Wednesday's Brief Rant: The Fall of Patriarchal Empires

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My friend Gemini is a history buff and yesterday she discussed the struggles between feminism and race relations in the 19th century. Another friend responded, "When you describe life for women in the 19th century, it sounds like life in the 21st for women in Christian Patriarchy." 

This is why it's so important to combat ultra-conservative sects. They may seem fringe to so many, but their impact looms large in the lives of the women (and men! patriarchy is not good for anyone!) they destroy. I'm happy to see the empires of IBLP, Vision Forum, Pearls, Duggars,, etc, fall as survivors band together on the internet, find support and courage, and say, "Absolutely not." The internet has been a phenomenal tool in destroying the stranglehold these toxic leaders have had on so many. 

Lest one think I am only pleased to see toxic ultra-conservative leaders fall, I have also supported those who wrote against progressive evangelical Tony Jones, and called out Rachel Held Evans and Nadia Bolz-Weber for their abject hypocrisy in how they handled Julie McMahon's allegations of abuse. And Mark Driscoll, while not as extreme as Gothard and Phillips and Pearl, is someone that also deserved to lose his pastorate for the horrible way he controlled, manipulated, lied, and abused others. 

Abusive tactics are not limited to any one sect, but there is a particular additional toxic element when it is fused with hyper-specific gender roles. And that's why I care about these "fringe" sects, because they are destroying the lives of real people. Their lifestyles are not quaint, they are poison.