Why I Can’t be Silent

An almost other-worldly shroud hovered over the room as the lifeless form of a baby girl lay on a table surrounded with monks and the eyes of a little boy stood dazed in shock of what he saw and experienced.

It was evil to its core. But the irony of it all was clear—these monks didn’t begin their journey with the intent to turn into debauched human beings; they thought they had embarked on a journey of holiness.

The vibe in that room many years ago was anything but holy. In it’s place was silence in the name of holiness.

Today I’m aware that millions of conservative Christians are silent on voting day. But it’s not just christians on voting day—somehow, silence has been the go-to answer for far too many.

I receive messages from women suffering under abuse, wondering if they should be silent or if they should speak up. Some of them are afraid of displeasing their husbands by reaching out for help. Some are afraid they “haven’t forgiven” if they speak up.

Some of them pose opinions as questions because they will be perceived as dishonoring if they share a strong opinion.

You’d think silence by those two parties are very different things, but they have similarities. Christians aren’t voting because they believe in “separation of church and state”. The result is that the unborn have less voices to speak for them, that freedom of religion is more liable to be taken from us, and we are less likely to be able to put our children into schools of our own choice (schools where they can actually pray and be taught Christian ethics).

Women aren’t speaking up because they believe in “submission and honor”. The result is weighed down, suppressed women who survive marriage rather than thrive in it. The result is a woman who is more difficult to connect with because she has forced herself to be out of connection with her own heart (and with God’s heart), all in the name of holiness.

And monks are remaining unmarried because they believe in “holy celibacy”. Silent about their true needs, they become full of desperate need. The result is a room full of debauched men who are so intent on living a “holy” life style in opposition to all human desire that they end up in a realm of evil few of us can comprehend (ask Bobby Eaton, and read his book here).https://www.amazon.com/Boy-Window-Mennonite-Memoir-ebook/dp/B0868BVTS9/ref=sr_1_1?crid=9RIMIZHM77C4&dchild=1&keywords=bobby+eaton&qid=1604422880&sprefix=bobby+eaton%2Caps%2C171&sr=8-1

Anytime you shut up voices of truth you open up doorways of darkness.

Satan comes as an angel of light to silence voices of life.

The teaching of “life” I was promised if I “submitted to” my ex-husband was so opposed to true honor that it brought death. Had I known the truth I would have been unafraid to reach out for help much sooner than I did. I would have protected my mind and soul from despair and mental apathy.

Women have a voice to use. So does the church.

Teaching Christians that it takes silence on voting day to separate church and state doesn’t actually separate the church from the state; rather, it invites the state right into the church to control and inhibit it from all it should be. You may not want to be a politician but you do have a voice for the unborn and future generations.

We all need to ponder HOW we speak more than IF we speak.

Did you know you can speak to an opposing party with as much honor and dignity as you speak with a friend?

Women, did you know you can speak up about the wrong in your marriage with both strength and grace? That God wants you to use your voice because He loves you and hates what’s going on inside the walls of your home? That using your voice doesn’t have to mean losing your femininity?

Silence on election day doesn’t keep the church out of the state; it invites the state right into the church.

Silence in your marriage (when you really need to speak) doesn’t maintain “submission”; it strips you of real honor.

We may not be extreme like the monks mentioned in the above page, but I ask all of us:

“Why are we silent, and how have we perverted God’s original intentions for holiness into something that breeds the opposite?”