Monday 23rd of December 2024
Home » Blogs » Gus Leonisky's blog

700 wives and 300 concubines...

no submission


Peter Jensen, Anglican arcbishop of Sydney, explains why women have to submit...

Many of our young people want to be ''wives and husbands'' rather than simply ''partners'' and in their weddings they come as ''bride and groom'' rather than simply two individuals. They believe that expressing these differences, including different responsibilities, makes for a better marriage.

Both kinds of promise are provided for in the Sydney Anglican diocese's proposed Prayer Book, which has been the subject of commentary this week.
There is nothing new in this - it is the same as the Australian Prayer Book which has been used for decades.

Where different promises are made, the man undertakes great responsibility and this is also the wording of the book, as it has always been. The biblical teaching is that the promise made voluntarily by the bride to submit to her husband is matched by the even more onerous obligation which the husband must undertake to act towards his wife as Christ has loved the church. The Bible says that this obligation is ultimately measured by the self-sacrifice of Christ in dying on the cross.

This is not an invitation to bossiness, let alone abuse. A husband who uses the wife's promise in this way stands condemned for betraying his own sworn obligations. The husband is to take responsibility for his wife and family in a Christ-like way. Her ''submission'' is her voluntary acceptance of this pattern of living together, her glad recognition that this is what he intends to bring to the marriage and that it is for her good, his good and the good of children born to them. She is going to accept him as a man who has chosen the self-discipline and commitment of marriage for her sake and for their children. At a time when women rightly complain that they cannot get men to commit, here is a pattern which demands real commitment all the way.

Secular views of marriage are driven by a destructive individualism and libertarianism. This philosophy is inconsistent with the reality of long-term relationships such as marriage and family life.
Referring to ''partners'' rather than husband or wife gives no special challenge to the man to demonstrate the masculine qualities which he brings to a marriage.

 

...

 

The Bible contains great wisdom on this fundamental relationship.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/men-and-

 

--------------------------------------------------

 

Yep the bible contains a lot of contrary stuff about this subject too...:

 

 

Many of the Old Testament Prophets and Patriarchs had multiple wives, including Lamech, Abraham, Jacob, Esau,Gideon, Saul, David, Solomon, Rehoboam, Elkanah, 

Ashur, Abijah and Jehoiada. Some interpretations also suggestMoses had a second wife in Tharbis.

 

Other polygamists identified in the Bible include Ahab, Ahasuerus, Ashur,Belshazzar, Benhadad, Caleb, Eliphaz, Ezra, 

Jehoiachin, Jehoram, Jerahmeel, Joash, Machir, Manasseh, Mered, Nahor,Shaharaim, Simeon, and Zedekiah.

The first polygamist mentioned in the Bible is Lamech, whose two wives were Adah and Zillah 

(Gen 4:19).[1] 

Abraham's 3+ wives were Sarah, Hagar (Gen 16:3, 21:1-13), Keturah (Gen 25:1), and concubines

(which are also referred to as "wives" in other parts of the Bible) (Gen 25:6).

The concubines were Hagar (Gen 16:3, 25:6) and Keturah (Gen 25:6, I Chr 1:32).

There is no reason to presume that he had concubines other than Hagar and Keturah.

Hagar, like the slave women

of Jacob's wives, was more of a surrogate mother than a concubine in t

he normal sense as it appears that after using

her in place of Sarah to provide a child, Abraham does not appear to have had sexual relations

with her any more.

Jacob's four wives are Leah and Rachel (Gen 29:28) and despite an oath with their father Laban to not

take any additional wives (Gen 31:48-54), Jacob took Bilhah (Gen 30:4) and Zilpah (Gen 30:9).

As with Hagar, 

Bilhah and Zilpah were surrogate mothers to provide children on behalf of

their mistresses, 

Leah and Rachel.

 

It does not appear that Jacob continued to have sexual relations with the two women.

In each of the three cases of Sarah,

Leah and Rachel, each woman commanded her slave to have sexual relations with

their husbands respectively. Neither Abraham nor Jacob took it upon themselves to

approach their wives' slave women. Moses' 2 wives Zipporah

(Ex 2:21, Ex 18:1-6) and an Ethiopian (Gk "burnt face")(Cushite < כושי, kooshiy, ultimate meaning

unknown but from ancient times signifying Upper (southern) Egypt, Nubia,

and dark skinned (see Jer 13:23) or even red haired people)

woman (Num 12:1), which Moses was permitted to marry by God,

despite all the rest of his people being forbidden to take a foreign

(because foreigners were per se pagan) wife. There is dissent on this.

Some think that Zipporah, daughter (Ex 2:21) of a Midianite priest (Ex 2:16, Ex 18:1, 2),

is the "Ethiopian" woman.

Other opinion is that Zipporah died and Moses married an Ethiopian woman in her place. Interestingly enough,

Aaron and Miriam were punished for disapproving of Moses' forbidden marriage.

