taken from the treasury of david-volume 6.400f, a commentary by charles haddon spurgeon on the psalms.
'this little psalter within the psalter consists of fifteen brief songs. why they are grouped together and what is meant by their generic name it would be hard to tell. the conjectures are very many, but they are mere suppositions. out of them all the conjecture of dr. jebb best commends itself to my own mind, though it would be quite consistent with this suggestion to believe that the series of songs arranged by david became the pilgrim psalms of after ages, and were chanted by the Lord's people as they went up to the temple. they are 'songs of the goings up'; so some read the word. those who delight to spiritualize everything find here ascents of the soul, or language fitted to describe the rising of the heart from the deepest grief to the highest delight. i have thought it well to indicate the methods by which learned men have tried to explain the term 'songs of degrees', but the reader must select his own interpretation. spurgeon
in (I chronicles 13.7).. it is related, that david brought up the ark from kirjath-jearim to the house of obed-edom. the word used in the.. verse, for 'bringing up' the ark, is of the same etymology with, and cognate to that which is translated 'degrees'. and upon this occasion the great event was celebrated by the accompaniment of sacred music.
'and david and all israel played before God with all their might and with singing and with harps and with psalteries and with timbrels and with cymbals and with trumpets
again, (in 15.14)..the same term is employed for bringing up the ark to jerusalem: and the choral services of the levites are mentioned in immediate connection. and in (II chronicles 5.5)..we are told the solomon assembled the people at the dedication of the temple, to bring up the ark from sion to the temple of the Lord. john jebb
i abide in the simple and plain sense as much as i may and judge that these psalms are called the psalms of degrees because the levites of priests were wont to sing them upon the stairs or some high place; even as with us he that beginneth the psalms or preacheth, standeth in a place above the rest, that he may be the better seen and heard. for it seemeth not that these psalms were sung of the multitude which were in the temple, or of the rest of the choir, but of certain which were appointed to sing them, or like as some other of the psalms have their name and title from the singer. but how should a man know all their rites and ceremonies, especially after so long a time, whereby they are now clean worn out of the memory or all men? seeing therefore among such a multitude of psalms, when the law was yet in his full force and power, some were wont to be sung with one manner of ceremony and some with another, according to the time and place, as the use and custom then was, let this suffice us to think that this title pertaineth to no point of doctrine, but only to the ceremony of the singers, what manner of ceremony soever it was. martin luther
there were 15 steps by which the priests ascended into the temple, on each of which they sang one of these 15 psalms. david kimchi
no trace in history, or authentic tradition, can be found of these steps, which owe their construction solely to the accommodating fancy of the rabbins, who, as usual, imagined facts, in order to support their preconceived theories. john jebb
it is an additional objection to this rabbinical conceit, that david, whose name several of these psalms bear-and others of which have evident reference to his time and circumstances-lived in the time of the tabernacle which had no steps. james anderson's not to calvin in loc.
in the version of theodotian, executed in the early part of the second century, with the express view of correcting the errors of the septuagint, as well as in the translations by aquila and by symmachus, these psalms are rightly described as songs for the journeys up and are thus at once referred to the stated pilgrimages to the temple. the expressions,
'thou shalt GO UP to appear before the Lord they God thrice in the year. exodus 34.24,
'if this people GO UP to do sacrifice I kings 12.27-
a form of expression constantly employed as often as these sacred journeys are mentioned-is precisely that which the psalms themselves exhibit:
"i was glad when it was said unto me, GO UP unto the house of the Lord;
and while we may well adopt this view, for the additional reason that it is in harmony with the whole spirit and sentiment which they breathe throughout, we shall find these psalms to form at the same time one of the most admirable and instructive manuals of devotion with which the love of our heavenly Father, through the grace of the Holy Spirit, has been pleased to bless us.
robert nisbet, in 'the songs of the temple pilgims', 1863
...from the customs of the orientals still prevalent, i think it highly probable that such an explanation (that devout pilgims on their way to jerusalem to keep the great feasts of the Lord sang them) of the title may be substantially correct. nothing is more common than to hear individuals and parties of natives, travelling together through the open country and along mountain paths, especially during the night, break out into singing some of their favourite songs.
once, descending from the top of sunnin, above beirut, with a large company of natives, they spontaneously began to sing in concert. the moon was shining brightly in the clear sky and they kept up their chanting for a long time. i shall not soon forget the impression made by that moonlight concert, as we wound our way down the eastern side of lebanon to the buka'a, on the way to ba'albek. through the still midnight air of that lofty region the rough edge of their stentorian
(very loud and powerful in sound)
voices, softened into melody, rang out full and strong, waking the sleeping echoes far and wide down the rocky defiles of the mountain. something like this may have often rendered vocal this dreary ascent to jeruaslem. it is common in this country to travel in the night during the summer, and we know that the hebrew pilgims journeyed in large companies. on his ascent along this road from jericho to the holy city, Jesus was attended not only by the twelve apostles, by by others, both men and women; and it would be strange indeed if sometimes they did not seek relief from this oppressive solitude by singing the beautiful songs of zion. william m. thomson, in 'the land and the book', 1881
when we consider the place in the psalter which these 'songs of degrees, or of the goings up' occupy, we see good reason to accept the statement (of the syriac version, and of s. chrysostom, theodoret, euthymius, and other fathers, and also of summachus, aquila and of hammond, ewald and many moderns), that these psalms describe the feelings of those israelites who went up with zerubbabel and jeshua and afterwards with ezra, and still later with nehemiah, from the land of their captivity and dispersion at babylon, susa and other regions of the east, to the home of their fathers, jerusalem. hence, in some of the foregoing psalms, we have seen a reference to the dedication of the second temple (ps. 118), and of the walls of jerusalem (ps. 102), and to the building up of the nation itself on the old foundation of the law of God, given to their fathers at sinai (ps. 119) christopher wordsworth
gesenius has the merit of having first discerned the true meaning of the questioned inscription, inasmuch as first in 1812, and frequently since that time, he has taught that the fifteen songs have their name from the steplike progressive rhythm of their thoughts, and that consequently the name, like the triolet (roundelay)
(a song in which a phrase, line or the like is continually repeated)
in western poetry, does not refer to the liturgical usage, but to the technical structure. the correctness of this view has been duly appraised more particularly by de wette, who adduces this rhythm of steps or degrees, too, among the more artificial rhythms. the songs are called songs of degrees or gradual psalms as being songs that move onward towards a climax, and that by means of (greek) plokA (epiplokA), ie. a taking up again
of the immediately preceding word by way of giving intensity to the expression; and they are placed together on account of this common characteristic, just like the michtammim, which bear that name from a similar characteristic. franz delitzsch
we may notice the following characteristics of nearly all these psalms:
sweetness and tenderness;
a sad pathetic tone;
brevity;
an absence generally of the ordinary parallelism;
and something of a quick, trochaic
(pertaining to a trochee, which is a foot (commonly refers to the movement of the foot in beating time)of two syllables(a vocal sound or set of sounds), a long followed by a short in quantitative meter, or a stressed followed by an unstressed in accentual meter.)
rhythm. the speaker's commentary
though it may be they are so called because of their excellency ; a song of degrees being an excellent song, as an excellent man is called a man of high degree I chron. 17.17;
these being excellent ones for the matter of them, their manner of composure, and the brevity of them. john gill
Monday, October 22, 2012
Saturday, October 20, 2012
10.20.2012 VAUDOIS VIII - JANAVEL AND JAHIER
this is a continuation of the events chronicled on VAUDOIS VII.
it has been already stated that the vau of angrogna, and the refugees of the plain of piedmont, had, in great part, retired into the valley of perouse; those of st. martin, forewarned by a man who, although a catholic, was compassionate, of the arrival of the troops of galeazzo, with commission to put all to fire and sword, made hast to gain the valley of pragela; and such of the inhabitants of bobi as contrived to escape the massacre sought an asylum in that of queyras, across frightful snows, precipices, and rocks. all these places of refuge were then within the dominions of the king of france.
with the view of shutting that hospitable coutry against the vau, the duchess of savoy, who appears to have taken a much greater part in thses disastrous events than her son, wrote to the court of france. she wished to prevent her subjects from leaving the valleys and to have them massacred there. mazarin did not enter into her niews; he replied that humanity imposed upon him the duty of opening as asylum to the fugitive vau.
this gave them facilities for rallying, arming and organizing themselves. they wee even able to re-enter their country inmuch greater numbers than they had left it, for a multitude of their brethren from queyras and prgela joined them. meanwhile, a man of energy and ability, captain joshua janavel, who alone had foreseen the treachery, supported, doubtless, by the hand of God (in which no one ever put more absolute confidence than this intrepid warrior), kept in check the enemy's army and, by slow degrees, drove it from the valleys.
this came to pass as follows:
-it will be recollected that the 24th of april was the day fixed for the general massacre of the vau. troops had been contoned in theprincipal place of each commune, except rora; not, however, that that place was to have been spared. accordingly, on the morning of that day of extermination, the marquis of st. damian had sent a battalion of 500 or 600 soldiers from le villar, in order to surprise rora, under the command of count christopher of lucerna, who was designated the count of rora, because his apanage had been given him in that seigneurie. these soldiers climbed the steep slopes of the mountain of brouard, which lay between them and rora. janavel (jana), whose residence was at the base of a long ridge which that mountain sends out in the direction of lucerna, saw the soldierss ascending on the way towards the menaced village; and he, ascending on the way towards the menaced village; and he, ascending also by a different way, gathered together as he went, six determined men like himself, with whom he posted himself in a favourable position on the path by which the troops must pass, who advanced in expectation of taking the village by surprise. there he awaited them with his little party, behind some rocks that left a narrow passage only, through which they must of necessity pass.
so soon as they were engaged in this defile
(a narrow passage, especially between mountains)
jana and his companions united in one loud cry and discharged their peices, of which every one took effect; six soldiers fell, the rest drew back; those who followed, believing the ambuscade to be fomed by a much larger body than it really was, wheeled about, and the advanced guard was then separated from the main body of the squadron. the vau, concealed amongst rocks, where the enemy could form on estimate of their numbers, poured in their fire, and cleared the ground of the advanced guard, causing it to disband and take to flight. the rearguard, which had yet scarcely arrived at the summit of the mountain ridge, seeing that the foremost ranks were endeavouring to re-ascend it, made all hast to get down again by the side on which it was advancing, without having even seen those by whom it hd been attacked; the fugitives likewise, turning their backs upon the vau, saw them as little; and thus a whole battalion retired before a corporal's party, or rather before the exaggerated image of a perilous ambuscade. such incidents are rare, but they can be conceived. it was thus that the entire army of brennus took to flight before the temple of delphi, at the noise made by the priests of apollo, transformed, by the affrighted imagination of the soldiers, into supernatural combatants.
jana, returning by rora, apprise the inhabitants of that village of the danger which they had run. ignorant of the massacres which had been perpetrated on that same day in the valley of lucerna, the people of rora immediately went to complain to the marquis of pianesse, of the invsion atempted against them in the morning.
'if they meant to attack you, it was not by my orders, he replied, the troops which i command never made any such wicked attempt. it can only have been a horde of piedmontese robbers and vagabonds. you would have done me a peasure if you had cut them in pieces. however, he added, with an air of kindness, i shall take care that such alarms do not take place again.
it was not an alarm, in good sooth, which he intended, but a surprise which should crush them all. proof of this was soon afforded.
on the folowing day a new battalion was sent against rora, by the mountain of cassulet. this time jana had 17 men with him; the number seems very small, but under his guidance they were worth an army. of these 18 men, 12 were armed from head to foot, 6 had only slings. he disposed them in three bands of 6 men each, to wit, 4 musketeers and 2 slingers. his position was chosen beforehand; it was again a defile, in which 10 men had scarcely room to manouvre: he had almost twice the number and occupied the most adnatageous position.
as soon as the battalion of the marquis of pianesse had advanced into the dpths of the scene of ambuscade, the vau made their appearance. an officer and 10 foot soldiers fell at ther first dicahge. stones flew like hai, whistling amongst the ranks of the enemy, who fell into disorder.
'every man save himself! cried a coward.
the troops began to diband. jan and his men rushed upon them from the rocks above, a pistol in one hand and a sword in the other. their agility, vigour and intrepidity multiplied their numbers; it seemed as if jaguars or lynxes flew from crest to crest of the rocks, as lightly as winged insects from flower to flower. the battalion, already surprised, thrown into confusion, and half routed, saw its discharges of musketry wasted amongst empty bushes, or upon im0penetrable rocks, and yet men resolute and completely armed, springing up, falling down, and leaping about before their eyes from these bushes and these rocks, and scattering death around their steps. the battalion, or rather the companies which were irst surprised and most engaged, recoiled involuntarily before them. the retrograde movement extended, the contgion of terror spread, one was carried alon by the example of another-and presently these 600 men, who had been led to a field of battle with which they were not acquainted, fled towards lucerna, ignorant alike of the number of their adversaries, and of the number of the dead whom they left behind them.
men who flee do not deefend themselves-they do not see the danger, they aggravate it by their flight, giving arms to the enemy by their own weakness, and doubling the energy of his assaults. it was thus with the battalion of the moutain of cassulet. it had lost only 12 men in the defile, it lost 40 in the flight. the folowing are the words inwhich jana, thirty years after, when banished from his country, recalled in his exile that glorious event:
'we were but very few in number; a few fusileers, and six or seven slingers, wo were not yet able to use the musket and we defeated the enemy; if we had not, we would have been all destroyed. when they fought down hill, the stones of the slings and the ten fusileers did more execution than you could have believed.
from these few words it appears that amongst that little handful of combatants who saved rora, and who ere long became the salvation of the valleys, there were some young men who were ot yet able to use the musket. it is impossible not to be all the more struck with the success of this heroic phalanx; we know not which most to admire, their courage, or the divine protection which gave them the victory. but valour is not to be measured by age, nor the strength of an army by the number of its soldiers. jana's troop had already given proof of this, and was to give further proof of it.
the marquis of pianesse, a second time frustrated in his projects, sent to rora, cound christopher, the seigneur of the place, to restore confindence amongst the vau and to repudiate, as a mistake, the sending of troops into their valley.
