"Babies Are Babies, Not Pawns in God’s Plan to Create Reliance on Him"
Frankly this is what I found horrifying about the book of Job. At no point in the narrative was the faith of his wife or children ever considered. Their own relationship with God ever considered worth narrative attention or weight. Worth wagering over. And then replaced at the end of the story even though a supposedly omnipotent being could have just as easily resurrected them.
It's so true! If that story is taken literally (which obviously we / evangelicals had to take it literally) it's SO horrifying. The wife, the children, everything in Job's life - just total pawns. Good point!
What a load of guilt-priming BS. It's a great illustration of spiritual bypassing though, in this case, in the physical realm. It's also reflective of the unequal power dynamic in the misogynistic bent of complementarians, TGC, and literal Biblicists. Women are dispensable chattels, born to breed. Sleep deprivation (a criminal act) works well when you are trying to break the will of a jihadist terrorist. Not a good support for TGC unless breaking a woman's will is on their agenda (which it may well be as I think of it). I guess that will be James Dobson's next book: The Strong Willed Wife. And How to Break Her Down So Her Husband Can Get His Eight Hours of Beauty Rest. After our third son (in five years) was born, my wife went to bed for a month. I guess this shows that I was among the brainwashed at that time. I'll stop now as I once again repent in my brain for my earlier married years.
Such great points. And you bring up what I forgot to mention - how sleep deprivation is used as actual torture!! I totally agree that the unspoken agenda (although honestly... it was actually spoken in this woman's Instagram post, it's just that the idea of God is used as the will-breaker, not the men in charge of her religion) is to break a woman's will. Hahaha I can see that book being pitched already. 🙄 Yikes!
I think maybe people get the idea that God is always trying to improve our character from the OT where God did just that to Israel, eg. sending them into Exile. Or is that just how it has been interpreted for us? If you found yourself suddenly homeless would you think, "I'm being sent into exile because I've been bad."
Hmmm yeah I suppose so! Makes you wonder about hagiography (I think that's the right word??) - reinterpreting events of the past in the light of the present. "Oh, God must have been purifying us through what we now call our experience of Exile." Re: the homeless example, I know as a therapist I feel like I'm sort of fighting an uphill battle against people's tendencies to blame themselves in situations where they were genuinely not at fault but need to make some sense or safety of a situation (e.g. child abuse or neglect).
"Babies Are Babies, Not Pawns in God’s Plan to Create Reliance on Him"
Frankly this is what I found horrifying about the book of Job. At no point in the narrative was the faith of his wife or children ever considered. Their own relationship with God ever considered worth narrative attention or weight. Worth wagering over. And then replaced at the end of the story even though a supposedly omnipotent being could have just as easily resurrected them.
It's so true! If that story is taken literally (which obviously we / evangelicals had to take it literally) it's SO horrifying. The wife, the children, everything in Job's life - just total pawns. Good point!
What a load of guilt-priming BS. It's a great illustration of spiritual bypassing though, in this case, in the physical realm. It's also reflective of the unequal power dynamic in the misogynistic bent of complementarians, TGC, and literal Biblicists. Women are dispensable chattels, born to breed. Sleep deprivation (a criminal act) works well when you are trying to break the will of a jihadist terrorist. Not a good support for TGC unless breaking a woman's will is on their agenda (which it may well be as I think of it). I guess that will be James Dobson's next book: The Strong Willed Wife. And How to Break Her Down So Her Husband Can Get His Eight Hours of Beauty Rest. After our third son (in five years) was born, my wife went to bed for a month. I guess this shows that I was among the brainwashed at that time. I'll stop now as I once again repent in my brain for my earlier married years.
Such great points. And you bring up what I forgot to mention - how sleep deprivation is used as actual torture!! I totally agree that the unspoken agenda (although honestly... it was actually spoken in this woman's Instagram post, it's just that the idea of God is used as the will-breaker, not the men in charge of her religion) is to break a woman's will. Hahaha I can see that book being pitched already. 🙄 Yikes!
I'm glad you're un-brainwashed now, Rick!
So is my wife! Yet she'll agree with me that I'm still in process.
I can appreciate that. So am I! ;)
I think maybe people get the idea that God is always trying to improve our character from the OT where God did just that to Israel, eg. sending them into Exile. Or is that just how it has been interpreted for us? If you found yourself suddenly homeless would you think, "I'm being sent into exile because I've been bad."
Hmmm yeah I suppose so! Makes you wonder about hagiography (I think that's the right word??) - reinterpreting events of the past in the light of the present. "Oh, God must have been purifying us through what we now call our experience of Exile." Re: the homeless example, I know as a therapist I feel like I'm sort of fighting an uphill battle against people's tendencies to blame themselves in situations where they were genuinely not at fault but need to make some sense or safety of a situation (e.g. child abuse or neglect).
Amen! Preach it, Sister!