[Katigre]

Originally Posted by Knitted_in_the_womb

And why in the world is the criteria wordly laws? That's kind of subjective...I mean really, in some states it is illegal to strike your child with an object--which would make following Pearl's advice on child training illegal.

I have seen this position articulated by others who fall into this mindset. We were discussing submission in relation to abusive husbands and these women said that the ONLY time you are not to submit to your husband is when he commands you to break the law of the land--that the government law is what is supposed to protect you, and that you do not obey your husband over the government. This is the 'protection' you have from submitting to abuse of you and your children. This was even articulated when it came to sexual abuse and what made it grounds to get the husband out of the house.

Clearly these women aren't familiar with what happens when you live in countries without laws protecting women, or laws that are on the books but not enforced, or even laws that promote the exploitation of women (countries with child prostitution come to mind...). What if you are a child whose father commands you to let them sexually abuse you and you live where there is no legal protection? What if you are a wife in the same situation?

When i raised the issue of what about these other countries, i was told that 'we don't live in those countries, we should be thankful to live in one where there are laws protecting women and children, so it's a moot point to argue about since it's not our situation'. But it seems like such a bizarre way to decide what is right or not in terms of 'complete obedience to your earthly authority--first your father, then your husband' based on arbitrary government law.

Very very scary stuff.