'reports have been made agains you, said he, whose falsehood has been discovered; you have only to keep yourselves quiet, and you shall live in peace
at the same time he cause a battalion, more numerous than the former,to be collected, for the purpose of annihilating them. it seems marvellous that the vau could allow themselves to be caught by such promises; and such impudence of falsehood seems surprising in a man of noble birth; but we must not forget that they considered lying to be a sin, and that he regard it as a virtue. has not the highest organ of catholicism, an ecumenical council, declared that it is lawful to break faith with heretics? and did not the propaganda, jesuitism, and all that constituted the life and power of the romish church at that period, make it a duty? what a protestant would reckon disgraceful, is matter of pride to a papist. to accomplish the shedding of blood by treachery was a legitimate triumph for rome. yet we may suppose that confidence was not completely restored to the minds of the vau.
next day, being the 27th of april, an entire regiment moved into the valley, pressed on towards rora, took possession of all the paths, occupied all the positions, burned a number of houses which lay in its way and carried off a load of plunder and the flocks of the inhabitants, who had retired to the heights of friouland. jana, with his men, beheld from distance the ravaging of the valley, but durst not approach because of the great numbers of the enemy. however, when he saw them encumbered with booty, and embarassed by the flocks which they took away with them,
he encouraged his seventeen men,
fell upon his knees, offered a fervent prayer to the God of armies, and
with undaunted boldness conducted his little troop to an advantageous position named damasser.
the regiment was arrested in its passage-
did not know the number of the enemy-
did not choose to abandon the booty-
lost its foremost men, and
thought it best to turn bck and retire upon le villar.
but the vau knew their own mountins better than these stranger troops;
they took a short path,
got before them,
posted themselves on their line of passage,
and again cut off their retreat.
this was near the summit of the mountain which separates rora from le villar, on a little grassy plain, named the pian pra, which means the smooth meadow.
the army of pianesse advanced, bearing along with it an immense booty.
it marched in disorder and carelessly,
for the foes over whom it had been unable to gain any advantage had disappeared from its path, and as no trace of them was to be perceived, it seemed that they had thought it best to make no further demonstration.
all at once a destructive fire was opened at a short distance from amongst the trees.
the soldiers, instead of defending themselves, hurried forward in their course.
they were already on the descent of the mountains.
jana's party rolled down upon them an avalanche of stones.
they dispersed themselves in order to avoid them.
hereupon the vau rushed in amongst these disbanded soldierss.
in vain they attempted to rally;
the ground did not any longer permit it;
many of them lost their footing
and were helplessly killed, or fell over the precipices.
however, the greater part of the army arrived at le villar,
but they had left their booty by the way;
the vau lost none of their men,
and recovered possession of all their property which had been carried off.
having re-ascended to the pian pra,
jana caused his men to halt.
'let us give thanks, said he.
his men fell on their knees.
"O God! exclaimed their intrepid leader,
we bless Thee for having preserved us.
protect our people in these calamities,
and increase our faith!
this short prayer was followed by the Lord's prayer and the apostles' creed.
meanwhile the fugitives arrived at lucerna.
the marquis of pianesse,
furious, humiliated, burning with rage, yet desirous to restrain himself,
perceiving that it would be vain to have recourse to new acts of deceit or perfidious protestations,
convoked the whole forces under his command, from bubiano, from barges and from cavour.
they were all to assemble at lucerna in order to march upon rora;
the day and the hour were appointed;
but the zealot who conducted the massacre oat bobi, ,mario de bagnol, wished to have the glory all to himself of destroying this miserable handful of adventurers, for so they designated these heroic mountaineers who defended, with so much courage, their unhappy families.
captain mario accordingly set out with his musketeers two hours before the other troops. he had three companies of regular troops, one of volunteers and one of piedmontese outlaws. a fifth of irish..they..even received a promise beforehand, that a free grant would be made to them of the dispeopled lands of the valleys. they fought, therefore, for their own interest...
captain mario divided his troops into two parties, of which one took the right, and the other the left side of the vale of rora. they advanced without resistance to the rocks of rummer, already signalized four days before as the scene of jana's first victory. jana was again in trenched there, his little troop augmented by a number of new combatants, and thus raised to the number of from30 to40 men. but the right of the count of bagnol, having deployed upon the heights, had got above rummer, and threatened to attack the vau in the rear, whilst the rest of the assailants would have attacked them in front.
jana saw the trap in which he was on the point of being taken;
and with the promptitude of decision and energy of action which mark military genius,
he exclaimed, 'forward!
to the broua!
(notes: a patois word, signifying the summit)
the victory is up there!
and wheeling about,
he left the position which he had occupied opposite to the front of captain mario,
whose movement in pursuit was retarded by the necessity of scaling rocks,
and turned against the upper detachment which was already deploying upon the smooth brow of the hill;
all the vau had their pieces loaded;
jana turned them directly upon the right wing of that detachment which was maneuvering in order to surround them.
'Fire! cried he.
a terrible discharge was poured in upon the enemy;
the bulk of the troops inclined in that direction to resist the vau;
but jana had flung himself upon his belly on the earth, and the bullets passed over his head:
and immediately taking advantage of the clouds of smoke which still covered him,
instead of pressing on in his original direction,
he made a sudden bend, and proceeded, sword in hand, to cut his way through the left wing,
where the enemy was already weakened by the movement of concentration which had taken place to the opposite side.
breaking in this way the line of the invaders,
he passed through them,
and attained the summit or broua which he had pointed out to his soldiers.
here he had the advantage of the ground;
and all the vau ranging themselves in order of battle,
with their backs against the rocks,
with the triple energy which is given by
a good cause, trust in God, and success,
they faced their foes with an intrepidity that daunted them.
in vain did the two divisions of the count of bagnol's troops re-unite, in order to assail them;
they could make no impression upon the vau.
the enemy formed a circle embracing all the base of the hill,
and as the level of the water rises around a promontory,
the circle closed as the enemy ascended towards them;
but it did not pass a certain limit,
for the soldiers who formed it fell dead as they came within the range of the bullets of the vau.
as the snow melts on the side of a mountain,
this army became gradually less;
and here its course of invasion was stayed.
'the vau, says leger, made so long and courageous a resistance, that at last confusion and a sense of dismay manifestly seized on that great multitude of assailants, and they took flight, leaving 65 of their number dead on the ground, without reckoning the wounded and the corpses which were carried away.
seeing that the enemy retired by the opening of the valley, the vau would have pursued them.
jana stayed them.
'better than that! said he;
they must be utterly destroyed.
and passing along the heights till he had got before the fugitives, he ran to post himself again, with his invincible fusileers, at a narrow pass called pierro capello.
the enemy's troop came up, now beginning to recover breath. at the moment when they least expected it,
the vau fired upon them again,
hurled down masses of rock,
rushed upon them,
and redoubled their affright, their disorder, and their loss;
there was not a shadow of resistance-
a panic, or rather the fear of the God of jacob seized upon these disbanded soldiers,
so that not being able easily to flee, because of the difficulty of the paths,
they flung themselves headlong over rocks, and into ravines and torrents,
and were drowned or lay dead beneath precipices,
if they did not fall by the swords or the bullets of their terrible assailants.
captain mario himself was with great difficulty drawn out of a hole full of water,
in which he must otherwise have been drowned;
and was carried back without his accoutrements, and without hat or shoes, to lucerna,
where he died a few days after.
..astonishing as were already the repeated victories of jana over enemies 50 times more numerous, it is not without surprise that we observe that the marquis of pianesse now called to arms all the disposable troops under his command, and caused nearly 10,000 men to march against the little commune of rora, so perseveringly defenced by a simple company of ..mountaineers. it was in the beginning of may, 1655: 3000 men set out from bagnol, 3000 from le villar, and 4000 from lucerna, to make a simultaneous assault upon a village of 50 houses.
the division from le villar was the first to make its appearance.
jana repulsed its attack;
but whilst he was engaged in battle,
two other divisions entered the lower part of the valley,
plundered the village,
burned the houses,
massacred the inhabitants,
committed monstrous outrages,
and carried off as prisoners the unfortunates who had not been killed.
the position was no longer tenable;
jana had no longer anything to defend;
rora was destroyed;
its inhabitants were slain or taken captive;
and he withdrew with his ..cohort into the valley of lucerna.
next day he received from the marquis of pianesse a note in these terms:
-'to captain janavel.
your wife and your daughters are in my hands-
they were made prisoners at rora;
i exhort you for the last time to abjure your heresty, which will be the only means to obtain pardon for your rebellion against the authority of his royal highness, and to save the lives of your wife and your daughters, who shall be burned alive if you do not submit. and if youpersist in your obstinacy, without putting myself to the trouble of sending troops against you, i will set such a price upon your head, that were you the devil incarnate, you must certainly be brought to me dead or alive; and if you fall into my hands alive, you may lay your account with it that there are no torments so cruel that they shall not be inflicted upon you. this warning is for your guidance-consider how you may turn it to your advantage.
the following is janavel's reply:
'there is no torment so cruel that i do not prefer it to the abjuring of my religion; and your threats, instead of turning me from it, confirm me in it all the more.
as for my wife and my daughters, they know if they are dear to me!
but God alone is Lord of their lives;
and if you destroy their bodies, God will save their souls.
may He graciously receive these beloved souls and likewise mine, if it so happen that i fall into your hands.
...a price was immediately set upon his head.
he had still one son, a young boy, who had been committed to the charge of a relative belonging to le villar. fearing lest he also might be made prisoner, the intrepid and afflicted father took with him this child, bore him across the snows to the other side of the alps, descended into dauphiny and there deposited his son- re-victualled his little escort, and took some days' repose, of which he availed himself to recruit his band-and then, still putting his trust in God, he crossed the alps once more, re-entered the valleys and took the field again, more powerful, formidable, and intrepid than ever.
meanwhile leger, the moderator of the vau churches, had proceeded to paris, where he published a statement, addressed to all the protestant powers of europe. many proofs of the liveliest sympathy and most active interest reached the vau churches from all parts. on the other hand, the court of savoy, or rather the duchess, urged by the propaganda and by the pontifical...nuncio pursued with vigour...the expulsion or complete extermination of the israel of the alps...
after having requested of mazarin that an asylum should be refused them in france and having failed to obtain her request, she next requested that he would have them removed from the frontiers of piedmont, at least three days' journey. the execution of this scheme having been also refused, she requested and obtained a prohibition against french subjects coming to the help of the vu who still remained in the valleys.
she was so active in her proceedings-her designs were so laoudly proclaimed, that even in the valleys themselves, many persons doubted if the vau would ever be able to recover their position. francis guerin, minister of roure, in pragela, confidently prophesied to the refugees that they ought to renounce the hope of returning to their native country, the time being come when the candlestick must be removed out of its place.
the captain of the duke of savoy's swiss guards being from the cnaton of glaris, where there were a few catholic families ill contented to dwell in a protestant country, proposed to charles emanuel II that he should receive these families into the valleys, and send the vau in exchange, into the canton of glaris.
cromwell, on his part, made offer to the vau to receive them into ireland, in place of the natives whom he had expelled from that island. but the reply of the moderator was more in accordance with the interests of his native land; he entreated the protector to send a plenipotentiary to turin, to exert himself for the reestablishment of the vau in the valleys, instead of their removal from thence. the plenipotentiary sent was morland, who rendered such important service in the pacification of that unfortunate country and who afterwards wrote a remarkable history of the events which had there taken place.
most of the foreign powers, from the king of sweden to the helvetic canons, wrote to charles emanuel in favour of the vau. 'this business makes a great noise in switzerland, as well as in france and germany, wrote the sardinian ambassador...'your highness will give it such consideration as you deem fit at a tie when the common arms might be more profitably employed elsewhere...
...all were unanimous in their condemnations...the court of savoy, however, presently adopted the course of contradicting the news...
in switzerland, in england, in holland and in almost all protestant countries, collections were made and public fasts were held upon account of the vau...catholics..louis XIV..commanded lesdiguieres to receive the vau fugitives kindly, and to assure them of his royal protection.in the valleys of le queyras and pragela, which belonged to france,the people took up arms for the help of the persecuted. the regular troops deserted with the same view...captain janavel had already returned to the valleys with his valiant party, augmented by numerous recruits from le queyras...
it was just at this time that janavel effected his junction with captain jahier (27th of may), on the banks of the angrogna. these two warriors, uniting their forces, became more formidable...
next day, at daybreak, having sought encouragement in prayer, and feeling the necessity of some energetic demonstration to save their country, they assailed the town of st. segont, and made themselves masters of it. to preserve themselves from the enemy's fire366last
it has been already stated that the vau of angrogna, and the refugees of the plain of piedmont, had, in great part, retired into the valley of perouse; those of st. martin, forewarned by a man who, although a catholic, was compassionate, of the arrival of the troops of galeazzo, with commission to put all to fire and sword, made hast to gain the valley of pragela; and such of the inhabitants of bobi as contrived to escape the massacre sought an asylum in that of queyras, across frightful snows, precipices, and rocks. all these places of refuge were then within the dominions of the king of france.
with the view of shutting that hospitable coutry against the vau, the duchess of savoy, who appears to have taken a much greater part in thses disastrous events than her son, wrote to the court of france. she wished to prevent her subjects from leaving the valleys and to have them massacred there. mazarin did not enter into her niews; he replied that humanity imposed upon him the duty of opening as asylum to the fugitive vau.
this gave them facilities for rallying, arming and organizing themselves. they wee even able to re-enter their country inmuch greater numbers than they had left it, for a multitude of their brethren from queyras and prgela joined them. meanwhile, a man of energy and ability, captain joshua janavel, who alone had foreseen the treachery, supported, doubtless, by the hand of God (in which no one ever put more absolute confidence than this intrepid warrior), kept in check the enemy's army and, by slow degrees, drove it from the valleys.
this came to pass as follows:
-it will be recollected that the 24th of april was the day fixed for the general massacre of the vau. troops had been contoned in theprincipal place of each commune, except rora; not, however, that that place was to have been spared. accordingly, on the morning of that day of extermination, the marquis of st. damian had sent a battalion of 500 or 600 soldiers from le villar, in order to surprise rora, under the command of count christopher of lucerna, who was designated the count of rora, because his apanage had been given him in that seigneurie. these soldiers climbed the steep slopes of the mountain of brouard, which lay between them and rora. janavel (jana), whose residence was at the base of a long ridge which that mountain sends out in the direction of lucerna, saw the soldierss ascending on the way towards the menaced village; and he, ascending on the way towards the menaced village; and he, ascending also by a different way, gathered together as he went, six determined men like himself, with whom he posted himself in a favourable position on the path by which the troops must pass, who advanced in expectation of taking the village by surprise. there he awaited them with his little party, behind some rocks that left a narrow passage only, through which they must of necessity pass.
so soon as they were engaged in this defile
(a narrow passage, especially between mountains)
jana and his companions united in one loud cry and discharged their peices, of which every one took effect; six soldiers fell, the rest drew back; those who followed, believing the ambuscade to be fomed by a much larger body than it really was, wheeled about, and the advanced guard was then separated from the main body of the squadron. the vau, concealed amongst rocks, where the enemy could form on estimate of their numbers, poured in their fire, and cleared the ground of the advanced guard, causing it to disband and take to flight. the rearguard, which had yet scarcely arrived at the summit of the mountain ridge, seeing that the foremost ranks were endeavouring to re-ascend it, made all hast to get down again by the side on which it was advancing, without having even seen those by whom it hd been attacked; the fugitives likewise, turning their backs upon the vau, saw them as little; and thus a whole battalion retired before a corporal's party, or rather before the exaggerated image of a perilous ambuscade. such incidents are rare, but they can be conceived. it was thus that the entire army of brennus took to flight before the temple of delphi, at the noise made by the priests of apollo, transformed, by the affrighted imagination of the soldiers, into supernatural combatants.
jana, returning by rora, apprise the inhabitants of that village of the danger which they had run. ignorant of the massacres which had been perpetrated on that same day in the valley of lucerna, the people of rora immediately went to complain to the marquis of pianesse, of the invsion atempted against them in the morning.
