As a Christian, I don’t understand why I have never heard such humble repentance from Christians? When “Christian” men stray, somehow its always pinned on the wife. I am really ever so tired of the survival of my marriage all falling right upon ME. Though I have asked, no one from the church will reach out to my husband and arrange to meet with him alone. It always depends on ME. I have to make the request and it has to be a “marriage” thing. ((((((((sigh))))))))
Its as if he buried the roots again, but they are still there waiting to erupt. He doesn’t appear to have learned anything from the last eruption. He applied to a job with 50% travel (and tried to blame me since I had sent him the link to the job website). I informed him that should he take a job like that, he is choosing divorce. I am not living like that anymore. No, he has not had even a nibble in 9 months unemployed, BUT does not unemployment REQUIRE him to take that job if its offered? So why would he apply for it?
Charis: “As a Christian, I don’t understand why I have never heard such humble repentance from Christians?”
You mean like the lack of repentance from Todd Bentley?
http://pjmiller.wordpress.com/2010/02/11/public-rebuke-of-todd-bentley/
(Hope I got that right)
You are right Charis. Churches are messed up. So sorry for what you are going through right now.
(((((Charis)))))
You might want to also look at this one
http://pjmiller.wordpress.com/2010/02/13/confronting-todd-bentley-who-we-are-why-we-went-with-video-text/
For those who don’t know, Todd Bentley commited adultery. And I think divorced his wife (or she divorced him) and he’s married to, like, the babysitter, or something, the one he commited adultery with.
Mara,
I visited the link. It grieves me to hear him “preaching” up in front of a huge church. I can’t help but put myself in his wife’s shoes, how that makes the “church” seem in her eyes, and when they are old enough to know- in the eyes of the children.
The church is often a fraud. We are told about Christ’s redemptive power, his authority, his sheer wonderful grace, and the church shows little evidence of this. It’s false advertising, so we should not be surprised to see that it suffers by comparison with the world–the world is just what it is. Profoundly disappointing though.
It’s like hearing the promise of the arrival of a great hero who will put all things to right, but the people saying they are his main followers are a bunch of clerks and civil servants for the most part.
So for you, Charis, the power and authority are not always made manifest in the church. That does not (as you know) mean that the power and authority do not exist. I wonder if you have prayed to God and gotten any answers about what to do. Because you have that power and authority–you are one of the heirs of Christ.
Charis,
I remembered this post when I read this letter from Benny Hinn to his partners in ministry: http://www.bennyhinn.org/emailletters/pbhletter.cfm?referrer=na_eb022510
Here’s an excerpt:
“Miracle healer” Benny Hinn’s wife of 30 years, Suzanne, filed for divorce on February 1st.
Benny says his wife has “no Biblical grounds for what she has done”, and that the news came as a shock to him. Yet he will not take time off to see to his marriage. He claims to love her.
I don’t know the ins and outs of this situation. I can only go by what Benny Hinn has stated, and by the facts presented by Charisma magazine and CBN. What I see makes me sad.
He’s got his priorities, and the wife/marriage isn’t one of them.
My theory is that men’s area of idolatry/obsession is typically in the work arena while women’s is in the relationship arena: corresponding to the consequences of the Fall upon each in Genesis.
Mrs Hinn is toppling her idol right off his pedestal.
Sadly for him, he’s got plenty of others who will keep him on the pedestal lovingly polishing him.
And someday he will stand before God and say “Look at what a great man I am. Look at all these things I did in Your name!” and God will ask Him “but what kind of steward were you of the wife and marriage I provided you? She was gifted to HELP you conform to the image of My Son. Did you listen to her? Did you live with her in an understanding way?”
http://homesewersneedleworkersunion-hsnwu.blogspot.com/2010/03/why-i-am-sick-and-tired-of-christians.html
Charis,
Yes. I also get a hint of messed-up priorities and perhaps some pride in that statement he made.
He says God called him to do what he is doing. He also says God told him to marry his wife.
In an attempt to give him some credit, it is possible that he believes this is an attack to his ministry from Satan. The problem is, if things are the way he claims they are, then his wife must be seriously off balance. What does a loving husband do when his wife is off balance?
If, as I suspect, he is in denial of what is really going on, then he has to wake up.
Today I was sorting some mail on the table and I saw the advertisement you blogged about, Jane. However, I think its hard to tell where the book comes down just from the blurb. They may be totally on the same wavelength as you, just trying to soft pedal it a little so that all those “supporters” they mentioned will read it? Perhaps you could order a book? Or at least write to the advertiser and express your concern?
[...] example of a Christian whose public display of repentance rose to the level of professing Buddhist- Tiger Woods’. Piper’s statement that “there is no whiff of unfaithfulness on either side” [...]