Monday, December 31, 2012
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Friday, December 28, 2012
Socialism vs. charity
Socialism vs. charity Social Security, the largest government income transfer program, was originally aimed at assisting intact families and widows. Now, it's an ever-growing tax on employees and employers that has driven a wedge between the generations. How? Because in the past, parents had more children partly to insure that someone would provide for them in their old age.
Social Security removed the advantage of having children, since it guarantees income based solely on age (and previous employment). Someone who has no children gets the same amount as someone who had six children who grew up to pay into the system, thus supporting the childless retiree. Children are very expensive, as any parent can tell you. Social Security makes having them less advantageous.
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Is this the real reason behind Sandy Hook?
Is this the real reason behind Sandy Hook?
And since we’ve ordered God out of our schools, and communities, the military and public conversations, you know we really shouldn’t act so surprised … when all hell breaks loose.”
Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2012/12/is-this-the-real-reason-behind-sandy-hook/#k8Pp8SquC8mMEuvB.99
And since we’ve ordered God out of our schools, and communities, the military and public conversations, you know we really shouldn’t act so surprised … when all hell breaks loose.”
Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2012/12/is-this-the-real-reason-behind-sandy-hook/#k8Pp8SquC8mMEuvB.99
‘Three Strike’ Mental Illness Violence Law May Have Prevented Adam Lanza Slaughter
‘Three Strike’ Mental Illness Violence Law May Have Prevented Adam Lanza Slaughter
As a victim of domestic violence, I can honestly say I wish someone would have intervened when I was not personally strong enough to do what needed to be done. If I had done it myself, my children would have forever blamed me, as some do now because I left an unbearable situation. I only pray that someday they might understand.
As a victim of domestic violence, I can honestly say I wish someone would have intervened when I was not personally strong enough to do what needed to be done. If I had done it myself, my children would have forever blamed me, as some do now because I left an unbearable situation. I only pray that someday they might understand.
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Friday, December 21, 2012
We know how to stop school shootings
We know how to stop school shootings You will notice that most multiple-victim shootings occur in “gun-free zones” – even within states that have concealed-carry laws: public schools, churches, Sikh temples, post offices, the movie theater where James Holmes committed mass murder, and the Portland, Ore., mall where a nut starting gunning down shoppers a few weeks ago.
Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2012/12/we-know-how-to-stop-school-shootings/#QAdlgtL1tkqCJGIo.99
Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2012/12/we-know-how-to-stop-school-shootings/#QAdlgtL1tkqCJGIo.99
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Army acknowledges pedophilia part of Islam
Army acknowledges pedophilia part of Islam
“We are essentially sending the message that the United States endorses pedophilia by refusing to speak out against it. I don’t see any way around this.”
Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2012/12/army-acknowledges-pedophilia-part-of-islam/#wKXOrTfBqvodDPRO.99
“We are essentially sending the message that the United States endorses pedophilia by refusing to speak out against it. I don’t see any way around this.”
Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2012/12/army-acknowledges-pedophilia-part-of-islam/#wKXOrTfBqvodDPRO.99
Friday, December 14, 2012
Bible translation progressing ahead of expectations
Bible translation progressing ahead of expectations
Now the completion date is estimated at 2037! We will see the return of Jesus in our lifetime!
Now the completion date is estimated at 2037! We will see the return of Jesus in our lifetime!
Monday, December 10, 2012
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Family Home and Life: Mason Jar Solar Light
Family Home and Life: Mason Jar Solar Light: I love to use Mason jars in all kinds of ways. I found solar light lids you could buy online to make a solar light out of a Mason jar...
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Friday, December 7, 2012
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Saturday, December 1, 2012
New Wave Feminists: Why Women Shouldn’t Be Subjected To Sonograms
New Wave Feminists: Why Women Shouldn’t Be Subjected To Sonograms: Let me break it down for you. I am a super feminist. Kind of like a regular feminist except I shave my pits…and not because some man told m...