'if they meant to attack you, it was not by my orders, he replied, the troops which i command never made any such wicked attempt. it can only have been a horde of piedmontese robbers and vagabonds. you would have done me a peasure if you had cut them in pieces. however, he added, with an air of kindness, i shall take care that such alarms do not take place again.
it was not an alarm, in good sooth, which he intended, but a surprise which should crush them all. proof of this was soon afforded.
on the folowing day a new battalion was sent against rora, by the mountain of cassulet. this time jana had 17 men with him; the number seems very small, but under his guidance they were worth an army. of these 18 men, 12 were armed from head to foot, 6 had only slings. he disposed them in three bands of 6 men each, to wit, 4 musketeers and 2 slingers. his position was chosen beforehand; it was again a defile, in which 10 men had scarcely room to manouvre: he had almost twice the number and occupied the most adnatageous position.
as soon as the battalion of the marquis of pianesse had advanced into the dpths of the scene of ambuscade, the vau made their appearance. an officer and 10 foot soldiers fell at ther first dicahge. stones flew like hai, whistling amongst the ranks of the enemy, who fell into disorder.
'every man save himself! cried a coward.
the troops began to diband. jan and his men rushed upon them from the rocks above, a pistol in one hand and a sword in the other. their agility, vigour and intrepidity multiplied their numbers; it seemed as if jaguars or lynxes flew from crest to crest of the rocks, as lightly as winged insects from flower to flower. the battalion, already surprised, thrown into confusion, and half routed, saw its discharges of musketry wasted amongst empty bushes, or upon im0penetrable rocks, and yet men resolute and completely armed, springing up, falling down, and leaping about before their eyes from these bushes and these rocks, and scattering death around their steps. the battalion, or rather the companies which were irst surprised and most engaged, recoiled involuntarily before them. the retrograde movement extended, the contgion of terror spread, one was carried alon by the example of another-and presently these 600 men, who had been led to a field of battle with which they were not acquainted, fled towards lucerna, ignorant alike of the number of their adversaries, and of the number of the dead whom they left behind them.
men who flee do not deefend themselves-they do not see the danger, they aggravate it by their flight, giving arms to the enemy by their own weakness, and doubling the energy of his assaults. it was thus with the battalion of the moutain of cassulet. it had lost only 12 men in the defile, it lost 40 in the flight. the folowing are the words inwhich jana, thirty years after, when banished from his country, recalled in his exile that glorious event:
'we were but very few in number; a few fusileers, and six or seven slingers, wo were not yet able to use the musket and we defeated the enemy; if we had not, we would have been all destroyed. when they fought down hill, the stones of the slings and the ten fusileers did more execution than you could have believed.
from these few words it appears that amongst that little handful of combatants who saved rora, and who ere long became the salvation of the valleys, there were some young men who were ot yet able to use the musket. it is impossible not to be all the more struck with the success of this heroic phalanx; we know not which most to admire, their courage, or the divine protection which gave them the victory. but valour is not to be measured by age, nor the strength of an army by the number of its soldiers. jana's troop had already given proof of this, and was to give further proof of it.
the marquis of pianesse, a second time frustrated in his projects, sent to rora, cound christopher, the seigneur of the place, to restore confindence amongst the vau and to repudiate, as a mistake, the sending of troops into their valley.
'reports have been made agains you, said he, whose falsehood has been discovered; you have only to keep yourselves quiet, and you shall live in peace
at the same time he cause a battalion, more numerous than the former,to be collected, for the purpose of annihilating them. it seems marvellous that the vau could allow themselves to be caught by such promises; and such impudence of falsehood seems surprising in a man of noble birth; but we must not forget that they considered lying to be a sin, and that he regard it as a virtue. has not the highest organ of catholicism, an ecumenical council, declared that it is lawful to break faith with heretics? and did not the propaganda, jesuitism, and all that constituted the life and power of the romish church at that period, make it a duty? what a protestant would reckon disgraceful, is matter of pride to a papist. to accomplish the shedding of blood by treachery was a legitimate triumph for rome. yet we may suppose that confidence was not completely restored to the minds of the vau.
next day, being the 27th of april, an entire regiment moved into the valley, pressed on towards rora, took possession of all the paths, occupied all the positions, burned a number of houses which lay in its way and carried off a load of plunder and the flocks of the inhabitants, who had retired to the heights of friouland. jana, with his men, beheld from distance the ravaging of the valley, but durst not approach because of the great numbers of the enemy. however, when he saw them encumbered with booty, and embarassed by the flocks which they took away with them,
he encouraged his seventeen men,
fell upon his knees, offered a fervent prayer to the God of armies, and
with undaunted boldness conducted his little troop to an advantageous position named damasser.
the regiment was arrested in its passage-
did not know the number of the enemy-
did not choose to abandon the booty-
lost its foremost men, and
thought it best to turn bck and retire upon le villar.
but the vau knew their own mountins better than these stranger troops;
they took a short path,
got before them,
posted themselves on their line of passage,
and again cut off their retreat.
this was near the summit of the mountain which separates rora from le villar, on a little grassy plain, named the pian pra, which means the smooth meadow.
the army of pianesse advanced, bearing along with it an immense booty.
it marched in disorder and carelessly,
for the foes over whom it had been unable to gain any advantage had disappeared from its path, and as no trace of them was to be perceived, it seemed that they had thought it best to make no further demonstration.
all at once a destructive fire was opened at a short distance from amongst the trees.
the soldiers, instead of defending themselves, hurried forward in their course.
they were already on the descent of the mountains.
jana's party rolled down upon them an avalanche of stones.
they dispersed themselves in order to avoid them.
hereupon the vau rushed in amongst these disbanded soldierss.
in vain they attempted to rally;
the ground did not any longer permit it;
many of them lost their footing
and were helplessly killed, or fell over the precipices.
however, the greater part of the army arrived at le villar,
but they had left their booty by the way;
the vau lost none of their men,
and recovered possession of all their property which had been carried off.
having re-ascended to the pian pra,
jana caused his men to halt.
'let us give thanks, said he.
his men fell on their knees.
"O God! exclaimed their intrepid leader,
we bless Thee for having preserved us.
protect our people in these calamities,
and increase our faith!
this short prayer was followed by the Lord's prayer and the apostles' creed.
meanwhile the fugitives arrived at lucerna.
the marquis of pianesse,
furious, humiliated, burning with rage, yet desirous to restrain himself,
perceiving that it would be vain to have recourse to new acts of deceit or perfidious protestations,
convoked the whole forces under his command, from bubiano, from barges and from cavour.
they were all to assemble at lucerna in order to march upon rora;
the day and the hour were appointed;
but the zealot who conducted the massacre oat bobi, ,mario de bagnol, wished to have the glory all to himself of destroying this miserable handful of adventurers, for so they designated these heroic mountaineers who defended, with so much courage, their unhappy families.
captain mario accordingly set out with his musketeers two hours before the other troops. he had three companies of regular troops, one of volunteers and one of piedmontese outlaws. a fifth of irish..they..even received a promise beforehand, that a free grant would be made to them of the dispeopled lands of the valleys. they fought, therefore, for their own interest...
captain mario divided his troops into two parties, of which one took the right, and the other the left side of the vale of rora. they advanced without resistance to the rocks of rummer, already signalized four days before as the scene of jana's first victory. jana was again in trenched there, his little troop augmented by a number of new combatants, and thus raised to the number of from30 to40 men. but the right of the count of bagnol, having deployed upon the heights, had got above rummer, and threatened to attack the vau in the rear, whilst the rest of the assailants would have attacked them in front.
jana saw the trap in which he was on the point of being taken;
and with the promptitude of decision and energy of action which mark military genius,
he exclaimed, 'forward!
to the broua!
(notes: a patois word, signifying the summit)
the victory is up there!
and wheeling about,
he left the position which he had occupied opposite to the front of captain mario,
whose movement in pursuit was retarded by the necessity of scaling rocks,
and turned against the upper detachment which was already deploying upon the smooth brow of the hill;
all the vau had their pieces loaded;
jana turned them directly upon the right wing of that detachment which was maneuvering in order to surround them.
'Fire! cried he.
a terrible discharge was poured in upon the enemy;
the bulk of the troops inclined in that direction to resist the vau;
but jana had flung himself upon his belly on the earth, and the bullets passed over his head:
and immediately taking advantage of the clouds of smoke which still covered him,
instead of pressing on in his original direction,
he made a sudden bend, and proceeded, sword in hand, to cut his way through the left wing,
where the enemy was already weakened by the movement of concentration which had taken place to the opposite side.
breaking in this way the line of the invaders,
he passed through them,
and attained the summit or broua which he had pointed out to his soldiers.
here he had the advantage of the ground;
and all the vau ranging themselves in order of battle,
with their backs against the rocks,
with the triple energy which is given by
a good cause, trust in God, and success,
they faced their foes with an intrepidity that daunted them.
in vain did the two divisions of the count of bagnol's troops re-unite, in order to assail them;
they could make no impression upon the vau.
the enemy formed a circle embracing all the base of the hill,
and as the level of the water rises around a promontory,
the circle closed as the enemy ascended towards them;
but it did not pass a certain limit,
for the soldiers who formed it fell dead as they came within the range of the bullets of the vau.
as the snow melts on the side of a mountain,
this army became gradually less;
and here its course of invasion was stayed.
'the vau, says leger, made so long and courageous a resistance, that at last confusion and a sense of dismay manifestly seized on that great multitude of assailants, and they took flight, leaving 65 of their number dead on the ground, without reckoning the wounded and the corpses which were carried away.
seeing that the enemy retired by the opening of the valley, the vau would have pursued them.
jana stayed them.
'better than that! said he;
they must be utterly destroyed.
and passing along the heights till he had got before the fugitives, he ran to post himself again, with his invincible fusileers, at a narrow pass called pierro capello.
the enemy's troop came up, now beginning to recover breath. at the moment when they least expected it,
the vau fired upon them again,
hurled down masses of rock,
rushed upon them,
and redoubled their affright, their disorder, and their loss;
there was not a shadow of resistance-
a panic, or rather the fear of the God of jacob seized upon these disbanded soldiers,
so that not being able easily to flee, because of the difficulty of the paths,
they flung themselves headlong over rocks, and into ravines and torrents,
and were drowned or lay dead beneath precipices,
if they did not fall by the swords or the bullets of their terrible assailants.
captain mario himself was with great difficulty drawn out of a hole full of water,
in which he must otherwise have been drowned;
and was carried back without his accoutrements, and without hat or shoes, to lucerna,
where he died a few days after.
..astonishing as were already the repeated victories of jana over enemies 50 times more numerous, it is not without surprise that we observe that the marquis of pianesse now called to arms all the disposable troops under his command, and caused nearly 10,000 men to march against the little commune of rora, so perseveringly defenced by a simple company of ..mountaineers. it was in the beginning of may, 1655: 3000 men set out from bagnol, 3000 from le villar, and 4000 from lucerna, to make a simultaneous assault upon a village of 50 houses.
the division from le villar was the first to make its appearance.
jana repulsed its attack;
but whilst he was engaged in battle,
two other divisions entered the lower part of the valley,
plundered the village,
burned the houses,
massacred the inhabitants,
committed monstrous outrages,
and carried off as prisoners the unfortunates who had not been killed.
the position was no longer tenable;
jana had no longer anything to defend;
rora was destroyed;
its inhabitants were slain or taken captive;
and he withdrew with his ..cohort into the valley of lucerna.
next day he received from the marquis of pianesse a note in these terms:
-'to captain janavel.
your wife and your daughters are in my hands-
they were made prisoners at rora;
i exhort you for the last time to abjure your heresty, which will be the only means to obtain pardon for your rebellion against the authority of his royal highness, and to save the lives of your wife and your daughters, who shall be burned alive if you do not submit. and if youpersist in your obstinacy, without putting myself to the trouble of sending troops against you, i will set such a price upon your head, that were you the devil incarnate, you must certainly be brought to me dead or alive; and if you fall into my hands alive, you may lay your account with it that there are no torments so cruel that they shall not be inflicted upon you. this warning is for your guidance-consider how you may turn it to your advantage.
the following is janavel's reply:
'there is no torment so cruel that i do not prefer it to the abjuring of my religion; and your threats, instead of turning me from it, confirm me in it all the more.
as for my wife and my daughters, they know if they are dear to me!
but God alone is Lord of their lives;
and if you destroy their bodies, God will save their souls.
may He graciously receive these beloved souls and likewise mine, if it so happen that i fall into your hands.
