The Persecution of Women in the Church

Originally Posted by Barb

Wow!! I've been off line for a bit tending to other things, and for anyone doing any Sherlocking, they can tell you I just logged on not long ago and read the last couple of pages.

A few points and maybe a question or two and then it's bedtime for me.

I made the following post earlier this evening and it was followed by CS...






Anyone care to comment on THIS?! Why did Homie use the wrong phraseology here?! The words he was looking for were possible abuse of authority...overstepping bounds...NOT persecution.



No, it isn't funny or accurate.

What is funny, as in odd, is this...people like Randy, PastorPoster, Coonskinner, Renda, Mother A and others can post about things that seem to really get to the heart of where we live and the threads and posts end up in the elephant's graveyard.

But let some disgruntled soul start a thread about women or 'standards' and we are up to 23 or more pages.

It is mindboggling...

I don't happen to be a disgruntled soul, I am a healthy pastor trying to understand why women are always the target...

[SDG]

Originally Posted by Felicity

That is the dictionary definition but not the way we normally think of persecution. Don't you think?

Um ... I like dictionaries.

[JaneEyre]

Originally Posted by Daniel Alicea

If this is a valid definition ... then the word is in play.

It is a valid definition.

Here's the definition from Merriam-Webster:

Main Entry: per·se·cute
Pronunciation: \ˈpər-si-ˌkyüt\
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Form(s): per·se·cut·ed; per·se·cut·ing
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French persecuter, back-formation from persecuteur persecutor, from Late Latin persecutor, from persequi to persecute, from Latin, to pursue, from per- through + sequi to follow — more at sue
Date: 15th century
1: to harass or punish in a manner designed to injure, grieve, or afflict; specifically : to cause to suffer because of belief
2: to annoy with persistent or urgent approaches (as attacks, pleas, or importunities) : pester

[SDG]

Persecution is just not physical ... sorry ...

It can be verbal, spiritual, emotional ... etc ...

We all value those who have been martyred for the Gospel ... but it's pretty disturbing to skirt this issue .... simply because of our pre-conceived definitions ....

Originally Posted by Daniel Alicea

How I Came to Love the Veil
by Yvonne Ridley


POLITICIANS AND JOURNALISTS just love to write about the oppression of women in Islam ... without even talking to the females beneath the veil.
They simply have no idea how Muslim women are protected and respected within the Islamic framework which was built more than 1400 years ago.
Yet, by writing about cultural issues like child brides, female circumcision, honor killings and forced marriages they wrongly believe they are coming from a point of knowledge.


And I am sick of Saudi Arabia being cited as an example of how women are subjugated in a country where they are banned from driving.


The issues above have simply nothing to do with Islam yet they still write and talk about them with an arrogant air of authority while wrongly blaming Islam. Please do not confuse cultural behavior with Islam.


I was asked to write about how Islam allows men to beat their wives. Sorry, not true. Yes, I'm sure critics of Islam will quote random Qur'anic verses or ahadith but all are usually taken out of context. If a man does raise a finger to his wife, he is not allowed to leave a mark on her body ... this is another way of the Qur'an saying; "Don't beat your wife, stupid".

Now let's take a glance at some really interesting statistics, hmm. I can almost hear the words pot, kettle, black. According to the National Domestic Violence Hotline, four million American women experience a serious assault by a partner during an average 12-month period.
On the average, more than three women are murdered by their husbands and boyfriends every day . . . that is nearly 5,500 women battered to death since 9/11.

Some might say that is a shocking indictment on such a civilized society, but before I sound too smug, I would say that violence against women is a global issue. Violent men do not come in any particular religious or cultural category. The reality is that one out of three women around the world has been beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused during her lifetime. Violence against women transcends religion, wealth, class, skin color and culture.


However, until Islam came on the scene women were treated as inferior beings. In fact we women still have a problem in the West where men think they are superior. This is reflected in our promotion and wages structure right across the spectrum from cleaners to career women who make it into the boardroom.

Continued ...... http://www.ediscoverislam.com/Islam-woman-veil.asp

Thank you very much. Spiritually speaking Eve is the mother of all living and if Satan can destroy the spirit of the woman, she can destroy the seed. God bless you Dan.

[Felicity]

Originally Posted by Daniel Alicea

Um ... I like dictionaries.

LOL! Me too.

I use them a lot and was going to earlier post that definition but didn't because I didn't think the definition quite fit the way we normally think of the word.

[Scott Hutchinson]

I don't think my wife feels persecuted ,by Christianity.
I just asked her and she says no.
She really looks like a traditional pentecostal but that is her personal convictions.

[Rhoni]

Originally Posted by Rhoni

Renda,
I do feel as if I was persecuted on two extremes; 1) I was persecuted in secular college for my views on homosexuality to the point that they tried to keep me out of the Social Work profession. Had I not been an honor student they could have stopped me from admittance to the Social Work program. 2) I feel that the church persecuted me for attaining a secular education and made it a point in every service to talk about how God uses the weak and ignorant and not the learned and educated.

So, I might not have been killed literally but many times the devil has used the world and the church to discourage me through persecution.

This is my opinion.

Rhonda

I was persecuted according to the dictionary as well as my feelings

Main Entry: per·se·cute
Pronunciation: \ˈpər-si-ˌkyüt\
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Form(s): per·se·cut·ed; per·se·cut·ing
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French persecuter, back-formation from persecuteur persecutor, from Late Latin persecutor, from persequi to persecute, from Latin, to pursue, from per- through + sequi to follow — more at sue
Date: 15th century
1: to harass or punish in a manner designed to injure, grieve, or afflict; specifically : to cause to suffer because of belief
2: to annoy with persistent or urgent approaches (as attacks, pleas, or importunities) : pester

[Felicity]

Originally Posted by JaneEyre

It is a valid definition.

Here's the definition from Merriam-Webster:

Main Entry: per·se·cute
Pronunciation: \ˈpər-si-ˌkyüt\
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Form(s): per·se·cut·ed; per·se·cut·ing
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French persecuter, back-formation from persecuteur persecutor, from Late Latin persecutor, from persequi to persecute, from Latin, to pursue, from per- through + sequi to follow — more at sue
Date: 15th century
1: to harass or punish in a manner designed to injure, grieve, or afflict; specifically : to cause to suffer because of belief
2: to annoy with persistent or urgent approaches (as attacks, pleas, or importunities) : pester

Can also add to the above.......

3. a program or campaign to exterminate, drive away, or subjugate a people because of their religion, race, or beliefs: the persecutions of Christians by the Romans.

Actually though the word wasn't defined by the author of the thread and I'm not sure the dictionary definition was what he meant by using that particular word.

[MissBrattified]

It irritates me that it is assumed that since I abide by fairly conservative Apostolic views, that I must not do so of my accord, that it has been foisted off upon me, and either I am too stupid to know that I have been duped, or too brain-washed to care.

I find that point of view to be the arrogant one.

It is also irritating that my husband is viewed as abusive, simply because he believes that he has an authoritative role in our home, a role which is supported by scripture.

Someone causing me offense is NOT the same as persecution. If it were, there are a few women here who are guilty of persecuting me.
Someone disagreeing with my views or being unsupportive of my views and lifestyle is NOT persecution. If it were, many here would be guilty of persecution.