Welcome to chapter 2 of our book study on The True Woman by Susan Hunt. My M-I-L Julie has graciously taken the time to lead us in Chapter 2 so here is her recap for us! Thanks Mom!
After reading and reviewing chapter 1 of “The True Woman” by Susan Hunt we are beginning to see the contrast between the True Woman and the New Woman. In chapter 2 she begins to unfold the standard by which these two women live out their lives.
The True woman’s purpose is God’s glory. Her standard to determine how to fulfill her purpose is God’s Word.
We are a product of Theology, “theology” defined as the study of God. The defining virtues of true womanhood are “piety, purity, domesticity, and submission” (discussed in great length later in the book) were the result of Puritan theology.
According to J.I. Packer “The Puritans (living in England in the 1600′s) were people of great maturity. Maturity is composed of wisdom, goodwill, resilience, and creativity . . .In them clear-headed passion and warm-hearted compassion combined. Visionary and practical, idealistic and realistic too, goal oriented and methodical, they were great believers, great hopers, great doers, and great sufferers. But their sufferings…seasoned and ripened them till they gained a stature that was nothing short of heroic…The Puritans lost, more or less, every public battle that they fought. They hung on by the skin of their teeth. But the moral and spiritual victories that the Puritans won by keeping sweet, peaceful, patient, obedient, and hopeful under sustained and seemingly intolerable pressures and frustrations give them a place of high honor in the believers’ hall of fame, where Hebrews 11 is the first gallery.”
We are spiritual dwarfs compared to these early American Christians who were fortified with this strong, systematic approach to faith and life and greatly influenced the church and government of their time. They looked to Scripture to find out what they should believe and how they should behave. They viewed their world and their life through the lens of Scripture, so biblical truth was integrated into all of life. This is the foundation of the true-woman concept.
The True Displaced by the New
What happened in the later half of the nineteenth century that caused the true woman to give way to the new woman?
The theology of our day has become experience-based rather than truth-based.
“As objective biblical truth was replaced by subjective internal experience the emphasis shifted from God to man. And the true woman became an illusion. The virtues that were rooted in sound theology could not stand the strain of self-absorption. Without a theological anchor, the true woman concept became a form of godliness (outward behavior) without the substance of godliness (inner convictions). Her character ceased to be shaped and driven by God’s Word. She became artificial.”
The unbiblical, man centered gospel has become unrestrained, immature selfism. The true has become the almost true and the almost true untrue.
The Return of the True
Obviously, we can not return to Puritan days. But the Puritans set an example of a people who created a culture where the norm was sacrificing pleasure for duty. Today many Christian women are tired of the fluff of man centered theology and self indulgent pleasures and are ready for a life style anchored in God and His Word. The True woman must push everything through the grid of God’s Word. She must develop a biblical explanation for every aspect of her life. There is no room for carelessness.
Will you join the ranks of those who will reject a life of selfish pleasure and man centered theology for the fulfillment of a God focused, scripture saturated life? Let’s read on!
Discussion Questions:
Feel free to address one or both of the questions or just highlight a point that stood out to you in the chapter by using the comment section below.
1. Has your theology become man centered? Do you view God as fitting into your life versus you fitting into God’s plans?
2. The Puritans were an example of people who sacrificed pleasure for duty. How have you seen that played out in your own life?
We are on to chapter 3! My friend, Kimi Harris, has graciously agreed to lead us in chapter 3.
This chapter was truly fantastic…It held my attention and when I had to put it down to take care of an obligation, I couldn’t wait to get back to it! (Not so with the first chapter, although good)
Such good thoughts have been shared, there’s not much I can add. One thought, though, that strikes me as I read the conversation about the Puritan women and sacrifice is that those women didn’t ponder it like we do…”I’m not really sacrificing in my life right now….how I can be more sacrificial?” What impresses me about them is how they respond to their trials. Their sacrifices came as a result of their trust in Providence and their humilty and selflessness. They didn’t have this “I deserve a better life” attitude that is so prevalent in our culture. We heard echoes of that in the examples Susan Hunt gave. And I hear it whispering in my heart way too often.
When trials come in my life, my first reaction is to battle it. To “scream and kick and beat the floor” so to speak…it took me years to understand that the scripture in James 1 that says to LET patience have its perfect work in you meant to LET IT. Stop fighting it and embrace what God is trying to do in your life. Trust Him to order your life as He sees fit. I have found that when I relax and let my arms hang down (or simply fold in prayer) I experience more of the faith and peace and perseverance and longsuffering I see in the lives and writings of the Puritan women. They really “got it” when it came to this subject. And I guess that’s the point I’m trying to express. Their “sacrifice” was a natural outworking of their life and character. They were so far ahead of me in the “inner life”…in the utter trust in God’s providence.
I want to say though, that I appreciate Laura’s comment on our tendency to think we’re more pleasing to God if we are sacrificial. Excellent scripture from Hosea. Makes me think of a couple more:
“But Samuel replied: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD ? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.” I Samuel 15:22
“For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” Psalm 51:16-17
Thank you Laura for bringing that out. What a good reminder to us who tend to fall into thinking we have to “do” to please God.
