A Well-Trained Wife: My Escape From Christian Patriarchy by Tia Levings

Author:Tia Levings [Levings, Tia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Biography & Autobiography, Women, Religion, Cults, Personal Memoirs
ISBN: 9781250288288
Google: B8XQEAAAQBAJ
Amazon: 1250288282
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Published: 2024-08-05T22:00:00+00:00

Keep

Allan rallied as if he’d stepped into his calling. As humiliated and ashamed as I felt, he was as high and confident. Hitting me was no longer taboo—it was holy. And having a sanctioned outlet when he churned out of control helped him regain equilibrium. I could see how women rationalized discipline as a method to keep the peace.

He was reading Wilson’s book Federal Husband. “Federal comes from the Latin, foedus, which means ‘covenant,’” he said. “Wherever there is genuine federal headship, the head as representative assumes responsibility for the spiritual condition of the covenant body,” he read.

Federal Husbands imitate Christ by assuming responsibility for the sins of their households. Wives submit to their covenantal husbands the way Christians submit to Christ. Allan said years of Bible study finally felt like a culmination.

“I want us to start practicing family worship,” he said. “I’m going to start teaching the kids Latin, Greek, and the Westminster catechism.”

I spent most days wandering, scrubbing, shopping, mothering in a haze. I felt yanked back in time, to the years before Clara, before Trapdoor. I stopped eating more than a chicken tenderloin for breakfast and a small portion of whatever I made for dinner, even though I was pregnant. Except for a protruding belly, my body shrunk, and my spirit did too. I remembered what Reverend Brewer had said all those years before. “There’s no way two lights can shine in this union.”

At my first midwife appointment, Jo said, “Tia, your blood pressure’s really low.”

I muttered something about being so busy. She encouraged me to add in some snacks. “We’ve got to keep you healthy,” she said.

Deep inside, a quiet voice whispered, Why?

Allan continued to thrive.

He hummed hymns while he stirred cheesy eggs for the kids. He had “wrastle time” with them, rolling on the floor and laughing. He brought home a shaggy brown dog he named Xenos, the Greek word for “stranger.” He played chess with William and Katie and volunteered to mow the grass.

He ran catechism drills.

“What is the chief end of man?” he asked.

The kids would answer in their high and tender voices. “The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.”

“Good!” Allan cheered. “And what do the Scriptures principally teach? William, you go.”

“The Scriptures principally teach what man is to believe concerning God, and what duty God requires of man,” William said.

I listened from the kitchen, my hands kneading dough, recalling being taught what to believe to keep out of hell. Did I even know Jesus? Or God, for that matter?

“Katie, what is God?” Allan asked.

“God is a spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.” Her voice rang clear, even with the r’s in “pow-ah” and “twooth” because she’d lost her two front teeth.

I sighed and rolled the dough into loaves. What did it matter to wonder about God, if His mysteries could be explained within a few lines?

New books arrived: crudely published papers and cassette tapes made in someone’s basement for Allan.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.