The two articles: "Appreciating Women and Their Work," & "What Does the Future Hold for Women?"
Appeared in the Jehovah's Witnesses magazine, Awake! April 8, 1998
These two articles seem to support women's full equality, and thus are very praiseworthy. Nevertheless, other of JW's publications paint a very different picture of how women are viewed.
What the Awake! magazine here fails to mention is that Lydia, Dorcas, and Prisca were said to actually be "elders", as pointed out in the book, "What Paul Really Said About Women," By John Temple Bristow. But JW's forbid women to serve as elders. Only men are given roles as elders or congergational leaders. Like Promise Keepers, JW's constantly makes claims of "honoring women" and yet their talks, books and printed material proves the opposite teachings.
The JW's Revelation-A Grand Climax At Hand! Page #48, paragraph #8 claims that the reason why JW men turn apostate is because their wives fail to allow their husbands the God-given right to rule over them and thus they also "insight court action against Jehovah's faithful servants"; and that when a woman challenge a man's right to rule over her, that then this is a "Jezebel influence".
Paragraph #11 also claims that it is "LOVING for Christian overseers to FIRMLY RESTAIN ANY PROMOTION of EQUALITY or LIBERTY of RIGHTS for WOMEN as counseled by WATCHTOWER SOCIETY'S PUBLICATIONS." (Notice they did NOT say as counseled by the BIBLE!)
In the JW's Proclaimer's book page #221, paragraph #3 a women who is a devout reverer of Rutherford is quoted as blessing Rutherford and his issue of the Watchtower for helping promote her feelings of "relief to see the end of 'women's rights". Then she goes on to call women's rights as "local opinions and individual judgement that is opposite of Jehovah God and Jesus Christ and thus thereby a reproach on Jehovah's name".
Then back to the Revelation book page #51, paragraph #14 speaks of JW elders being used by Jesus as "trusted stars to POLICE and SURPRESS WOMEN". Individuals of the congregation are threatened to not question stating, "After these elders have fully examined a matter and JUDGMENT has been rendered it is NOT for INDIVIDUALS to probe into the ways and wherefores of the action taken. All should humbly accept the elders disposal of the matter and continue to be supportive of these congregational stars".
Also they call such faith groups as Seventh-Day Adventists and Christian Science "spiritually sullied" and "spiritually immoral" for simply having women teach from the pulpit. All of this is the complete opposite of Galatians 3:28, which says that, "There is neither Greek nor Jew nor Male Nor Female but that ALL are one through Christ"! <
jace98
1/6/05 8:00 AM 1 out of 9
WT and Spousal Abuse
How is this issued handled by the WT. The wt has many articles on the subject over the years, but when one reads such articles carefully one will notice that something is constantly missing. And that is what should be done to help such a person man or woman in that situation, esp women
For those of you who are from Old School like me, we have years of exp of how the wt has directed this issue to be handled, for the most part elders have been told to be HANDS OFF, IT IS A PERSONAL MATTER. Now while on the surface that may at some level sound reasonable, but is it?
