Title: The Liberating Truth
Author: Danielle
Strickland
When I first saw this title, I wanted to see if the author
was putting forth a certain premise. So
much happens in our society today to which we need to pay attention. The author makes the plight of abuse towards
women as wrong in her book, which I agree with.
Secondly, the author brings forth how women as well as young girls are
sold into prostitution, abuse, denied the basic needs for living and so much
more. None of this do I disagree
with. As members of the Body we need to
bring these women out of such lives and into a life filled with all that Jesus
has to give to them.
Unless one is rooted deeply in the Word, I would not
recommend this book. Yes, the Body still
needs to deal with her sins, seeing them as Jesus sees them. Yes, the Body shouldn’t excuse or deny the
wrong inflicted against women, as they are made in the image of God. No one should be treated disrespectfully or
abusively. Why? All of us are made in the image of God that
is why. The Body does need to love each
other as Jesus loves her because that will draw them to Him, not just to a
religious establishment.
However, in many areas of this book, I disagree with the
conclusions the author was drawing.
Women can find fulfillment in their God-given roles without stripping
men of theirs. Men and women are co-heirs
with Christ. Christ showed all of
mankind that women are people too, nothing less than that. The author however quotes other men and women
authors to establish a very mistaken view.
I hold nothing against the author as a person, yet her conclusions and
call to what she believes is the right action I find to be non-biblical. There is such dignity and value that God
bestows upon women that they will find so satisfying if they operate within
that calling, letting the men carry what God has called them to carry. The
author alludes to conclusions others make about a section of Scripture without
giving or making notation of where the conclusions are found so a reader may
locate the source, read and see if the author is drawing proper conclusions.
I could go on and on as the author did in her book, with one
exception. I would quote more of the
whole counsel of God and leave out the conclusions of others. Scripture speaks and supports itself. I would highly recommend reading faithfully
His Word, and for yourself see what He has to say. It is His Truth that will set all mankind
free, indeed.
A fellow contributor writes:
I completely agree with everything expressed in the prior
blog. I agree with the author of this
book when she talks about the abuse of women and the heinous practices against
them. These acts should be condoned by
no one. Jesus did value women at a time
in history when most women were viewed as property. It is our responsibility as Christians to do
all we can to help bring women to Christ and His freedom.
I would not recommend this book either. Unless you are truly well-grounded in His
Word, you may come away from reading this book with the wrong impression of
women and their roles. A lot of problems
can come about when women try to step into a role that is
not theirs to assume. Feminism has
blurred and confused men and women as to what place each gender should occupy.
The author makes certain statements that pertain to
Christians and their view of women as if that is how all Christians view
women. She makes several sweeping
generalizations or states opinion as if it is fact. I could state several examples of these
generalizations, but there are too many to list in this blog.
I just didn’t like the constant references to the
“empowerment of women.” It sounds too
much like some feminist phrase and that could negatively impact readers or lead
other readers astray if not well-versed in what Scripture says. We must read critically, constantly comparing
to what God says in the Bible to identify and verify if what is put forth is
His truth. The liberating truth is not
that Jesus empowers women, but the truth is in God’s Word and that is what will
set you free.