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Student dodges 'mark of the beast' … for now
Student dodges 'mark of the beast' … for now
Intersting comment on this article. I agree that we may be here for at least part of the tribulation.
brady b Dragun 3 hours ago
Intersting comment on this article. I agree that we may be here for at least part of the tribulation.
brady b Dragun 3 hours ago
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Monday, November 26, 2012
Friday, November 23, 2012
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Friday, November 9, 2012
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Transhuman Microchip: 666 Mark of the Beast
- Image via Wikipedia
Transhuman Microchip: 666 Mark of the Beast
The University of Illinois, Obama’s Al Ma Matter, has produced a microchip that can be put on skin like a temporary tattoo and links the physical world with the cyberworld in amazing ways. The chip is being pushed for its uses in medical monitoring as well as treatment of disorders that require links to computers. This is one of the transhuman technologies currently being developed today.
The technology has been said to "connect you to the physical world and the cyberworld in a very natural way that feels very comfortable." Transhumanism is the changing of human bodies, either genetically, mechanically or both, to make them have superhuman abilities in both brains and body. Some futurists have described this as being "posthuman," the next step in what they believe to be the evolutionary process. Many Christians call this the mark of the beast, as recorded centuries ago in the Book of Revelation, the last Word of God to Mankind in the Holy Bible.
There have been previous reports on chips used in hospitals to identify and track newborns in case of kidnapping, VeriChip's plan to embed microchips under the skin of human beings, and major department stores use of chips in the products they sell to track their customers spending behaviors. These imbedded chips are now the size of a grain of rice or smaller, cost about 20 cents each, and plans are being made to implant them via required vaccines, according to some sources. These are the same type microchips being used in your pets today. I told people years ago, when these first came into popular use by veterinarians that it would only be a matter of time before they tried to put them in our children, and in adults. Now they are using the rare cases of infant abductions from hospitals to push this technology on an unsuspecting humanity.
These chips are also designed to be used by wearers to buy and sell, in the market place, like a credit card. Soon everyone will be required to have one in order to buy food or clothing, and other basic necessities. You may not believe this could ever happen, or at least not in our lifetime, but I’m telling you it’s coming and coming sooner than you might think. I may not be here to warn you again if Jesus raptures me out of here first. You may be a skeptic, but please read this paraphrase of the portion of Revelation, which clearly prophesies of this event. I am compelled by God to warn as many as I can. Read your Bibles, before it’s too late.
Revelation 13 [11-18] And I watched another creature coming up out of the earth; which had two horns like a lamb, but spoke like a dragon. And this religious leader uses all the political power of the first creature that came before it, and causes the earth and those who live in it to worship the first creature, who had come back to life. And this creature does amazing things, making fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of all humanity, and misleads all those who live on the earth by the things which it had power to do as long as it rules with the first creature. It told all those who live on the earth, to make a clone (or possibly a transhuman) of the creature, which had been beheaded, and yet lived. And it had power to give life to the clone of the first creature, so that the clone of the first creature could both speak, and cause whoever wouldn’t worship the clone of the creature to be killed. And it causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and not free, to get a mark to identify them in their right hand, or in their foreheads. And no one could buy or sell anything unless they had a mark, something like a computer chip with the name of the creature or the number of its name. This is wisdom. Let those who understand count the number of the creature’s name because it’s the number of a human being; and the number is 666.
Also see my article on Transcendent Man.
Related articles
- FDA Approved RFID Chips for School Children !!! (2012patriot.wordpress.com)
- BREAKING: 666 Mark of the Beast Technology Alert, Fresh New Disguises for Tagging and Dehumanizing the World Population (alternativenewsreport.net)
- June 2011 Newsletter (gofishministries.wordpress.com)
- Upcoming 2012 Mayan Apocalypse Upcoming Transhumanism-Triggered Second Coming of Jesus? (volokh.com)
- China and the Great Commission (gofishministries.wordpress.com)
- Artificial Intelligence and the Second Fall of Mankind (gofishministries.wordpress.com)
A Christian Perspective of Pornography and the Marriage Bed
A Christian Perspective of Pornography and the Marriage Bed
Does the bible verse “Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge” (Hebrews 13:4) mean that all things are proper in sex within the confines of marriage, or can the marriage bed become defiled by certain sexual acts or elements? I was once told by a secular counselor that any sexual element is fine as long as both partners agree to it. I believed this lie for a time. Many couples fall into the trap of pornography, on the premise that soft core is harmless, and can even be beneficial to the marriage. But in reality, the devastation brought about by these false assumptions often destroys marriages, families, and society.