I recall growing up as a jw kid my mom and dad would fight, she would call the elders they would come over and they would ask her WHAT DID YOU DO? To desever getting your head cracked or your eye punched out? And most importantly they would go to the bound volumes to cite examples of sisters who put up with beating for 30yrs so that they could win their husbands over without a word,
So while they are sitting there looking at a sister with a busted lip , they are talking about Jah hates a divorcing. As I grew up and became and elder myself, I saw where that mindset comes from, I think due to the wt long history of not trusting psychologist and folks like that,
The emotional state of an abused woman was never taken into consideration, Many woman in abusive relationships after years of abuse, just become dependent, sorta like a jw who when faced with issues must ask first “Can we do that”- not knowing what is approved by the wt or not they must seek out answers for some of the most smallest issues in their lives, as the wt states, asking such things as “Can I buy this toy bro elder or see this movie” look it up it on the cdrom its there as an example- smile
The wt has nothing in place to assist such persons, NO DIRECTIVE TO CONGOS, OR ELDERS many women have reported that IF THEY HAD SOMEWHERE TO GO THEY WOULD HAVE LEFT,
well most elders make it clear to the sister when they are talking to them :
“YOU AIN’T moving in with us and we ain’t going to be asking around the hall to see if anyone can put you up either SO DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT ASKING”
I look back now at the few examples of women who took beating and yes their husband is now an elder, and they get to tell their story at the conventions, yet how many 1000’s of women are just married to a fool and yet they believe that if they hang in there a little long and take one more beating that someday he will join here in service
One of the most interesting things about being a jw is not only all the “Written rules and policies and procedures” that impact jw lives, but all the UNWRITTEN ONES
As one poster put it all the “Nuisances” that go into being a jw, the unwritten and oftentime REGION VIEWS that become part of jw folklore as rules over the years
Like wearing white shirts on the assembly programs, etc
If you look thru the cdrom on spousal abuse, at the end of the article it doesn’t provide and Solutions to help TODAY, SUCH AS get out of that sitation with your kids, bro assist such a persons , etc, instead they are told for the most part
1. maintain good meeting attendance
2. go out in service
3. keep up on your mag reading
and one day gods kingdom will take care of things
yes even as a jw I always felt that we really didn’t address what jesus addressed by feeding the 5000, by Paul setting up the arrangement to care for the widows, etc-
we don’t really have any real arrangement beyond just what a couple of individuals do, the wt doesn’t address the obligation that christains have to do more than preach the wt solution to all problems is go out in service more- when I was the SEC of the congo, one of the things idid was read thru all the old letters to bodies of elders and NOT ONE, NOT ONE letter ever addressed the physical and emotional needs of folks to believe that one only has Spiritual needs is to close ones eyes to reality
clairraven
1/6/05 9:53 AM 2 out of 9 ,P> In all fairness, who really handles this issue well? Our own courts and police do a terrible job in handling this issue. I recall an Awake that dealt with this and I also recall telling anyone who would listen that it was bulls***. Any suggestion to a human being that it is ever beneficial to remain in a relationship with a person who is violent is horrible and God will judge them on that.
But, it is the responsibility of WOMEN in the organization to be extremely vocal about this sort of thing.
jwtruth
1/6/05 10:01 AM 3 out of 9
jace,
I took very little interest in this subject while I was more active among JWs. It is embarrassing for me to look back now on how I handled chances to do something and yet didn't, only because I trusted the congregation to be ultimately just.
When I was pioneering, my brother who graduated HS in '73 had started a business that offered me $10 an hour back in the mid 70's. (74-76) We shared the basement apartment below that of an elder and his pioneer wife who lived in the large house. (He was an MS during that time.) He threatened and abused his wife with in-her-face screaming, pushing and intimidation, but I can't say I know that he ever hit her physically.
She was young and beautiful, in personality and looks, and many in the congregation felt sorry for her. One fellow pioneer even talked to me about wanting to commit adultery with her so they could be disfellowshipped and then get married and come back into the organization as soon as possible afterwards. He said the only thing that stopped him was Armageddon coming later in the year (1975). I was 16 and this was the strangest thing I had ever heard. I told him I was considering turning him in to the elders and he said it was just talk. He is an elder now.
I "loved" this sister, too. She and her husband and my brother and I got together to go over the Watchtower study every Saturday. The husband stopped, leaving just the three of us, after which he would immediately come home, send us downstairs and we could hear his screaming. It couldn't have been for her lack of keeping a clean home and making his meals. She even cleaned our apartment now and then, and left food for us. (Without her we would have alternated forever between pizza, cereal, tuna sandwiches, IHOP, and McDondald's -- whether it was breakfast, lunch or dinner was irrelevant.)
I hadn't made the jealousy connection until she started giving me piano lessons. (She was the piano player at the hall and I already played a couple other instruments in the District Assemby orchestra.) Once, after a day in service with her (and others) followed by a half-hour of piano, her husband came home and started screaming before sending me out, but he didn't let on that he was really angry at me.
