Reviews of Woman Power and The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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-A REVIEW OF DR. LAURA’S “WOMAN POWER” (2004), WITH ADDED COMMENTARY ON GODLY FEMININITY, BY JOEY FAUST

-A REVIEW OF SCHLESSINGER’S “THE PROPER CARE AND FEEDING OF HUSBANDS,” BY EBBYE FAUST

-NOTES AND NEWS

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A REVIEW OF DR. LAURA’S “WOMAN POWER” (2004), WITH ADDED COMMENTARY ON GODLY FEMININITY, BY JOEY FAUST

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In regard to “Woman Power” by Dr. Laura Schlessinger, there is much to commend. However, I would like to begin with some important disclaimers. Laura Schlessinger should clean up her language. Not only does she often use psychological terminology in places where more traditional language would be more precise, she occasionally uses foul language. She also should give up on “therapy” and psychiatry, and learn to lean upon inspired revelation (i.e. “thus saith the Lord”) in moral matters. The Bible warns Christians not to be “spoiled” by philosophy and science “falsely so called” (Colossians 2:8, 1 Timothy 6:20). And the fact that “Dr. Laura” is in direct opposition to modern psychology in regard to so many issues, reveals that psychology is nothing more than philosophy in modern dress. And Christians must be careful not to give any philosophy (or philosopher) more weight than inspired Scripture (even when such philosophies masquerade as science to gain a hearing). Too often, in moral matters, Schlessinger leans to her own understanding (e.g. espousing covenant-breaking for less than Biblical reasons, etc). In regard to marriage, in her latest books, she has not firmly stated the Biblical doctrine of the submission of wives to their husbands. To her credit, she has clearly begun to see the great “power” that women can have for good in their families through rejecting radical feminism, and walking in classic femininity. However, her eyes have not been wholly opened to the Christian doctrine of the vast power of holy submission in changing wayward husbands (1 Peter 3:1, 5). In a perhaps, tongue-in-cheek fashion, Schlessinger gives some credence to the stereo-typed male as being happy with fried-chicken, beer, and TV. This (while sadly true for many men), is not a Christian ideal. It is not a true representation of so-called male “needs.” The most important thing of all is that Schlessinger needs to believe upon Jesus Christ as her Saviour; she needs to be born again through faith (or else she needs to make a public profession of such faith). For these reasons, and others, I cannot unreservedly recommend “Dr. Laura” to young, Christian women.

However, as Paul sometimes made reference to non-Christian philosophers as a springboard for evangelism and discipleship (Acts 17:28), I believe the recent writings of Dr. Laura can be used to show that the distinctions between men and women are not only taught in inspired Scripture, they are also found written in our hearts (in nature or conscience). Elizabeth Cady Stanton (a 19th century feminist) once taught that if the Christian Bible was destroyed or disproven, feminism could then thrive with no harm to society. She did not realize that so-called feminism is not only against the Bible, it is against NATURE (Romans 1:26, 2:14-15). Destroying the Bible; publishing a new feminist “bible”; or issuing a Bible with infidel commentary throughout its pages (see Stanton’s “Women’s Bible”), may temporarily hide the law of God revealed in Scripture; yet there is a certain amount of God’s law written in the heart of every person. For this reason, modern feminism will never bring happiness or blessings. Those who seek to live in direct opposition to how they were designed, will always be plagued and cursed with a fallen countenance (Genesis 4:6-7).

However, as I intend to show in this article, young, Christian women would probably get more light concerning basic morality from “Dr. Laura” than they could get in thousands of so-called, conservative, Christian churches across America! This is because multitudes of churches (in the alleged name of “evangelism”) have become parrots and puppets of our descending culture, instead of shining candlesticks to reprove it. For this sad reason, there is sometimes more “moral backbone” among unsaved (though conservative), radio hosts, than can be found in multitudes of Christian pulpits. For example, Schlessinger contends openly, with passion, against working mothers, abortion, homosexual rights, etc. Yet, many preachers will not touch these subjects; they are hirelings! But to be silent upon such subjects as these, is to allow the Devil to seduce the sheep, and allow immoral darkness to envelope the churches. The law of harvest demands that we reap whatever we sow. Therefore, when there are no warnings against drinking from the cesspool of worldly, entertainment-culture – yet the pulpit is silent concerning the modern, moral evils of day-to-day living – the churches will become about as relevant in society as the local coffee-shop! And before long they will begin to LOOK like the local coffee-shop; and then, finally, they will BECOME the local, coffee-shop! God help us!

