Above Rubies Part 4: Misrepresentations of Biblical Reality
- mercynotsacrifice
- Feb 17, 2019
- 7 min read
Updated: Jul 23, 2020
Problem #4: Misrepresentations of Biblical Reality
The popularity of “What I Wish I Knew Before I Got Pregnant” and “What I Wish People Would Have Told Me About Birth” blog posts and articles speak to a deficit of in our society — we are doing a poor job of preparing women for the physical affects of motherhood. We gloss over reality and leave new moms to figure it out on their own when it happens to them.
Above Rubies is a repeat offender in this area. For a magazine with so much subject matter related to reproduction, realistic portrayals are nowhere to be found. Instead what readers get is a whole lot of hype about the “blessing” of childbearing — not children in this instance — childbearing. We know from the Bible that it is cursed, but Nancy Campbell would have her followers forget it mentions that.
For instance, you’ll notice Above Rubies spends a lot of time writing about the benefits of different hormones to reinforce the claim that God has placed a blessing of healthiness on mothers’ bodies; ignoring the fact that many women experience unpleasant side effects from them, even with naturally occurring exposure.
These are just a few examples of how Nancy diminishes the reality of childbearing and tries to make motherhood into something it is not, sometimes mangling Scripture to do so:
“Pregnancy and childbirth is not a sickness, but a beautiful natural thing.”
“How blessed we are when we embrace the plan God has for us as women. We will be saved from deception, and we will be preserved and protected physically. Science is now catching up with God’s truth and more and more studies reveal that the more babies a mother births and nurses at her breast, the more physical blessing she receives. She is also protected from the epidemic of female cancers. Thank you, Lord for your protection and care and for the perfect plan you have for your female creation.”
“When you’re pregnant and you’re nursing, you have prolactin and oxytocin. These hormones are stress-free hormones. They are calming hormones, love hormones, bliss hormones. These hormones bring blessing to our lives that, when we aren’t pregnant and aren’t nursing, we aren’t even enjoying. 1 Timothy 2:15 says that we will be PRESERVED. Our bodies will be preserved and delivered through childbearing.”
"And dear ladies, God created our bodies for the purpose of childbearing. Childbearing does not wear out your body, it preserves your body. 1 Timothy 2:15 (NASB) says: ‘Women will be PRESERVED through the bearing of children.’”
“1 Timothy 2:15 says that women ‘will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith and love and holiness, and with self-control.’ Many women do not want to heed to this truth and consequently miss out on the blessings. As we embrace childbearing, for which God created us, we are saved physically, emotionally, and spiritually--and we are saved from deception. To embrace childbearing is not a negative to you as a woman. It is your glory. And God promises you will be saved, delivered, protected, healed, and preserved. I love the word ‘preserved,’ don't you? And you will be made whole. Why do we think our way is better than God’s way?”
“Through embracing motherhood you are saved, delivered, protected, preserved, healed, and made whole — physically, mentally, and spiritually. You can’t beat that!”
Nancy’s daughter Serene says in an article praising affects of pregnancy on the body:
"On a more vain and personal note, I am eager to keep having babies as an older mother for anti-aging measures. I don't mind admitting it for it is God’s blessing to us. The wisdom of the world says that having children depletes our health and makes us fat and old before our time. However, modern science now backs up the Bible when it says: ‘Women will be preserved through the bearing of children if they continue in faith and love and sanctity with self-restraint’ (1 Timothy 2:15 NASB).”
Of course we have to mention 1 Timothy 2:15, the famous “saved through childbearing” verse. There are lots of different takes out there on what it means, but most concur you can make sense of it by looking at it through the big picture of God’s plan for salvation. Personally I agree with the idea that it is referring to Eve herself (the grammar supports that) and is explaining how her curse will actually redeem her, because that is how God works — making a way when things are impossible. Through childbearing, an integral part of Eve’s consequences after the fall, and through her responsibility to populate the earth: a Savior comes into the world as a removed but still direct result; which we know from genealogies.
Whichever way you choose to look at it, Nancy naturally goes a different route than most when presented with this verse. We already know what she believes about motherhood, so this is to be expected — but it’s still disappointing. When faced with parts of the Bible that are challenging to understand, does she interpret with Scripture, and choose to see it through the perspective of the gospel, or does she want it to say something that supports her presuppositions?