...a price was immediately set upon his head.
he had still one son, a young boy, who had been committed to the charge of a relative belonging to le villar. fearing lest he also might be made prisoner, the intrepid and afflicted father took with him this child, bore him across the snows to the other side of the alps, descended into dauphiny and there deposited his son- re-victualled his little escort, and took some days' repose, of which he availed himself to recruit his band-and then, still putting his trust in God, he crossed the alps once more, re-entered the valleys and took the field again, more powerful, formidable, and intrepid than ever.
meanwhile leger, the moderator of the vau churches, had proceeded to paris, where he published a statement, addressed to all the protestant powers of europe. many proofs of the liveliest sympathy and most active interest reached the vau churches from all parts. on the other hand, the court of savoy, or rather the duchess, urged by the propaganda and by the pontifical...nuncio pursued with vigour...the expulsion or complete extermination of the israel of the alps...
after having requested of mazarin that an asylum should be refused them in france and having failed to obtain her request, she next requested that he would have them removed from the frontiers of piedmont, at least three days' journey. the execution of this scheme having been also refused, she requested and obtained a prohibition against french subjects coming to the help of the vu who still remained in the valleys.
she was so active in her proceedings-her designs were so laoudly proclaimed, that even in the valleys themselves, many persons doubted if the vau would ever be able to recover their position. francis guerin, minister of roure, in pragela, confidently prophesied to the refugees that they ought to renounce the hope of returning to their native country, the time being come when the candlestick must be removed out of its place.
the captain of the duke of savoy's swiss guards being from the cnaton of glaris, where there were a few catholic families ill contented to dwell in a protestant country, proposed to charles emanuel II that he should receive these families into the valleys, and send the vau in exchange, into the canton of glaris.
cromwell, on his part, made offer to the vau to receive them into ireland, in place of the natives whom he had expelled from that island. but the reply of the moderator was more in accordance with the interests of his native land; he entreated the protector to send a plenipotentiary to turin, to exert himself for the reestablishment of the vau in the valleys, instead of their removal from thence. the plenipotentiary sent was morland, who rendered such important service in the pacification of that unfortunate country and who afterwards wrote a remarkable history of the events which had there taken place.
most of the foreign powers, from the king of sweden to the helvetic canons, wrote to charles emanuel in favour of the vau. 'this business makes a great noise in switzerland, as well as in france and germany, wrote the sardinian ambassador...'your highness will give it such consideration as you deem fit at a tie when the common arms might be more profitably employed elsewhere...
...all were unanimous in their condemnations...the court of savoy, however, presently adopted the course of contradicting the news...
in switzerland, in england, in holland and in almost all protestant countries, collections were made and public fasts were held upon account of the vau...catholics..louis XIV..commanded lesdiguieres to receive the vau fugitives kindly, and to assure them of his royal protection.in the valleys of le queyras and pragela, which belonged to france,the people took up arms for the help of the persecuted. the regular troops deserted with the same view...captain janavel had already returned to the valleys with his valiant party, augmented by numerous recruits from le queyras...
it was just at this time that janavel effected his junction with captain jahier (27th of may), on the banks of the angrogna. these two warriors, uniting their forces, became more formidable...
next day, at daybreak, having sought encouragement in prayer, and feeling the necessity of some energetic demonstration to save their country, they assailed the town of st. segont, and made themselves masters of it. to preserve themselves from the enemy's fire366last
Monday, October 15, 2012
10.14.2012 IS A PERSON'S 'RIGHTS' MORE IMPORTANT THAN THEIR FREEDOM OF CONSCIENCE?
the following is taken from and autobiography 'margaret thatcher: the downing street years' 1993. it is a snapshot of her when argentina's dictator invaded the falkland islands inhabited by people who wanted to live under the authority of the british government.
175.1my first involvement with the falklands issue came very early in the life of the 1979 parliament.it was clear that there were only tow ways in which the prosperity of the falkland islanders could be achieved. the more obvious and attractive approach was by promoting the development of economic links with neighboring argentina. yet this ran up against the argentinian claim that the falklands and the dependencies were part of their sovereign territory.ted heath's government had signed an important communications agreement in 1971 establishing air and sea links between the islands and the mainland, but further progress in that direction had been blocked by the argentinians unless sovereignty was also discussed. arguments of this kind led..to advance the so called 'lease back arrangement, under which sovereignty would pass to argentina but the way of life of the islanders would be preserved by the continuation of british administration...nick and i both agreed that it should be explored, subject always to the requirement that the islanders themselves should have the final word. we could not agree to anything without their consent: their wishes must be paramount.
(note: then there were several incidents involving agentinian boats. then in 1983 england received word that 'it looked as it (argentina) was going to invade the islands on friday 2 april'. when thatcher was informed she 'said instantly: 'if they are invaded, we have got to get them back'.)
..'it was also on friday 2 april that i received advice from the foreign office which summed up the flexibility of principle characeristic of that department. i was presented with the dangers of
a backlash against the british expatriates in argentina,
problems about getting support in the UN security councuil,
the lack of reliance we could place on the european community or the united states,
the risk of the soviets becoming involved,
the disadvantage of being looked at as a colonial power.
all these considerations were fair enough.
but when you are at war you cannot allow the difficulties to dominate your thinking:
you have to set out with an iron will to overcome them.
and anyway what was the alternative?
that a common or garden dictator should rule over the queen's subjects
and prevail by fraud and violence?
not while i was prime minister.
(in her speech informing the house of commons) 'i must tell the house that the falkland islands and their dependencies remain british territory. no aggression and no invasion can alter that simple fact. it is the government's objective to see that the islands are freed from occupation and are returned to british administration at the earliest possible moment.
the people of the falkland islands, like the people of the united kingdom, are an island race...they are few in number, but they have the right to live in peace, to choose their own way of life and to determine their own allegiance. their way of life is british: their allegiance is to the crown it is the wish of the british people and the duty of her majesty's government to do everything that we can to uphold that right. that will be our hope and our endeavour and , i believe, the resolve of every member of the house.
others hared my view that the task force would have to be used, but doubted the government's will and stamina. enoch powell expressed this sentiment most dramatically when he looked directly across the chamber at me and declared sepulchrally:
'the prime minster, shortly after she came into office, received a soubriquet as the 'iron lady'. it arose in the context of remarks which she made about defence against the soviet union and its allies; but there was no reason to suppose that the right honorable lady did not welcome and, indeed, take pride in that description. in the next week or two this house, the nation and the right honorable lady herself will learn of what metal she is made.
(footnote: later, when the war was won, enoch powell returned to the subject in a pariementary question:
is the rt. hon. lady aware that the report has now been received from the public analyst on a certain substance recently subjected to analysis and that i have obtained a copy of the report?
it shows that the substance under test consisted of ferrous matter of the highest quality and that it
is of exceptional tensile strength,
is highly resistant to wear and tear and to stress
and may be used top advantage for all national purposes.
(speaking of alexander haig. i believe the US secretary of state at the time, thatcher 'made it quite clear to him..that he was not being received in london as a mediator but as a friend and ally, here to discuss ways in which the united states could most effectively support us...
'it was apparent from the beginning that, whatever might be said publicly , al haig and his colleagues had come to mediate.
he said that the us was not impartial but had to be cautious about its 'profile.
the argentine foreign minister had indicated that they might accept soviet assistance,k which made the americans extremely uncomfortable. in his judgment the next seventy two hours would be the best time for negotiation as far as the argentinians were concerned. he told us that he had decided to visit britain first because he did not wish to go to buenos aires without a full understanding of our approach.
that was my cue.
i told mr. haig that the issue was far wider than a dispute between the united kingdom and argentina.
the use of force to seize disputed territory set a dangerous precedent.
in that sense, the falklands mattered to many countries-
to germany, for example, because of west berlin,
to france because of its colonial possessions,
to guyana, a large part of whose territory was claimed by venezuela.
we in britain had experience of the danger of appeasing dictators...
if God saves me from my sin,
i am enabled to become His slave,
with no rights but to do what He says no matter what it means for me.
the only way i am free is to give up all 'my rights' and do His will.
only when this happens am i truly free...
only then do i have true freedom
to follow my conscience before God.
to do what God calls right is the only thing that matters
to myself or
to any human being.
if i shy away from anything to protect myself..
.if i fear any man,
fear anything...
i am no longer truly free,
no longer able to help another truly be free,
no longer truly a slave only of God.
...a person can have all the 'rights' in the world to do whatever she wants
and be a most degraded and degrading slave.
...a person can have all human rights denied, go through hell all his life and yet be free to do what is right
before God.
175.1my first involvement with the falklands issue came very early in the life of the 1979 parliament.it was clear that there were only tow ways in which the prosperity of the falkland islanders could be achieved. the more obvious and attractive approach was by promoting the development of economic links with neighboring argentina. yet this ran up against the argentinian claim that the falklands and the dependencies were part of their sovereign territory.ted heath's government had signed an important communications agreement in 1971 establishing air and sea links between the islands and the mainland, but further progress in that direction had been blocked by the argentinians unless sovereignty was also discussed. arguments of this kind led..to advance the so called 'lease back arrangement, under which sovereignty would pass to argentina but the way of life of the islanders would be preserved by the continuation of british administration...nick and i both agreed that it should be explored, subject always to the requirement that the islanders themselves should have the final word. we could not agree to anything without their consent: their wishes must be paramount.
(note: then there were several incidents involving agentinian boats. then in 1983 england received word that 'it looked as it (argentina) was going to invade the islands on friday 2 april'. when thatcher was informed she 'said instantly: 'if they are invaded, we have got to get them back'.)
..'it was also on friday 2 april that i received advice from the foreign office which summed up the flexibility of principle characeristic of that department. i was presented with the dangers of
a backlash against the british expatriates in argentina,
problems about getting support in the UN security councuil,
the lack of reliance we could place on the european community or the united states,
the risk of the soviets becoming involved,
the disadvantage of being looked at as a colonial power.
all these considerations were fair enough.
but when you are at war you cannot allow the difficulties to dominate your thinking:
you have to set out with an iron will to overcome them.
and anyway what was the alternative?
that a common or garden dictator should rule over the queen's subjects
and prevail by fraud and violence?
not while i was prime minister.
(in her speech informing the house of commons) 'i must tell the house that the falkland islands and their dependencies remain british territory. no aggression and no invasion can alter that simple fact. it is the government's objective to see that the islands are freed from occupation and are returned to british administration at the earliest possible moment.
the people of the falkland islands, like the people of the united kingdom, are an island race...they are few in number, but they have the right to live in peace, to choose their own way of life and to determine their own allegiance. their way of life is british: their allegiance is to the crown it is the wish of the british people and the duty of her majesty's government to do everything that we can to uphold that right. that will be our hope and our endeavour and , i believe, the resolve of every member of the house.
others hared my view that the task force would have to be used, but doubted the government's will and stamina. enoch powell expressed this sentiment most dramatically when he looked directly across the chamber at me and declared sepulchrally:
'the prime minster, shortly after she came into office, received a soubriquet as the 'iron lady'. it arose in the context of remarks which she made about defence against the soviet union and its allies; but there was no reason to suppose that the right honorable lady did not welcome and, indeed, take pride in that description. in the next week or two this house, the nation and the right honorable lady herself will learn of what metal she is made.
(footnote: later, when the war was won, enoch powell returned to the subject in a pariementary question:
is the rt. hon. lady aware that the report has now been received from the public analyst on a certain substance recently subjected to analysis and that i have obtained a copy of the report?
it shows that the substance under test consisted of ferrous matter of the highest quality and that it
is of exceptional tensile strength,
is highly resistant to wear and tear and to stress
and may be used top advantage for all national purposes.
(speaking of alexander haig. i believe the US secretary of state at the time, thatcher 'made it quite clear to him..that he was not being received in london as a mediator but as a friend and ally, here to discuss ways in which the united states could most effectively support us...
'it was apparent from the beginning that, whatever might be said publicly , al haig and his colleagues had come to mediate.
he said that the us was not impartial but had to be cautious about its 'profile.
the argentine foreign minister had indicated that they might accept soviet assistance,k which made the americans extremely uncomfortable. in his judgment the next seventy two hours would be the best time for negotiation as far as the argentinians were concerned. he told us that he had decided to visit britain first because he did not wish to go to buenos aires without a full understanding of our approach.
that was my cue.
i told mr. haig that the issue was far wider than a dispute between the united kingdom and argentina.
the use of force to seize disputed territory set a dangerous precedent.
in that sense, the falklands mattered to many countries-
to germany, for example, because of west berlin,
to france because of its colonial possessions,
to guyana, a large part of whose territory was claimed by venezuela.
we in britain had experience of the danger of appeasing dictators...
if God saves me from my sin,
i am enabled to become His slave,
with no rights but to do what He says no matter what it means for me.
the only way i am free is to give up all 'my rights' and do His will.
only when this happens am i truly free...
only then do i have true freedom
to follow my conscience before God.
to do what God calls right is the only thing that matters
to myself or
to any human being.
if i shy away from anything to protect myself..
.if i fear any man,
fear anything...
i am no longer truly free,
no longer able to help another truly be free,
no longer truly a slave only of God.
...a person can have all the 'rights' in the world to do whatever she wants
and be a most degraded and degrading slave.
...a person can have all human rights denied, go through hell all his life and yet be free to do what is right
before God.
Saturday, October 13, 2012
10.13.2012 THE WOUNDED HEART
i learned of this book (published in 1990),
subtitled, 'hope for adult victims of childhood sexual abuse',
in world magazine this last year
and finally found i could borrow it through the local bookmobile.
although i never have been sexually abused,
after reading most of it
i am hoping to get my own copy and also encourage several people i know who may be helped in reading it.
it has helped me a great deal to read it. it has cracked a little wider opening of some understanding of what other people go through because they have sinned and or been sinned against in this way. may God continue to help me to look at myself and other human beings as we all appear before Him...and with His inconceivable love in light of this.
i hope the prologue will encourage others to read and be helped and blessed also...both those who have abused/been abused in this way and those who have not.
prologue..anyone who picks up a book on sexual abuse has a definite purpose in mind. few would bother picking up a painful, deeply distressing book for recreational reading. in most cases this book will be read by those who are struggling to understand their own abuse. others may read for the purpose of understanding their abused parishioner, client or spouse. whatever the reason may be for reading on this subject, i think that it is fair for the reader to ask a central question:
why another book on this topic?
an obvious answer is to offer hope to those who have experienced sexual abuse and guidance to those who work with abuse victims. one of the central messages of most books on abuse, this one included is freedom from the guilt of the past abuse.
what occurred is not your fault!
unfortunately, that message is at first heard as good news but often does not endure over time. i've heard many victims of sexual abuse argue,
'others are excused,
but not me.
my abuse is different.
if you knew the facts, you would understand that i am at least partially at fault.
i led him on.
i didn't tell anyone,
and i know i should have found a way to stop his advances.
for some reason the blanket amnesty of forgiveness offered to sexual abuse victims fades after the initial relief. this fading does not invalidate the good news. it simply implies that more must be done than affirm abused people and implore them to forgive themselves.
what is the enemy? what are the factors that make past sexual abuse so shameful and the basis of such grievous self contempt? what must be done to lift the shroud of shame and contempt? the answer involves a strategy that seems to intensify the problem:
peer deeply into the wounded heart.
the first great enemy to lasting change is the propensity to turn our eyes away from the wound and pretend things are fine. the work of restoration cannot begin until a problem is fully faced.
this is a book about damage, the damage done to the soul by sexual abuse. it is also a book about hope, but hope that loves only after the harm of abuse has been faced. if there is a central reason for this book it is found in the need to face what is true about the damage done to the soul and the damage done to others related to the past abuse.
there is a natural reluctance to face the problem. christians seem to despise reality.
