equipped to raise healthy daughters and sons and to become independent and contributing citizens participating in all levels of the workforce in society. The message of PEG is for girls to have a good education in order to develop their Godgiven potential, to allow their innate abilities to flourish, and to enable them to work hard and achieve their hopes and goals for their lives. To the community, the message is that girls are precious and important to God, and to us! They are worth all the time, efforts, and resources we are investing.

Due to gender preference in traditional Cambodian families, girls usually do not go to school or stop going at a very early age. They are often placed in grade levels that do not match their chronological age, so catching-up education programs are needed. Due to the lack of public transportation, it would be difficult

for girls to commute to a one-location school, so satellite campuses are needed. Finally, good holistic Christian curriculum is generally lacking in Cambodia, so writing and publishing our own curriculum are greatly needed initiatives.

Conclusion While the whole world might forget about these women and girls trailing along at the end of the women’s movement, God’s intention is for them to be redeemed and restored in his full salvation, to fully reflect his image, to be empowered fully to achieve their God-given potential and gifts, to live in full dignity and worth.

Christ’s salvation should reach not just a person or a church, but also society and culture—this is kingdom vision and kingdom mission. Hence, we should go beyond the four walls of the church and enter and immerse ourselves into communities, to become their salt and light and serve as their conscience, leading societal and cultural renewal and regeneration from brokenness to fullness in Christ. This is the work of reconciliation I and my colleagues are trying to do in Cambodia for the betterment of people and the glory of the God who created each one of us.

Notes 1. See, e.g., Richard Lieby and Michele Langevine Lieby, “Taliban says it shot Pakistani teen for advocating girls’ rights,” Washington Post, Oct. 9, 2012, http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/ asia_pacific/taliban-says-it-shot-infidel-pakistani-teen-for-advocatinggirls-rights/2012/10/09/29715632-1214-11e2-9a39-1f5a7f6fe945_story.html.

2. See, e.g., Gardiner Harris, “Charges Filed against 5 over Rape in New Delhi,” New York Times, Jan. 3, 2013, http://www.nytimes .com/2013/01/04/world/asia/murder-charges-filed-against-5-men-inindia-gang-rape.html?hp&_r=1&.

3. Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide (New York, NY: Vintage, 2010), xvii.

4. Kristof and WuDunn, Half the Sky, xvii.

5. Kristof and WuDunn, Half the Sky, 10.

6. UNESCO, “Key Messages and Data on Girls’ and Women’s Education and Literacy,” April 2012, http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/ MULTIMEDIA/HQ/ED/pdf/globalpartners-key-messages.pdf, accessed 2013.

7. Index Mundi website, http://www.indexmundi.com/world/literacy .html, accessed 2013.

8. United Nations Development Program, “Fast Facts,” http://www .undp.org/content/dam/undp/library/corporate/fast-facts/english/FFGender-Equality-and-UNDP.pdf, accessed 2013.

9. Rukmini Callimachi, “Congo Rape Rate Equal to 48 Women Attacked Every Hour: Study,” The Huffington Post, May 11, 2011, http:// www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/11/congo-rape-48-women-everyhour_n_860581.html, accessed 2013; and Associated Press, “Girls as Young as 6 Raped by Congo Troops, UN Says,” Fox News website, May 8, 2013, http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/05/08/girls-as-young-as6-raped-by-congo-troops-un-says/, accessed 2013.

10. International Center for Research on Women, “Child Marriage Facts and Figures,” http://www.icrw.org/child-marriage-facts-andfigures, accessed 2013.

11. Amartya Sen, “More than 100 Million Women Are Missing,” New York Review of Books, Dec. 20, 1990, http://www.nybooks.com/articles/ archives/1990/dec/20/more-than-100-million-women-are-missing, accessed 2013.

12. Laura J. Lederer, “Where Have All the Young Girls Gone? Female Feticide and its Impact on Human Trafficking,” Prism, March–April

2010, 8–12, http://issuu.com/prismmagazine/docs/pages_from_prism_ mar.apr_2010_where, accessed 2013.

13. Ananth Krishnan, “Alarm in China over High Gender Imbalance,” The Hindu website, Jan. 22, 2013, http://www.thehindu.com/ news/international/alarm-in-china-over-high-gender-imbalance/article4332304.ece. According to the All Girls Allowed website (“Gender Imbalance in China,” http://www.allgirlsallowed.org/gender-imbalancechina-statistics), the national sex ratio at birth is 118:100, with some places as high as 152:100.

14. Xinhua, “Official Calls for More Efforts to Curb Gender Imbalance,” July 12, 2006, http://english.people.com.cn/200607/12/eng 20060712_282170.html; Wang Feng, “Can China Afford to Continue its One-Child Policy?” Asia Pacific Issues, Analysis from East-West Center, No. 77, March 2005, indicates an SRB of 119.2:100.

15. Xinhua, “Official Calls for More Efforts.”

16. Ma Jian, “China’s Brutal One-Child Policy,” New York Times, May 21, 2013, trans. Flora Drew, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/22/opinion/chinas-brutal-one-child-policy.html?_r=2&&pagewanted=print, accessed 2013.

17. All Girls Allowed website.

18. Ma Jian, “China’s Brutal One-Child Policy.”

19. Susan Rice, U. S. Ambassador to the United Nations, remarks at the Commission on the Status of Women, March 6, 2013, http://www .un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/csw57/generaldiscussion/memberstates/usa.pdf, accessed 2013.

20. “Domestic Violence Annual Fact Sheet 2011,” New York City Police Department, http://www.nyc.gov/html/ocdv/downloads/pdf/Statistics_ Annual_Fact_Sheet_2011.pdf, accessed 2013.

21. “National Child Abuse Statistics,” Childhelp website, http://www .childhelp-usa.com/pages/statistics, accessed 2013; also RAINN website, http://www.rainn.org/statistics, accessed 2013.

22. Parents for Megan’s Law website, http://www.parentsformeganslaw .org/public/statistics_childSexualAbuse.html, accessed 2013; also RAINN website.

23. “Fact Sheet: the Obama Administration Announces Efforts to Combat Human Trafficking at Home and Abroad,” Sept. 25, 2012, White House website, http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/09/25/ fact-sheet-obama-administration-announces-efforts-combat-humantrafficki, accessed 2013.

24. International Labour Organization website, http://www.ilo.org/ global/topics/forced-labour/lang--en/index.htm, accessed 2013.

25. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, 2012, 7, http://www.unodc.org/documents/dataand-analysis/glotip/Trafficking_in_Persons_2012_web.pdf, accessed 2013.

26. U.S. Department of State, 2013 Trafficking in Persons Report, http:// www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/countries/2013/215415.htm, accessed 2013.

27. NGO Joint Statistics: Database Repot on Trafficking and Rape in Cambodia 2005–2006, 15, http://ngocrc.org/attachments/2-NGOs_ Joint_Statistics_Database_Report_on_Trafficking_and_Rape_in_ Cambodia_2005-2006_%28Eng%29.pdf, accessed 2013; also Mariane Pearl, “The Sex Slave Tragedy, Global Diary: Cambodia,” Glamour, September 2006.

28. Tim Hume, “Child Sex Trafficking: Why Cambodia?” CNN, Dec. 12, 2013, http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/09/world/asia/cambodiacfr-why-history-child-sex-trafficking/, accessed 2013.

29. Ros Yeng, country director of Chab Dai Coalition, Cambodia, interview with the author in Phnom Penh, Sept. 2012.

30. Ros Yeng, interview with the author.

31. NGO Joint Statistics; Ros Yeng, interview with the author.

32. Kristyn Komarnicki, “The First Lie,” Evangelicals for Social Action website, accessed 2013.

33. Bao Jialin, Wandering Women, Rice Township Publisher (written in Chinese).

34. “Women and Confucianism,” Women and World History website, http://www.womeninworldhistory.com/lesson3.html, accessed 2013.

Priscilla Papers ◆ Vol. 28, No. 1 ◆ Winter 2014 • 23

Voices of Outrage against Rape: Textual Evidence in Judges 19 Deirdre Brouer Rape is a timeless and worldwide1 epidemic that violates the divine image and personhood of a human being and renders its victims voiceless, powerless,2 and fragmented from self, others, and God. Rape causes a desolate and disordered reality psychologically, relationally, and spiritually, often resulting in theological and “existential crisis.”3 Although this crisis impacts millions each year,4 rape has a history of silence, denial, and serious misperceptions.5 These misperceptions include blaming the victim and minimizing the multidimensional impact and trauma of rape. Healing requires breaking the silence, which many voices are doing today, including one particular community more than two thousand years old. Rather than silencing, denying, or minimizing rape, this community speaks relevantly and powerfully by voicing outrage against rape.

The voices of this community are represented by the writers and narrators of the Hebrew Bible, otherwise known as the Old Testament (OT). The OT has often been misinterpreted and misperceived as oppressive toward women and silent about abuse. However, evidence within the OT reveals that the biblical writers and narrators highly value women and speak adamantly against rape, including the rape of a woman from Bethlehem recorded in Judges 19. By demonstrating how the biblical writers view women and rape, and how the narrator of Judges 19 speaks outrage against rape, I hope to prove how these voices within the OT, which represent the divine perspective,6 speak relevantly and redemptively today. We will begin by establishing how the biblical writers view women and rape.

Background and terminology Examples of how the biblical writers view women are found in the creation account and the wisdom and prophetic literature. As one who is able to conceive, bear, and sustain life, the first woman is named “Life”7 and is called “the mother of all living” (Gen 3:20).8 According to the creation account, woman is created in God’s image (Gen 1:27)9 and shares the same substance and nature as man (Gen 2:23). She is “corresponding to” man (Gen 2:18), his equal and yet distinct from him. The wisdom literature describes women as valiant, strong, intelligent, and wise,10 and also personifies wisdom as a woman who speaks truth and brings life.11 The prophetic literature metaphorically12 portrays Jerusalem as a woman13 who defends, nurtures, and sustains those within her walls.14 This evidence from the creation account and the DEIRDRE BROUER (MA) is an adjunct Hebrew instructor at Denver Seminary and provides spiritual direction through the Lanteri Center in Denver. She teaches classes and seminars on the Jewish roots of Christianity and on how the Old Testament speaks outrage against rape. As a survivor of sexual abuse, she is passionate about empowering others who have been so impacted.

24 • Priscilla Papers ◆ Vol. 28, No. 1 ◆ Winter 2014

wisdom and prophetic literature reveals that the biblical writers highly viewed women15 as representatives of life, wisdom, sustenance, and strength.

Examples of how the biblical writers view rape are found in the legal, prophetic, and narrative texts of the OT. The legal texts16 reveal that rape was viewed as equivalent to murder (Deut 22:26) and as pressuring a woman physically (Deut 22:25–27) or psychologically (Deut 22:28–29)17 into sexual intercourse. The legal texts value the consent and voice of the woman (Deut 22:27) and assume her innocence (Deut 22:27, 28). They also perceive rape as a threat to the social and economic survival of the woman (Deut 22:29; Exod 22:16–17) and as a serious violation not only against the woman, but also against her family (Deut 22:29; Exod 22:16–17).18 The prophetic texts reveal that rape was understood as physically and psychologically traumatic. The book of Ezekiel employs rape as a metaphor in order to convey the horror, trauma, and desolation of foreign invasion and warfare (Ezek 16; 23).19 According to the narrative texts, rape is viewed as an “outrage”20 (nebalah), which also means godlessness21 and abomination.22 “Outrage” occurs only thirteen times in the OT23 and is reserved for extreme acts of violation against God and human beings,24 including the rapes of Dinah, Tamar, and the woman of Bethlehem.25 Based on its usage, an “outrage” was considered a serious threat to the life and wellbeing of an individual, community,26 and nation27 that resulted in a dangerous breakdown28 of social, communal, and cosmic norms.29 The biblical writers record Tamar’s outcry and grief (2 Sam 13:19) which testifies that rape was understood as physically, socially, and psychologically devastating, resulting in desolation (2 Sam 13:20).30 This evidence from the legal, prophetic, and narrative texts reveals that the biblical writers understood the multidimensional trauma and devastation of rape and viewed rape as life-threatening and a serious violation of God-ordained, life-sustaining order.31

A closer look at the woman from Bethlehem We now proceed to Judges 19 in order to determine how the narrator of this text voices outrage against the rape of the woman from Bethlehem. The narrator’s voice is conveyed through his portrayal of the characters and his choice of words and themes throughout the narrative.32 Before approaching Judges 19,33 let us begin by situating this narrative within its cultural context and by getting to know the woman from Bethlehem. The narrator does not name her or the characters within this narrative in order to signify a nation that had dehumanized those within its community. So, for the sake of simplicity and in order to restore personhood and identity to the woman of Bethlehem, I will refer to her as Beth.

