Preface
Introduction
PART 1: THE WEAPONISATION OF SCRIPTURE
1 A wife’s proper place
‘Wives, submit to your husbands.’ An abuser’s charter?
‘Ideal’ wives in the Bible
‘The wife has to consent to sex whenever the husband wants it’
2 Subordination of women
‘Women were created to help men’
‘The curse of women is to be dominated by men’
‘Women menstruate and are regularly unclean’
‘Women should be silent in church’
‘Women were deceived and are inherently unreliable’
3 Divorce
Malachi
Jesus and the rabbis
4 Forgiveness and suffering
What is forgiveness and what isn’t it?
Suffering and the Christian vocation
A lament
5 When pastor turns predator
PART 2: THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE
6 God is for the oppressed
The Old Testament law
The psalmist
The prophets
The rage of the Saviour
But what about… all that abuse against women in the Old Testament?
7 Jesus: fellow sufferer and non-toxic man
The incarnation of God
Honoured women
8 You are of immense value
You are made in the image of God
God’s heart is to bind your wounds and restore your dignity
But what about…sin?
9 Silenced and hidden no more
Confronting the power of vested interest
There is nothing hidden that will not be made known
PART 3: THREE PERSONAL ADDRESSES
10 To those trapped by an abuser
11 To church leaders
Believe the woman!
Exercise church discipline
Call out sin
Establish cultures where women can truly flourish
12 To the perpetrator
Taking it further
General further reading
Helplines and support organisations for victims and those who support them
National Domestic Violence Helpline
Women’s Aid
Refuge
Local domestic abuse services
Resources for churches
Resource for abusers
Respect
Blogs
Safety plan
Endnotes