(NOTES: prologue.1 some christians believe the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, makes us holy without requiring that we look at the ugly truth of how we have been sinned against and sin in return. however when scripture tells us to 'examine ourselves', it is a call to..a self reflection that includes but is not limited to seeing sin in ourselves.
..one of the strongest calls to self examination comes from the puritan jonathan edwards.
he stated,
'those who entertain the opinion and hope of themselves, that they are godly, should take great care to see that their foundation be right. those that are in doubt should not give themselves rest till the matter be resolved.
he argues that
'many men who live in ways which are not agreeable to the rules of god's word, yet are not sensible of it; and it is a difficult thing to make them so; because the same lust that leads them into evil way, blinds them in it'
he offers a number of means to see rightly that include
knowing the word;
knowing oneself'
seeking feedback from others, and
seeing the faults of others in order to use their sin as a mirror to see our own...
we tend to be squeamish when looking at the destructive effects of sin. it is unpleasant to face the consequences of sin-our own and others. to do so seems to discount the finished and sufficient work of our savior. and so we pretend we're fine, when, in fact, we know that something is troubling our soul. a dull ache occasionally floats to the surface, or stalking memories return in dreams or in odd thoughts during the day. but why bother about such strange feelings when our salvation is guaranteed and life's task is clear: trust and obey?
the unbelieving culture is not so dishonest. our society faces realities that other eras chose to avoid. unfortunately, however, it offers solutions that lead to even greater denial. the secular path for change seems to involve some form of self assertion, setting one's own boundaries and choosing to act on the basis of one's own personal value system. invariably, the result is a stronger, more self centered humanist, who lives less for the sake of loving others than for his perceived advantage and benefits.
the solution the secular path offers is in fact filling a leaky cup with lukewarm water. it leaves the soul empty and unsatisfied. it never admits that the deepest damage is never what someone has done to me but what i have done regarding the creator of the universe. the damage done through abuse is awful and heinous, but minor compared to the dynamics that distort the victim's relationship with God and rob her of the joy of loving and being loved by others.
this process is the end of secular solutions, but many so called christian alternatives are even worse.. several paths offered to the abuse victim often increase the burden and lead to revictimization;
denial based forgiveness,
pressured demands to love, and
quick relief from pain through dramatic spiritual interventions.
forgiveness built on 'forgetfulness' is a christian version of a frontal lobotomy.
NOTES: prologue.2..it is commonly assumed that forgiving another is a one time event. it is viewed as a climactic releasing of bitterness and hatred, and a return to a state of kindness and compassion. forgiveness is often told about in the past tense,
(quoted from 'bold love' by allender and tremper longman III, 1992)'i was so hurt by my father that it took years before i forgave him,
rather than being viewed as an ongoing work of the spirit of God.
'it seems that many experience one major moment when a transition takes place from holding on to bitterness to releasing the rage. this moment is often viewed as the point when forgiveness occurred; therefore, it is now finished and resolved. forgiving another may often have an actual moment of climactic transition, similar to conversion when a person goes from death to life, but it is naive to believe forgiving another for any one failure or for a lifetime of harm is ever entirely finished. the fact seems to be that as any harm is more fully faced, then it requires the deepening of forgiveness to overcome. to forgive another is always an ongoing, deepening, quickening process, rather than a once and for all event...
'another common perspective taught about forgiveness is to 'forgive and forget'. the concept comes from two major passages, psalm 25.7 and jeremiah 31.34. the psalmist asks God not to remember the sins of his youth, but instead to recall His mercy and love, in the jeremiah passage, god says,
'for I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more'. christians are told to be like God, who does not remember sin but forgives wickedness...
'there are several grave problems with the idea the god is 'forgetful'.
first, God does remember sin. we are told that we will all one day appear before "God and receive our rewards based on 'the things done in the body, whether good or bad' II cor. 5.10 it is apparent god does remember sin and righteousness, and uses the evidence to determine our due.
'a second problem involves making a metaphor into methodology.
'God's forgetfulness' is a metaphor, or word picture. many seem to understand that the phrases which tell us our sins are removed 'as far as the east is from the west' psalm 103.12 and hurled 'into the depths of the sea' micah 7.19 are metaphors, but God's loss of memory is somehow viewed as a fact. a metaphor is like a wonderfully broad stroked impressionistic painting of a seascape. it is overstated and dramatic, full of life, but not intended to be taken as an overly precise and literal representation of the actual thing being painted. imagine how absurd it would be if someone wanted to discover the actual place where the east is divided from the west in order to deposit the sins of another. in the same way, it is absurd to take the metaphor of forgetfulness and make it into a tangible requirement for forgiveness.
'then what is the meaning of the metaphor of forgetfulness? what does god's forgetfulness look like for us as we go about forgiving others? the scriptures use many metaphors and stories to illustrate the meaning of forgiveness. a central theme is that an incomprehensible debt owed to the master has been mercifully canceled. the canceled debt frees the debtor from eternal imprisonment, shame and destitution. the only debt that remains is to offer others a taste of redemptive love matthew 6.9-15, 18.21-35. to forgive another means to cancel the debt of what is owed in order to provide a door of opportunity for repentance and restoration of the broken relationship.
an abused woman was told by her pastor that she was to forget the past and stop pitying herself because many people have had a lot worse things happen to them than being abused by their father. this advice made any reflection on the effects of the abuse selfish and illegitimate. his comment felt as painful to her as the original abuse.
DENIAL BASED FORGIVENESS: to be told,
'the past is the past and we are new creatures in Christ, so don't worry about what you can't change,
at first relieves the need to face the unsightly reality of the destructive past. after a time, however, the unclaimed pain of the past presses for resolution, and the only solution is to continue to deny.
(NOTES: prologue.3 ..denial is a choice to see reality from a grid or schema that selectively ignores or interrupts data that would disconfirm our desire for peace...
when a person goes beyond saying something could not occur to further suppressing truth in unrighteousness by saying it did not occur, then that is out of the realm of denial to a more active, forceful suppression of the truth...
we never need push a person to truth; rather it must be set forth and then the question must be asked,
'what would cause you to prefer a lie to what is true?
prophetic questions in conjunction with the work of the Holy Spirit, rather than therapeutic pressure is the ground for constructive change.
the result is either a sense of deep personal contempt for one's inability to forgive and forget, or a deepened sense of betrayal toward those who desired to silence the pain of the abuse in a way that feels similar to the perpetrator's desire to mute the victim.
hiding the past always involves denial;
denial of the past is always a denial of god.
to forget your personal history is tantamount to trying to forget yourself and the journey that god has called you to live.
what might be the motivation of the forgive and forgetters? the answer may be found in a deep and legitimate desire to protect the honor of god. a central question in the mind of the abused person,
'where was God?
compels many to answer by denying the influence of past events on present day functioning. if the past is insignificant, then i don't need to ponder the question, why did God not intervene? the unbelieving world is willing to see the damage of abuse because it feels no need to defend the God who could have intervened to stop it. the christian community, however, feels disposed to deny any data that casts doubt on God's presence or willingness to act for the sake of His children.
'where was God?
is a legitimate cry of the soul to understand what it means to trust God. irrespective of the answers, the question is not to be avoided. if God is trustworthy, He can be trusted without our efforts to destroy and deny the past.
another factor may be involved in the desire to 'forget' the past. christians believe in the possibility of healing or deep personal change. change-or better said, the fruit of the Spirit-is the result of God's working in the person. this work enables us to love as Christ loved, to serve as He served, and to be of one mind with others as He is with the Father. these are high claims. the results are seldom, if ever close to the ideal. one need only to observe our penchant for easy believism, materialism, superficiality, and hypercriticalness toward those who differ from our favorite doctrinal positions to call into question the work of the Holy
Spirit in the change process. a secularist could easily sue us for false claims in advertising.
does the gospel really work to transform lives?
the data is at times questionable. therefore the christian community feels disposed to deny any data that points to the thorns and thistles in the lives of those who claim to be filled with the power of God.
the unbelieving world acknowledges the effects of sin but offers incomplete solutions; the believing world is, at times, unwilling to face the current effects of sin, but has solutions that can provide substantial healing. the answer is quite simple. let us as christians acknowledge without shame that regeneration does not alleviate or in fact diminish the effects of sin quickly or permanently in this life. if we accept that, we are free to face the parts of our souls that remain scarred and damaged by the effects of sexual abuse without feeling that we are denying the gospel. facing the reality of the fall and beginning the process of reclaiming the land covered with is the marvelous work of the
God ordained kingdom gardener. it is labor eminently worthy of every believer to reclaim the parts of one's soul that remain untilled and unproductive for bearing fruit. and the denial of the past hinders this work of reclamation.
PRESSURED DEMANDS TO LOVE: a woman was told by her friends that she was tempting the judgment of God because she was taking her abuser to court. she was told that her desire to bring him to justice was unloving and vengeful. she wryly remarked that a friend had recently received a sizable out of court settlement for as accident, and no one batted an eye. if appeared to be acceptable to use the court system for a damaged car, but not for a damaged soul.
another man refuses to visit, receive phone calls, or open mail from the father who raped him from age seven to ten. his father, an upstanding church member, is irritated by his son's unwillingness to interact but flatly denies his son's abuse and has gone so far as to question his son's sanity and salvation.
what does it mean to love one's enemies? does it mean to simply do good, regardless of what you feel? if the answer is yes, then what in the world does it mean to do good to a father whose unwillingness to face the past abuse is tantamount to living an evil hearted lie? how is one to hate what is evil and cling to what is good while at the same time loving one's enemy?
there are answers to these questions, but the typical pressured-love solution involves being nice, not causing conflict and pretending relationships are fine as the evil charade unfolds. under this version of christianity, the abuse person feels secure and dead. there is safety in soul-numbing rigidity that does not require thought, reflection or risk. but the honest person knows that
soulless conformity never leads to life giving change.
love is not easily defined, nor is it quickly executed with a slight twist of the will. loving one's enemy, in particular, requires that the heart be caught up in the freedom and power that God instills in the one who is willing to extend grace to an enemy. love can be commanded, but is its fulfillment the exercise of right doing,in spite of the absence of passion, desire or authenticity toward the person who did harm?
far too often the abuse person is commanded to do good or to love their abuser without exploring the complexities of what it means to love or what may be blocking the God given desire to love. the result is often a greater deadening of the soul in order to accomplish the burdensome task or a backlash of rage toward god or anyone who would so insensitively encourage such a painful path.
the assumption taught in many christian groups is that emotions will follow in accord with your choice of will. if you feel angry, then do good, because in doing good you will eventually not be angry. even better, if you do good long enough, then you will actually feel loving emotions toward the person who did you harm. this is not the place to debate the interlacing intricacies of choice. thought, emotion and longing, but an obvious point can be made. all the effort in the world expended to arrive at the 'right' location will be of little avail if the traveler is moving in the wrong direction or has known or unknown reasons for not wanting to arrive at the destination. more must be done than shouting commands to love.
love is at the core of change. but as love is defined by some, it lacks purpose, passion and strength. in reaction to a culture that sees love as whim based on the unpredictability of emotion, some christians have opted for a decision based, emotionless act of the will to be nice and inoffensive.
love is many things, but it is never weak or lacking in passion.
simply telling an abused person to love his or her abuser is unhelpful, even if love is an essential component of the change process.
DRAMATIC SPIRITUAL INTERVENTIONS: i recently worked with a woman who was part of a charismatic church connected to a national healing and miracle ministry, which makes an assumption that
sexually abused persons are demon oppressed.
the memories may be the concoction of the demons, thus discounting the validity of the past abuse or the memories may be actual events that are kept in the mind by the evil host that inhabits the victim. in either case, the strategy is to cast the demons out through the ritual of exorcism.
the woman i worked with had learned through years of abuse to keep her mouth shut.
if she disagreed with anyone, she assumed she must be wrong.
the abused person often looks for someone who is strong, authoritative and convinced that the damage can be quickly and painlessly resolved.
this church provided that hope.
she eventually endured several exorcisms where she experienced her handlers as abusive and demeaning,
though for a time she felt relief and rest.
that period ended when she required constant assurance and drug lie jolts of emotional enthusiasm to keep her wavering and transient faith stable.
quick cures never resolve the deep damage.
instead, they offer change that requires little more than lying on a gurney before surgery:
be still and let the experts do their work.
trust is defined as allowing the process to occur without creating obstacles that would hinder the work.
holy passivity is the key to most quick cure solutions.
the woman had enough integrity to acknowledge that the healing had not occurred and
that the healers were abusive and blind to the real damage in her soul.
once a 'magical cure' has occurred, few are willing to admit that much is left to be dealt with.
quick cures are not unique to any one group.
many offer healing from damaged emotions or memories by attempting
to place a 'positive' perspective around the painful event
in the midst of a deep, flowing expression of pent up emotions.
the result is often a refreshing reclamation of lost parts of the past.
it's as if the painful events can be safely looked at without fearing retribution or destruction.
my fear is that many stop at the point of deep initial relief without delving further into the damage.
the initial washing of the wound will not be sufficient if the infection is not treated by even stronger medicine.
the hunger for a quick cure is as deep as the desire for heaven.
the tragedy is that many take the cheap cure and miss the path to a lasting taste of heaven.
