Rick Santorum's Gang Wars

                                                                   
Rick Santorum is emerging as a front runner in the GOP race for president. Women are in unison saying he is declaring war on women. People close to Santorum says his religious views have always been an openly displayed characteristic of his political life and social issues were and are a part of who he is.

But, who is Rick Santorum actually in a fight with? Mitt Romney, Secular Society, Obama, Women or is he just creating gangs to fight each other?

Santorum has become the favorite to take the fight to President Obama and religion is the key hidden under the guise of abortion, contraception, attack on the Catholic Church, some foreign theology that does not line up with the Bible, etc., etc. It all seems like a perfect strategy to take down the president who the majority of the Right has considered as "other" and not like the main stream or in touch with the main stream.

But being a person who has studied theology, I see another option on the table. Yes, there may be an attack on womanhood in an attempt to raise religious indignation and turn out the religious vote for the Republican party, but as news commentators report Santorum is losing the female vote across political lines; this is not a war of the sexes - Man vs Woman or secular society vs Christianity, it will slowly evolve into woman on woman hair pulling splitting the large demographic of female voters that at one time voted along the same lines and voted largely for Obama in 2008. How did I come up with this hypothesis?  The church has always told women in order to be a good Christian; there are certain criteria a woman must meet and bearing children was one of the ways to be a good Christian woman and make it to heaven, 1 Timothy 2:15. Women who even slightly frowned at this statement were labled feminist. I frowned, wrote a book on the topic, and guess what? I am in the category of FEMINIST.

A Christian woman must have at least one child (unless she is infertile) to be a Christian, thus the Catholic Church's stand against birth control. God commanded us to be fruitful and multiply. But, no one seems to tell you what is the exact number of children a woman must have to be a good Christian (the more the holier). My question is how can anyone put a number to or even ask such a question, but this has been a silent war going on in the church for a while and Santorum is now bringing it into to public sphere and I predict it will be a gang fight between the women of the world with the men sitting back with their arms crossed across their chest as women try to define once again what it means to be a woman which man and religion has always boiled down to child birth. Here is a question posed by an anxiety ridden Christian woman:

In an article published in Salvation Through Childbirth, A Reflective Analysis of 1 Timothy 2:15, Mr. Maxey addresses a question asked by a woman:


“Brother Maxey,

Having been raised in Churches of Christ, I am having a hard time breaking away from a works-based attitude into one more grace-based. I just can’t seem to break free of this constant fear for my salvation based on the fact that I am not following perfectly each and every verse in the New Testament. For example --- I am now an older woman. My husband and I never wanted our own children for many reasons. However, now, when I read the verse about women being saved through childbirth, my heart aches over the thought that this decision of mine may be one which keeps me out of Heaven. It was a willful choice on my part not to have children, and my heart actually hurts when I contemplate where my decision may be sending me when I die, and so I lie awake at night! …any insight or help you can offer me would be very much appreciated!

Yes, women take the issues of contraceptives, abortion, motherhood, pregnancy, and making it into heaven seriously and Santorum is telling us it is through repairing the family; marrying, having several children, homeschooling the children, staying out of the military, doing all of the things a virtuous woman is suppose to do as the correct role for women. What is the repair part for a destroyed America for men in this equation? So is this a war on womanhood or is it the gentle pokings of dividing and conquering one of the strongest voting demographics? Women, I predict, will turn on each other before it is all said and done. There are numorous groups that are proud to be part of the Proverbs 31 Woman and if you are not striving to be a Proverbs 31 Woman then you are lumped into the camp of the enemy. Below are the virtures of the Proverbs 31 Woman:


10 Virtues of the Proverbs 31 Woman

We want to encourage women to serve God in every aspect of their lives.