Beth was a woman from the tribe of Judah.34 As a woman, she represents life, wisdom, sustenance, and strength. She was born in Bethlehem soon after the death of Joshua (Judg 1:1), and shortly after the exodus account, the wilderness wanderings, and the fall of Jericho. Her family was one of the first to settle the

promised land, and the men in her family led the Israelites in battles against their Canaanite enemies (Josh 15:14–18; Judg 1:1–20).

Beth’s family included Caleb35 and Caleb’s daughter Acsah, who is the first woman mentioned in the book of Judges—a woman with name, voice, land, and power (Judg 1:14–15).

Beth grew up in an agrarian, pre-industrial society under the harsh conditions of pioneer settlement. Her family had to cultivate and farm a dry and difficult land in order to survive. She lived in a group-oriented culture in which the survival of the society depended on the family, the resources of the land, and the equal contribution of both men and women.36 Beth eventually married a Levite from the hill country of Ephraim and became part of the tribe of Moses and Aaron (Exod 6:13–27). Rather than having the status of a wife, she is described as a young concubine (pilegesh) and was therefore expected to provide progeny for her husband.37 As a Levite, her husband had been set apart to “stand and serve in the name of the Lord” (Deut 18:5; Judg 17:13).38 Beth and the Levite lived in the hill country of Ephraim (Judg 19:1).39 “The hill country of Ephraim” are the last words of the book of Joshua (Josh 24:33) and therefore connect the concluding events in Joshua with the events recorded in Judges 19. The book of Joshua ends after the Israelites recount the Passover and exodus (Josh 24:5–13, 16–18). The Israelites profess their loyalty to God by renewing their covenant with him and denouncing other gods (Josh 24:14–27). In contrast, the events recorded in Judges 19 reveal a generation that did not know God or what he had done for Israel (Judg 2:10), a generation that had broken covenant with him and had turned to other gods. This is the period in which Beth lived, a period of political and spiritual chaos, which was reflected through the idolatry of the nation40 and through corrupt political and spiritual leaders.41 This was a time when there was no king in Israel42 and when all of them did what was good in their eyes (Judg 17:6; 21:25), but evil in God’s eyes.43 This is where Beth’s story begins and where we tune in to the narrator’s voice, which is conveyed through his portrayal of the characters, choice of words, and integration of themes from the creation, exodus, and Sodom and Gomorrah accounts.

The narrative of Judges 19 unfolds The narrator begins by portraying Beth as a young woman44 who boldly left her husband and returned to her father’s house in Bethlehem. According to the narrator, Beth left the Levite because she was angry, described by a word that comes from the Hebrew root zanah. Zanah is a verb that can mean to prostitute,45 to be unfaithful,46 or to be angry.47 Based on the fact that Beth was welcomed back into her father’s household and that her husband eventually pursued her to reconcile with him, it seems most probable that Beth left the Levite because she was angry with him.48 The narrator initially portrays the Levite as questionable. Although the Levite pursues Beth in order to speak to her heart (Judg 19:3), he never speaks to Beth or to her heart. Instead, he spends five days sustaining his own heart (Judg 19:5, 6, 8, 9) through the generous, life-giving hospitality of Beth’s father.49

While it seems as though the Levite has forgotten Beth, the narrator remembers her by purposefully and redundantly mentioning her nine times in the first nine verses of Judges 19.50 The Levite’s decision to leave Bethlehem and return home to Ephraim becomes the turning point of the narrative. The Levite, who decides to begin his journey when darkness was approaching (Judg 19:9, 11, 15, 16), appears unwise. By leaving Bethlehem at the end of the day and by choosing to lodge in the city of Gibeah rather than Jerusalem, the Levite unknowingly places himself and Beth in grave danger.

The narrator next introduces a second hospitality scene as Beth and the Levite are confronted with unexpected neglect in the city square of Gibeah. Such neglect contrasts with the generous welcome and hospitality previously portrayed in Bethlehem.

Suddenly, a fellow sojourner from the hill country of Ephraim approaches Beth and the Levite and generously offers to care for their needs. While in the home of the Ephraimite host, the Levite again sustains his heart. The narrator’s continued repetition of heart highlights the Levite’s neglect of Beth’s heart.

While the Levite sustains his heart, men of Gibeah surround the house. The men of Gibeah are “sons of Israel” (Judg 19:12) from the tribe of Benjamin. However, the narrator explicitly calls these men “sons of Belial” (Judg 19:22), which means sons of worthlessness, wickedness, destruction,51 and death (2 Sam 22:5–6).52 At this point in the narrative, the narrator begins to make deliberate parallels between Judges 19 and the narrative of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen 19).

Like the men of Sodom, the men of Gibeah beat violently53 on the door of the house (cf. Gen 19:9) and demand to know the Levite sexually (cf. Gen 19:5). Knowing another sexually refers to the creation mandate to be fruitful and multiply (Gen 1:28), just as Adam knew Eve (Gen 4:1). However, the men of Gibeah seek to reverse the creation mandate into fruitlessness and death. The narrator highlights the Ephraimite host’s condemnation of their intention to rape as “evil”54 and an “outrage.”55 These words reveal the narrator’s view of rape as an abominable, godless, and lifethreatening act that violates God-ordained, life-sustaining order.

The text compares the Ephraimite host to Lot when the host gives the men of Gibeah permission to “rape” Beth and his daughter and to do “what is good in their eyes.”56 By equating “rape” with doing the “good in their eyes,” the text makes a powerful rhetorical statement by connecting a key theme throughout Judges with the rape of Beth: Everyone was doing what was good in their eyes, but evil in God’s eyes.

The Levite, who had initially pursued Beth in order to speak to her heart, seizes (chazaq)57 her and forces her through the doorway of the house to be brutally raped by men of death and destruction. By forcing her outside, the Levite sacrifices her in order to save himself and to prevent death from entering the house.58 The Levite remains safe inside the house while Beth is violently and repeatedly59 known all night long, and then ruthlessly discarded (Judg 19:25). The combination of the words “violent abuse” and “know” conveys rape (Judg 20:5) and the exact opposite of the life, goodness, and fruitfulness of the creation account.

Priscilla Papers ◆ Vol. 28, No. 1 ◆ Winter 2014 • 25

the creation mandate and the Passover sacrifice, the narrator of At this point in the narrative, the parallels cease between Judges 19 voices outrage against rape.