THE BETTER PATH: there are many options available to the christian for dealing with past abuse, but the outcome is unappealing:
forgive and forget-denial
pressured love-passionless conformity
quick cures-irresponsible passivity.
it is not difficult to understand why the christian who has been abuse often chooses either to seek help outside the church
or to learn to handle the damage by pretending it does not exist.
i strongly believe the scriptures offer better ways of hope and change.
what is the better path?
the argument of this book is the
THE BEST PATH IS THROUGH THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH.
the crags of doubt and the valleys of despair offer a proving ground of God that no other terrain can provide.
God does show Himself faithful;
but the geography is often desert dry and mountainous demanding,
to the point that the path seems too dangerous to face the journey ahead...
THE JOURNEY INVOLVES BRINGING OUR WOUNDED HEART BEFORE GOD,
a heart that is full of rage, overwhelmed with doubt, bloodied but unbroken, rebellious, stained and lonely.
it does not seem possible that anyone can handle, let alone embrace, our wounded and sinful heart.
but the path involves the risk of putting into words the condition of our inner being and placing those words before God for His response.
the Lord has promised He will not put out the smoldering flax or break the broken reed (Isaiah 42.3).
but promises have been made before by a supposedly trustworthy person,
and we swore the betrayal was the last we would ever allow our soul to experience.
THE OBSTACLE TO LIFE IS THE CONVICTION THAT GODWILL DAMAGE US AND DESTROY US.
the problem is that the path does involve His hurting us, but only in order to heal us.
why does abuse make it so hard to come to the Lord for the succor and life that our souls crave?
what is the enemy to the healing process?
in brief, the answer is shame and contempt.
the damage of past abuse sets in motion a complex scheme of self protective defenses that
operate largely outside of our awareness,
guiding our interactions with others,
determining the spouse we select,
the jobs we pursue,
the theologies we embrace, and
the fabric of our entire lives.
this book takes a look at the inner workings of these dynamics with the hope that a clearer picture of the damage will enable us to make more conscious, godly decisions in dealing with others and with ourselves.
subtitled, 'hope for adult victims of childhood sexual abuse',
in world magazine this last year
and finally found i could borrow it through the local bookmobile.
although i never have been sexually abused,
after reading most of it
i am hoping to get my own copy and also encourage several people i know who may be helped in reading it.
it has helped me a great deal to read it. it has cracked a little wider opening of some understanding of what other people go through because they have sinned and or been sinned against in this way. may God continue to help me to look at myself and other human beings as we all appear before Him...and with His inconceivable love in light of this.
i hope the prologue will encourage others to read and be helped and blessed also...both those who have abused/been abused in this way and those who have not.
prologue..anyone who picks up a book on sexual abuse has a definite purpose in mind. few would bother picking up a painful, deeply distressing book for recreational reading. in most cases this book will be read by those who are struggling to understand their own abuse. others may read for the purpose of understanding their abused parishioner, client or spouse. whatever the reason may be for reading on this subject, i think that it is fair for the reader to ask a central question:
why another book on this topic?
an obvious answer is to offer hope to those who have experienced sexual abuse and guidance to those who work with abuse victims. one of the central messages of most books on abuse, this one included is freedom from the guilt of the past abuse.
what occurred is not your fault!
unfortunately, that message is at first heard as good news but often does not endure over time. i've heard many victims of sexual abuse argue,
'others are excused,
but not me.
my abuse is different.
if you knew the facts, you would understand that i am at least partially at fault.
i led him on.
i didn't tell anyone,
and i know i should have found a way to stop his advances.
for some reason the blanket amnesty of forgiveness offered to sexual abuse victims fades after the initial relief. this fading does not invalidate the good news. it simply implies that more must be done than affirm abused people and implore them to forgive themselves.
what is the enemy? what are the factors that make past sexual abuse so shameful and the basis of such grievous self contempt? what must be done to lift the shroud of shame and contempt? the answer involves a strategy that seems to intensify the problem:
peer deeply into the wounded heart.
the first great enemy to lasting change is the propensity to turn our eyes away from the wound and pretend things are fine. the work of restoration cannot begin until a problem is fully faced.
this is a book about damage, the damage done to the soul by sexual abuse. it is also a book about hope, but hope that loves only after the harm of abuse has been faced. if there is a central reason for this book it is found in the need to face what is true about the damage done to the soul and the damage done to others related to the past abuse.
there is a natural reluctance to face the problem. christians seem to despise reality.
(NOTES: prologue.1 some christians believe the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, makes us holy without requiring that we look at the ugly truth of how we have been sinned against and sin in return. however when scripture tells us to 'examine ourselves', it is a call to..a self reflection that includes but is not limited to seeing sin in ourselves.
..one of the strongest calls to self examination comes from the puritan jonathan edwards.
he stated,
'those who entertain the opinion and hope of themselves, that they are godly, should take great care to see that their foundation be right. those that are in doubt should not give themselves rest till the matter be resolved.
he argues that
'many men who live in ways which are not agreeable to the rules of god's word, yet are not sensible of it; and it is a difficult thing to make them so; because the same lust that leads them into evil way, blinds them in it'
he offers a number of means to see rightly that include
knowing the word;
knowing oneself'
seeking feedback from others, and
seeing the faults of others in order to use their sin as a mirror to see our own...
we tend to be squeamish when looking at the destructive effects of sin. it is unpleasant to face the consequences of sin-our own and others. to do so seems to discount the finished and sufficient work of our savior. and so we pretend we're fine, when, in fact, we know that something is troubling our soul. a dull ache occasionally floats to the surface, or stalking memories return in dreams or in odd thoughts during the day. but why bother about such strange feelings when our salvation is guaranteed and life's task is clear: trust and obey?
the unbelieving culture is not so dishonest. our society faces realities that other eras chose to avoid. unfortunately, however, it offers solutions that lead to even greater denial. the secular path for change seems to involve some form of self assertion, setting one's own boundaries and choosing to act on the basis of one's own personal value system. invariably, the result is a stronger, more self centered humanist, who lives less for the sake of loving others than for his perceived advantage and benefits.
the solution the secular path offers is in fact filling a leaky cup with lukewarm water. it leaves the soul empty and unsatisfied. it never admits that the deepest damage is never what someone has done to me but what i have done regarding the creator of the universe. the damage done through abuse is awful and heinous, but minor compared to the dynamics that distort the victim's relationship with God and rob her of the joy of loving and being loved by others.
this process is the end of secular solutions, but many so called christian alternatives are even worse.. several paths offered to the abuse victim often increase the burden and lead to revictimization;
denial based forgiveness,
pressured demands to love, and
quick relief from pain through dramatic spiritual interventions.
forgiveness built on 'forgetfulness' is a christian version of a frontal lobotomy.
NOTES: prologue.2..it is commonly assumed that forgiving another is a one time event. it is viewed as a climactic releasing of bitterness and hatred, and a return to a state of kindness and compassion. forgiveness is often told about in the past tense,
(quoted from 'bold love' by allender and tremper longman III, 1992)'i was so hurt by my father that it took years before i forgave him,
rather than being viewed as an ongoing work of the spirit of God.
'it seems that many experience one major moment when a transition takes place from holding on to bitterness to releasing the rage. this moment is often viewed as the point when forgiveness occurred; therefore, it is now finished and resolved. forgiving another may often have an actual moment of climactic transition, similar to conversion when a person goes from death to life, but it is naive to believe forgiving another for any one failure or for a lifetime of harm is ever entirely finished. the fact seems to be that as any harm is more fully faced, then it requires the deepening of forgiveness to overcome. to forgive another is always an ongoing, deepening, quickening process, rather than a once and for all event...
'another common perspective taught about forgiveness is to 'forgive and forget'. the concept comes from two major passages, psalm 25.7 and jeremiah 31.34. the psalmist asks God not to remember the sins of his youth, but instead to recall His mercy and love, in the jeremiah passage, god says,
'for I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more'. christians are told to be like God, who does not remember sin but forgives wickedness...
'there are several grave problems with the idea the god is 'forgetful'.
first, God does remember sin. we are told that we will all one day appear before "God and receive our rewards based on 'the things done in the body, whether good or bad' II cor. 5.10 it is apparent god does remember sin and righteousness, and uses the evidence to determine our due.
'a second problem involves making a metaphor into methodology.
'God's forgetfulness' is a metaphor, or word picture. many seem to understand that the phrases which tell us our sins are removed 'as far as the east is from the west' psalm 103.12 and hurled 'into the depths of the sea' micah 7.19 are metaphors, but God's loss of memory is somehow viewed as a fact. a metaphor is like a wonderfully broad stroked impressionistic painting of a seascape. it is overstated and dramatic, full of life, but not intended to be taken as an overly precise and literal representation of the actual thing being painted. imagine how absurd it would be if someone wanted to discover the actual place where the east is divided from the west in order to deposit the sins of another. in the same way, it is absurd to take the metaphor of forgetfulness and make it into a tangible requirement for forgiveness.
'then what is the meaning of the metaphor of forgetfulness? what does god's forgetfulness look like for us as we go about forgiving others? the scriptures use many metaphors and stories to illustrate the meaning of forgiveness. a central theme is that an incomprehensible debt owed to the master has been mercifully canceled. the canceled debt frees the debtor from eternal imprisonment, shame and destitution. the only debt that remains is to offer others a taste of redemptive love matthew 6.9-15, 18.21-35. to forgive another means to cancel the debt of what is owed in order to provide a door of opportunity for repentance and restoration of the broken relationship.
an abused woman was told by her pastor that she was to forget the past and stop pitying herself because many people have had a lot worse things happen to them than being abused by their father. this advice made any reflection on the effects of the abuse selfish and illegitimate. his comment felt as painful to her as the original abuse.
DENIAL BASED FORGIVENESS: to be told,
'the past is the past and we are new creatures in Christ, so don't worry about what you can't change,
at first relieves the need to face the unsightly reality of the destructive past. after a time, however, the unclaimed pain of the past presses for resolution, and the only solution is to continue to deny.
(NOTES: prologue.3 ..denial is a choice to see reality from a grid or schema that selectively ignores or interrupts data that would disconfirm our desire for peace...
when a person goes beyond saying something could not occur to further suppressing truth in unrighteousness by saying it did not occur, then that is out of the realm of denial to a more active, forceful suppression of the truth...
we never need push a person to truth; rather it must be set forth and then the question must be asked,
'what would cause you to prefer a lie to what is true?
prophetic questions in conjunction with the work of the Holy Spirit, rather than therapeutic pressure is the ground for constructive change.
the result is either a sense of deep personal contempt for one's inability to forgive and forget, or a deepened sense of betrayal toward those who desired to silence the pain of the abuse in a way that feels similar to the perpetrator's desire to mute the victim.
hiding the past always involves denial;
denial of the past is always a denial of god.
to forget your personal history is tantamount to trying to forget yourself and the journey that god has called you to live.
what might be the motivation of the forgive and forgetters? the answer may be found in a deep and legitimate desire to protect the honor of god. a central question in the mind of the abused person,
'where was God?
compels many to answer by denying the influence of past events on present day functioning. if the past is insignificant, then i don't need to ponder the question, why did God not intervene? the unbelieving world is willing to see the damage of abuse because it feels no need to defend the God who could have intervened to stop it. the christian community, however, feels disposed to deny any data that casts doubt on God's presence or willingness to act for the sake of His children.
'where was God?
is a legitimate cry of the soul to understand what it means to trust God. irrespective of the answers, the question is not to be avoided. if God is trustworthy, He can be trusted without our efforts to destroy and deny the past.
another factor may be involved in the desire to 'forget' the past. christians believe in the possibility of healing or deep personal change. change-or better said, the fruit of the Spirit-is the result of God's working in the person. this work enables us to love as Christ loved, to serve as He served, and to be of one mind with others as He is with the Father. these are high claims. the results are seldom, if ever close to the ideal. one need only to observe our penchant for easy believism, materialism, superficiality, and hypercriticalness toward those who differ from our favorite doctrinal positions to call into question the work of the Holy
Spirit in the change process. a secularist could easily sue us for false claims in advertising.
does the gospel really work to transform lives?
the data is at times questionable. therefore the christian community feels disposed to deny any data that points to the thorns and thistles in the lives of those who claim to be filled with the power of God.
the unbelieving world acknowledges the effects of sin but offers incomplete solutions; the believing world is, at times, unwilling to face the current effects of sin, but has solutions that can provide substantial healing. the answer is quite simple. let us as christians acknowledge without shame that regeneration does not alleviate or in fact diminish the effects of sin quickly or permanently in this life. if we accept that, we are free to face the parts of our souls that remain scarred and damaged by the effects of sexual abuse without feeling that we are denying the gospel. facing the reality of the fall and beginning the process of reclaiming the land covered with is the marvelous work of the
God ordained kingdom gardener. it is labor eminently worthy of every believer to reclaim the parts of one's soul that remain untilled and unproductive for bearing fruit. and the denial of the past hinders this work of reclamation.
PRESSURED DEMANDS TO LOVE: a woman was told by her friends that she was tempting the judgment of God because she was taking her abuser to court. she was told that her desire to bring him to justice was unloving and vengeful. she wryly remarked that a friend had recently received a sizable out of court settlement for as accident, and no one batted an eye. if appeared to be acceptable to use the court system for a damaged car, but not for a damaged soul.
another man refuses to visit, receive phone calls, or open mail from the father who raped him from age seven to ten. his father, an upstanding church member, is irritated by his son's unwillingness to interact but flatly denies his son's abuse and has gone so far as to question his son's sanity and salvation.
what does it mean to love one's enemies? does it mean to simply do good, regardless of what you feel? if the answer is yes, then what in the world does it mean to do good to a father whose unwillingness to face the past abuse is tantamount to living an evil hearted lie? how is one to hate what is evil and cling to what is good while at the same time loving one's enemy?
there are answers to these questions, but the typical pressured-love solution involves being nice, not causing conflict and pretending relationships are fine as the evil charade unfolds. under this version of christianity, the abuse person feels secure and dead. there is safety in soul-numbing rigidity that does not require thought, reflection or risk. but the honest person knows that
soulless conformity never leads to life giving change.
love is not easily defined, nor is it quickly executed with a slight twist of the will. loving one's enemy, in particular, requires that the heart be caught up in the freedom and power that God instills in the one who is willing to extend grace to an enemy. love can be commanded, but is its fulfillment the exercise of right doing,in spite of the absence of passion, desire or authenticity toward the person who did harm?
far too often the abuse person is commanded to do good or to love their abuser without exploring the complexities of what it means to love or what may be blocking the God given desire to love. the result is often a greater deadening of the soul in order to accomplish the burdensome task or a backlash of rage toward god or anyone who would so insensitively encourage such a painful path.
the assumption taught in many christian groups is that emotions will follow in accord with your choice of will. if you feel angry, then do good, because in doing good you will eventually not be angry. even better, if you do good long enough, then you will actually feel loving emotions toward the person who did you harm. this is not the place to debate the interlacing intricacies of choice. thought, emotion and longing, but an obvious point can be made. all the effort in the world expended to arrive at the 'right' location will be of little avail if the traveler is moving in the wrong direction or has known or unknown reasons for not wanting to arrive at the destination. more must be done than shouting commands to love.
love is at the core of change. but as love is defined by some, it lacks purpose, passion and strength. in reaction to a culture that sees love as whim based on the unpredictability of emotion, some christians have opted for a decision based, emotionless act of the will to be nice and inoffensive.
love is many things, but it is never weak or lacking in passion.
simply telling an abused person to love his or her abuser is unhelpful, even if love is an essential component of the change process.