Marriages are continually put at risk by the evils of pornography. There are many forms of pornography from the so called “soft core” (sex and nudity) to the “hardcore” (violence and assault or sadomasochism). Its addictive nature affects not only the user, but the other family members as well. A person who becomes addicted to pornography through repeated exposure, returns to it for sexual excitement which needs more explicit, more deviant material for stimulation each time. The addict is desensitized to material that may seem initially disgusting, so that violent and degrading sex is no longer viewed as deviant and is often acted out. One study shows a direct relationship between the use of pornography by the spouses of domestic violence victims in shelters who had been both verbally and physically abused. Pornography’s exaggerated expectations place a much higher emphasis on sex than is normal, healthy, or needed in the marital relationship. The dissatisfaction produced by unrealistic expectations of one or both partners inevitably leads to self-hate, and resentment or anger toward the other partner. This often breeds domestic violence, high divorce rates, devastated children, suicide, and many other social evils, including childhood sexual abuse. If the widespread use of pornography is not halted by some legitimate censorship of obscene materials, our whole society will continue to be at risk.
Children and Teens are exposed everyday to more sex and violence, from the TV, the computer, and the telephone, to magazines, videos, and video games. Many of these materials are acquired from their fathers’ stash or from other family members. Margaret Atwood stated in her address on Pornography that it’s “an educational tool and a powerful propaganda device.” The unhealthy and anti-social kinds of sexual activity that porn promotes does have an impact on what those who use it learn. Porn often depicts people engaging in non-marital, casual sexual encounters involving coitus, oral-genital, and other dangerous sex acts, and usually portrays multiple partners. Atwood asks, if we believe we can change attitudes about sexual behavior through sex education in our school systems, how can we not know that porn has a negative educational effect in our society? She states, that the education we might get from porn doesn’t include information on sexually transmitted diseases, how to cope with divorce, financial losses from addictions and divorce, the devastation of rape, incest, and childhood sexual abuse, unexpected and aborted children, or the financial burden to a society that must deal with these issues. There is no “harmless” pornography and it is not a victimless crime. Atwood further questions, “What happens when a boy educated on porn meets a girl brought up on Harlequin romances? She wants him to get down on his knees with a ring, and he wants her to get down on all fours with a ring in her nose. Can this marriage be saved?” I would say yes, with a lot of forgiveness and faith in the healing power of Jesus Christ, this marriage may be saved, but likely not without devastating and sometimes permanent consequences.
For all that God has created good, Satan has a counterfeit of perversion. Copulation was created by God to be a wonderful and unifying experience between a husband and wife, both for procreation, and for the enjoyment and expression of love toward one another. When neither purpose is served, it becomes a selfish perversion of sex, rather than a selfless act of love. The self-love pornography promotes through masturbation, tears down the bonds of marital love, even before the marriage begins. It takes away the need for a loving and intimate, responsible relationship, becoming a poor substitute for a loving marital union. A young man self-satisfied, often years before marriage, will often not recognize true satisfaction or intimacy when he sees it. Instead of demonstrating love for his wife in the God-ordained act of marriage, he shows love for himself in continuing to masturbate to pornography after the marriage.