In Dr. Laura Schlessinger’s new books, she has really upset the feminists. She has done something that is forbidden among “modern women” (especially in the public eye); she has affirmed the traditional understanding of the God-given DISTINCTIONS between men and women. This is a grave evil according to the sophisticated woman, for it blasphemes the unholy spirit of feminism. Schlessinger has instead affirmed what is special about women: their tendencies to nurture and nest. And these natural characteristics of women are the very things that radical feminists have worked so hard to brainwash out of the minds of young women.

Furthermore, Schlessinger (who calls the emotional, feminist reviews of her book “tantrums”) has ruffled more feminist feathers by exposing the fact that marriage “abuse” works both ways. This is a taboo subject according to the modern feminists. These radical feminists are quick to justify women deserting their homes because of “insensitive men.” However, they do not view tantrums, railings, contentions, poutings, sarcasms, eye-rolling, door-slamming, neglect of the marriage bed, etc., in the wives, as “abuse.” What is good for the gander is good for the goose! Schlessinger writes:

“I have found it fascinating that most women are really not at all aware of how dismissive they are toward their husbands’ needs. That mentality has become so commonplace in our culture that most women don’t register it as unkind, thoughtless, cruel, abusive, or down-right mean….It is that women have not been encouraged to understand and appreciate men and masculinity. Women have been trained to see men as ‘the evil empire’….There is so little in our culture that respects men and masculine thought, feeling, and behavior….And don’t think that the psychotherapeutic environment has been any less hostile to husbands. Generally, psychotherapists are ideologically liberal, drenched in the feminist anti-male mentality which is propagandized in most of their training programs….Finally, what some women call abusive or controlling sometimes gets silly.”(1)

In short, Schlessinger, in her two latest books (“The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands,” and “Woman Power”) has simply affirmed the traditional, common-sense differences between men and women. She is attempting to teach modern women what it means for their husbands to be “men.” She is rebuking the modern tendency in society (and sadly, in many Christians churches and ministries) to “feminize” men. Since the age of radical feminism, lessons upon masculinity have been deemed off-limits, since such lessons would obviously affirm distinctions between men and women. And such distinctions are the very things that feminists (who want so much to look like men, behave like men, work like men, and be treated like men) are militant in denying. But this feminist propaganda has hurt women. It has robbed them of healthy relationships with fathers, husbands and sons (and other family members); and it has also robbed them of much inner peace. Schlessinger writes:

“The ‘feminist’ notion of woman power as a rejection of femininity, of child-rearing, of loving a man, and of maintaining a home both for physical and emotional comforts has robbed women of choice and satisfaction. One female radio talk show host thanked me at the end of the interview about ‘The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands,’ by saying, ‘You’ve made caring about your man acceptable again.’….Devaluing the roles of wife and mother robbed women of an essential part of their spiritual, emotional, and physical destiny.”(2)

Of course, the true power for holiness and the source of true, inner peace, is found in the Bible; in the new birth, and in obedience to the Lord’s commandments and ways. The Bible openly affirms the distinctions between men and women that the feminists have sought to deny and decry. The Bible teaches that women are blessed with nurturing qualities, while men have been given governing qualities (1 Thessalonians 2:7, 11). It states what is universally recognized in every society that has not totally “lost its marbles.” This is why Schlessinger (a former, practicing Jewess) has been able to see these truths. These distinctions, and the fact that such distinctions should be preserved in society, are laws that are written upon the very hearts of both Jews and Gentiles (Romans 2:14-15). They can only be removed through evil indoctrination and the searing of the conscience – and then only with emotional pain and grave consequences.