Another note: I can make an argument for that interpretation of the verse that I agree with, but it remains just my opinion. Above Rubies authoritatively explains the verse on their website over 30 times without acknowledgement that it may mean something else. Additionally, anyone with credibility would avoid teaching that one can be saved through a deed or anything other than Christ. The verse may have many plausible explanations, but Nancy's works based-promise take is the one that has to disagree with the rest of Scripture (and reality) the most.
More examples of the indoctrination allowed by the misreading of Scripture:
“Let’s see what God says about our womb in His wonderful Word … IT IS OUR BLESSING: Genesis 49:25 speaks of "The Almighty who shall bless thee with the blessings of the breasts and of the womb.” Do you believe the Scriptures? Do you receive your womb as a BLESSING from God? … We need to affirm God’s truth and confess that our womb is a blessing.”
“In 'The Power of Motherhood,’ I have a chapter called ‘Mothers are ‘Womb Men’. ’ In this chapter, I gave you 18 different points about the womb, and they are all powerful. You’ve got to get the book just for this chapter, let alone the rest of the book. Go to my website aboverubies.org, and you can order it from there. It will be such a blessing to you. … I start off this chapter, ‘God unequivocally pronounces that our womb and breasts are blessings.’ That is found in Genesis 49:25 where it talks about the blessings of the breasts and the blessings of the womb. Notice it’s plural. It doesn’t just say blessing, it says blessings. With an 'S' on it. God says that the womb is not only a blessing, but there are loads of blessings. The womb is a blessing to us as women. The womb and the breasts are blessings not only to us but to the whole world, for without them, mankind would come to a screeching halt.”
Since she is trying to make the point that a womb itself is a blessing from God, the passage she refers to has to be misinterpreted. In context, Jacob is the one speaking to his son Joseph. Is Jacob saying God will give Joseph breasts and a womb? I think it makes a lot more sense to assume it is simply speaking of children — blessings from, or of, the womb.
Nancy does actually believe in a curse on childbearing, but it’s not one you can find in the Bible:
“The sins of the parents from past generations can bring a curse upon the womb. It can also come upon us through our own sin or negative confession. We should be careful not to speak negatively about any of our reproductive organs. Guard how you speak about menstruation. When you call it ‘the curse’ or other negative names, you give an opportunity for the curse of barrenness or other disorders to come to your womb. A curse on the womb can be a failure to menstruate, painful or irregular menstruation, cramps, cysts, tumors, continual miscarriage and inability to conceive—in fact, anything that affects your reproductive organs. Now please don’t get me wrong. I am not saying, that if you have one of these disorders that it is because of a curse. There are often other factors involved. But it could be a possibility. If you feel this is the case, you may like to pray this prayer: ‘Dear Father, I come to you in Jesus’ name. I confess I have not received my womb as a gift from You. I have ignored the power of my womb and my womanly functions. I repent. Please forgive me and cleanse me in Jesus’ name. Lord, I accept my womb as a gift from You. I accept the way You created me. I embrace it. I want to fulfill Your purposes for me as a woman. In the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ, I renounce all negative words, even jokingly, that I have spoken about my womb, about menstruation, about pregnancy and about my womanly functions. I renounce any curse that has been placed upon my womb or reproductive organs from my parents, grandparents or great grandparents on both sides of my family. I ask that You will now cleanse my womb and cover it with your blessing. I receive your blessing in the name of Jesus. Amen.’”
If Nancy wants to unbiblically teach that motherhood is God’s will for all women, then how does she explain miscarriage and infertility? We make sense of things not working as God originally intended by reading Genesis 3. But what if the God given curse is on something you are trying to idolize? Apparently you a) pretend it doesn’t exist and b) make up a new, renounceable curse that is still in keeping with your message — that also allows you to blame the person, not the sinful state of the world. Yes, these are the kind of lengths we see people go to when they want to prioritize their own ends above honesty. You have to wonder about the validity and safety of someone’s agenda if they have to resort to deception in order to push it.
I am reminded of Jesus’ response here: “As he said these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, ‘Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!’ But he said, ‘Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it'” (Luke 11:27). Jesus was not disagreeing with her, but trying to shift her focus, realign her priorities, and put the emphasis where it belonged. John Calvin said: “For what is idolatry if not this: to worship the gifts in place of the Giver Himself?”
Other posts in this series:
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