1.   Faith - A Virtuous Woman serves God with all of her heart, mind, and soul. She seeks His will for her life and follows His ways. (Proverbs 31: 26, Proverbs 31: 29 – 31, Matthew 22: 37, John 14: 15, Psalm 119: 15.
2.   Marriage – A Virtuous Woman respects her husband. She does him good all the days of her life. She is trustworthy and a helpmeet. (Proverbs 31: 11- 12, Proverbs 31: 23, Proverbs 31: 28, 1 Peter 3, Ephesians 5, Genesis2: 18)
3.   Mothering - A Virtuous Woman teaches her children the ways of her Father in heaven. She nurtures her children with the love of Christ, disciplines them with care and wisdom, and trains them in the way they should go. (Proverbs 31: 28, Proverbs 31: 26, Proverbs 22: 6, Deuteronomy 6, Luke 18: 16)
4.   Health – A Virtuous Woman cares for her body. She prepares healthy food for her family. (Proverbs 31: 14 – 15, Proverbs 31: 17, 1 Corinthians 6: 19, Genesis 1: 29, Daniel 1, Leviticus 11)
5.   Service - A Virtuous Woman serves her husband, her family, her friends, and her neighbors with a gentle and loving spirit. She is charitable. (Proverbs 31: 12, Proverbs 31: 15, Proverbs 31: 20, 1 Corinthians 13: 13)
6.   Finances - A Virtuous Woman seeks her husband’s approval before making purchases and spends money wisely. She is careful to purchase quality items which her family needs. (Proverbs 31: 14, Proverbs 31: 16, Proverbs 31: 18, 1 Timothy 6: 10, Ephesians 5: 23, Deuteronomy 14: 22, Numbers 18: 26)
7.   Industry – A Virtuous Woman works willingly with her hands. She sings praises to God and does not grumble while completing her tasks. (Proverbs 31: 13, Proverbs 31: 16, Proverbs 31: 24, Proverbs 31: 31, Philippians 2: 14)
8.   Homemaking – A Virtuous Woman is a homemaker. She creates an inviting atmosphere of warmth and love for her family and guests. She uses hospitality to minister to those around her. (Proverbs 31: 15, Proverbs 31: 20 – 22, Proverbs 31: 27, Titus 2: 5, 1 Peter 4: 9, Hebrews 13: 2)
9.   Time - A Virtuous Woman uses her time wisely. She works diligently to complete her daily tasks. She does not spend time dwelling on those things that do not please the Lord. (Proverbs 31: 13, Proverbs 31: 19, Proverbs 31: 27, Ecclesiastes 3, Proverbs 16: 9, Philippians 4:8 )
10.   Beauty – A Virtuous Woman is a woman of worth and beauty. She has the inner beauty that only comes from Christ. She uses her creativity and sense of style to create beauty in her life and the lives of her loved ones. (Proverbs 31: 10Proverbs 31: 21 – 22, Proverbs 31: 24 -25, Isaiah 61: 10, 1 Timothy 2: 9, 1 Peter 3: 1 – 6)

How many women are not virtuous? How many woman are going to listen to Santorum explain how they have dropped the ball and he is trying to repair/restore America through soundness of the family which seems to be held together solely by the virtuous woman.
                                                                           
Okay, you do not have to follow any line of my reasoning, but I think Santorum is starting to divide and separate using religion as his foundation. The people will have to decide if they are in the camp for God or in the camp against God. This was done in history before during the Civil War when the South said God was on their side and the North said God was on their side. Was the point at the end of the Civil War when someone stood up and waved a flag and said "See there, I told you, God was on our side." History books do no report that. The needlessness of brother against brother and father against son is what the history books report and about a war based more on MONEY and loss of POWER than anything else.

I am disappointed to say the least in the use of religion and the role of women as a platform in a presidential race. It is like there is a new slogan "Don't vote for evil." No one wnats to vote for evil so the point is moot. But, no one wants to vote for an out and out liar either. When there is a race for power - true character appears. There has been a lot of ugliness on display. But, women hold firm. Do not become a pawn in this descent into 'how Christian am I.' Man will always have a set of tests and then there is what the Bible instructs everyone to do. Keep check on your personal relationship with God and remain loyal and firm to Him. Don't be pulled to and fro with all of what is being said and most importantly read my book :When Will Eve Be Forgiven?

I told you what the Proverbs 31Woman is defined as but I would also like to tell you other words in the Bible used to describe women. All women have the charge of deciding what label they are willing to live with. I said I have been labeled as a FEMINIST, that is okay, but I reject any label that is given to me for just expressing a thought.

The adjectives used to describe women have not changed much since biblical times due largely to the fact human nature has not changed much either. The Book of Proverbs has more vivid adjectives describing womanhood than any other book in the Bible. The list of adjectives include: adulterous, aged, angry; bad, beautiful, brawling; careless, chaste, clamorous, comely, compassionate, complacent, contentious; deceitful, devout, diligent, discreet, dishonest, domestic, drunken; elect, evil; fainthearted, fair, faithful, foolish, foreign, fretful; glorious, godly, good, gracious, grave, great,; haughty, high-principled, holy, honest, honorable,; impudent, indiscreet; jealous,; kind, loose, loving; obedient, odious, outlandish; peevish, peaceable, pitiful, prudent; quarrelsome, reverent, righteous; sensible, serious, shamefaced, shameless, silent, silly, simple, sober, steady, strange, submissive, subtle; temperate, trustworthy; unloved; virtuous; wayward, weak, wealthy, whorish, wicked, wily, worthy; and young. The book of Proverbs was assembled for instructional purposes and could have served as a manual for the education of the sons of men with status in the Old Testament times as well as a model for moral behavior especially in dealing with relationships between men and women.