It is a crying SHAME that a Jewess (who, as far as I know, has never professed belief in the Gospel) has had the moral courage and BACKBONE to stand against the spirit of the age, and defend some morsels of basic, common-sense-traditional-wisdom; yet many of our prominent, CHRISTIAN leaders, armed with “exceeding great and precious promises,” are more interested in “not rocking the boat,” and affirming everyone’s self-esteem! God forbid! What does it mean when some non-Christians are found defending traditional values with more courage than many Christians? It means that the only “salt” many Christians have today is on their popcorn, as they sit before immoral movies, as lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God (2 Timothy 3:4)! What does this mean? It means that many Christians are now guilty of causing the NEW TESTAMENT to be BLASPHEMED by their lifestyles and attitudes. Christians should always shine BRIGHTER in holiness, sobriety, and moral courage and fortitude, than the “devout” people who have never come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ:

Titus 2:10 Not purloining, but shewing all good fidelity; that they may ADORN THE DOCTRINE of God our Saviour in all things.

Philippians 1:27 Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ…

Never once (unless brought there in chains), do we find Christians in the Bible attending ancient theaters (such as the famous theater in Caesarea). The early church fathers wrote that even the Gnostic teachers never debased and disgraced themselves by viewing such immorality for entertainment. Why? One reason (apart from the obvious fact that evil communications corrupt good manners), is that Roman poets, though unbelievers in Christ, often had enough moral light in their consciences to write against immoral theaters! Should Christians lower their standards beneath the light that even lost people (without the Holy Ghost) can see? God forbid! The New Testament truths would be blasphemed before the world. Christians are called by Christ to walk beyond the light of mere natural affection and conscience. Will it not, therefore, bring reproach upon Christianity when even non-Christian moralists are able to accuse professing Christians of falling below the mere light of natural law? We are not discussing ceremonies and rituals, and things nailed to the Cross. We are discussing the things that are written in the consciences of every person born into the world. When these things are despised or ignored by Christians, the New Testament is mocked and ridiculed:

1 Timothy 5:14 I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, GIVE NONE OCCASION TO THE ADVERSARY TO SPEAK REPROACHFULLY.

In the Bible, the subject of mothers “guiding the house” is usually ccompanied by the additional warning that a lack of such basic, natural affection can cause the Word of God to be reproached. Some women in foreign countries look upon many Christian women in America with disdain for neglecting their children for a career. The Bible plainly teaches that the doctrine of God our Saviour will be BLASPHEMED when Christian women allow themselves to fall below the basic standards of holiness and propriety written in the hearts of all men and women:

Titus 2:3 The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;
4 That THEY MAY TEACH THE YOUNG WOMEN to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,
5 To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, THAT THE WORD OF GOD BE NOT BLASPHEMED.

It is a crying shame that a Jewess on talk radio will stand up and reprove mothers for working outside the home, for not respecting their husbands, for withholding the marriage-bed, for deserting their homes, for slandering their husbands, for allowing relatives to come between them and their husbands, etc., when such subjects are “too controversial” for the average, lukewarm, sugar-coated, “let’s win friends and influence people” Christian pulpit! Where are the preachers? Where are the men? Where are the elderly women who are willing to TEACH young women to quit griping, and slandering their husbands, and forsaking their children? Why is it that a Jewess is standing up for homeschooling, and calling parents to forsake the public, humanistic indoctrination of youth (which has all but damned this nation), yet such a subject is considered “too controversial” for most, so-called Baptist churches?

Why are contentious Christian wives coddled and indulged by aged women in Christian churches? Why is it that Laura Schlessinger can do more for a young, rebellious wife in ten minutes, than many of these Christian women (and even pastors) can do in five years with their coddling, coaxing and sugar-coated “love”? It is because many Christians will no longer walk by the Word of God. They have turned to the flesh, to emotion, to feelings. They will not even live up to the natural light of conscience! Irresponsible counseling, in the name of “compassion,” is not Biblical love. It is secret love without knowledge:

Philippians 1:9 And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment;
10 That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ;

Proverbs 27:5 Open rebuke is better than secret love.
6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend…

Women are under a great, Satanic attack today. And the pathetic pampering rampant in many Christian families and churches; the placing of passion before principle, is not helping them.

