Carmen J. Bryant, August, 2002
6
a lot of pressure right now," or "How would Jesus want you to act? Just
submit and it won't happen again."
10
The most common advice is "Go home and submit."
Even where wise pastors exist, many abused women are reluctant to go to them.
For one reason, evangelical pastors are usually male. A woman who is already being
abused by her husband will normally be reluctant to open up to another male. Second, she
is suspicious that she will only hear the "S" word again.
11
Third, she often is afraid of
what her husband will do if he finds out because, after all, he thinks he represents Christ.
How could it be possible for an outsider to give better advice than his own?
As a result, women turn to outside help. They listen to the radio, they watch TV,
and they read. The privileged ones will find truth and be enabled to act upon it. The rest
will become further victimized by the saboteurs of submission.
The Saboteurs of Submission
Since the fundamental problem lies in the curse upon the entire human race, we
can expect that in every generation teachers will arise who insist upon the inferior status
of women and the right of men to do whatever it takes to control them. In the 21
st
century, at least in the West, it is not politically correct to suggest that women might be
inferior, so the concept is reworded to suggest an essential equality that only has role
differences. Actions, however, still portray the ancient belief that a woman needs a man
to interpret spiritual reality and to lead (or force) her into submission in all aspects of life.
10
James Alsdurf and Phyllis Alsdurf, Battered into Submission: The Tragedy of Wife Abuse in the
Christian Home (Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1989), 132.
11
Charles Swindoll called submission the "S" word in Grace Awakening (Dallas: Word, 1990), 251.