Tim and Beverly LaHaye believe that “masturbation is a thief of love.” In Seven Promises of a Promise Keeper, Jerry Kirk says, “Real intimacy is not just a function of sex, it permeates our lives only when emotional, spiritual, and sexual faithfulness characterize our relationship with our spouses.” Kirk goes on to say that pornography, with or without masturbation, is an exploitive form of mental intercourse and emotional adultery that will eventually weaken the marriage. Selfish passion seeks only its own fulfillment, rather than the unselfish giving of oneself for the fulfillment of each other. What begins as “harmless” porn-fantasy defrauds the spouse of the other’s heart and mind and often ends in one or both being unfaithful in real life. Victor Cline, Ph.D states of his Family/Marital and Sexual Addiction Practice, that he has had “a number of couple-clients where the wife tearfully reported that her husband preferred to masturbate to pornography than to make love to her.”
When a husband, brainwashed by porn, sees his wife after childbirth, and compares her to the images of the perfect airbrushed bodies in his magazines, how can he not be but a little disappointed? Then when the wife, unsuspectingly finds his stash hidden in a secret place, with her abdomen still swollen from childbirth, will her heart not be broken with the knowledge that she will probably never have the figure she once did? She pages through the perfect specimens comparing herself with each of them, knowing that her husband will not look at her the same as he once did. There is an intimacy breech between the husband and wife that may never be completely healed. Yet because she wants to be his every desire, she sets him up as a god in her heart, and becomes willing to do whatever it takes to keep him, not knowing she will inevitably fall short of his expectations. Her fragile self-esteem is laid on the alter of her husband’s passion, while his desire for lustful fantasies suits his pleasures more than the sacrifices she makes of her moral boundaries.
When she perceives that she is loosing her man to a fantasy world, she may do what she herself is uncomfortable with in her efforts to please and keep him. She might learn all the tricks of the trade in order to be the “whore” he desires in the bedroom, while struggling to keep her self-respect in the other areas of her life. But his lust for the “whore” in the bedroom only fuels his disrespect for her as a person. He will begin to find fault with her actions, her motives, her desires, and her faithfulness. He may test her by tempting her to share in his seductive magazines and videos, claiming that they will enhance their sex life and marriage. Wanting the loving relationship she no longer has, she will often fall into the snare of his fantasy world, giving in to his seducing suggestions, and may even end up having an affair in the process. Then seeing the guilt she has brought on herself, she may seek to deliver herself from its grip by bringing about his downfall, if it has not already taken place in reality. She may encourage the same faithfulness in his real world that he has adulterated in his fantasy world, until he has an affair.
What should be a moment of coming together in a loving relationship, becomes a war of selfish passions. She seeks his love, and he seeks his own unbridled gratification through sexual exploits. He wants to experience all the lustful actions he has seen and read about, and presses her to yield to his every sexual whim. She may yield, but usually not without a guilt that eats away at her very soul until she hates him with her every breath. But often she turns that hatred inward, her conscience not allowing her to hate her own husband, and ends up in suicidal tendencies, which may be a last cry for his love. James 1:5 sums it up perfectly, stating, “Then when lust has conceived, it brings forth sin: and sin, when it is completed, brings forth death.” This scenario plays itself out over and over, even in the religious community. The admonition in the children’s song “Be Careful Little Eyes What You See” could well be spoken here.
The human body was designed by our Creator to be admired and respected by the one we choose in marriage for a lifetime. “Don’t defraud one another…(I Cor. 7:5) is often quoted by religious men in their efforts to have a more satisfied sex life when their wives do not give them enough sex, but often they don’t realize that they are defrauding their wives when they are unfaithful to her in the use of pornography and masturbation, which usually go hand in hand, no pun intended. The words of Christ in Matthew 5:28, “Whoever looks on someone in lust has committed adultery with them already in their heart” foresaw the immorality of present day pornography use. Adulterous fantasy, including the steamy romance novels created for young women, has been the ruin of many marriages. The false expectations we build in our fantasy worlds will only let us down eventually. Yet we continue seeking the fantasy rather than taking the real risks of life and love. If someone gets too close to the flame, won’t they get burned? Lust leads to lewdness. Adulterous thinking leads to adulterous actions. “As a person thinks in their heart, so they are.” (Prov. 23:7) Proverbs also gives good counsel in chapter 5:18-19 on remaining faithful. “Let your fountain be blessed and rejoice with the wife of your youth. Let her breasts satisfy you at all times and be ravished always with her love.”