What does this all mean? It means that the “falling away” is occurring (2 Thessalonians 2:3). It means that these are the days when many Christians will “not endure sound doctrine” (2 Timothy 4:3). Titus, chapter 2, gives us “the things which become sound doctrine” (2:1). And Dr. Laura Schlessinger (an unsaved Jewess) is doing a better job SPEAKING and TEACHING most of these things in Titus 2, than most Christians in the public eye! Schlessinger writes:

“What has, throughout all time, been special about women is their natural tendency to bond, nurture, nest, show compassion, and love. When we speak of ‘mother love,’ we talk about the purest and strongest of all affections….Through social bonding, women are the LINK between their men and family and society….The ultimate power of women is their unique qualities: intuition, compassion, nurturance, sensitivity, sensuality, bonding, and nesting….Women are also the ones who ultimately create the atmosphere in the home.”(3)

This is true, and it is found taught in the very etymology of the Biblical words “husband” and “wife.” The word “husband” means “farmer,” or the “cultivator,” the one who keeps the vineyard. The man is called to be the one who manages the wife and children. He is to watch over his vine:

Psalms 128:3 Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table.
4 Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the LORD.

He is to cherish it, and nourish it, and lead it. He is to be the provider and protector. The word “saviour” in Ephesians 5:23 can mean “preserver” in English. The husband, like Jesus, is to be the “preserver” of the body. He is therefore called to be the provider. Feminism, as Schlessinger continually reminds us, has greatly robbed many men of this role. She writes:

“Men want their wives to….respect the fact that to feel like a man he needs to provide for and protect his family.” (4)

When mothers work outside the home, and make equal or more money than the husband, not only are men discouraged in their natural, God-given role, but women also begin to lose natural affection and respect for their husbands. The whole relationship (physical and emotional) begins to suffer.

On the other hand, the word “wife” means “she that works at the distaff.” In other words, it means “she that weaves or sews”:

“Wife is from the verb to weave…one who works at the distaff…”
(Brewster, “Dictionary of Phrase and Fable,” 1900)

There is a physical meaning in these Biblical words. The “husband,” being the farmer, is out if the field or vineyard. The “wife” (as the one who “sews”), is naturally “inside” the home. Thus, wives should be “keepers at home” (not only should they not forsake the duties in the home, as their primary work, but they should not let anything steal their affection away from their husbands, children, and home duties. Many women bear children or adopt them, and soon find that they would rather be “free” from such responsibilities). Also, since a “wife” is the one who “weaves,” she should be blessing her home with her homemaking skills, her frugality, and her economy. She is diligently “weaving” together, cooking, preparing, etc., whatever the husband supplies through his provision.

But this weaving of the husband’s provisions should also occur spiritually. The husband, as we have seen, is the spiritual cultivator of his home. He must wash it with the water of the Word, and lead it (Ephesians 5:25-26). He has been equipped by God with discernment and the gifts for this leadership role (1 Corinthians 14:35). The “wife” helps “weave” the will and direction of the husband throughout the entire family. She has been called the emotional “glue” of the family. With her natural, God-given “weaving” abilities, she has great power to hold her home together for godliness, and make it a place of refreshment:

Proverbs 14:1 Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.

Without appealing to the Scriptures, Schlessinger has defended some of these things boldly. However, sadly, much of this traditional wisdom will perhaps be misunderstood by many as the new gleanings of “scientific, psychological expertise,” when just a little over a century ago it was practically common knowledge. In 1882, the popular book “The Royal Path of Life” observed the distinctions between men and women:

“Man is bold – woman is beautiful. Man is courageous – woman is timid.
Man labors in the field – woman at home….Man has a daring heart – woman a tender, loving one….Man has justice – woman has mercy….While man combats the enemy, struggles with the world, woman is waiting to prepare his repast and sweeten his existence. He has crosses, and the partner of his couch is there to soften them….Without woman, man would be rude, gross, solitary….To feel, to love, to suffer, to devote herself, will always be the text of the life of woman. Man has a precise and distinct language, the word being luminous speech….Woman is affectionate and suffers; she is constantly in need of something to lean upon, like the honeysuckle upon the tree or fence. Man is attached to the fireside, by his affection for her, and the happiness it gives him to protect and support her….No trait of character is more valuable in a female than the possession of a sweet temper. Home can never be made happy without it. It is like the flowers that spring up in our pathway, reviving and cheering us. Let a man go home at night, wearied and worn by the toils of the day, and how soothing is a word by a good disposition! It is sunshine falling on his heart….As the vine which has long twined its graceful foliage about the oak, and been lifted by it in sunshine, will, when the hardy plant is rived by the thunderbolt, cling round it with its caressing tendrils, and bind up its shattered boughs. So it is beautifully ordained that woman, who is the mere dependent and ornament of man in happiest hours, should be his stay and solace when smitten by sudden calamity. A woman of true intelligence is a blessing at home, in her circle of friends, and in society. Wherever she goes, she carries with her a HEALTHGIVING INFLUENCE….As a nurse, one female will endure more than five men….Woman equips man for the voyage of life. She is seldom a leader in any prospect but meets her peculiar and best altitude as a helper. Though man executes a project, she fits him for it, beginning in his childhood.” (5)