Judges 19 and the Sodom and Gomorrah narrative, which enables the narrator to depict the rape of Beth as exceeding the evil Conclusion of Sodom and Gomorrah.60 By presenting the Levite’s neglect and betrayal,61 the horror My hope has been to demonstrate that the voices of the biblical of the gang-rape by men of death and destruction, and the inwriters and narrators within the OT speak outrage against rape tensity of Beth’s pain and suffering, the narrator evokes revulsion in ways that are relevant and redemptive for us today. Evidence for the Levite and the men of Gibeah, and deep compassion for throughout the OT shows that the biblical writers highly value Beth. The narrator is the one person in women and view rape as physically, the narrative who does not abandon socially, and psychologically devastaty referring to the exodus from Egypt and Beth and who is ardently attentive to ing and as a serious violation of Godby highlighting Beth, fallen at the doorway her critical condition. She is bleeding, ordained, life-sustaining order. The with her hands on the threshold, the narrator dying, and desperate. With nowhere evidence within Judges 19 reveals that portrays the rape, death, and dismemberment else to go, she returns to the Levite and the narrator voices outrage against the of Beth as an antithesis of the Passover sacrifice. collapses at the doorway of the house rape of Beth by sharing her suffering, with her hands on the threshold. siding with her compassionately, and The narrator’s earnest awareness to the placement of Beth’s conveying the evil and horror of rape and its ravaging effects. hands (Judg 19:27) is paradoxical to the Levite’s oblivious indifThe biblical writers and narrators validate the pain and trauference to her. Surely, now the Levite will speak to Beth’s heart as ma of rape and its multidimensional impact and devastation at she hangs onto the threshold between life and death. However, individual, communal, and national levels. Through their voices, the Levite’s first and only words to her are, “Get up, let’s go.”62 which represent the divine perspective, we hear God’s own voice Such callousness evokes even more compassion for Beth and reof outrage against rape. vulsion for the Levite.

These voices have ensured that Beth’s story is not silenced or Beth, who had initially left Ephraim to return to her father, forgotten. They have set their hearts upon her and have spoken now returns to Ephraim lifeless.63 Once again, the Levite seizes out on her behalf. She has been remembered in light of God’s (chazaq)64 her in order to sacrifice her. According to the narrator, historical act of redemption (Judg 19:30; cf. Exod 13:17–14:31) and the Levite gruesomely cuts (natach) Beth apart limb by limb65 God’s redemptive work through desolation (Ruth 1–4). The traginto twelve pieces in order to send her to the twelve tribes of Israedy of Beth’s rape and death is followed by hope through the stoel.66 As the narrator describes the dismemberment, he uses sacriry of another desolate woman of Bethlehem, who has a name and ficial language67 that appears elsewhere only in reference to saca voice, and a daughter-in-law named Ruth.74 From a desolate rificial animals68 and burnt offerings.69 By dismembering Beth, woman of Bethlehem comes the messianic line of David (Ruth the Levite offers an anti-sacrifice. Her broken and divided body 4:9–22). Out of Bethlehem emerge the greatest atrocity and the is the antithesis of the creation mandate to “be fruitful and multigreatest hope (Mic 5:2). ply” (Gen 1:28). She is multiplied in order to bring about war and Notes divided in order to unite the Israelites as “one man” (Judg 20:1, 1. According to Steven Tracy’s research, “South Africa has the high4–8, 11). However, the Israelites unite in order to dismember the est documented sexual assault rates in the world,” tens of thousands of nation by nearly annihilating the tribe of Benjamin, reflecting a women were raped in Bosnia during the 1990s, 75 percent of the women society in chaos and disorder (Judg 20–21). in Liberia were raped during its civil war, and tens of thousands of womThe narrator concludes by stating, “Nothing like this had hapen and children have been raped in the Congo. Steven R. Tracy, “Definipened since the days the Israelites came out of Egypt.” Nothing tions and Prevalence Rates of Sexual Abuse: Quantifying, Explaining, and Facing a Dark Reality,” in The Long Journey Home, ed. Andrew J. like this had happened since the eve of the exodus, when a lamb Schmutzer (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2011), 8–9. was sacrificed and its blood smeared on the doorway of a house in 2. Diane Mandt Langberg, Counseling Survivors of Sexual Abuse order to prevent death from entering the house (Exod 12:21–23).

(Maitland, FL: Xulon, 2003), 59.

By referring to the exodus from Egypt and by highlighting Beth, 3. Judith Lewis Herman, Trauma and Recovery (New York, NY: fallen at the doorway with her hands on the threshold, the narraBasicBooks, 1997), 51. tor portrays the rape, death, and dismemberment of Beth as an 4. Tracy, “Definitions and Prevalence Rates of Sexual Abuse,” 4–5, 8.

According to Tracy’s research, one out of six women in the United States antithesis of the Passover sacrifice.70 The narrator concludes Judgis a victim of rape. Tracy also notes that sexual abuse is one of the most es 19 with the exhortation to set your heart71 upon Beth, counsel underreported crimes in the United States due to conflicting data based wisely on her behalf,72 and speak out (Judg 19:30; cf. 20:7).73 on diverse definitions of “sexual abuse” as well as the humiliating and Through his compassion toward Beth, negative portrayal of traumatic nature of sexual abuse. the Levite, condemnation of the rapists, indictment of rape as an 5. See Joy Schroeder, Dinah’s Lament (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress, 2007); and John L. Thompson, Writing the Wrongs: Women of the Old outrage, depiction of Beth’s rape as exceeding the evil of Sodom Testament among Biblical Commentators from Philo through the Reforand Gomorrah, and portrayal of Beth’s rape as an antithesis of

B

mation (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001).

26 • Priscilla Papers ◆ Vol. 28, No. 1 ◆ Winter 2014

6. See Shimon Bar-Efrat, Narrative Art in the Bible (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic, 1989; repr., New York: T&T Clark, 2004), 13; and Miriam J. Bier, “Colliding Contexts: Reading Tamar (2 Samuel 13:1–22) as a Twenty-First Century Woman,” in Tamar’s Tears, ed. Andrew Sloane (Eugene, OR: Pickwick, 2012), 175.

7. “Eve” (‫)חוה‬, F. Brown, S. R. Driver, and C. A. Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2007), (hereafter BDB), 295.