Pornography, from the soft core “harmless” kind to the hard core violent and sometimes deadly kind, is a perversion of all God meant for our good. There’s no question that pornography is harmful to its victims, whether man, woman, or child. But those who say there’s no harm in soft core layouts, don’t realize the hurts of the human heart. Every good thing of God has its perversions, whether it is food, drink, sex, or anything else. Overindulgence of anything is not healthy. God gives us all good things, but we, when left to our own evil imaginations, will find a way to corrupt almost anything. Our overindulging society must make the distinction between what is genuinely good and what is an evil perversion of Satan. For every liberty, there must be restraint. There is no freedom to be had, that left unchecked, cannot be corrupted by the evil intentions of the heart.
Author Kimberly Hartfield's A Little Redneck Theology
Some people hold to the conviction that nothing should be censored, claiming the freedom of speech guarantees their right to express themselves, even if it is known to offend and incite hatred and harm to certain individuals. Pornography certainly incites hatred and harm to the women and children it portrays. The U.S. Supreme Court has confirmed many times that obscenity isn’t protected by the First Amendment. In the book Porn in America by James Lambert, the myth that obscenities are protected by the First Amendment is revealed for the lie it is. It states that in the 1957 Supreme Court case of Roth vs. the United States, Justice William Brennan wrote in the majority opinion that, “This court has always assumed that obscenity is not protected by freedoms of speech and press.”
Free speech is already in danger. We no longer have the freedom to express our faith in prayer in the public school systems, and now, even the Ten Commandments, which our laws are based on, is being systematically removed out of our courtrooms, schools, and other public facilities. If we can censor godly values from our community’s institutions, so as not to offend other’s religious views, should we not censor pornography when it has clearly been shown to be detrimental to the mental and physical health and well-being of individuals and society as a whole? We have the right to have a couple of drinks, but not to drive drunk. We have the right to smoke, but not in public airspace. We have the right to certain medications, but not to take illegal drugs. We have the right to keep weapons for protection, but not to commit murder with it. We have limited our rights on so many other issues, when they have been shown to be harmful or offensive to the health and comforts of ourselves or others, so why should we not limit ourselves on the issue of porn.
Lambert’s book clearly shows that pornography is addictive, the user moving from soft core to more hard core, many times mimicking what he views. The statistics in his book plainly support the relationship of crime rate increases to porn. One such statistic stated that for every increase of 2 % in the circulation of pornography, there’s a 1 % increase in the incidence of rape reports, not including those unreported rapes. According to the FBI, Pornography is a multi-billion dollar enterprise, controlled by organized crime organizations, who are nothing more than human trafficking slave holders. Women and children are portrayed as nothing more than the sexual toys of men, and are treated with no respect to their person. They are dehumanized, molested, raped, tortured, and sometimes murdered in the name of entertainment, for a few individuals making the “Almighty Dollar,” which is their god.
Pornography is a valid threat to our society and it’s offensive and detrimental toward the reputations of the people it portrays. It breaks the delicate bond of intimacy in family and marital relationships, where the most severe pain, damage, and sorrow can occur. Sex in pornography has no real relationships, love, responsibility, or consequences. The victims are the children who lose their innocence, the women who lose self respect, love and intimacy, and the men who lose self control and respect for others. Even the so called soft stuff rapes the hearts of wives until they are numb of feeling and they have no tears left to be cried. Husbands lavish their affections on their own lusts, masturbating their marriage to death when they are addicted to porn.
Certain obscenities, such as porn, can be effectively censored, when deemed offensive and detrimental to communities by the majority of its people, without risk of jeopardizing our constitutional rights. Laws are for the peace of the people, that we might not live in continual fear of the deviants of our own making. A little godly discernment is all that is necessary: For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of God, but is of the world. And the world will pass away with all its lusts, but whoever does the will of God will live forever (I John 2:16-17).