The things that are worthy in Schlessinger’s book “Woman Power” are simply restatements in modern language of some of the things that are stated so eloquently in the above words from earlier, wiser days. Schlessinger understands this. She admits that there was a time when earlier generations did not see men as the evil empire:

“Mothers [in earlier ages] would teach their daughters about ‘male ego’ and ‘feminine wiles’ so that they would be better able to navigate their journey through marriage and children. Catering to a man was not seen as diminishing the woman….Times have changed – but the needs of men and women, and the realities of the masculine-feminine polarity, do not change.” (6)

I commend Schlessinger for the boldness to state clearly that women have “traded in” their true, God-given power for a power that does not rightfully belong to them; a masculine power that they can never wield without hurt to themselves, to their husbands, to their children, and to society as a whole.

Schlessinger is already being scorned and ridiculed by raging feminists, even though she has only scratched the surface of true “woman power.” She is a bit gun-shy concerning the word “submit.” But the Bible teaches that the meekness, softness, and reverential obedience can actually “win” disobedient husbands (1 Peter 3). This is true “power” indeed!

In conclusion, I am thankful for any books that defend the traditional family wisdom that has been so longed despised by this modern world. We desperately need to get back to this wisdom, rooted in the Holy Scriptures:

Proverbs 24:21 My son, fear thou the LORD and the king: and meddle not with them that are given to change:

Jeremiah 6:16 Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the OLD PATHS, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall FIND REST for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.
17 Also I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken.

And at the very least, perhaps the boldness of “Dr. Laura” will move many preachers to quit being so mealy-mouthed, and to understand that their silence is largely to blame for the destruction of homes.

And perhaps she will help many rebellious women, who have fled their homes, and fled strong churches, and have been slandering pastors who loved them enough to preach and teach them the truth. Perhaps she will help these women to see that even some non-Christians, without the Bible, have enough light to see and proclaim that women need to love their husbands, and love their children, and take some time to take a look at the fact that they themselves may be guilty of a whole lot of the “emotional abuse” of which they have spent much of their lives accusing others of heaping on them. She reproves some women for “marinating” on negatives; for continually going over a “‘bad thing’ ad infinitum in their own heads with their mothers, friends, coworkers, neighbors, social groups [etc.]…” (7) She reproves these women for desiring strong men (masculine), while at the same time wanting to control them (weak men). Indeed, it has been my experience that many women profess to desire and pray for strong, godly husbands who will be leaders. But when God finally answers their prayers, they throw contentious fits! But it is impossible to have it both ways. Strong, godly, Spirit-led men, are not usually apt to be controlled or hen-pecked in matters of righteousness.

Schlessinger lists some things that are the most hurtful things women can say or do to men. She writes this list from one husband’s point of view:

“Disrespect. Trashing me to her friends… [Saying], ‘If you don’t _____, then I’m leaving’ .…’Placing other things ahead of me…[such as] her relatives.’.…’Always correcting me because I don’t say what she thinks I should have said….Accusing me of being mean when I don’t want to do what she wants….She’s never satisfied….I never got the feeling of ‘Hello, this is my husband, and he is enough.!’”(8)

Lastly, perhaps her books will move many Christians to repent of so-called “compassionate counseling” that does nothing more than allow young ladies to slander, ridicule, insult, despise, and mock their husbands for an hour. Such so-called counseling is a great evil (see Psalms 15:3).

