In my Bible reading recently, I revisited the story of Dinah, whose rape was essentially ignored by her father Jacob and ultimately avenged in an extreme fashion by her brothers. There are so many parallels between her story and the story of King David’s daughter Tamar. In both situations, these great patriarchs of the Bible went AWOL when their daughters were raped, leaving their sons to pursue the justice they should have demanded themselves at the detriment of their households.
This may have been before your time or not in your bailiwick, but I remember reading a rather insightful post by a Christian pastor, Jim Tonkowich, that may be of some relevance or value to you:
Tonkowich: "And, of course, it's not just a problem in local politics. Church politics are often unspeakably vicious. Workplace turf battles can be sneaky and underhanded. And crumbling marriages and divorces are often hotbeds of manipulation, meanness and vengeance.
Even though Christians talk about love for neighbor, too often when we disagree, the bare-fisted mêlée that results makes our neighbors weep.
In his magisterial work The City of God, Augustine of Hippo (AD 354-430) contrasts the City of God with the City of Man. The Church is the City of God on pilgrimage through this age to the Eternal City. It is the divine commonwealth ruled by God and governed by the law of love. ....
This lust for domination doesn't just characterize politics in the City of Man, it characterizes each of us. The libido dominandi is that within each of us that plots and strives to have our own way and force others do as we say. As such, it is the controlling passion of our fallen nature and, thus, of our fallen world. ....
Second, we need to become sensitive to the lust for domination that is part of our fallen nature. It comes out in disguised and insidious ways. We are adept at using acts of service to manipulate others and get our way. Sometimes when making a strong point in a discussion with my wife, I feel an odd thrill. It's not the thrill of pursuing the good, true, and beautiful in partnership with someone I love. Instead it's the thrill of winning or, to put it more accurately, it's the thrill of her losing. I'm dominating. It feels good at home, on the job, in the Church, and in the Public Square. It's giving in to libido dominandi and is cause for repentance. Loving truth is good; loving being right and lording it over others is sin, plain and simple."
Hear, hear. And thank you. I was never a Beth Moore fan, but I became one when I saw her courage under fire and realized what she was being persecuted for. I believe we are in an age where the righteous are the remnant. God help us.
I especially like this part of what you said, Kaeley:
“I think one of the saddest parts of observing all of this is the near silence of men with influence when they see a sister in Christ abused this badly. Crickets. ... Like David, they’re mostly all choosing to sweep it under the carpet and hope it will just go away.”
The near silence of men. That could be a good title for a book or a movie!
This may have been before your time or not in your bailiwick, but I remember reading a rather insightful post by a Christian pastor, Jim Tonkowich, that may be of some relevance or value to you:
Tonkowich: "And, of course, it's not just a problem in local politics. Church politics are often unspeakably vicious. Workplace turf battles can be sneaky and underhanded. And crumbling marriages and divorces are often hotbeds of manipulation, meanness and vengeance.
Even though Christians talk about love for neighbor, too often when we disagree, the bare-fisted mêlée that results makes our neighbors weep.
In his magisterial work The City of God, Augustine of Hippo (AD 354-430) contrasts the City of God with the City of Man. The Church is the City of God on pilgrimage through this age to the Eternal City. It is the divine commonwealth ruled by God and governed by the law of love. ....
This lust for domination doesn't just characterize politics in the City of Man, it characterizes each of us. The libido dominandi is that within each of us that plots and strives to have our own way and force others do as we say. As such, it is the controlling passion of our fallen nature and, thus, of our fallen world. ....
Second, we need to become sensitive to the lust for domination that is part of our fallen nature. It comes out in disguised and insidious ways. We are adept at using acts of service to manipulate others and get our way. Sometimes when making a strong point in a discussion with my wife, I feel an odd thrill. It's not the thrill of pursuing the good, true, and beautiful in partnership with someone I love. Instead it's the thrill of winning or, to put it more accurately, it's the thrill of her losing. I'm dominating. It feels good at home, on the job, in the Church, and in the Public Square. It's giving in to libido dominandi and is cause for repentance. Loving truth is good; loving being right and lording it over others is sin, plain and simple."
https://web.archive.org/web/20170714050518/http://www.jimtonkowich.com/libidodominandi.php
Hear, hear. And thank you. I was never a Beth Moore fan, but I became one when I saw her courage under fire and realized what she was being persecuted for. I believe we are in an age where the righteous are the remnant. God help us.
I especially like this part of what you said, Kaeley:
“I think one of the saddest parts of observing all of this is the near silence of men with influence when they see a sister in Christ abused this badly. Crickets. ... Like David, they’re mostly all choosing to sweep it under the carpet and hope it will just go away.”
The near silence of men. That could be a good title for a book or a movie!