Gideon (also named Jerub-Baal)

"had many wives" (Judges 8:29-32). Elkanah, Samuel the priest's father, had 2 wives:

Hannah and Peninnah (1 Samuel 1:1-2).

Often, people studying King David, get confused between his "wives" and "concubines" because the Bible

calls 10 of his concubines "wives" in several places. An accurate list of David's wives

would include at least 4 named wives:

1) Michal (1 Sam 18:27, 19:11-18, 25:44; 2 Sam 3:13-14, 6:20-23), 2) Abigail of Carmel (1 Sam 25:39, 1 Chr 3), 3)

Ahinoam of Jezreel (1 Sam 25:43, 1 Chr 3), 4) Eglah (2 Sam 3:4-5, 1 Chr 3), and 5) Bathsheba (2 Sam 12:24).

David also took "more wives and concubines" in 2 Sam 5:13, 12:7-8, 1 Chr 14:3, bringing the total women

to a minimum of 5 + 2+ additional wives + 2+ additional concubines = 9+ women.

Three additional women are mentioned, but we are not told if they are wives or concubines: 1) Maacah

(2 Sam 3:3, 1

Chr 3), 2) Abital (2 Sam 3:3-4, 1 Chr 3), and 3) Haggith (2 Sam 3:3, 1 Chr 3).

The new total is 12+ women for King David.

And lastly, there are the 10 concubines, or "wives" as they are also referred to as, in 2 Sam 5:13,

15:16, 16:21-23, 1 Chr 14:3),

bringing David's total women to at least 22+ "wives/concubines". David's son, Solomon,

chose 700 wives and 300 concubines,

totaling 1,000 women in 1 Kings 11:3. The Hebrew and Greek terms translated into English as "wife"

simply means "woman," that is, "female human being." It is by context that it has to be determined

by a translator whether it should be translated "wife" or "woman" ("woman" < "wif" woman as we mean by it today + "mann"

human being, individual member of mankind) the kind of human being

suitable as a wife as we mean by it today.

 

 

 

 

 


-------------------------------

 

Yep... Great lessons in the bible... for becoming a mormon... or a pervert or a sex addict or a submissive female....

 

 

 

no-one else was available

Jensen was accused of nepotism after nominating his brother Phillip Jensen and appointing his wife Christine Jensen to official positions in the Sydney diocese.[7]

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Jensen_(bishop)

the st jensen's parish newsletter .....

Dear friends,

“'Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.'' Ephesians 5:22-24

What wise words these are! We would do well to remember the fate of Lot's wife who, against her husband's strict command, took one last look at the evil city of Sodom and was turned into a pillar of salt. We no longer advocate that sort of punishment for errant wives, of course, but it is a timely reminder of the perils of disobedience to one's husband and to God.

This is why at St Jensen's we require brides to promise to submit to their husbands in their wedding vows. The man, wiser in the ways of the world, provides leadership and guidance to the weaker sex, which is received humbly and gratefully.

Submission may take many forms, some of them quite simple. Seeking to please her husband, the dutiful wife will find satisfaction in homely tasks: the sparkling clean bathroom, his favourite shirt freshly ironed when he needs it, his golf shoes polished, the delicious evening meal ready on a neatly set table when hubby arrives home weary from daily toil. Why, my own dear wife Priscilla makes a point of abstaining from alcohol so that she may drive home if, by mistake, I have imbibed one cup too many of the claret punch at a parish function! Therein lies the recipe for a happy marriage.

Meanwhile, for your diary: our Archbishop-for-Life, Dr Nesbitt Jensen, will be our guest at Men's Bible Study next Tuesday. The chair of our Women's Subordination Committee, Mrs Hephzibah Jensen, will arrange supper. Ladies, she asks that you cut your sandwiches on the triangle rather than in less dainty squares, and please ensure that we avoid the embarrassment of the Archbishop's last visit, when his favourite sandwich filling of fishpaste was not provided. Rosters for kitchen duties are on the church hall noticeboard. Let's make the evening a success for our Menfolk.

Yours in Jesus,

The Rev Obadiah Jensen-Slope, Curate.

Mike Carlton

behind the times...

Italian Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini has described the Roman Catholic Church as being "200 years behind" the times.

The cardinal died on Friday, aged 85.

Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera has published his last interview, recorded in August, in which he said: "The Church is tired... our prayer rooms are empty."

Martini, once tipped as a future pope, urged the Church to recognise its errors and to embark on a radical path of change, beginning with the Pope.


"The child sex scandals oblige us to undertake a journey of transformation”


Thousands of people have been filing past his coffin at Milan's cathedral, where he was archbishop for more than 20 years.

The cardinal, who had retired from the post in 2002, suffering from Parkinson's Disease, is to be buried on Monday.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19451439