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NOTES:

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1. Dr. Laura Schlessinger, “Woman Power,” (2004), pp.vii-viii, xx-xxi, xxiv, 6.

2. Ibid., pp.2, 86.

3. Ibid., pp. xvi., 2.

4. Ibid., p.20.

5. “The Royal Path of Life,” (1882), pp.14-28.

6. Ibid., p.32.

7. Ibid., p.25.

8. Ibid., pp. 119-120.

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A REVIEW OF SCHLESSINGER’S “THE PROPER CARE AND FEEDING OF HUSBANDS,” BY EBBYE FAUST

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Earlier this year Dr. Laura Schlessinger released her book entitled “The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands.” When I heard about this book, and knowing a bit about Dr. Laura, I became intrigued and decided to buy it. Over the years I have read many books by women and men on the subject of marriage, family, and God’s ordained role for women. Being a woman, and a busy pastor’s wife who does much counseling, I have always been greatly interested in these subjects. Unfortunately, many of the books that I have read have sadly missed the mark. I am normally able to pull out a nugget or two of truth out of these books, but often not much more than that. Yet, I would read on, hoping that these godly men and women would eventually PLAINLY tell the truth and write something that would speak to the hearts and minds of the women of this generation. The women of this generation were trained from their youngest days not to be mothers to their sweet little babies, but to be corporate workers, successful in the workplace, while leaving their children to be raised by hired workers in daycares. They are women who were not trained to be faithful, single-hearted wives with the desire to bless their households and to do all in their power to help make their husbands great men of God, and to fulfill his vision for his life. They are women who were trained to seek out a vision for themselves, to be in a “partnership” marriage. They have not been given one ounce of training in what their role in marriage really is, and how to make it work. Where is the teaching to THESE women?

Fast forward to an evening when all my children were in bed, and with a hot cup of herbal tea at my side, I began to read Dr. Laura’s book. I did know that this was not a Christian writer, and I knew that I would disagree with some things that she wrote. I found, unfortunately, (and unnecessarily) more than one curse word in the book. But as I read, I sat ashamed. Ashamed of the soft, fluffy, afraid-to-be-offensive preaching and teaching of Christian pastors in our generation. Pastors who have it in their power to change the backslidden position in their churches… and yet they refuse to do so! They have the ability to save marriages and families, yet, not wanting to “offend,” they will not do it.

I was amazed at the absolute respect and honor that Dr. Laura gave to men. In most books that I have read (even Christian women’s books), men were laughed at, picked at, and made fun of. In Dr. Laura’s book, I couldn’t find one place where she did this, or made fun of their needs. She plainly and firmly wrote about the wrongness of women manipulating their husbands by whining and nagging, of their selfishness of not giving of themselves in the marriage bed, and women’s frequent disregard of men’s feelings because they aren’t expressed the same way a woman would express them. I was shocked when I read the title of chapter seven; “A Man Should Be Respected in His Own Home.”

It is obvious why feminists have cried out against this book, and it is also obvious to me why the strong and godly men of this generation should hang their heads down in shame that they haven’t been saying these things all along.

In her opening paragraph in chapter one, Dr. Laura says:

“There isn’t a day that goes by when I don’t ask at least one woman caller on my radio program if she expects to stay married considering her hostile, dismissive, or undermining attitude and actions toward her husband. What is amazing is how surprised they all seem to imagine that their husbands might have a limit to how much they’ll take before they tune out or tune away. What is even more amazing is that this insensitivity to their husbands’ needs and feelings goes hand in hand with a hypersensitivity about any action or reaction from the men – reactions that are usually more than reasonable.”

On page three, in speaking about the self-centeredness of women, she says:

“And what is the source of this self-centeredness? I believe it’s a result of the women’s movement, with its condemnation of just about everything male as evil, stupid, and oppressive, and the denigration of female and male roles in families, as well as the loss of family functioning as a result of divorce, day care, dual careers, and the glorification of shacking up and unwed motherhood by choice. These are the core destructive influences that result in women not appreciating that they are perfected, as are men, when they are bonded in wedlock and have obligations to family.”

