HOUSEWIFE: Black and White Bible, Black and Blue Wife

I was a housewife who had vowed at the wedding ceremonyto obey---to obey, it turned out, an often violent husband. Sex discrimination takes many forms, including the often-hidden crime of domestic violence. Check out my latest book on ruthtucker.com

My CTS Story

I began teaching at Calvin Theological Seminary in 2000--the first full-time woman professor in the school's 125-year history. In 2003, less than 3 months after Cornelius Plantinga, Jr. was installed as the new president, I was, without warning, removed from tenure track and given a terminal appointment. I have repeatedly asked that all the evidence be opened only to be blocked by a dishonest cover-up. When independent mediators were retained by the seminary board in 2005, they called for "retroactive pay to 2003," among other things. That report was buried. I finished my second terminal appointment on August 31, 2006, and shortly thereafter published my story here.

Cat Fight

I just read a post by Halee Gray Scott with the following statement: "So does the scarcity of leadership roles in Christian ministry and organizations lead to catfighting among Christian women?" She has been speaking of "derogatory attitudes that undermine the potential achievements of women," and then she offers evidence of her own attitude that undermines achievements of women. The term cat-fight is a sexist term that demeans women. Why not men in a cat fight? The reason: men's differences are high-minded; women's are petty. But some people might say, How can a woman be sexist in relation to other women? My response? Sign up for Consciousness Raising 101 and find out.

Contentious

Here's a comment a reader posted: "Perhaps you should add "contentious" to your list?"

I have a story about that. Some years ago I was among all male faculty members in the lunch room of the seminary where I was teaching. The discussion was about a man who had killed his wife. His guilt was not the issue. (He had a girlfriend on the side, had recently taken our a half-million dollar life insurance policy on his wife, who had been shot twice in the back of the head). But one of my male colleagues, not understanding why he would have done what he did, commented, "I wonder if she was contentious."

Really? If she had been, would that have somehow explained murder? Women are often accused of being "contentious wives." Would the statement have been made had the woman murdered her husband? I doubt it.

Thursday, March 03, 2016

Black and White Bible, Black and Blue Wife