I was naive. I left, and my brother and I heard her screaming and crying after each of 10 loud cracking sounds. We tried to believe he was only hitting his fist against a wall. My brother later showed me what he was actually doing. He had stabbed (or thrown) a huge butcher knife deep into the kitchen cabinet next to her head at least 10 times. He even admitted this to my brother. The husband also told my brother to order me to stay away from her.
Of course, she had been a great friend and I only felt closer to her after this, but I still stayed away and said nothing about it. My reasons were disgusting to me now. I knew I was applying to Bethel and selfishly didn't want any problems. Also, I was afraid of him. Rumors were that he was gay, but I don't think so anymore, especially after he was made an elder.
She left him a few years later, just walked out and moved in with her mother. She went from pioneer to inactive and finally stopped attending meetings completely. I'm told by the once-pioneer, now-elder who wanted to marry her that she never even looked to start another relationship, but that her husband got a divorce and remarried on the claim/assumption that she "must" have sinned after being "in the world" for long enough.
I felt so badly about my inaction that I determined never to act so weakly again. My next opportunity was when my own sister, also a pioneer, was abused physically by her M.S. husband. I was already considered disassociated by many JWs, but that didn't stop me from threatening to take the 1,000 mile trip immediately to help her set things straight with him.
My sister went with the counsel of the elders, which included counsel from my father. She thus stayed with him through several more beatings, just to avoid bringing reproach on Jehovah's name and His congregation. My sister finally lost her pioneer privileges for going to a hospital when they thought the injuries were treatable without hospitalization.
My sister still wouldn't talk to me at the time, since she was still a JW and considered me disassociated. She then "divorced" him to remarry, resulting in her own disfellowshipment, since her divorce was not approved by the congregation. (He only lost some privileges for a short time.)
My father now speaks to me and admits that he made a terrible mistake in pushing the Society's counsel on his daughter. This my not have been "official" counsel, but was the practical counsel of many Circuit Overseers and elders for as long I was aware during the 60's, 70's and early 80's. I think that JWs have since gotten a bit smarter. I credit some of their changes to influence from the world, and some to the obvious realization, after Raymond Franz' book, that they ("The Society") were no longer immune to dangerous exposure.
My father and sister both began talking to me again shortly after this incident. My parents are still JWs but I'm sure this incident opened their eyes to the wrongfulness of their cold-hearted stance. Oddly, my mother still wouldn't talk to my sister for about 10 years. (This was about the same length of "punishment" both my parents tried on me.) But this has changed to a point now where you would hardly know they once shunned us both completely.
jwtruth
SummerThyme
1/6/05 10:30 AM 5 out of 9
But, it is the responsibility of WOMEN in the organization to be extremely vocal about this sort of thing. Clair my first reaction to this comment was a bit like your comment to the AWAKE! mag reference. It is easy to blame the victim. She (or he) should scream louder. She should leave ... she isn't tied down, there are shelters, she isn't held prisoner ...
From my perch, gender roles are really quite clearly and well defined in the WTS literature. Women are assigned a place (by GOD no less). It is not women who should be screaming. It is men within the organization, those whose positions are also biblically assigned, who should be screaming on behalf of their mothers, sisters and daughters. Men are the head of their "family" are they not?
So I disagree with you Clair. Those who have a recognized voice within the organization should be the ones screaming. If the men scream against abuse, the women will be their echoes.
clairraven
1/6/05 10:57 AM 6 out of 9
I see your point, Summer, but I'm not talking about women who are abused. I'm talking about women in general. We have to define what is proper treatment for us. We can't let our "oppressor" decide what is right for us.
Take the example of blacks in the US. Who should define what is dignity for black people? White people? No. We should decide what is proper treatment toward us. Allowing our historical oppressor to decide is wrong.
Women in the organization need to want more, and they need to want it before they become victims. A woman who isn't getting hit in the face when the floor isn't clean should be the one to speak up loudly for her sister who is receiving such treatment. Why should she wait on a man to give up his privilege of dominance before she speaks up for herself?
Christ calls us all to recognize our own humanity and all the dignity that comes with it. We are, through Christ, adopted into God's family and we are each loved intensely by Him. Therefore, we are each responsible for negating the world and it's wrong thinking by our voice and our actions. We each have to seek justice.