In speaking against the feminist movement she says:

“This… is the ugly part of the feminist movement, which supports personal success, acquisition, accomplishment, power, and the feminist political agenda over love, marriage, and family.” (pp. 20)

Dr. Laura speaks against women leaving young children in order to have a career, as well as putting career before family. On page 22, she states:

“And so the women who choose to focus their lives on family are marginalized, while the women who choose to ‘have it all’ end up with Hurried Woman Syndrome. Generally, the HWS women do not treat their children or husbands well at all. Why? Because when you’re tired and stressed out by the requirements of a job you must fulfill (or risk being fired), you tend to make everyone else pay the price (even strangers in traffic) because you have nothing else to give.”

She later states on page 23:

“Many married women with children are wearing themselves down to the point that ill health and ill temper are the result. The problem is not with the demands of their husbands and children; the problem is with their notion of a full life. ‘Having it all’ begins to approximate a ‘jack of all trades and a master of none.’ It is also a self-perpetuating trap. If the work is demanding and draining, and your time is limited and your temper isn’t, guilt usually drives one toward more activity for children to ‘make up’ for the neglect and mistreatment… And since the husband is an adult, he’s just left to his own devices or attacked as a nuisance for his reasonable expectations for a love life and a home life. I get too many calls from women complaining that their husbands’ unreasonable, selfish, insensitive, and annoying demands on a ‘tired woman’ amount to mental abuse! Oh, Please!”

In her chapter on nagging, she states:

“I’m convinced that too many wives don’t know what to do or how to communicate if they’re not complaining, nagging, or criticizing….I often get calls from women who complain about losing that lovin’ feeling. They, of course, imagine it’s because something is missing from their guy. Turns out that more often than not, though, they’ve been stomping on their own loving feelings with their mistreatment of their men. Imagine that. I am often struck by the pettiness of the complaining, and by the complete inability to see another way of handling a situation. Too often the negative perception that seems to always pop up first ends up dominating all emotion and reason.” (pp. 41 49)

Dr. Laura writes on the importance of the marriage bed. On page 120 she writes:

“It’s worrisome when women embrace the notion that once they are married, they are entitled to be loved, adored, protected, gifted, romanced, obeyed, and provided for without question, without reciprocation, and definitely without any effort on their part to create the emotional and psychological environment that would more than likely get them all those desires.”

On page 121 she writes:

“What attracts men to women is their femininity, and femininity isn’t only about appearance, it’s also about behaviors. Looking womanly and behaving sweetly and flirtatiously are gifts that wives give to their husbands….It ought to seem obvious that when you love someone, you aim to please them and make them feel loved and contribute to their happiness. One listener, Michele, was quite blunt about this by saying that although she may not always be ‘in the mood,’ she is always ready…” (pp. 135)

In the second to last chapter, Dr. Laura says:

“Men rescue, repair, provide, protect. Men don’t sit, stew, and rehash. Men are active and proactive. They do that out of love, duty, responsibility, and character. That needs to be respected and appreciated if a woman is to have a happy life married to a good man.” (pp. 164)

Then she writes:

“As long as women disrespect what they have to offer as wives and mothers, they will continue to disrespect their men who serve as husbands and fathers. No one benefits. No one is happy.” (pp. 170)

Although there is plenty for a fundamental Christian to disagree with in this book, there is also plenty to praise. If all of the pulpits in America would be as strong as Dr. Laura is in this book in regard to wives’ treatment of their husbands, Christian marriages would be changed. Are you not tired of the enemy blaspheming the Lord for all of the failed marriages? Then stand up and TEACH, train, and help young wives to have happy, fulfilled, and experience holy marriages in the Lord.

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OCTOBER KINGDOM-ACCOUNTABILITY CONFERENCE ===============================================

Dates: October 18 – 23 (2004)

Place: Calvary Bible Church (pastor Jim Brooks), near Chattanooga, TN.

The last meeting was a wonderful time. Plan on attending!

For more info, contact:

Lewis Schoettle: schoettlepublishing@yahoo.com Jim Brooks: Nash_Preds@comcast.net

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TO ORDER: “THE ROD: WILL GOD SPARE IT?,” By J.D. FAUST

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For online credit or debit card orders: http://www.fundamentalbooks.com For credit card by phone: 1-877-70-BOOKS Or for more information, call:

817 453-5542 pastor@kingdombaptist.org