Battering

Just a note to follow up the discussion from last Sunday regarding your question about submission and abused women.

My comments were focused on one aspect of the question- that a clear biblical teaching (wifely submission) cannot be disregarded because it poses serious difficulties in some situations (where there is abuse). (The same reasoning can be applied in the area of giving: the Bible commands us to give generously. This command can pose problems for the poor, but that fact does negate the responsibilities the rest of us have to give generously.)

Perhaps your question about submission and abuse was more practical- maybe you were really asking, "Does a battered wife need to submit to battering?" As I think about the discussion I see that I didn't answer that question clearly. My thought is that battered wives should not submit to being battered and if necessary, they need to leave the husband to protect themselves.

Maybe I'm contradicting myself here, but I don't think so. Since no person has the right to kill a spouse, then the same is true for battering, which is a form of "killing."

I hope this helps.