As a woman, I decide how a man treats me. If I don't like how he treats me, then I have to stop him. And I speak as a woman who had a violent husband and I had to be the one to decide that he couldn't be my husband and treat me the way he treated me. Only when I decided that God loves me and I needed to love myself at least as much could I do what needed to be done. So I've been there. And I know how hard it is. But you have to do what you have to do anyway.
SummerThyme
1/6/05 11:11 AM 7 out of 9
Clair I agree with you right across the board.
However, humans need to decide how to treat humans. Regardless of their age, colour, ethnicity or country of origin. I think the Biblical principals are short and succinct in how one should treat another of GOD's beings.
In the JWOrganization (as just one example - not intended to be exclusive) gender roles are defined. Clearly so. Alarmingly so if you follow some of the principlas in some of the threads on this very board. Within the WTBARS/cCJW/JWOrganization ... whatever initials you wish to use to identity the totality of the JW membership ... Men have the "headship" voice. The authority. Men are in a position to speak for their mothers, sisters and daughters.
Men are in the position to effect change. Women ... abused or not ... can be echoes to the voices of the "headship" mean who are in positions of change within the organization. If there were women in positions of authority within the JWmembership, I'd agree that women within the organization have a stronger voice. But there are none. Women have a 'whisper' in the organization.
Men are in a "proactive" position.
Women are more in a position of "reaction".
clairraven
1/6/05 11:22 AM 8 out of 9
You are right. I see exactly what you mean. And the men in the situation do have a spiritual responsibility to seek justice for everyone.
I just don't think women in the org should wait on that. And it isn't enough for a few individuals to point this problem out because they will just be seen as a few bad apples. There needs to be women's groups in the WTS. An office on women's affairs, women's bible study and fellowship groups.
But the WTS has a very long way to go in this regard. They don't understand that the way they define gender roles is counter to God's purpose.
jwtruth:
"bohem,I was surprised in 1985 to see the problem related in a Jewish newspaper which admitted that spousal abuse was a huge problem among Jewish husbands against their wives. I was surprised at the candor of the admission and I realized that Jewish congregations have many of the same problems as JWs, maybe much more. Their problems are also related to reporting and covering up of abuse, blaming it on the woman, keeping the abusive men in good standing, not bringing reproach upon the Jewish community, etc. I understand what clairraven means about this being a bigger social problem than just a JW problem. I'm glad you see that, too."
Very true. When I took a course on Surverys of Western Religions at college we learned that the fundamental Jews make women sit in a seperate section from the men..while the men get the ruling seats. This is the way it is with 'ALL' fundamental religions. However, we also learned of Progressive/Liberal Jews where women and men BOTh serve equally as rabbis.
bohem
1/6/05 11:42 AM 9 out of 9
Thanks, you two for started this thread!:) An issue that needs to be addressed! Your comments are so important that i am going to ad a direct link to this thread onto my website about JW's, Fundamental religions, sexism and how it all connects to spouse abuse.
My older sister was also a victim of emtional abuse by her theocratic-acting husband for 8 years. He belittled her and constantly emotionally abuse her and all her children, especially his step-son. For 8 years the elders, though they even realized and told her that they realized the problem lied with HIM. Still they reminded her that he was still the hEAD (arche=chief/ruler)of the house (Not Kehpale=self-giving one) and thus she should simply endure and make sure she did not go against his headship or DO anything to upset the husband/wife arangement.
She was a doormat, even though this went against her nature. It was not untill one day while hiking that the husband grew angry at his oldest step son (11, at the time)and swung his fist alongside his head and nearly caused him to slid down the side of a step trail..that she finally took steps to go against "The Society's" 'suggestions' and file divorce. Sexism in the name of Scriptures and the emotional abuse by Husbands connecting to it is also a big problem amoungst Fundamental Protestants,especially Southern Baptists.
(See link to Southern Baptists & Sexism) http://www.cbeinternational.org/new/free_articles/sbc_subordination.shtml
Women, Abuse, and the Bible:
How Scripture Can Be Used to Hurt or Heal
Catherine Clark Kroeger & James R. Beck, editors
First, The Bad News
We all either know someone or have heard stories about women who have been abused.
