The Equal Rights Philosophy -
Door to Confusion

There is an adage which says that if a false statement is made often enough and long enough, it is likely to be accepted as truth. Having been barraged with the propaganda that the "liberated" philosophy is the avenue for the discerning woman of the 80's and 90's, many have subscribed to its doctrine.

We have for decades been informed that there really is no God, that we have merely evolved through eons of time from lower forms of life. In more recent times, we have been "taught" that marriage is merely a form of slave-like service which women are expected to render to men. Listen to their own words:

Marriage has existed for the benefit of men and has been a legally sanctioned method of control over women. The end of the institution of marriage is a necessary condition for the liberation of woman. Therefore it is important for us to encourage women to leave their husbands and not to live individually with men. Now we know that it is the institution of marriage that has failed us, and we must work to destroy it. (The Document: A Declaration of Feminism, a book by liberated women).

There are men who have low regard for women, who do not treat their wives with love "as their own bodies" (Eph. 5:28). Such is not a result of following God's design. The fact that we do not practice what God intended in no way reflects on God's wisdom nor does it give license to berate marriage and our husbands. It merely illustrates our foolish rebellion.

Having convinced some that marriage is "out," it is not at all surprising that the divorce rate has seen a steady climb. With the advent of no-fault divorce, women have found it increasingly easy to leave the marriage and set out to "find" themselves. What they have found has not been the utopia they expected, and many are now living on the poverty level.

Motherhood has also been relegated to the undesirable. "The greatest oppression of woman is that women get pregnant, and men do not! The second drudgery is that women must take care of babies" (quote from a speech against Women's Liberation given at Pro-Family, Pro-Life Coalition, Houston, TX, November 19, 1977).

God's holy word speaks of those who are "without natural affection" (Rom. 1:31; 2 Tim. 3:3). What can be more unnatural than the mother who feels her precious children are an albatross rather than a gift from God?

How can the Christian mother equate the satisfaction of rearing God-fearing children with the minuscule benefits of a secular career? And, yes, I have experienced both careers. While it is sometime necessary for a mother to work outside the home, surely the Christian mother recognizes where the real power and influence reside.

Many women have been convinced that they must work because they must acquire "things" to be somebody. In reality, more careful planning could allow them to remain at home and take care of real priority matters.

One liberated woman openly declared that homemaking was degrading and was only for the uneducated. Anyone, she averred, can clean house and cook! I deny that homemaking is not challenging. One who makes that statement has not really given homemaking a try! First and foremost, homemaking, as opposed to housecleaning, is much more than cooking and cleaning. To state otherwise is to display rank ignorance of the beauty of that career.

More and more, mothers are being convinced that they are better mothers if they leave the care of their children to the professionals such as a day care center, called "development" centers. A real push was made for government funded centers to free mothers of their burden and/or permit them to pursue more meaningful careers. Bear in mind that government funding means government control. Parents would have little, if any, control over what the children were taught. (Examine what has happened to our public school systems after the acceptance of federal funds.) That opens the door for the feminist doctrine to be ingrained in our children at an early, impressionable age.

By the year 2000 we will, I hope, raise our children to believe in human potential, not God (Gloria Steinem).

The fact that children are raised in families means there's no equality .... In order to raise children with equality we must take them away from families and communally raise them .... (Dr. Mary Jo Bane).

With marriage outmoded and children whisked out of the home, moral restraints can be weakened or eliminated. Who will deny the downgrade of the moral standards in today's society? What once was known to be wrong is now openly practiced and largely accepted. Young people are advised to live with one of the opposite sex for a trial period to test compatibility. Such, they are told, will strengthen chances of a strong marriage-should they ever decide to tie the knot.

How surprised some are to find that this is not the case! Rather, it has created a whole new set of problems. Extra-marital affairs were also touted as a means of "strengthening" the marriage bond by adding variety and eliminating boredom! We have seen the effect such has on marriage, and it has not been as promised. God, in his wisdom, told us that in the beginning of time, but we have not listened.

The alarming rise in emotional problems experienced by today's children is appalling. And psychiatrists are now admitting that the instability of the home is a primary factor. The child who endures a constant parade of parent swapping, whether via divorce or live-ins, can feel no security. Such is rank child abuse!

Sex education has fanned the emotional instability of our youth. Consistency is thrown out the door when we cry: "Just say no" to drugs (except dad and mother's alcohol and nicotine) but not to sex. Instead of teaching abstinence, we are told to give them condoms and teach them "safe sex." What a misnomer! The only "safe sex" is no sex until marriage and then only with one's marriage partner. Despite all cries to the contrary, AIDS has certainly been spread by promiscuity if not created by it. And innocent people are suffering the consequences along with the guilty.

The cry for equality has muddied the clear difference between man and woman. The thrust for a unisex society has been aided and abetted by the women's liberation movement. We have had to endure men's trying to look like women and women who want to ape the look of men. Meanwhile, back at the ranch our boys and girls are having a difficult time deciding just what role they should fill!

What a price we are paying for rejecting God's design! By following it, woman is elevated and real happiness is achieved. By opening the door to the ERA philosophy, woman loses much of the protection and dignity she once enjoyed.