DRAMATIC SPIRITUAL INTERVENTIONS: i recently worked with a woman who was part of a charismatic church connected to a national healing and miracle ministry, which makes an assumption that
sexually abused persons are demon oppressed.
the memories may be the concoction of the demons, thus discounting the validity of the past abuse or the memories may be actual events that are kept in the mind by the evil host that inhabits the victim. in either case, the strategy is to cast the demons out through the ritual of exorcism.
the woman i worked with had learned through years of abuse to keep her mouth shut.
if she disagreed with anyone, she assumed she must be wrong.
the abused person often looks for someone who is strong, authoritative and convinced that the damage can be quickly and painlessly resolved.
this church provided that hope.
she eventually endured several exorcisms where she experienced her handlers as abusive and demeaning,
though for a time she felt relief and rest.
that period ended when she required constant assurance and drug lie jolts of emotional enthusiasm to keep her wavering and transient faith stable.
quick cures never resolve the deep damage.
instead, they offer change that requires little more than lying on a gurney before surgery:
be still and let the experts do their work.
trust is defined as allowing the process to occur without creating obstacles that would hinder the work.
holy passivity is the key to most quick cure solutions.
the woman had enough integrity to acknowledge that the healing had not occurred and
that the healers were abusive and blind to the real damage in her soul.
once a 'magical cure' has occurred, few are willing to admit that much is left to be dealt with.
quick cures are not unique to any one group.
many offer healing from damaged emotions or memories by attempting
to place a 'positive' perspective around the painful event
in the midst of a deep, flowing expression of pent up emotions.
the result is often a refreshing reclamation of lost parts of the past.
it's as if the painful events can be safely looked at without fearing retribution or destruction.
my fear is that many stop at the point of deep initial relief without delving further into the damage.
the initial washing of the wound will not be sufficient if the infection is not treated by even stronger medicine.
the hunger for a quick cure is as deep as the desire for heaven.
the tragedy is that many take the cheap cure and miss the path to a lasting taste of heaven.
THE BETTER PATH: there are many options available to the christian for dealing with past abuse, but the outcome is unappealing:
forgive and forget-denial
pressured love-passionless conformity
quick cures-irresponsible passivity.
it is not difficult to understand why the christian who has been abuse often chooses either to seek help outside the church
or to learn to handle the damage by pretending it does not exist.
i strongly believe the scriptures offer better ways of hope and change.
what is the better path?
the argument of this book is the
THE BEST PATH IS THROUGH THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH.
the crags of doubt and the valleys of despair offer a proving ground of God that no other terrain can provide.
God does show Himself faithful;
but the geography is often desert dry and mountainous demanding,
to the point that the path seems too dangerous to face the journey ahead...
THE JOURNEY INVOLVES BRINGING OUR WOUNDED HEART BEFORE GOD,
a heart that is full of rage, overwhelmed with doubt, bloodied but unbroken, rebellious, stained and lonely.
it does not seem possible that anyone can handle, let alone embrace, our wounded and sinful heart.
but the path involves the risk of putting into words the condition of our inner being and placing those words before God for His response.
the Lord has promised He will not put out the smoldering flax or break the broken reed (Isaiah 42.3).
but promises have been made before by a supposedly trustworthy person,
and we swore the betrayal was the last we would ever allow our soul to experience.
THE OBSTACLE TO LIFE IS THE CONVICTION THAT GODWILL DAMAGE US AND DESTROY US.
the problem is that the path does involve His hurting us, but only in order to heal us.
why does abuse make it so hard to come to the Lord for the succor and life that our souls crave?
what is the enemy to the healing process?
in brief, the answer is shame and contempt.
the damage of past abuse sets in motion a complex scheme of self protective defenses that
operate largely outside of our awareness,
guiding our interactions with others,
determining the spouse we select,
the jobs we pursue,
the theologies we embrace, and
the fabric of our entire lives.
this book takes a look at the inner workings of these dynamics with the hope that a clearer picture of the damage will enable us to make more conscious, godly decisions in dealing with others and with ourselves.
Friday, October 12, 2012
10.12.2012 SONG OF SONGS: WHAT IF GOD AND I HAD THE LOVE OF SOLOMON AND THE SHULLAMITE?
the song of songs was written by solomon, the king of israel, about his love for and relationship with a shullamite maid (6.13) who was one of the caretakers in one of his vineyards(1.6). it is a picture of God's love for you...and for me...and for every human being...who He created to be in a deep love relationship with Himself. His love for every person He created and rules over is eternal, unchanging, passionate and real. our love for Him, depending on 'where we are with Him', may be none existent, cold, tepid, warm or passionate (He is my life! He is my all! He is the only One who makes life worth living! My only object in all i think, do and say is to show my love for Him, please Him and obey Him!).
solomon=1
shullamite=2
song of songs
1.2 may He kiss me with the kisses of his mouth! 2 DESIRES 1
for your love is better than wine. 2 PRAISES 1 publicly
1.3 your oils have a pleasing fragrance. 1 PLEASES 2
your name is lie purified oil 2 HONORS 1
therefore the maidens love you. ?
1.4 draw me after you and let us run together! 2 WANTS TO BE WITH 1
we will rejoice in you and be glad. 2 REJOICES IN 1
we will extol your love more than wine
1.7 tell me, o you whom my soul loves,
where do you pasture your flock 2 WANTS TO BE WITH 1
1.8 if you yourself do not know, most beautiful among women 2 PLEASES 1
go forth on the trail of the flock and pasture your young goats 1 ANSWERS 2
by the tents of the shepherds 1 WANTS TO BE WITH 2
1.9 to me, my darling, you are like my mare.. 1 NAMES..'darling' 2
1.10 your cheeks are lovely..your neck.. 2 PLEASES 1
1.11 we will make for you ornaments of gold.. 1 WANTS TO GIVE TO 2
1.12 while the king was at his table, my perfume gave forth its fragrance 2 SEEKS TO PLEASE 1
1.13 my beloved is to me a pouch of myrrh which lies all night between my breasts
2 NAMES..'beloved' 1
1 PLEASES 2
1.14 my beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms in the vineyards of engedi
1 PLEASES 2
2 NAMES..'beloved' 1
1.15 how beautiful you are, my darling 1 NAMES..'darling' 2
how beautiful you are! your eyes are like doves. 1 PLEASES 2
1.16 how handsome you are, my beloved, and so pleasant! 2 NAMES..'beloved' 1
1 PLEASES 2
indeed our couch is luxiant! 2 DESIRES INTIMACY WITH 1
1.17 the beams of our houses are cedars, our rafters, cypresses 'OUR' REPLACES 'MY'
when there is mutual love
there is a mutual
desire
praise
honor
desire to be with
rejoicing in the other
solomon=1
shullamite=2
song of songs
1.2 may He kiss me with the kisses of his mouth! 2 DESIRES 1
for your love is better than wine. 2 PRAISES 1 publicly
1.3 your oils have a pleasing fragrance. 1 PLEASES 2
your name is lie purified oil 2 HONORS 1
therefore the maidens love you. ?
1.4 draw me after you and let us run together! 2 WANTS TO BE WITH 1
we will rejoice in you and be glad. 2 REJOICES IN 1
we will extol your love more than wine
1.7 tell me, o you whom my soul loves,
where do you pasture your flock 2 WANTS TO BE WITH 1
1.8 if you yourself do not know, most beautiful among women 2 PLEASES 1
go forth on the trail of the flock and pasture your young goats 1 ANSWERS 2
by the tents of the shepherds 1 WANTS TO BE WITH 2
1.9 to me, my darling, you are like my mare.. 1 NAMES..'darling' 2
1.10 your cheeks are lovely..your neck.. 2 PLEASES 1
1.11 we will make for you ornaments of gold.. 1 WANTS TO GIVE TO 2
1.12 while the king was at his table, my perfume gave forth its fragrance 2 SEEKS TO PLEASE 1
1.13 my beloved is to me a pouch of myrrh which lies all night between my breasts
2 NAMES..'beloved' 1
1 PLEASES 2
1.14 my beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms in the vineyards of engedi
1 PLEASES 2
2 NAMES..'beloved' 1
1.15 how beautiful you are, my darling 1 NAMES..'darling' 2
how beautiful you are! your eyes are like doves. 1 PLEASES 2
1.16 how handsome you are, my beloved, and so pleasant! 2 NAMES..'beloved' 1
1 PLEASES 2
indeed our couch is luxiant! 2 DESIRES INTIMACY WITH 1
1.17 the beams of our houses are cedars, our rafters, cypresses 'OUR' REPLACES 'MY'
when there is mutual love
there is a mutual
desire
praise
honor
desire to be with
rejoicing in the other
10.12.2012 LUKE 18.10-14 - THE PHARISEE AND THE PUBLICAN
(Jesus...'told this parable to certain ones who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and viewed others with contempt,
two men went up into the temple to pray, one a pharisee, and the other a taxgatherer.
the pharisee stood and was praying thus to himself,
'God, i thank Thee that i am not like other people:
swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax gatherer (the publican)
i fast twice a week;
i pay tithes of all that i get.
but the tax gatherer, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying,
'God, be merciful to me, the sinner!
I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other;
for everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled,
but he who humbles himself shall be exalted. luke 18.10-14
i've known many church going religionists...and, apart from the grace of God, am one myself without too much effort. i do not tend to see myself as i really am before God. it is easy for me to see myself as better than others and to pass judgment on them, like the pharisee, rather than see myself as the sinner standing before God in judgment, like the taxgatherer. i now see myself in great need...a great ongoing sinner...my need of Jesus' sacrificing His life on the cross so that the horrible stains of my ongoing sin against god may be made white and clean in His sight.
if you have never experienced this incredible love, i heartily encourage you to read john's gospel in the new testament asking yourself as you read:
is Jesus,
as witnessed by his apostle john,
a liar,
a lunatic
or God come as a man to earth,
to die for my sin?
and...
if He is who the bible says He is...the sinless, perfect Son of God,
am i willing to believe and obey Him as my one and only God?
Oh Lord, have mercy upon me the sinner!
keep me believing in You so as to do what You say...
keep me admitting when i don't and
bringing me by Your grace again and again to do what You say!
give me a fear of You, oh God!
two men went up into the temple to pray, one a pharisee, and the other a taxgatherer.
the pharisee stood and was praying thus to himself,
'God, i thank Thee that i am not like other people:
swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax gatherer (the publican)
i fast twice a week;
i pay tithes of all that i get.
but the tax gatherer, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying,
'God, be merciful to me, the sinner!
I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other;
for everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled,
but he who humbles himself shall be exalted. luke 18.10-14
i've known many church going religionists...and, apart from the grace of God, am one myself without too much effort. i do not tend to see myself as i really am before God. it is easy for me to see myself as better than others and to pass judgment on them, like the pharisee, rather than see myself as the sinner standing before God in judgment, like the taxgatherer. i now see myself in great need...a great ongoing sinner...my need of Jesus' sacrificing His life on the cross so that the horrible stains of my ongoing sin against god may be made white and clean in His sight.
if you have never experienced this incredible love, i heartily encourage you to read john's gospel in the new testament asking yourself as you read:
is Jesus,
as witnessed by his apostle john,
a liar,
a lunatic
or God come as a man to earth,
to die for my sin?
and...
if He is who the bible says He is...the sinless, perfect Son of God,
am i willing to believe and obey Him as my one and only God?
Oh Lord, have mercy upon me the sinner!
keep me believing in You so as to do what You say...
keep me admitting when i don't and
bringing me by Your grace again and again to do what You say!
give me a fear of You, oh God!
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
10.11.2012 SEX AND THE SILENCE OF THE CHURCH
this article, 'sex and the silence of the church how it is crippling God's people' by john freeman president of harvest usa, which is a mission for
'proclaiming Christ as lord to a sexually broken world
equipping the church to minister to sexually broken people'
is about a reality i see and have experienced as part of the Church of Jesus Christ.