· Linda doesn't know if she can trust God anymore. Her father, an elder in the church, molested her when she was a child. Her church teaches that God is a Father, and she doesn't want any part of religion.
· Barb knows that the beatings she takes from her husband are wrong, but he keeps telling her it's her Christian duty to submit.
· Ellen has always been taught that men are supposed to be leaders in the church, and women are to keep silent. She is afraid to let anyone in the church know that she was verbally assaulted by a church leader.
Why do Christians physically, sexually, or emotionally abuse others--with frightening frequency? A recent conference on "Women, Abuse, and the Bible" looked for answers. Fifteen select papers from this conference appear in this book.
Part I covers the relationship between belief and abuse. The book analyses statistics and includes personal stories, showing how biblical concepts can be misused to feed tendencies toward control and violence. Chapters deal with the biblical, theological, pastoral, psychological, legal, and social aspects of abuse. The book also considers whether traditional views have made women targets.
The Good News
After examining the ways in which Scripture has been used to hurt, Part II addresses questions of healing: What can we learn from one another about the totality of battering, incest, rape, emotional cruelty, and clergy abuse? How can we minister in Christ's name to both the abused and the abuser? What can we, as the people of God unified in conviction and in purpose, do toward prevention and treatment of abuse in its many aspects?
Contributors attempt to answer these questions by examining biblical perspectives on relationships and sexuality, as well as biblical interpretations of headship and submission. A model of pastoral care for abused women is offered. Ways to create a healing environment for abuse survivors are discussed. Also examined are effective means of Christian intervention with men who batter.
Statistics on Battering
· Approximately 95% of the victims of battering are women (U.S. Department of Justice, 1983).
· More than 50% of women are battered at some time in their lives; over one-third are battered repeatedly (Peachey, 1988).
· On average, 10 women a day are killed by their batterers (National Organization for Women, 1987).
· Each year, more than 1 million women seek medical assistance for injuries caused by battering (Stark and Flitcraft, 1982).
· Battering accounts for more injuries to women than car accidents, muggings, and rapes combined (Stark and Flitcraft).
· In 1986, 30% of female homicide victims were killed by their husbands or boyfriends (Uniform Crime Reports, FBI, 1987).
· Estimates of the percentage of pregnant women who are battered run as high as 25% (Flitcraft).
· In one study (Gondolf, 1988), two-thirds of battered women have partners who have threatened to kill them.
Contributors
·Carolyn Holderread Heggen · David M. Scholer · Diane Langberg · · Jackie J. Hudson · Alice P. Mathews · Shirley Gillett · Craig S. Keener · · M. Gay Hubbard · Joan Burgess Winfrey · Mary Nella Bruce · Steven R. Fleming · · Thomas · Catherine Clark Kroeger · James R. Beck ·
Endorsement
"I believe that this is a valuable piece of writing never before offered to the community of Christians worldwide, who so desperately need to have access to this information. The depth and substance provided by the authors recounts the poignant struggle of women worldwide who have suffered often within the church, and yet courageously set about to change their lives and their world. This profound Christian "study of our times" should bring us to our knees in repentance. The character and integrity of the Christian church will be reflected in our response."
-- Paul B. Thompson, former president/CEO of Operation Blessing International and executive director of World Vision Relief and Development. Previously co-chair of the Commission on the Advancement of Women.
About the Editors
Catherine Clark Kroeger is adjunct professor of classical and ministry studies at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. She holds a Ph.D. in classical studies from the University of Minnesota.
James R. Beck is associate professor of counseling, Denver Seminary. He holds a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Rosemead Graduate School of Psychology, Biola University.
To order Women, Abuse, and the Bible: How Scripture Can Be Used To Hurt or Heal Item Number: 0-8010-5707-8, $14.99 plus shipping and handling: to CBE, 122 W. Franklin Ave, Suite 218, Minneapolis, MN 55404. Fax 612 872-6891.
Located on CBE's website www.cbeinternational.org
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