8. Eve is also called “helper,” which refers to a military ally and to God. See Exod 18:4; Deut 33:7, 26, 29; Josh 1:14; 10:4, 6, 33; 1 Sam 7:12; 2 Sam 8:5; 18:3; 21:17; 1 Kgs 1:7; 20:16; 2 Kgs 14:26; Ps 20:2; 28:7; 33:20; 37:40; 70:5; 89:19; 115:9–11; 121:1–2; 124:8; 146:5; Isa 41:6; Dan 11:34; Hos 13:9.

9. God is described in female terms such as midwife (Isa 66:7–9) and mother (Isa 42:14; 66:13).

10. Prov 31:10, 17, 25, 29; Song 4:4; 6:4; 7:4. Cf. Ruth 3:11; 1 Sam 14:48, 52; 2 Sam 17:10; 22:40.

11. Prov 3:18; 8:7, 10, 14, 15, 20, 35; 16:22.

12. Christl Maier stresses the importance of acknowledging the use of metaphor in the prophetic texts. See Christl M. Maier, Daughter Zion, Mother Zion: Gender, Space, and the Sacred in Ancient Israel (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress, 2008), 136, 139.

13. Isa 54; Ezek 16:1–46; 23:1–34; Lam 1:1–11.

14. Tivka Frymer-Kensky, In the Wake of the Goddesses (New York, NY: The Free Press, 1992), 172. See Ps 51:18; 122:5–7; Isa 62:6; 66:10–13.

Both Jerusalem and women are also vulnerable to foreign invasion. See Lam 1:8; Ezek 16:37; 23:10, 29; Hos 2:3; Nah 3:5.

15. Carol Meyers and Richard Davidson argue for the high valuation of women in ancient Israel. See Richard M. Davidson, Flame of Yahweh: Sexuality in the Old Testament (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2007), 224–25; and Carol Meyers, Discovering Eve: Ancient Israelite Women in Context (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1988).

16. It is important to discern that these laws were most likely descriptive of the reality of the culture rather than prescribed by God. 17. Cf. Exod 22:16–17. See Richard M. Davidson, “Sexual Abuse in the Old Testament: An Overview of Laws, Narratives, and Oracles,” in The Long Journey Home, ed. Andrew J. Schmutzer (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2011), 136–37.

18. See Davidson, “Sexual Abuse in the Old Testament,” 136–38; BarEfrat, Narrative Art, 267; and Daniel I. Block, Deuteronomy, NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2012), 531.

19. Ezek 16:6–7, 39–40; 23:28–29. See Maier, Daughter Zion, 123; and Hilary B. Lipka, Sexual Transgression in the Hebrew Bible (Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2006), 223. According to Lipka and Kamionkowski, sexual abuse was a form of psychological warfare in the ancient Near East in order to shame and dehumanize the enemy, to undermine the enemy’s sense of self, and to render the enemy powerless. See S. Tamar Kamionkowski, Gender Reversal and Cosmic Chaos (London: Sheffield Academic, 2003), 61–65; and Lipka, Sexual Transgression, 238.

20. “‫[ ” ְנָבָלה‬nebalah], David J. A. Clines, ed., The Dictionary of Classical Hebrew (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic, 2001), (hereafter DCH), 5:595.

21. L. Koehler, W. Baumgartner, and J. J. Stamm, Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, trans. and ed. M. E. J. Richardson (Leiden: Brill, 1994–1999), (hereafter HALOT), 1:663. See Isa 32:6; cf.

Josh 7:15; Ps 14:1; Isa 9:16; Jer 29:23. Chou-Wee Pan notes that the “disorderly views” of Job’s friends (Job 42:8) have “prevented any constructive theological discussion of the suffering of the righteous.” Chou-Wee Pan, “‫[ ”נבל‬nbl], in New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis, ed. Willem A. Van Gemeren (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1997), 3:12. See also Phillips, who claims that Job’s friends are accused of nebalah because they “failed to enter into the reality of Job’s experience” (Anthony Phillips, “Nebalah–A Term for Serious Disorderly and Unruly Conduct,” Vetus Testamentum 25 [1975]: 240).

22. M. Soebø, “‫[ ” ָנָבל‬nabal], in Theological Lexicon of the Old Testament, ed. Ernst Jenni and Claus Westermann, trans. Mark E. Biddle (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1997), 2:713.

23. Eight of the thirteen times that the noun nebalah appears are within the context of sexual violation (Gen 34:7; Deut 22:21; Judg 19:23, 24; 20:6, 10; 2 Sam 13:12; Jer 29:23).

24. Marböck, “‫[ ” ָנָבל‬nabal], in Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, ed. G. Johannes Botterweck, Helmer Ringgren, and Heinz-Josef Fabry, trans. David E. Green (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1977), 9:171.

See also Soebø, “‫ ָנָבל‬, [nabal], 713.

25. Gen 34:7; Judg 19:23, 24; 20:6, 10; 2 Sam 13:12, 13.

26. Alice A. Keefe, “Rapes of Women/Wars of Men,” Semeia 61 (1993): 82.

27. Lipka, Sexual Transgression, 208; P. Kyle McCarter, Jr., 2 Samuel (Garden City, NJ: Doubleday, 1984), 328.

28. Phillips, “Nebalah,” 237–38.

29. See Frank M. Yamada, Configurations of Rape in the Hebrew Bible: A Literary Analysis of Three Rape Narratives (New York, NY: Peter Lang, 2008), 7; and Lipka, Sexual Transgression, 208. According to the Myth of Enlil and Ninlil, Enlil is banished by those “who uphold the world and its fundamental order” as a consequence of taking Ninlil by force and violating the order of society. Thorkild Jacobsen et al., “Mesopotamia,” in The Intellectual Adventure of Ancient Man (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago, 1946), 156.

30. ‫( ׁשמם‬shmm, desolate) is found 91 times in the OT, predominantly in prophetic texts (62 times) and “occurs most frequently (55 times) with the sense to suffer destruction.” Tyler F. Williams, “‫”ׁשמם‬ [shmm], in New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis, ed. Willem A. Van Gemeren (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1997), 4:168. ‫[ ׁשמם‬shmm] appears only eight times in reference to people (2 Sam 13:20; Isa 54:1; 62:4; Lam 1:13, 16; 3:11; 4:5; Job 16:7). See also Isa 49:19; 64:10; Jer 4:23–27; Lam 1:4; 5:18; Ezek 36:34–36.