Also, Lindsay, as to your question, I think you are doing a great job of doing it already. You are a student of the Word, I know you have studied good books of theology, you avail yourself of the wisdom and skills of older women, you are teachable, you read good books on our high calling as women, wives and mothers, and you are serving many with this blog (which also gifts you with the cumulative riches of other women’s wisdom and experience. And, of course, weighing it all out and measuring it against the truth of Scripture. All these things are so valuable. And lastly, Marliss’ comment about treating your time with the Lord as importantly as you would a job or appointment is key. Whatever stage or season of life you are in…the time frame and the context may vary…but the portion of time reserved for the Lord being sacred….that is what to set in stone for our lives.
Long one, sorry….and late too! Thanks for listening and thanks to all who share. What a blessing!!
I loved this chapter! I wanted to add my comments earlier in the week, but c’est la vie. Everyone’s comments are excellent, and I am not sure how much I can add to the discussion. I did want to address what Laura said about being a bit careful lest we rush ahead and try to be sacrificial in our lives because it’s a sign of devotion to God. Laura, if I haven’t restated what you said accurately, please forgive me. I just want to say that I think this is a valid caution.
There is a quote from this chapter that really stood out to me. At the bottom of pg. 53, under Women of Valor, there is a quote from David Wells. He writes, “But no American woman falls into the toils of matrimony as into a snare held out to her simplicity and ignorance. She has been taught beforehand what is expected of her and voluntarily and freely enters upon this engagement. She supports her new condition with courage because she chose it…”
God asks us to die to ourselves and live to Him. But we can’t die to ourselves if we don’t know who we are. We cannot sacrifice what we have not recognized as ours. Now I am not advocating self-absorption. I don’t think that we should spend our time sitting around asking ourselves who we really are, or asking other people who they think we are. But part of becoming a mature adult is learning what the talents, abilities, thoughts, desires, values, strengths, weaknesses, and so forth that God has given us are. Christ certainly knew who He was when he voluntarily sacrificed Himself on the Cross, and totally and completely understood exactly what He was sacrificing. But for the joy set before Him…
Granted, we will not always know why God is asking us to sacrifice. And we may not completely understand what He is asking us to sacrifice, but as we sacrifice in obedience what He has shown us we need to sacrifice, we grow in understanding and sacrifice more completely and humbly. When we know who we are (or discover who we are even in the act of giving incompletely), we can freely and voluntarily submit to God as bond servants and there is joy in the giving. When we sacrifice only because it is a sign of devotion to God, there is no joy the giving—there is no singing on the way to the executioner’s block—because that is slavery, not servanthood. It is a form of godliness without the substance.
This is a difficult truth, but I think that what we can take away from the example of the maturity of the Puritans is that they knew who God is, and who He had made them, and willingly submitted themselves to “the spiritual and climatic wildernesses in which God set them.” In return, they received “a virility of character, undaunted and unsinkable, rising above discouragement and fears…” pg. 43
I think the above can be considered my answer to the discussion questions, with this addition: my theology used to be man-centered, but with the severe trial that God has placed me in the last few years especially, my theology is becoming God-centered. “Once earthly joy I craved, sought peace and rest; now Thee alone I seek—give what is best.”
As for Lindsay’s question, very practically, for me the answer has been getting up early. Carolyn Mahaney and her daughters wrote a book called Shopping for Time that the women in my congregation (Lindsay and I go to the same church but different congregations) are reading. The breakthrough came when I realized that no matter what time I went to bed the night before, if I had a job to go to and an employer to satisfy, I would be getting up, not turning off the alarm. How much more should I desire to meet and spend time with my Lord and Savior, the Love of my life? What’s sleep compared to that? Also, there are bits of time throughout the day that can be used for study, like waiting for a child to finish writing a dictated sentence, going to the bathroom, washing dishes, or waiting for the computer to power up.
I hope comments support html or a couple of places will look a little strange…
@ Lindsay: You have focused on the point that seemed central to me, too. The true woman (and the new woman) concept are theology based concepts. They are concequences of theological beliefs and attitudes. Therefore it is so important to study Scripture again and again, to pray Scripture, to memorize Scripture. That the Word has such an outstanding meaning in the life of a Christ – I did not realize it for a long time.
Now I try to incorporate it in my a little bit too busy life. I get up early, at 6 am to read my devotional book (Joni Tada: Pearls of high Price) and look up the discussed verses. I try to memorize one verse a week (that is not much). Lately I try to pray the Psalms.
On Mondays I have to teach just one hour in school so I have time to prepare lessons etc. But I also read the study guide “A Woman´s high calling” by E. George. She is very inspirational and practical.
What I would love most is a study group that meets once a week. It must be wonderful to discuss things with others, to ask questions etc and to grow together in the Lord. But here are not many Christians so there is no opportunity for Bible studies.
