This was an excellent post, and my first thought upon seeing it was, "Oh, boy, did some preacher decide to cite Judges 19 as a David/Bathsheba-esque excuse for condoning something horrible?"
Also, if I may say so, I read the "Hypersexuality in Christian Spaces" article that was linked at the bottom of this post. Also a fantastic write-up. I have several friends in various parts of the adult industry in one capacity or another, and that post reminded me viscerally of how a lot of the men and boys I knew growing up spoke of women and their bodies, sometimes including in church, in much rougher and more disrespectful terms than I tend to hear even from my friends who actually work in this industry (of their own volition, not in the patronizing "manipulated" sense I usually hear them portrayed as being — even as I think consent gets weird when money gets involved because of how fragile our economic model is; another friend of mine confided to me that she just about chose that line of work as a way of establishing financial independence from her abusive family situation, and she may have had few other practical options).
As a cinephile I felt the same about the film 'Come and See' which depicts the horrors of war. As a movie buff, I feel tempted to see the film, but also know that I'm not sure I want to subject myself to viewing horror in that capacity. These horrors exist in the world, but to dwell on them I'm not sure is constructive. Although I do see value in understanding these broke systems, I would rather not dwell on the horrors themselves. We should understand how and why these things happen.
I don’t applaud the choice to not read Judges 19. In fact, I deplore that choice. Why? Because Judges 19-21 is a superb case study of how domestic abusers manipulate the society so that society ENABLES the abusers, and society actually ends up CARRYING OUT the wicked agenda of domestic abusers, while the abusers get off scot free.
My video presentation on Judges 19-21 argues this in detail.
By choosing not to read Judges 19, Christians are precluding the possibility that they will see how perfectly it illustrates the tactics and mentality of men who choose to abuse their female intimate partners.
Eh, I think this is a retread of what I said. “But it has important themes!” Okay, then I’ll read about the themes. But I don’t feel compelled to spend a lot of time with this text even so.
You can choose not to spend a lot of time with Judges 19, but in making that choice you are in effect disregarding what I’ve said about it in my video. And in effect you are disregarding the plight that female victims of intimate partner abuse experience because society and the churches typically stand with the abuser and help carry out the abuser’s agenda.
It’s like you are personally disdaining me and all women like me who have abused by male partners and then been systematically abused by society and the religious system.
You may be out of things to say about Judges 19, but I am not. I’ve seen lots more in it than Phyllis Trimble has seen. So the question is, will you watch my video?
It is not wise for a Christian (esp a Christian who has a teaching position) to decide not to spend much time on a section of scripture simply because they find it disturbing.
It’s legit to avoid horror movies made by men, but it’s spiritually unwise and unsafe to avoid texts that are in the Bible.
2 Tim 3:16-17
“For all scripture given by the inspiration of God is profitable to teach, to convict, to reform, and to instruct in righteousness, so that the man of God may be perfect and prepared for all good works.”
This was an excellent post, and my first thought upon seeing it was, "Oh, boy, did some preacher decide to cite Judges 19 as a David/Bathsheba-esque excuse for condoning something horrible?"
Also, if I may say so, I read the "Hypersexuality in Christian Spaces" article that was linked at the bottom of this post. Also a fantastic write-up. I have several friends in various parts of the adult industry in one capacity or another, and that post reminded me viscerally of how a lot of the men and boys I knew growing up spoke of women and their bodies, sometimes including in church, in much rougher and more disrespectful terms than I tend to hear even from my friends who actually work in this industry (of their own volition, not in the patronizing "manipulated" sense I usually hear them portrayed as being — even as I think consent gets weird when money gets involved because of how fragile our economic model is; another friend of mine confided to me that she just about chose that line of work as a way of establishing financial independence from her abusive family situation, and she may have had few other practical options).
Not watching Salo is a very reasonable stance and one that I recommend.
As a cinephile I felt the same about the film 'Come and See' which depicts the horrors of war. As a movie buff, I feel tempted to see the film, but also know that I'm not sure I want to subject myself to viewing horror in that capacity. These horrors exist in the world, but to dwell on them I'm not sure is constructive. Although I do see value in understanding these broke systems, I would rather not dwell on the horrors themselves. We should understand how and why these things happen.
I don’t applaud the choice to not read Judges 19. In fact, I deplore that choice. Why? Because Judges 19-21 is a superb case study of how domestic abusers manipulate the society so that society ENABLES the abusers, and society actually ends up CARRYING OUT the wicked agenda of domestic abusers, while the abusers get off scot free.
My video presentation on Judges 19-21 argues this in detail.
https://youtu.be/lcrkUsq69lk?si=tn4SXtUbjtYYQwE3
By choosing not to read Judges 19, Christians are precluding the possibility that they will see how perfectly it illustrates the tactics and mentality of men who choose to abuse their female intimate partners.
Eh, I think this is a retread of what I said. “But it has important themes!” Okay, then I’ll read about the themes. But I don’t feel compelled to spend a lot of time with this text even so.
You can choose not to spend a lot of time with Judges 19, but in making that choice you are in effect disregarding what I’ve said about it in my video. And in effect you are disregarding the plight that female victims of intimate partner abuse experience because society and the churches typically stand with the abuser and help carry out the abuser’s agenda.
It’s like you are personally disdaining me and all women like me who have abused by male partners and then been systematically abused by society and the religious system.
You may be out of things to say about Judges 19, but I am not. I’ve seen lots more in it than Phyllis Trimble has seen. So the question is, will you watch my video?
It is not wise for a Christian (esp a Christian who has a teaching position) to decide not to spend much time on a section of scripture simply because they find it disturbing.
It’s legit to avoid horror movies made by men, but it’s spiritually unwise and unsafe to avoid texts that are in the Bible.
2 Tim 3:16-17
“For all scripture given by the inspiration of God is profitable to teach, to convict, to reform, and to instruct in righteousness, so that the man of God may be perfect and prepared for all good works.”