Sheepdog Strategies, 4

Continued from "Sheepdog Strategies, 3"

What is it that keeps Minnesotans from preparing for blizzards, keeps Floridians from preparing for hurricanes and keeps Californians from preparing for earthquakes? All of them face high likelihood of an interruption of normal services during a natural event.

Some call it procrastination. But I think procrastination is just one form of denial. "The prospect of a life-threatening event that could, in a moment, take away all I've worked and saved for is a scary prospect. If I don't think about it, I won't have to face that fear."

This is little different from the woman who does not want to think about self defense. The prospect of physical -- and especially sexual -- assault is terrifying. Especially if you see yourself as essentially helpless.

One cultural entity -- evangelicalism -- in our society has perpetuated the idea that women are helpless. That fatal and unbiblical idea blossomed with the rise of Romanticism in the 19th Century. It depicted women essentially as weak, not-very-bright ornaments whose twofold purpose was to bear children and to ooh and aah over the accomplishments of the males in their lives.

One of the weaknesses of evangelical churches is that they have unconsciously adopted some of the Romanticists' idea of women into their worldview. One result is that they don't quite know what to do when they encounter strong, intelligent, capable women. Some either suppress or repel these women while others abandon a Biblical stance altogether.

At any rate, I blame Christianized Romanticism in Church and society for the ideas of weakness and helplessness that haunts many women's mindset. And the very men who want to protect them often exacerbate the problem. But that's a topic for another day.

Continued in "Sheepdog Strategies, 5"