I know that I often fail in the discipline of studying the Bible because worldly worries, needs and actitities absorb me. Therefore I am also very interested in tipps how to study the Word on a regular basis in a busy life!
Greetings to all Ladies, Madeleine
The overall emphasis of Chapter 2 is on being women of the Word! In order to stand strong and godly as true women, we must have a solid and continually growing understanding of the Word. We cannot take out bits and pieces, nor bring a previously formed worldview and set of assumptions with us to the Word, but must apply the whole of truth to every aspect of our lives.
At the same time, we must be humble and submitted women to the Lord. This means our hearts must be humble and willing to hear what God would have us learn from His Word. We must let the Lord form our world view!
I love her challenge: “Being a true woman in today’s culture means moving from casual observation to trench warfare. An experience-based approach will not empower women for this kind of conflict. Being a true woman demands fearless fealty to the authority of Scripture.”
The slightest deviation from the Truth will leave us vulnerable to the lure of culture. The challenge is to know what we believe about every aspect of our lives so we can be prepared for warfare (whether it be trials, persecution, sin, etc)!
In light of this challenge to become women of the Word, to be students of theology, I would love to hear how you other ladies seek to walk this out in your life? How do you incorporate time for studying sound doctrine whatever stage you are in?
I think my favorite quote from this chapter is “The true woman’s standard is God’s glory. Her standard to determine how to fulfill her purpose is God’s Word.” Yes I do realize that this is also the opening of the chapter, but I think it sums things up nicely.
This is not only important for women, but for all sons and daughters of God. It is so easy for me (and it seems most people) to get caught up in the roles demanded by the world around us. Sometimes these roles are worldly, sometimes they are good things that are placed on us by other Christians that are not necessarily Biblical. The person may be in earnest and the item(s) may be things that God is calling them to, but not necessarily what He is calling every individual to.
There is a flip side too – where people abandon important calling of God (even from a Christian standpoint) because they so not see God’s Word, but rather experience as the standard for their lives.
It’s hard sometimes because the Bible doesn’t give a daily account of what every woman should/should not do in step-by-step fashion. Rather, God gives us principles by which we should live. This shows me how much He values our individuality and how much He wants each of us to grow in Him as unique creatures.
GOD’S WORD IS THE ULTIMATE STANDARD.
The last point I wanted to share has to do with the puritans. I have enjoyed the examples of various women from that era, and their faith has been inspiring. As a whole though, I think we need to be a bit careful. Often we rush ahead and try to be sacrificial in our lives because it’s a sign of devotion to God, but that is all backwards. Hosea 6:6 says “For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.” It is not actually the specific sacrifices that we make that pleas God. Rather it is our willingness to be obedient to His callings. Sometimes that requires sacrifice, and when that happens we must be willing to make those sacrifices (If we are not immediately willing, we must pray that God will make us willing). But we should not look at our lives and say – “I’m not sacrificing anything right now – I must not be serving God. Hmmm… what can I sacrifice?” The reality is that if we have a true heart for God, the things that we give up will often go unnoticed because they seem so trivial to us. So rather than focusing on sacrifice and duty, it seems our focus should be on 100% faithfulness. And that focus should also be our one duty.
There are my thoughts from chapter two.
I had the pleasure of reading chapter two last night when I was up “suffering” with a bad cold between 3 and 5 in the morning. Through the chapter the Lord, once again, convicted me of my desire for comfort and pleasure reigning over my desire to love the Lord above all else by obeying Him regardless of the cost, “More Love to Thee”. My flesh (and my new woman training) says, “Can’t I have both!” I know I cannot if I want to follow in Christ’s footsteps.
is not enough. How am I applying what I read and “creating a biblical apologetic for every area of my life”? I have been careless about writing down, memorizing, praying and meditating on scriptures that specifically address the areas I struggle in. I have been careless about transplanting the truth from my head into my heart. What is my theology about parenting, doing dishes, discipling my children, etc?
The paragraph that spoke to me was in the summary, “The true woman must push everything through the grid of God’s Word. She must develop a biblical apologetic, or explanation, for every aspect of her life. She must think theologically in order to live faithfully. There is no room for carelessness.”
I tend to think my theology is pretty solid. I’ve read through the Bible, done lots of Bible studies, sat under the teaching of godly men with sound doctrine. So why do I keep returning to the same sins? I realized I am careless with my theology! Just reading the Bible everyday (or almost everyday
If I act contrary to what I “know” is true in the Bible, then I really do not believe God’s Word! I am stating that my pleasure and my ease are more valuable than obeying God. I am putting myself in the position of God and telling Him that I know what’s best for me and I will act on what I feel is best. Of course, none of us would state with words that this is our theology, but by our actions we state it loud and clear when we disobey Him.
Thank God we can pray that the Lord will open our eyes to the truths in His Word and teach us how to faithfully walk out those truths in every aspect of our lives, regardless of the suffering or discomfort it brings.
I have a feeling I may be leaping into future chapters of the book without knowing it, but I was so excited to share what the Lord opened my eyes to early this morning that I had to post my “rant” while it’s fresh in my mind.