31. The root of nebalah (nbl) also appears in the Dead Sea Scrolls (1QS 7:9) in reference to offenses against the community. Nebalah also appears in 1 QS 10:21f and is connected with “Belial.” See Marböck, “‫” ָנָבל‬ [nabal], 171, and Judg 19:22.

32. The narrator’s voice reveals his perspective, which is often equated with the divine perspective. See Bar-Efrat, Narrative Art, 13; and Bier, “Colliding Contexts,” in Tamar’s Tears, 175.

33. My approach to Judges 19 is with a hermeneutic of trust rather than a hermeneutic of suspicion. See Jacqueline E. Lapsley, Whispering the Word: Hearing Women’s Stories in the Old Testament (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 2005), 18; Davidson, Flame of Yahweh, 3; and Andrew Sloane, ed., Tamar’s Tears (Eugene, OR: Pickwick, 2012), xi–xii.

For an approach that incorporates a hermeneutic of suspicion, see Phyllis Trible, Texts of Terror: Literary-Feminist Readings of Biblical Narratives (Philadelphia, PA: Fortress, 1984), 3, 86.

34. See Judg 1:1–20; Ruth 1:22; 4:11; 1 Sam 17:12; Matt 1:5; Luke 2:4–7.

35. Num 13:6, 30; 14:6, 24, 30, 38; 26:65; 32:12; Deut 1:36; Josh 14:13–14; Judg 3:9.

36. Carol Meyers argues that premonarchic women would have experienced a higher degree of equality with men because of the absence of political and economic hierarchies and the lack of division between public and private realms. See Meyers, Discovering Eve, 145, 182. Cf. Gen 16:1–6; 27:5–17; 38:13–26; Exod 15:20–21; Josh 2; Judg 1:14–15; 4:4–14; 13:3– 23; Ruth 1:16–18; 2:2; 3:7–9.

37. Cf. Gen 16:2; 30:3.

38. Cf. Num 8:5–11. Aaron’s grandson Phineas possibly served as high priest during this time (Judg 20:26–28; cf. Exod 6:25; Num 25:7; Josh 24:33).

39. Ephraim means “doubly fruitful” (Gen 41:52). This is where Joshua was buried (Josh 24:29–30), Deborah led the tribes of Israel (Judg 4:5), and Samuel was born (1 Sam 1:1). Ephraim later becomes associated with the northern tribes of Israel (1 Kgs 12:25).

Priscilla Papers ◆ Vol. 28, No. 1 ◆ Winter 2014 • 27

40. Judg 2:11–13; 3:7, 12; 4:1; 6:1; 10:6; 13:1.

41. Judg 8:24–27; 9:5, 56; 11:30–40; 16:1–21; 17:7–12; 18:19–31; 19:1–29.

42. Judg 17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25; cf. Deut 17:18–19; Ps 72.

43. Judg 2:11; 3:7, 12; 4:1; 6:1; 10:6; 13:1.

44. The narrator refers to Beth as a young woman in relation to her father (Judg 19:4, 5, 6, 8, 9) but as a concubine in relation to the Levite (Judg 19:1, 9). The narrator refers to the Levite as her husband (Judg 19:3; 20:4) and master (Judg 19:26–27).

45. BDB, 275. JPS, KJV, NAS, and NKJ. 46. ESV and NIV. 47. HALOT, 1:275; DCH 3:121, 123. NET, NJB, and NRS. LXXA also translates “she was angry” (ὠργίσθη). Ansell argues that this recension of the LXX “represents a textual tradition that is superior to the MT.” See Ansell, “This Is Her Body . . . Judges 19 as Call to Discernment” in Tamar’s Tears, ed. Andrew Sloane (Eugene, OR: Pickwick, 2012), 148.

According to Susan Niditch, many scholars follow LXXA. See Susan Niditch, “The ‘Sodomite’ Theme in Judges 19–20: Family, Community, and Social Disintegration,” Catholic Biblical Quarterly (1982): 366.

48. Many scholars believe that a woman who prostituted herself would not return to her father; otherwise, she would be stoned (Deut 22:13–21). See Robert G. Boling, Judges (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1975), 274; Ken Stone, “Gender and Homosexuality in Judges 19: SubjectHonor, Object-Shame?” Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 67 (1995): 90; and Victor H. Matthews, “Hospitality and Hostility in Genesis 19 and Judges 19,” Biblical Theology Bulletin 22 (Spring 1992): 7. Exum adds that a Levite would not pursue an adulterous wife. J. Cheryl Exum, Fragmented Women: Feminist (Sub)versions of Biblical Narrative (Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1993), 179.

49. I favor Block’s and Niditch’s view that the father is the model of hospitality. See Daniel I. Block, Judges, Ruth, New American Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman and Holman, 1999), 527; and Niditch, “The ‘Sodomite’ Theme,” 366–67. However, some scholars interpret this scene as male bonding (Trible, Texts of Terror, 68) or excessive hospitality (Stuart Lasine, “Guest and Host in Judges 19: Lot’s Hospitality in an Inverted World,” Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 29 (1984): 56–57; Yamada, Configurations of Rape, 72–77). According to Ansell and Lapsley, the father is subtly reminding the Levite to speak to the woman’s heart (Ansell, “This Is Her Body,” 153; Lapsley, Whispering the Word, 41).

28 • Priscilla Papers ◆ Vol. 28, No. 1 ◆ Winter 2014

50. Judg 19:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9.

51. BDB, 116.

52. According to Boling, Belial is “one of the most maleficent characters of the mythic underworld.” Boling, Judges, 276.

53. Hithpael of ‫( דּפק‬BDB, 200).

54. Cf. Judg 2:11; 3:7, 12; 4:1; 6:1; 10:6; 13:1.

55. Judg 19:23–24; 20:6, 10. Cf. Gen 34:7; Deut 22:21; 2 Sam 13:12–13.

55. Judg 19:24; cf. Judg 17:6; 21:25; Gen 3:6; 16:6; 19:8.

57. Cf. Deut 22:25; 2 Sam 13:11.

58. See Exod 12:21–23. Ansell makes a connection between the death of the Bethlehemite woman and the Passover ritual. See Ansell, “This Is Her Body,” 158.

59. Hithpael of ‫עלל‬. Cf. 1 Sam 31:4; Jer. 38:19. The LXX translates ‫עלל‬ as εμπαιζω (cf. Luke 22:63; 23:11, 36). ‫ עלל‬refers to gleaning a vineyard (Lev 19:10; Deut 24:21), but, when referring to human beings, it expresses the intention to annihilate. Eugene Carpenter, “‫עלל‬,” in New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis, ed. Willem A. Van Gemeren (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1997), 3:423.

