Response to "The Excellent Wife"

Paper 1

Martha peace is the author of the Excellent Wife. She married her high school sweetheart when she was 19 years old. She believed that marriage would fill a void in her life. Sadly, it didn't. She looked further for satisfaction in her during career of nursing. When that didn't work, she went to partying in order to fill that hole. She secretly wanted to leave her family.

"The next morning, instead of the anxiety which for months had been flooding over me, I awoke to the incredible sense of God's peace. I got up and walked across the room, paused to flip on the light switch and thought, 'My life will never be the same.' I had finally found what I had been looking for. Jesus Christ, not I, was now the Lord of my life."

How a woman can go from a "full blown feminist" to a submissive Christian wife is psychologically disturbing. A woman's worldview doesn't just magically change after one night. This must be because of some sort of brainwashing from the purity cult of Christianity. This book should be read at arms length with salt.

Everyone has a different perception of God. But how can we know if we have the "right" or "wrong" perception of God? A lot of what the author has talked about is influenced by her cultural influence. The only way to know if one has the right perception of God is to compare your values with the bible. However, no one can quite agree on what the Bible really says. In this day and age, everyone believes that the bible says different things on gay marriage, purity, and the nature of God. These topics are ones that our culture struggles deeply with. However, it is almost impossible unless you are in perfect harmony with the spirit to know if you are right with your perception of God.

You cannot have a correct perception. It is impossible based on theology. If we are such lower beings then God, then there is no way that our brains can comprehend.

Being a good wife and a mother is not the only ministry that is good for a woman. Not everyone is called to be a mother. Assuming that each women SHOULD be a mother based on the fact that she is a woman is wrong.

Joy is a attitude that is not the same as happiness. The book made joy seem like something that is a emotion. It's a ridiculous idea that women should force themselves to have a particular emotion while doing housework. 

The job of a woman has eternal value, according to the author. This is a biblical truth, that work in general is for the glory of God. However, assuming that the only work for a woman being a housewife is reading into the Bible and adopting old cultural standards.

No sin can be hidden from God. This page explains the gospel. Sin is penalized, but Jesus paid the price. The author has a good handle of the gospel and the nature of sin. However, the book still reeks of legalism.

The book needed to be reminded of Romans 3:23. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." The standards for womanhood and wife/parenthood are unattainable. The description of what work needs to be done as a woman makes the reader feel like they are not good enough. There is guilt and shame in the writings for not being the unattainable standard the book has set.

The goal of a Godly marriage is oneness and it needs to be pursued in order to be accomplished. We need to accept hardship and struggles.

A wife needs to speak kind and tenderly. This is a character trait that implies meekness, which is a character trait is needed in order to be a good wife. This is false. Wives do not need to have an attitude to be a good wife. There is no character trait or personality that needs to be adopted in order to fit the ideal of "Biblical womanhood". God does not want women to act a particular way in order to be the best versions of themselves. God wants women to be who he created them to be first and foremost, and use that in order to sanity themselves before him. The starting place of change should not be in a personality or character trait. Women already struggle enough with feeling like they are enough. Telling women that they need to change who they are is to neglect what is wonderful about a women.

On sarcasm, the Bible does not say that it is wrong. Sarcasm in itself if not wrong, but it can be used wrong. Often sarcasm is used with witty and smart folk. It can be a character trait to express intelligence. Sarcasm used to hurt others is always sinful. But it is wrong to deny a woman sarcasm if it is only used as a way to express herself.

The idea that suffering makes us more christ like is a practice that needs to end in the church. Suffering CAN makes someone more like Christ. But it is not the only way. It is psychologically unhealthy for someone to want suffering in order to be more Christ like. Praying for suffering in particular is unbiblical. God does not want his children to long to be in pain for some fantasy that they will magically become more like him. One should not pray for pain, but pray for discipline.

A woman has every right to reproof her husband as the husband can to the woman. A husband does not have the right to be defensive if the woman doesn't have the same right. We shouldn't expect something of the wife just because she is a woman. Marriage is about equality. Communication between the spouses should be equal and humble both ways.

Proverbs 31 was used to explain what a Godly wife looks like. Christians assume that this means this is the only way for a Godly wife to look. Instead, this passage is ONE way to find a Godly wife. In verse 13 it says, "She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands." No one reads this part of the verse literally, therefore no one can read the whole passage literally. This passage is all about what a good wife back when Proverbs was written was like.

The first part of this book was disturbing. There were many biblical fallacies and illogical assumptions. The book is sexist and obviously influenced by culture as opposed to biblical truth.