Fundamentalists, Basheba and King David



The peculiar, actually frightening, way some fundamentalist view the story of David and Bathsheba is remarkable.

Bathsheba was the fair woman King David wanted for his own but was the wife of another man. So, David sent her husband into a battle where he was likely to be killed. He was killed and David took his prize, Bathsheba.

In this time when women are calling out men who victimize them the story of David and Bathsheba has become a lively topic in the conservative Christian community. There is a set of people who see David taking Bathsheba against her will. Another set makes the common analysis of women who are raped, it is always the woman's fault and that King David took her was Bathsheba's fault. She could and should have refused David's advances even if it meant her death.

In the link is the story of a Sunday School teacher who brought up the Bathsheba/David story to her class. A young woman said Bathsheba was a victim of power in the relationship. A young man disagreed, he said Bathsheba had the choice of giving in or dying. If she was unhappy with David's advances she should have chosen death.

The Bathsheba/David story is at the heart of the abortion debate. Anti abortion zealots claim women become pregnant because of their own behavior. They always have the choice of saying no to sex. The consequences of having a baby are unrelated to the welfare of the mother. Bathsheba lives on today.

There are some in the conservative community who see and condemn David as a rapist. These are people who see power and abuse in certain relationship.

Others just don't see power and abuse. In their eyes, women are equal to their attackers in all circumstances.

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