Little House in the Big Woods Chapter 3 Worksheet
Chapter 3 The Long Rifle
- What did Pa keep on the hooks over the door?
- What did Pa make for his gun?
- Why did Laura burn her fingers?
- What was Pa’s bullet pouch made of?
- What new story did Pa tell the girls?
- What was Pa supposed to be doing when he was playing in the woods?
- What asked Pa “Who”?
- Where were the cows?
- What did Pa’s father whip him with?
- Why did Pa’s father whip him?
Activities: Choose 1 or 2
- Talk about being responsible and obedient
- Talk about why a parent might whip a child
- Talk about gun safety or have a qualified visitor
- Look up owls or draw a picture and color.
Answers
- His gun
- the bullets
- because she touched the hot bullets
- buckskin
- Pa and the Voice in the Woods
- Bringing home the cows
- a screech owl
- the cows were beside the barn
- a switch
- to remind him to be obedient
Related articles
- Little House in the Big Woods Chapter 1 Worksheet and Activities (gofishministries.wordpress.com)
- Little House in the Big Woods Chapter 2 Winter Days and Winter Nights (gofishministries.wordpress.com)
- 4th Grade Homeschool Literature List (gofishministries.wordpress.com)
- Little House in the Big Woods Chapter 3 Worksheet (gofishministries.wordpress.com)
- Little House in the Big Woods Chapter 6 Worksheet (gofishministries.wordpress.com)
- Little House in the Big Woods Chapter 5 Worksheet (gofishministries.wordpress.com)
- Little House in the Big Woods Chapter 7-8 Worksheet (gofishministries.wordpress.com)
- Little House in the Big Woods Chapter 4 Worksheet (gofishministries.wordpress.com)
- Little House in the Big Woods Chapter 11 Harvest (gofishministries.wordpress.com)
- Little House in the Big Woods Chapter 10 Summer Time (gofishministries.wordpress.com)
- Little House in the Big Woods Chapter 12 The Wonderful Machine (gofishministries.wordpress.com)
- Little House in the Big Woods Chapter 13 The Deer in the Wood (gofishministries.wordpress.com)
Little House in the Big Woods Chapter 2 Worksheet
Chapter 2 Winter Days and Winter Nights
- What did Pa do in the winter to have meat for the family?
- What chores did Laura and Mary have?
- Ma used to say,
Wash on Monday
Iron on Tuesday
Mend on Wednesday
Churn on Thursday
Clean on Friday
Bake on Saturday
________ on Sunday
- What did Ma use to color the butter they churned in winter?
- What did Ma make for Laura and Mary to play with?
- What did Pa call Laura for fun?
- What game did Pa play with Laura and Mary that scared them?
- What song did Pa sing?
- What was in the bottom of the glass bowl of the kerosene lamp that kept it from exploding.
- What story did Pa tell Laura and Mary?
Activities: Choose 1 or 2
- Make a chore chart for daily and weekly chores
- Make paper dolls out of magazines and cardstock
- Talk about the difference between nicknames and name calling that is hurtful
- Sing Yankee Doodle
- Look up panthers or draw picture and color
Chapter 2 Answers
- Trapped animals
- wiped the dishes and made the bed
- rest
- carrot juice
- paper dolls
- half-pint
- mad dog
- Yankee Doodle
- salt
- Grandpa and the Panther
Author Kimberly Hartfield's A Little Redneck Theology
Saturday, February 18, 2012
A Christian Perspective of Abuse in the Marital Relationship
©2005 Sis. Kimberly Hartfield, B.S., M.S.
Many young Christian women delve into the romantic ideology of marriage, believing that they have met their Prince Charming. They enter into that relationship blinded from the realities of the imperfections of their chosen mate, many times refusing to prayerfully consider God’s will in the matter. Rather than prayerfully asking God “Is this the man You want for me”; they plead shopping list style saying, “I want this particular make and model of man” never considering that this particular man may not be in God’s best interest for her. As Christians, we are called, not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers, but to be equally yoked with another believer. When we ignore this warning, or if we simply are not careful and prayerful in the choice of our spouse, we may find ourselves in an incompatible, or worse, an abusive situation.
