Beth Jones, International Speaker, Author, & Coach

Today I’m planning to go to the movie War Room. I can’t wait; it looks so good!

The critics have tore into it (no surprise ,since it’s Christian based). One review that I read today has me intrigued. The review from Jim Judy at Screen It says:

“The flick has a potentially dangerous ‘remedy’ to domestic abuse … it’s not up to Elizabeth to change or judge her husband, regardless of his behavior. Instead, she should respect, love, forgive, and pray for him, and let God do the rest. That’s all fine and dandy, but there are plenty of religious wives (and children) who’ve eventually been beaten and even killed by abusive husbands/fathers despite all of the prayers in the world.”

Interesting the main character’s name is Elizabeth (my formal name). I’m a childhood sexual abuse and physical abuse survivor, which I share about in my memoir Promises In the Dark: One Woman’s Search for Authentic Love, and I am the survivor of domestic violence in my second marriage, so I don’t condone abuse in any form.

Too many women are held captive by domestic violence, whether through physical abuse, financial abuse, emotional abuse, or a combination of all three, Women are much more likely to be victims of intimate partner violence, with 85% being women and 15% being men. There are 3 women murdered every day by a former or current male partner. Since 2003, 18,000 women have been killed by men in domestic violence disputes. It’s a problem that won’t go away quickly. Violence almost always escalates. (Resource: The Huffington Post, 30 Shocking Domestic Violence Statistics That Remind Us It’s An Epidemic)

If you are a victim of abuse and/or domestic violence, please get help and to a safe place quickly. You (or your children) are not a punching bag. God never intended for you to tolerate abuse “in the name of submission.”

Far too many pastors advise women to “just submit” to their physically, mentally, and/or emotionally abusive husbands, putting them (and possibly their children) in danger. This also is true for pastors telling wives to “just forgive” their husband’s pornography addiction, adultery, emotional affairs, etc., like Laurie Hall writes about in her powerful book, An Affair of The Mind (a book I highly recommend).

After I see the matinee War Room today, I’ll let you know if I agree with the above review from Screen It. But I’ve heard from a few Facebook friends that they loved it.

Have you seen the movie yet? What did you think? Leave your comments below.

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