Titus 2 Women Invited to Wife-Swapping Show

by Doug Phillips of Vision Forum

Its a crazy world out there when the Christian vision of societal relevancy is to tell us that too many babies are bad, that mothers may be sent to war to die in Baghdad, and that Bono is the sina qua non of Christian culture. But every once in a while we get a zinger from the secular world sure to challenge even the most avant-garde, relevancy-drenched, pagan syncretistic, and libertine. Consider the following letter from the producers of the ABC show “Wife Swap” sent to the dear ladies who defend biblical patriarchy at the Ladies Against Feminism website:


Greetings!

I am writing in the hopes that someone who espouses the traditional values presented on your website, might be interested in appearing on a new ABC television series. The show, (entitled Wife Swap), has two mothers exchange families for 2 weeks, such that both can explore another family’s values and lifestyle, and share their perspective too. It’s a format that has won numerous awards in the UK, and been critically acclaimed on this side of the Atlantic as well.

We are always searching for families with a lifestyle that others could learn from. Currently, we are eager to feature a mother who embraces the concept of biblical womanhood, and develops her husband’s leadership role.

Is there anyway that your organization might be able to help us find some families? This could be as simple as a message about us in a mass email, a notice in a newsletter, or sharing the information with anyone you know personally that might be interested...Thanks for taking the time to read this, and please give me a call or write should you have any questions or concerns.

Kind regards,
Stacy Woods
Associate Producer

As Jennie Chancey observed to me: Where would I even begin to explain why a woman who “embraces the concept of biblical womanhood and develops her husband’s leadership role” would never swap husbands and children with someone else? (!!!) It [the request from the show’s producer] is just a testimony to the wacky, subverted culture we live in. [“What? You think there’s a problem with living with someone else’s husband for a TV show?”]”

Amen Jen.

Hey wait a second. Maybe, I am just being a legalist to think that my wife should not participate in Wife-Swap. After all, God did not explicitly condemn Abraham for sharing his wife with pharaoh. But more to the point, nowhere does the Bible explicitly forbid our wives to be on the “Wife-Swap” television show. In fact, I can not even find the name of this show in my Strong’s Concordance (a fact which ipso facto proves the Bible is silent on such issues and, consequently, the Scriptures are not sufficient to equip the believer for making wise decisions about every conceivable subject as the Reformers argued). Wife-Swap is not mentioned in the Ten Commandments or any of the six hundred-plus explicit commands of the Old Testament. In fact, no matter how hard one looks nowhere does the Bible say that my wife can not care for another man’s family as part of a TV show. Since being on wife-swapping shows is not explicitly forbidden by the Bible, it is therefore un-condemnable. Right? Isn’t that the clear teaching of the Westminster Confession? After all, only God can define sin, and nowhere in the Bible is participation in a wife-swapping show explicitly labeled as sin.

Hold on further! I have another revelation. If Bono (the standard of virtuous cultural relevancy) can represent Christ by supporting sodomites, praying to Mary and screaming lyrics on MTV, then surely our wives can do the same through their comparatively tame appearance on Wife-Swap. (Let's not forget that the Bible is silent on Wife-Swap, and thus no one has the right to question such a decision.)In fact, maybe if we let our wives participate in this show we are really advancing the kingdom of God. Maybe we are reclaiming the “Wife-Swap” show for Christ. Maybe we can incrementally work our way through the halls of ABC, and ever-so-gradually capture the show for Christ. Maybe we can rename it “Christian Wife Swap” to let people know of this amazingly relevant victory. Maybe home school moms can be “Amish in the City” after all?

Postscript:

Jennie Chancey of LAF writes: “This is the second time the producers of “Wife Swap” have contacted LAF, asking us to find women who believe in biblical womanhood and are willing to participate in the show. I’m sure you know the show’s premise: get two moms to swap places with each other for two weeks, each one living as the wife of another man (no physical adultery involved, of course) and playing mommy to someone else’s children. The first time I got the letter, I thought it was someone playing a joke on LAF. Then I got another letter with a phone number and contact information that checked out. Ditto this third letter from ABC. I still find myself shaking my head in disbelief.