Young women considering marriage should be made aware of early warning signs and look for the possibility for violence in their potential spouses. Her family should also look for any visible signs of physical aggression such as unexplained bruises or marks. Family and friends of the young woman can also be on the look out for suspicious behaviors and verbal aggression. Any form of verbally, mentally, sexually, or physically aggressive play or behavior should be noted as a potential risk for future violence. Any sudden or unexplained angry outbursts should also be noted, especially if there seems to be an insignificant or insufficient reason for the outburst. What may seem to be a stressful blow up could very well be an early warning sign of a possible abuser. The young woman and her loved ones must trust their instincts when they feel something is not quite right. The young woman should never dismiss evident warning signals, nor take for granted the truth of her partner’s excuses or his blatant blaming as the truth of her own fault. Potentially abusive partners are most likely on their best behavior before the marriage, and are likely to change for the worst after the wedding day.
There are several factors in a relationship that could be indicators of the potential for possible future abuse. One of the first things that an abusive partner will do is to attempt to isolate the victim from loved and trusted friends and family members. This can be a physical isolation, but more often than not, it is a form of mental isolation. This can emanate from the abuser in the form of seeds of doubt and mistrust planted by the abuser and formed by the victim when she believes the insinuations made about those close to her, or formed against the victim herself by those closest to her at the suggestion of the abuser. An abuser will often try to convince the victim and those who love her that she is mentally or emotionally unstable by calling her “crazy.”
Once the attempt at isolation is underway, the abuser will try to undermine the self-confidence of his victim in other ways and begin to dominate every aspect of the victim’s life, including the victim’s thought and behavior patterns. Fear and intimidation tactics are often employed by the abuser in order to maintain control. The abuse usually progresses through stages of mental, verbal, sexual, and physical forms, or any combination of these. Some examples of mentally abusive tactics are hiding car keys, controlling monetary access, and punching or kicking the air or surfaces near the victim for the purpose of intimidation. These may progress to more aggressive forms of physical and sexual abuse that often become quite violent and sometimes deadly in nature. Physical abuse is most likely to occur when the abuser feels that his victim is beyond his complete control.
Any woman caught in an abusive relationship needs to first ask herself if she or her children are in any immediate danger and if so she should seek counsel from a trusted source and secure a safe atmosphere for herself and her children. Then she will be at liberty to prayerfully consider her next step to her and her family’s ultimate well being. At this point, the Christian woman may have to consider the possibility of separation or even divorce, while seeking divine guidance through her particular situation.
Many Biblical passages dealing with the marital relationship seem to be somewhat unclear where abuse is concerned, but when we look at the overall scriptural context, we know that Jesus never condoned any kind of mistreatment of any person in the Scripture. In the context of the marital relationship, partners are to be submissive to one another in the love of the Lord. The love of Christ is never domineering or abusive. Christ never forced anyone to do anything. He simply loved them into submission. He gave himself up for the Church even unto death in order to show His undying love for it, knowing that ultimately the Church would love Him back and desire to serve Him and do the will of Yahweh God. Submission was never intended to be the self-serving of one partner over the other in any relationship.
Neither did Jesus, nor the Biblical Scripture, ever condone divorce, but only allowed for it under certain conditions; the primary consideration being adultery by an unfaithful spouse, and the secondary consideration being abandonment by an unbelieving spouse. A few Christian authorities have considered abuse as a type of emotional abandonment, and believe that God also allows for divorce in these relationships. Other authorities do not see it this way. The conflicting views of these authorities have kept many women in abusive relationships for years. Under the guise of encouraging women to be submissive to their husbands, Christian authorities have condemned women to their eventual death, because the women were unsure of the biblical perspective on submission and abuse. Women can and should seek the counsel of leading Christian authorities, but a Christian woman’s ultimate authority should be the guidance of her own conscience by the Holy Spirit and the Word of God in the Holy Scriptures.