60. Deut 29:23; Isa 1:9; 13:19; Jer 23:14; 49:18; Amos 4:11. Cf. Hos 9:9; 10:9.

61. Both Yamada and Lasine believe that the narrator condemns the Levite through subtle use of irony and absurd behavior. See Yamada, Configurations of Rape, 91; and Lasine, “Guest and Host in Judges 19,” 38.

62. Cf. 2 Sam 13:15.

63. While the MT is ambiguous regarding when the Bethlehemite woman died, the LXX inserts that she was already dead. The narrator later refers to her as “the murdered woman” (Judg 20:4).

64. Cf. Judg 19:25.

65. Cf. Ezek 16:40.

66. Sending a message in such a grisly way is without parallel in biblical and ANE sources. One Mari text (ARM II, 48) attests to sending the head of an executed criminal throughout the land in order to convince the Haneans to prepare for war. See J. Alberto Soggin, Judges, trans. John Bowden (Philadelphia, PA: Westminster, 1981), 289. However, the closest comparison is found in 1 Sam 11:6–8, when Saul dismembered an ox and sent the pieces throughout Israel as a summons to war. Cf. 1 Kgs 11:30; 18:30–33.

67. The sacrificial language is ‫( נתח‬cut) and ‫( ַהַמֲּאֶכֶלת‬the knife). ‫נתח‬ appears this one time in reference to cutting apart a human being. See Milton C. Fisher “‫נתח‬,” in Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, ed. R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer, Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke (Chicago, IL: Moody, 1980), 2:607–08. “The knife” only appears elsewhere in Gen 22:10, when Abraham “took the knife” in order to sacrifice Isaac as a burnt offering. This particular knife also appears in Prov 30:14, which describes a generation whose teeth are like knives in order to devour the afflicted.

68. Exod 29:17; Lev 1:6, 8, 12; 8:20; 9:13; 1 Sam 11:7; 1 Kgs 18:23, 33; Ezek 24:4, 6.

69. Eugene Carpenter, “‫נתח‬,” in New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis, ed. Willem A. Van Gemeren (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1997), 3:201. See Lev 1:1–17; 6:8–13; 8:18–21; 16:24.

70. Butler notes, “The narrator simply wants to place this event in sharp contrast to the exodus event as its polar opposite.” Trent C. Butler, Judges, Word Biblical Commentary, vol. 8 (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1999), 416.

71. According to the BHS critical apparatus, a few manuscripts, including the Targum, say, “Set your heart upon her” (BHS, 437).

72. Ansell notes that ‫( ֵעָצה‬Judg 19:30) is a cognate of ‫“( צוּץ‬counsel”) and “one of the most important terms in wisdom discourse” (Ansell, “This Is Her Body,” 154). Cf. Judg 20:7; Prov 1:25, 30; 8:14.

73. According to the LXX, these are the words of the Levite. According to the MT, these are the words of the Israelite tribes.

74. The book of Ruth follows the book of Judges in the LXX, while 1 Samuel follows the book of Judges in the MT.

Book Review: The Message of Women: Creation, Grace, and Gender

By Derek and Dianne Tidball (InterVarsity, 2012) Reviewed by Woodrow E. Walton As part of the “Bible Themes” series within the larger The Bible Speaks Today collection of Bible commentaries and themes, The Message of Women is an exposition rather than a detailed commentary. It explores the life of women in Old Testament times and in the life of Jesus and the subsequent life of the early church. Without actually saying what is suggested by the title of their work, Derek and Dianne Tidball find a message for the twentyfirst century church. At the close of chapter 12, the theme of which is “women in the encounters of Jesus,” the writers make the observation that “contrary to the culture in which [Jesus] lived, his actions demonstrate that women are in no way inferior to men” (171).

Early on in the book, either Derek or Dianne writes that their findings led them to “adopt an egalitarian perspective but not, we hope, in any naïve way” (26). It is evident from the manuscript itself that careful exegesis of important biblical citations lay behind their exposition and the position at which they arrived. The book betrays intimate knowledge of the biblical languages and the semantic range of each. Their footnotes cite the work of J. H. Ortwell, Philip Payne, Gordon Fee, Kenneth E. Bailey, and Ben Witherington, each of whom came to egalitarian conclusions based upon their own research. Bailey, especially, spent fortysome years in the Near East and has firsthand acquaintance with Near Eastern customs.

The Tidballs did acknowledge differing conclusions, citing as well individuals who did not see women in the Bible as equal to men in leadership. Rather than taking a defensive stance, the Tidballs relied upon textual analysis of cited Scriptures (e.g., on pp. 96 and 97 respecting the role of Deborah). Textual analysis

CBE’s new website is coming soon!

New content especially for members and subscribers To learn about these exciting new member and subscriber benefits, see cbeinternational.org/2014new_web

requires firsthand acquaintance with biblical linguistic structures, in which they exhibited mastery.

This reviewer is impressed by the thoroughness of the Tidballs’ study of women in both the Old Testament and the New. Their thoroughness is especially evident not only in their analysis of the teachings of Jesus, as explored in chapter 13, but also focusing on women who were disciples of him, as developed in chapter 14. This same thoroughness is evident in the treatment of the participation of women in the ongoing life of the early church from its beginning at Pentecost to its spread across the Mediterranean world (chs. 15–20). They covered every possible avenue of early Christian life, from the prayer life and worship of the early church to active ministry and leadership. The Tidballs did not end with those considerations, but also took up marital relationships and the care of widows.

The Message of Women: Creation, Grace, and Gender is highly recommended by this reviewer. The book’s heavy documentation of sources does not distract from its readability, as it is not filled with specialized terminology. Good scholarship is definitely there, but the book certainly is not “heavy reading.”

The Message of Women closes with the authors’ afterword and also a study guide, divided into twenty sections corresponding to the twenty chapters making up the whole of the book. The study guide is much more invested in the area of application than in the thematic study of different chapters. This distances the book even further from being strictly a commentary. Chapter 14, which deals with women as disciples of Jesus, has two questions in its matching study which ask, “What particular images of discipleship do the women of Luke 8:1–3 reflect?” (185–89) and “What is the evidence that suggests women were involved as preachers at the time of Jesus?” (189–90).

A format as here described makes The Message of Women ideal for college and seminary students as well as congregations.

