National Declaration by Religious Leaders to Address Violence Against Women
On April 5, 2006 forty-two national religious leaders from around the country declared violence against women as intolerable and pledged their commitment to its eradication. The National Declaration by Religious Leaders to Address Violence Against Women will be distributed to every battered women's program in the U.S. Women will see this list and determine whether their faith community supports them in seeking safety for themselves and their children. When people of faith join with other community leaders to address domestic violence, we will see ancient roadblocks turn into resources that save lives and bring healing.
We acknowledge that our sacred texts, traditions and values have too often been misused to perpetuate and condone abuse.
We commit ourselves to working toward the day when all women will be safe and abuse will be no more.
We draw upon our healing texts and practices to help make our families and societies whole.
Our religious and spiritual traditions compel us to work for justice and the eradication of violence against women.
We call upon people of all religious and spiritual traditions to join us.
Please join other people of faith in signing the Declaration.
Click Here to Sign!
posted by Mike Clawson at 12:41 AM
3 Comments:
Scot McKnight recently posted this story at his blog about the destructive and abusive effects a theology of female subordination can sometimes have. It is an important perspective for us all to hear. The author sums up her experiences of abuse with this statement:
"I believe that no one should ever preach submission or let the word cross their lips unless they have lived 24/7 in subordination to another imperfect human being. Men speak glibly of women accepting limits, do they have any idea?
Please understand, I am in no way implying that all complementarians or subordinationists would practice or condone the kind of abuse described in this story. However, I am curious as to how those who do hold such views would safe guard against abuses like these? It seems like such a dangerous thing to say that one class of imperfect human beings should always be subordinate to another class of imperfect human beings. How does a theology of subordination avoid the risk of falling down the slippery slope of abusive domination? Does a theology of subordination subtly (or not-so-subtly) encourage women to stay in abusive relationships and accept such treatment?
(BTW, I am asking these questions in the context of this story. Please read it before responding. I'm not interested in abstract arguments. I want to know what you might say to this woman and her real-life experiences with subordination.)
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Just to clarify... I think there is a difference between volutary submission to another and a theology of subordination. One has to do with a personal choice, the other with a (supposedly) "God-given" status. This story is about the latter, IMO.
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