The Bible clearly says that if a woman should leave her husband, she should remain unmarried or be reconciled to her own husband. Remaining separated or divorced without the consideration of remarriage could be a wise choice though a difficult one, considering the possibility of potential problems of stepfamilies in today’s culture, especially where pedophilia (childhood sexual abuse) and other forms of child abuse could be a problem in families where young children may be affected. Pedophiles often target young women who are looking for love, with small children, whether they are male or female. But when a woman divorces early in life this may be an unpractical impossibility. One portion of Scripture that speaks of young widows, states that it would be better to marry than to burn with desire. This could also be said in the circumstance of a young divorcee. In a sense, the death of a marriage is akin to the death of a spouse. God can and will forgive someone who made a wrong choice in a marriage partner and chooses to divorce, just as he forgives those who commit adultery or any other sin, only if they seek His forgiveness and mercy. When a young woman seeks God's divine guidance, she may eventually find herself in a healthy and godly relationship in the future.
But we should never say that divorce is the only solution to marital abuse, but that it is a possible resolution to an unfortunate circumstance. Christ did not command divorce, but He said that Moses allowed for it, due to the hardness of mankind’s heart. Under the stated circumstances, partners who are willing to repent and forgive and seek professional help or Christian counsel, can and have repaired their relationship to become a healthy and committed Christian Family. It should be noted that forgiveness does not necessarily mean reconciliation, when one partner refuses to repent of ungodly and abusive behavior. Reconciliation should only take place where repentance or a complete change of behavior has occurred. But the backbone of this kind of Christian relationship is faith in God’s power to heal it. Without healthy Christian guidance, prayer, and study of the Holy Scriptures on the part of both individuals in that relationship, the marriage will continue to be at risk for future abuse and possibly divorce.
Until a woman recognizes the fact that the only Prince Charming she may ever know is the Lord Jesus Christ and that He is the only One who can truly love her as she needs to be loved, she will continue searching for that love in the dark forest of despair. Jesus is the only One who can redeem her from the heartbreaks of this world and she must realize that her mate is not her savior and he will never be perfect, nor love her unconditionally as only Jesus can. If a Christian woman finds herself in an abusive situation, whether mental, verbal, physical, or sexual, she must acknowledge Jesus as her Savior and the Lord of her life and pray for divine guidance if she is to find her way out of that dark forest.
Author Kimberly Hartfield's A Little Redneck Theology
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Little House in the Big Woods Chapter 4 Worksheet
- Image via Wikipedia
Chapter 4 Christmas
- What did Pa make Ma for Christmas?
- What did Ma put on the shelf that Pa made her?
- What did Laura and Mary pour on the snow?
- Who came to visit Laura’s family?
- What did Laura and Mary play with the cousins?
- What did Prince, the dog, protect Aunt Eliza from?
- What did all the children find in their stockings on Christmas morning?
- What special gift did Laura get for Christmas?
- What did Laura name her doll?
- What did Santa put in the stockings of Naughty children?
- What two books did the children look at pictures in?
- What did Ma give the cousins to put in their pockets to keep their fingers warm?
Activities: Choose 1 or 2
- Talk about making homemade Christmas presents. Ask what the kids could make for their family members?
- Look up panthers or draw a picture and color
- Make Christmas stockings out of construction paper
- Make a rag doll with a parent’s help
- Look up Christmas and find out the true origin of Santa Claus, Watch Veggie Tales Movie about Christmas
- Read the Christmas story from the Bible
Answers:
- A wooden shelf
- The china doll
- Syrup, candy
- Aunt Eliza, Uncle Peter, Peter, Alice, Ella, (Aunt, Uncle, cousins)
- Making snow pictures
- A panther
- Red mittens and peppermint candy
- A rag doll
- Charlotte
- Switches
- Pa’s big green book and the Bible
- A baked potato
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