It would be helpful as well for the pastor who uses the matching The Bible Speaks Today commentaries. The study guides, as constructed, only strengthen a statement that the Tidballs make on page 42 of their book: “. . . the creation accounts start with a picture of equality, unity and mutuality. The compass has been set for the journey ahead.” That is how it ends. After all, it was Mary Magdalene who announced Jesus’s resurrection to the disciples: “I have seen the Lord!” (John 20:18).

WOODROW E. WALTON is an ordained Assemblies of God Minister. Over a ministry of more than 53 years, he has served as pastor and educator (professor and dean), evangelist, prison and healthcare minister, and has served in mission programs in Africa. He is a writer and conference speaker and a member of the Evangelical Theological Society.

He lives with his wife, Joy, in Shattuck, Oklahoma.

Priscilla Papers ◆ Vol. 28, No. 1 ◆ Winter 2014 • 29

Mother And A Grave I look at it every now and then.

We both held Him. I and a grave share that honor.

No man ever held Him as we held Him Inside ourselves.

He left me for you, You sad, cold, lifeless hole.

Then, He left you for me And now He’s inside me forever.

Madonna Without Child She holds His shoes in her hands.

They are worn shoes, but the only clothes not stolen

by Romans and priests and elders and everyone else who always wanted a piece of Him. But they cannot have her piece. The feet that wore these shoes were feet of her feet, blood of her blood, tears of her tears.

As yet, the halo has not been painted.

As yet, she is still a Semitic woman with a dead Semitic son. And yet, the halo will shine no brighter than now, barely reflecting off brighter tears; tears that will paint her halo brighter than any pale Dutch Master ever could.

H. edgar hix is a poet who lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He works with the Legal Aid Society of Minneapolis. He blogs on the CBE Scroll as Hubert Edgar.

30 • Priscilla Papers ◆ Vol. 28, No. 1 ◆ Winter 2014

�

Christians for Biblical Equality Christians for Biblical Equality is an organization of Christian men and women who believe that the Bible, properly interpreted, teaches the fundamental equality of believers of all ethnic groups, all economic classes, and all age groups, based on the teachings of Scripture as reflected in Galatians 3:28.

Mission Statement CBE affirms and promotes the biblical truth that all believers—without regard to gender, ethnicity or class—must exercise their God-given gifts with equal authority and equal responsibility in church, home, and world.

Core Values We believe the Bible teaches: • Believers are called to mutual submission, love, and service.

• God distributes spiritual gifts without regard to gender, ethnicity, or class.

• Believers must develop and exercise their God-given gifts in church, home, and world.

• Believers have equal authority and equal responsibility to exercise their gifts without regard to gender, ethnicity, or class and without the limits of culturally defined roles.

• Restricting believers from exercising their gifts—on the basis of their gender, ethnicity, or class—resists the work of the Spirit of God and is unjust.

• Believers must promote righteousness and oppose injustice in all its forms.

Opposing Injustice CBE recognizes that injustice is an abuse of power, taking from others what God has given them: their dignity, their freedom, their resources, and even their very lives. CBE also recognizes that prohibiting individuals from exercising their God-given gifts to further his kingdom constitutes injustice in a form that impoverishes the body of Christ and its ministry in the world at large. CBE accepts the call to be part of God’s mission in opposing injustice as required in Scriptures such as Micah 6:8.

Envisioned Future Christians for Biblical Equality envisions a future where all believers are freed to exercise their gifts for God’s glory and purposes, with the full support of their Christian communities.

Statement of Faith • We believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God, is reliable, and is the final authority for faith and practice.

• We believe in the unity and trinity of God, eternally existing as three equal persons.

• We believe in the full deity and full humanity of Jesus Christ.

• We believe in the sinfulness of all persons. One result of sin is shattered relationships with God, others, and self.

• We believe that eternal salvation and restored relationships are possible through faith in Jesus Christ who died for us, rose from the dead, and is coming again. This salvation is offered to all people.

• We believe in the work of the Holy Spirit in salvation, and in the power and presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of believers.

• We believe in the equality and essential dignity of men and women of all ethnicities, ages, and classes. We recognize that all persons are made in the image of God and are to reflect that image in the community of believers, in the home, and in society.

• We believe that men and women are to diligently develop and use their God-given gifts for the good of the home, church, and society.

• We believe in the family, celibate singleness, and faithful heterosexual marriage as God’s design.

• We believe that, as mandated by the Bible, men and women are to oppose injustice.

CBE Membership CBE membership is available to those who support CBE’s Statement of Faith. Members receive CBE’s quarterly publications, Mutuality magazine and Priscilla Papers journal, as well as discounts to our bookstore and conferences. Visit our home page and click “Membership” for details.

CBE Membership Application ________________________________________________ name

____________________________________________________________ street address ____________________________________________________________ city ________________________________________ __________________ state / province / country zip / postal code _____________________________ phone

____________________________ email address

Membership Fees (all fees are in US dollars) United States Members Individual Household Low Income* Subscription Only**

1 Year � $49 � $69 � $27 � $40

3 Years � $129 � $184 � N/A � $115

International Members Individual Household Low Income* Subscription Only**

1 Year � $59 � $79 � $37 � $49

3 Years � $154 � $204 � N/A � $140

Organizations 1–100 people 101–500 people 501–1,000 people 1,001–2,000 people 2,001–5,000 people 5,001+ people

1 Year � $55 � $85 � $110 � $220 � $330 � $440 Additional Contribution $ _______ TOTAL $ ________

* Available to those with an annual household income of less than $23,000. ** Does not include membership benefits.

CBE is an exempt organization as described in IRC Sec. 501(c)3 and as such donations qualify as charitable contributions where allowed by law.

Payment Method � Check/Money Order (payable to Christians for Biblical Equality) � Visa � MasterCard � Discover � American Express ________________________________________ ___________________ account number expiration date _________________ verification code (the four digits on the top right corner of American Express cards or final three digits found on the back of other cards) _____________________________________________________________ signature

Please mail or fax this form to: Christians for Biblical Equality

122 W Franklin Ave, Suite 218, Minneapolis, MN 55404-2451 Phone: (612) 872-6898 | Fax: (612) 872-6891 Email: cbe@cbeinternational.org

Priscilla Papers ◆ Vol. 28, No. 1 ◆ Winter 2014 • 31

32 • Priscilla Papers ◆ Vol. 28, No. 1 ◆ Winter 2014