'i was speaking to a group of students from the reformed university fellowship at yale.
the topic; 'gay and the gospel.
i talked about our duty to love others by bringing both the truth and the mercy of the gospel to those self identifying as gay or lesbian. i stressed that homo wasn't the real issue. beneath all struggles and sin and ways of living that are outside of God's design is a human heart that says,
'i have a wonderful plan for my life and don't you (that is, anyone) or you (that is, god) get in my way.
afterwards, a student came to talk with me. through her tears, she shared that she had been raised at a large evangelical church. she asked,
'why didn't my church prepare me for what i was going to face at college?
why didn't my church talk about sex and homosexuality?
i feel like i have no biblical basis from which i can talk intelligently about it.
i remembered talking to a church's prayer team years earlier. they had been praying with people for more than ten years at a weekly intercessory healing prayer meeting. one leader said to me,
'john, we've prayed with people about marriage issues, problems with children, job losses, interpersonal conflicts, and crises of faith and other personal problems, but never has someone come for prayer about anything of a sexual nature, not once.
i was shocked. the numbers of those struggling with pornography, same sex attractions and sexual addictions are increasing daily. add in family members affected and impacted by someone they love dealing with sexual brokenness, and it is clear this is a huge problem in the church today.
i responded to this leader's comment by saying,
'you know, i'd be asking, why not?
i'd be asking, how has our church communicated that it's ok to talk about everything else, but not about 'that'?
somehow you've conveyed this isn't a safe place to talk about sex and sexual issues. and in doing that you've become part of a collusion of silence.
several years ago when our board began thinking about expanding our mission focus at harvest usa, one that would focus on educating and equipping the church, i remember what board member, steve brown, said:
'what harvest usa does IS the work of the church, work which the church has neglected out of fear and shame, out of not knowing what to do. we've got to help the church recapture the calling to rescue and redeem those struggling with sexual sin in the church. but, if we do this, it will be the most difficult thing that we've done.
prophetic words! as we've begun helping churches address these issues, we've run into all kinds of roadblocks. you'd think that churches would eagerly desire to help people, to bring the light of the gospel into these difficult places. the reality is quite different.
this resistance and hesitancy got me thinking. i've been trying to better understand why we-members of the church, the church as a whole and church leadership in particular-are so reluctant to proactively talk about these crucial matters with our people. i came up with 10 reasons why the church is so silent. which of these describe you, or your church, or your church leadership? the silence of the church is crippling our people. but it doesn't have to be this way any longer. believing in the transformative power of the gospel of Jesus Christ is more than enough to move us from hesitancy to redemptive action.
1. the church is silent because it's our nature to pretend-to pretend that, 'i'm ok-you're ok.
the truth is, in today's highly charged sexual culture, almost no one is ok in this area. the reality of genesis 4.7, that,
'sin is crouching at the door and its desire is to have you',
has never been truer when it comes to ways our hearts seek comfort, relief and life in things of a sexual nature. we don't have to go looking for ways to stain our hearts; it comes looking for us! the pathways to dark and destructive places abound: internet, cable tv, hotel room adult video offerings, movies and mobile dating apps are part of a culture that beckons us to give in to our feelings and desires, to escape lives of loneliness, routine and stress. even if you aren't personally struggling with sexual integrity, there are dozens of people sitting in the same church service as you that are struggling.
i've learned that we'll go to any lengths to keep from being hones about all this.
why?
fear,
shame,
hatred of self,
not believing the gospel has any practical answer,
guilt,
giving up-you name it.
i was having lunch with a businessman from my church and halfway through he brought up his internet pornography usage. what happened next was a microcosm of what is happening throughout the church.
i asked him when it started.
when he was 10 years old.
how often do you look at porn?
several times a week, for a couple of hours at a time.
anyone know about this?
no.
are you in a men's group at church?
yes.
does this topic ever come up for discussion?
no.
would you be wiling to bring it up?
no way!
then he begins to backpedal, saying it's not really that big a problem nor is it that damaging. i'm not usually blunt with someone, but i had no choice this time.
'you know, what i hear coming from your mouth is addict speak.
you're far worse off than you can possibly imagine.
can you believe that Jesus longs to enter this area of life with you?
he looked at me like a deer caught in the headlights.
i don't think we'll be having lunch again anytime soon.
you see, we all like to pretend we're ok, or, that whatever struggle we have will get better on its own. it won't, and it never will-apart from our willingness to die to self, to discard our investment in our reputation and image and to open up and walk in honesty and in the light of transparency and vulnerability. that's a supernatural thing to even want to do. yes, we all need to stop pretending.
2. the church is silent because we really don't believe that the gospel can transform deep sexual struggles.
in other words, when we admit the depth of struggle among our people, it messes up our categories of what we think the 'victorious' christian life is or should be! you know, the kind of life we hear tv evangelists talking about, those peddling the prosperity gospel of you shouldn't have problems with sin kind of stuff.
...nonsense! if you're fighting against sin in your life, then it may indicate that something might be very right!...God..knows our nature is to seek out and fall for false worship
(note: jeremiah 2.13)
that we give our hearts to false gods and pursue them as having ultimate purpose and meaning in our lives, rather than seek out Him and His purposes. the results of what happens when people live for themselves, following their own fallen sexual desires, are well documented in scripture and in countless..lives.
what happens, then, when we begin to call Jesus 'boss' over all our desires and longings? world war III breaks out in our lives and hearts. conflict. adversity. suffering. struggle.
...this is what happened early on in my own life when i sought to follow Jesus. i had many a major knock down, drag out fight with God in my small attic apartment. why are You calling me to a new way of living; why are You asking me to stop practices and walk away from relationships that fill the empty void in my heart? why are You giving me new desires, desires that are different than those that seem so natural in my heart? what am i to do when i want to look at porn or frequent hang outs where i might meet someone for a brief encounter that will take away my relational pain?
how did change happen in my life?
when i began to hear Him speak into my struggle with a heart of compassion and love-for me.
He wooed me to Himself, to a relationship with Him rather than something else on which to set my heart.
when this happened, and when conflict over desires and sin surfaced, i learned to repent.
...repentance became my new response to sin and temptation.
what is repentance?
tim keller says that repentance is
'killing that which is killing me-without killing myself.
repentance is liberating; not limiting.
here is the point about whether the gospel has power to transform our sexual struggles.
the desire to obey God,
no matter how small and weak it may feel in the moment,
is the proof of spiritual life.
repenting is what fans that spark into flame.
whether it's repentance with a capital R
when we first begin to follow Christ,
or whether it's repentance with a small r,
the on going, daily repentance to repeatedly turn away from that which you felt gave life
and turned to Christ who really gives life; this is the true christian life and walk.
it's an on going battle.
what's the bottom line here? we avoid talking about sex or sexual sin because we have a faulty, unbiblical theology of struggle and suffering. regaining a right view of struggle with sin in the christian life will lead us to say to the members of our churches,
'we are not surprised that you are struggling with some type of sexual temptation and sin.
let us know about it;
tell us what's going on;
let us help you.
this is the exact opposite of being dismayed or shocked over the struggles every christian experiences.
a flip side to having a bad theology or sin and struggle is that we often just stop calling sin-sin! we soften our response to it. we become dismayed over the enormity of the struggle. i've seen this happen with pornography usage. too often i hear a response of compromise:
everyone's doing it ;
it's no big deal;
it's private and
it's not really hurting anyone.
i have heard the same in dealing with the issue of homosexuality. i had an elder in a church recently tell me,
'i like what harvest usa does with the pornography issue-but i don't believe that homosexuality is wrong in every situation.
i asked him to tell me more. he said,
'well, i've just seen too many people struggle too deeply and too long. christianity seems to have no ability to solve their faith verses their feelings dilemma.
...you can go to harvestusa.org and read the other 8 points.
'proclaiming Christ as lord to a sexually broken world
equipping the church to minister to sexually broken people'
is about a reality i see and have experienced as part of the Church of Jesus Christ.
'i was speaking to a group of students from the reformed university fellowship at yale.
the topic; 'gay and the gospel.
i talked about our duty to love others by bringing both the truth and the mercy of the gospel to those self identifying as gay or lesbian. i stressed that homo wasn't the real issue. beneath all struggles and sin and ways of living that are outside of God's design is a human heart that says,
'i have a wonderful plan for my life and don't you (that is, anyone) or you (that is, god) get in my way.
afterwards, a student came to talk with me. through her tears, she shared that she had been raised at a large evangelical church. she asked,
'why didn't my church prepare me for what i was going to face at college?
why didn't my church talk about sex and homosexuality?
i feel like i have no biblical basis from which i can talk intelligently about it.
i remembered talking to a church's prayer team years earlier. they had been praying with people for more than ten years at a weekly intercessory healing prayer meeting. one leader said to me,
'john, we've prayed with people about marriage issues, problems with children, job losses, interpersonal conflicts, and crises of faith and other personal problems, but never has someone come for prayer about anything of a sexual nature, not once.
i was shocked. the numbers of those struggling with pornography, same sex attractions and sexual addictions are increasing daily. add in family members affected and impacted by someone they love dealing with sexual brokenness, and it is clear this is a huge problem in the church today.
i responded to this leader's comment by saying,
'you know, i'd be asking, why not?
i'd be asking, how has our church communicated that it's ok to talk about everything else, but not about 'that'?
somehow you've conveyed this isn't a safe place to talk about sex and sexual issues. and in doing that you've become part of a collusion of silence.
several years ago when our board began thinking about expanding our mission focus at harvest usa, one that would focus on educating and equipping the church, i remember what board member, steve brown, said:
'what harvest usa does IS the work of the church, work which the church has neglected out of fear and shame, out of not knowing what to do. we've got to help the church recapture the calling to rescue and redeem those struggling with sexual sin in the church. but, if we do this, it will be the most difficult thing that we've done.
prophetic words! as we've begun helping churches address these issues, we've run into all kinds of roadblocks. you'd think that churches would eagerly desire to help people, to bring the light of the gospel into these difficult places. the reality is quite different.
this resistance and hesitancy got me thinking. i've been trying to better understand why we-members of the church, the church as a whole and church leadership in particular-are so reluctant to proactively talk about these crucial matters with our people. i came up with 10 reasons why the church is so silent. which of these describe you, or your church, or your church leadership? the silence of the church is crippling our people. but it doesn't have to be this way any longer. believing in the transformative power of the gospel of Jesus Christ is more than enough to move us from hesitancy to redemptive action.
1. the church is silent because it's our nature to pretend-to pretend that, 'i'm ok-you're ok.
the truth is, in today's highly charged sexual culture, almost no one is ok in this area. the reality of genesis 4.7, that,
'sin is crouching at the door and its desire is to have you',
has never been truer when it comes to ways our hearts seek comfort, relief and life in things of a sexual nature. we don't have to go looking for ways to stain our hearts; it comes looking for us! the pathways to dark and destructive places abound: internet, cable tv, hotel room adult video offerings, movies and mobile dating apps are part of a culture that beckons us to give in to our feelings and desires, to escape lives of loneliness, routine and stress. even if you aren't personally struggling with sexual integrity, there are dozens of people sitting in the same church service as you that are struggling.
i've learned that we'll go to any lengths to keep from being hones about all this.
why?
fear,
shame,
hatred of self,
not believing the gospel has any practical answer,
guilt,
giving up-you name it.
i was having lunch with a businessman from my church and halfway through he brought up his internet pornography usage. what happened next was a microcosm of what is happening throughout the church.
i asked him when it started.
when he was 10 years old.
how often do you look at porn?
several times a week, for a couple of hours at a time.
anyone know about this?
no.
are you in a men's group at church?
yes.
does this topic ever come up for discussion?
no.
would you be wiling to bring it up?
no way!
then he begins to backpedal, saying it's not really that big a problem nor is it that damaging. i'm not usually blunt with someone, but i had no choice this time.
'you know, what i hear coming from your mouth is addict speak.
you're far worse off than you can possibly imagine.
can you believe that Jesus longs to enter this area of life with you?
he looked at me like a deer caught in the headlights.
i don't think we'll be having lunch again anytime soon.
you see, we all like to pretend we're ok, or, that whatever struggle we have will get better on its own. it won't, and it never will-apart from our willingness to die to self, to discard our investment in our reputation and image and to open up and walk in honesty and in the light of transparency and vulnerability. that's a supernatural thing to even want to do. yes, we all need to stop pretending.
2. the church is silent because we really don't believe that the gospel can transform deep sexual struggles.
in other words, when we admit the depth of struggle among our people, it messes up our categories of what we think the 'victorious' christian life is or should be! you know, the kind of life we hear tv evangelists talking about, those peddling the prosperity gospel of you shouldn't have problems with sin kind of stuff.
...nonsense! if you're fighting against sin in your life, then it may indicate that something might be very right!...God..knows our nature is to seek out and fall for false worship
(note: jeremiah 2.13)
that we give our hearts to false gods and pursue them as having ultimate purpose and meaning in our lives, rather than seek out Him and His purposes. the results of what happens when people live for themselves, following their own fallen sexual desires, are well documented in scripture and in countless..lives.
what happens, then, when we begin to call Jesus 'boss' over all our desires and longings? world war III breaks out in our lives and hearts. conflict. adversity. suffering. struggle.
...this is what happened early on in my own life when i sought to follow Jesus. i had many a major knock down, drag out fight with God in my small attic apartment. why are You calling me to a new way of living; why are You asking me to stop practices and walk away from relationships that fill the empty void in my heart? why are You giving me new desires, desires that are different than those that seem so natural in my heart? what am i to do when i want to look at porn or frequent hang outs where i might meet someone for a brief encounter that will take away my relational pain?
how did change happen in my life?
when i began to hear Him speak into my struggle with a heart of compassion and love-for me.
He wooed me to Himself, to a relationship with Him rather than something else on which to set my heart.
when this happened, and when conflict over desires and sin surfaced, i learned to repent.
...repentance became my new response to sin and temptation.
what is repentance?
tim keller says that repentance is
'killing that which is killing me-without killing myself.
repentance is liberating; not limiting.
here is the point about whether the gospel has power to transform our sexual struggles.
the desire to obey God,
no matter how small and weak it may feel in the moment,
is the proof of spiritual life.
repenting is what fans that spark into flame.
whether it's repentance with a capital R
when we first begin to follow Christ,
or whether it's repentance with a small r,
the on going, daily repentance to repeatedly turn away from that which you felt gave life
and turned to Christ who really gives life; this is the true christian life and walk.
it's an on going battle.
what's the bottom line here? we avoid talking about sex or sexual sin because we have a faulty, unbiblical theology of struggle and suffering. regaining a right view of struggle with sin in the christian life will lead us to say to the members of our churches,
'we are not surprised that you are struggling with some type of sexual temptation and sin.
let us know about it;
tell us what's going on;
let us help you.
this is the exact opposite of being dismayed or shocked over the struggles every christian experiences.
a flip side to having a bad theology or sin and struggle is that we often just stop calling sin-sin! we soften our response to it. we become dismayed over the enormity of the struggle. i've seen this happen with pornography usage. too often i hear a response of compromise:
everyone's doing it ;
it's no big deal;
it's private and
it's not really hurting anyone.
i have heard the same in dealing with the issue of homosexuality. i had an elder in a church recently tell me,
'i like what harvest usa does with the pornography issue-but i don't believe that homosexuality is wrong in every situation.
i asked him to tell me more. he said,
'well, i've just seen too many people struggle too deeply and too long. christianity seems to have no ability to solve their faith verses their feelings dilemma.
...you can go to harvestusa.org and read the other 8 points.
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