Before we get to the show today, we have a big announcement. Two new books are now in pre-order from New Christenum Press,

White Knights and Reviling Wives from David Edgington, and the Boniface option from Andrew Isker, both in premium hardcover editions.

These will be in our warehouse and shipping in time for Christmas, but as our thank you for pre-ordering now,

we're offering 15%

off when you buy both books today. Just head to Newchristinam Press.com and add both books

to your cart, and the discount will be automatically added at checkout. And now, on with the show.

This episode is brought to you by Lux Coffee, caffeinating the new christenham with artisan roast coffee.

Thank you. When you think of the word abuser, what comes to mind?

If you're anything like me, a public-schooled member of the millennial generation,

your mind likely surfaces a series of archetypal examples. The drunk who beats his wife, the sexual deviant

who abuses children, the overbearing and tyrannizing father who crushes his own kids beneath

an avalanche of harshness and anger. These are all examples of deeply sinful behavior that would certainly

merit the word abuser. But I can almost guarantee that one type of abuse does not come to mind.

I would bet that, for the vast majority of us, there is a type of abuse that not only wouldn't

surface in the first 10 examples we'd give if asked to outline common forms of abuse,

but which we have been culturally programmed to ignore, minimize, and even altogether deny.

I believe this is true, even though the kind of abuse I have in mind destroys homes, marriages,

children, churches, and even nations.

It's a type of abuse that the scriptures address many times,

often with tremendous force and even colorful vigor. It's the type of abuse that brings hell

to bear on its victims. I'm talking about the abuse of a bitter, quarrelsome, and reviling wife.

Consider how many times the proverbs address this sin. It's better to live

...