The definition of oppression:
The imposition of unreasonable burdens
To support behaviors in the church that God forbids is OPPRESSING the church.
It’s an unreasonable burden on all Christians and the church, and it’s rebelling against God.
1 Corinthians 14:34-35
[34] Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law.
[35] And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.
There is nothing mysterious about these verses. It’s very plain. And yet, while Merie was writing letters to churches, overthrowing twenty centuries of women being silent in the churches, her copious studying did not reveal to her that women should not be teaching men or speaking in the churches.
When God’s orders are ignored, that is mistreating God’s commands and order, and you can be sure, just as the fall follows the summer, that mistreatment of other Christians will soon follow. No one has actually compiled the statistics, but it’s reasonably certain that 60-80%, if not higher, of the church withdrawals for oppression have been women. That’s based on my 44 years of observation, and there are a few other men raised in the church for decades with four decades of experience who concur.
So when a woman speaks in the church, and God told her not to, she is being oppressive. Now, many women will claim they are being oppressed by being told by God to be silent in church. Well, the women in the New Testament did it just fine. We are often told about Mary Magdalene and how she discovered Christ’s empty tomb. Certainly, but there is no indication she announced what she had seen at a formal gathering, and even if it was formal, it’s perfectly appropriate for witnesses to relate what they have seen. She saw it and ran to tell the disciples, and there was no indication there was a formal meeting going on at the time. It would be like a Christian woman driving on the road and seeing another Christian in an accident on the side of the road; she’d probably call the preacher or other Christians. That is entirely unrelated to women sharing in public meetings with men present.
There is an article on my website about this titled “The Women at his feet.” 1/8/24
God created everything with balance and order, and whenever any element is out of order, it affects the rest of God’s creation, too. Women’s teaching has removed the responsibility from men to lead. Women despise passive, undisciplined, unmotivated men. Yet, isn’t that precisely what women’s teaching frequently produces? When a man has no call of duty, he often becomes sluggish and lethargic. When he has to contend with women for responsibilities, many men will yield and let her do it. There are plenty of men in Stanton who have done well in Stanton, living a Godly life. That’s wonderful, but it doesn’t take away the fact that when women are out of order, men are far more GENERALLY to be passive and apathetic. God designed the woman to be a motivating force for the man. She was to help him, inspire him, and give him at once pleasure and responsibility with sex and children. In return, he was to provide her firmness, strength, and wisdom to help her. It was a perfect design.
How interesting when women doubt God’s order and have fear, saying, “Oh, the men can’t lead the church; I need to speak up,” she makes the situation worse. Whatever the problem was, in Merie’s case, it was paid preachers; it’s now worse because two more problems have now been added: women out of order in marriage and in the church. Now, we have three problems to fix instead of one.