I have been trying to pursue my non-ex-CoG-interests that I had, prior to starting my mental exit from the church (as opposed to my physical exit, which was almost a decade-and-a-half ago), and to that end, I’ve been picking up the thread that has run through my entire life, science fiction. First I found that William Gibson quote, and it related to the Evolution-Creation CageMatch on AW (that seems to have thankfully wound down for the moment), and then I was catching up on some Neil Gaiman interviews, and I found this:
Um. He cut her into twelve bits, actually, and I only know this because I read it in The Bible Story. When I was nine. The following text and illustrations are taken from The Bible Story Vol. III, written and illustrated by Basil Wolverton. And remember, when you read the following narrative, that it is an allegory for the world we were living in, as children of the church: The Levite represented the Levitical priesthood we were beholden to, in the WCG, and we were like the elderly Ephraimite. (I literally was like the elderly Ephraimite, being from an Ephraimite colony at the time.)
The “New Morality”
In that era when Israel was without a national leader, with everyone generally doing as he pleased as long as he could get away with it, another episode occurred that brought tragedy. Misery and death came to thousands because they were living apart from their Creator. This event started near Mt. Ephraim, where another Levite lived with his common-law wife. They believed in the “New Morality” of that day. They, like so many couples throughout history, lived in sin. They didn’t obey God’s laws that would bring family happiness. The woman then began to live with other men. Later she left to return to the home of her parents in the town of Bethlehem in the land of the tribe of Judah. (Judges 19:1-2)
After she had been gone four months, the man decided he couldn’t get along any longer without her — and hoped she would now be ready to come home. He and a servant set out on burros for Bethlehem, about twenty miles to the southwest. When they neared the home of the woman’s parents, the man was pleasantly surprised to see his common-law wife coming out of the house and happily rushing out to meet him.
“I am sorry I left you,” she told him, “and I am glad you came after me. I should be pleased to return with you to Mt. Ephraim!”
She led him into the home of her parents, who welcomed him cordially. In fact, because they were happy to see him and because they wanted their daughter to stay with him as long as possible, they kept the couple as guests for three days.
On the fourth day the Levite intended to leave for home, but the father-in-law prevailed on him to stay a few more hours. Time slipped by, and then it was too late to set out. (Judges 19:3-7.)
On the fifth day, the couple prepared to leave early, but again the woman’s parents treated them so well with food, drink, and pleasant conversation that they were delayed into the late afternoon.
“Why start out at this hour?” the Levite’s father-in-law asked. “You can’t get very far before dark. It would be wiser to stay here one more night and plan to start out in the morning. Meanwhile, relax, and enjoy yourselves.”
“No, we must start out this afternoon,” the Levite said, realizing that if he continued to give in, they would never get home.
The woman’s parents knew they had kept their daughter as long as possible.
Tearfully they saw the couple off on their trip northward.
By the time the Levite, his common-law wife (called a “concubine” in the Bible), a servant and two burros reached Jerusalem, about four miles away, it was almost sundown. (Judges 19:8-10.)
“I suggest we stop here for the night, sir,” the servant remarked. “If we travel after dark, we’ll risk being robbed.”
“I don’t prefer to stay here in Jerusalem,” the Levite said. “The people here are Canaanites, and I don’t trust them. It is better to spend the night among our own people. I would rather go on to Gibeah or Ramah where the people are Israelites.”
It was about two and one-half more miles to the Benjamite city of Gibeah. The sun went down just before they got there. (Judges 19:11-15.) They sat down in a prominent place to wait for someone to invite them into his home for the night, since a small town like Gibeah probably didn’t have an inn. Soon an elderly Ephraimite, returning home late from working in the fields, walked up to the little group.
“You look like strangers here,” the old man said to them. “Where have you come from and where are you going?”
The Levite explained that he and his concubine and servant were travelling from Bethlehem to the Tabernacle at Shiloh. He mentioned that they had plenty of food and wine for themselves and feed for the animals, but no place to sleep. (Judges 19:16-19.)
Is Anyone Safe?
“Ah, but you’re welcome at my home!” the old man declared enthusiastically, motioning them to follow him. “And I have plenty of food for all, and provender for your burros, so keep what you have. Otherwise you might run short. Come! Let’s get off the street. It isn’t safe here at night!”
Later, when all of them were comfortably eating and conversing in the old man’s house, there was a loud rapping on the door. The host opened it, only to be jerked outside by a group of mean-looking young men.
“We know that you have a stranger in your house!” one of them growled menacingly. “Send him out here at once to us, or you’ll be in for plenty of trouble! And don’t tell him anything! Just get him out here!”
CHAPTER SEVENTY-THREE
THE “NEW MORALITY”
The old man, who had invited the three strangers to spend the night at his home in Gibeah, was pulled outside by hoodlums. They demanded that he send out his Levite guest. The old fellow shook his head in fear and disbelief when he realized what these vile men wanted to do. (Judges 19:16-22.)
Willing to Compromise
“Please go away and leave us alone!” he pleaded. “This Levite is my guest along with his wife and servant! It would be a terrible disgrace to let anything happen to him at my home. Surely you can find your pleasure elsewhere!”
The old man was very concerned about his reputation. But he was much less concerned about the drift into the decaying morality of that time.
“Do as we say,” the men growled, closing in more tightly around him, “or you’ll never get back into your house!”
The elderly Ephraimite was sure that by now the man they wanted probably had heard the unfriendly voices, and wouldn’t come out under any circumstance. In a frantic attempt to escape from this nightmare situation, the old man was moved to make a miserable suggestion. To save his male guest — and his own reputation as a host — he self-righteously stooped to an unthinkable compromise.
“Look, fellows,” he begged. “Don’t consider such a terrible perversion. I have a young daughter inside! We’ll send her and my guest’s wife out to you to do with as you please if you’ll only forget about the man!” (Judges 19:23-24.) The miserable old man thought men were more important and more worthy of protection than women. He reasoned that what he was suggesting was a lesser perversion and would be less sinful.
“We don’t care about the women!” was the angry reply.
Sick with fear, the old man ambled back into the house. Hesitantly he whispered the situation to his guest, who turned pale at what he heard. Like his host, his frenzied mind quickly sought a wretched way of escape. As a Levite from the tabernacle at Shiloh, he especially should have trusted God for His promised deliverance. (Leviticus 26:3, 6; Deuteronomy 4:31; 20:4; 31:6.)
“Don’t let them in!” the Levite muttered cravenly, seizing his common-law wife. To save himself, he was ready to do anything — even sacrifice the woman he should have been protecting.
He hauled the surprised woman up to the door, yanked it open, and thrust her outside. (Judges 19:25.) Quickly he closed and bolted door, hoping the mob would be more gentle with her than depraved mobs usually are. It happened so suddenly that the poor woman hardly knew what was happening until she found herself being stared at by the depraved men waiting outside. She wheeled around to get back into the house, pounding feverishly on the door. The men stared lustfully at her, noting for the first time that she was unusually attractive.
“Let’s take her and forget about the man for now!” one of them suggested.
The others nodded in agreement. The frightened, struggling woman was dragged away. Though she repeatedly screamed for help, there was no one to even try to rescue her. The men who should have protected her were hiding behind locked doors, completely lacking in the compassion and courage they should have displayed under the circumstances. Theirs was the corrupt type of character that prevailed in a time when Israel was far from God.
Hours later, just before sunrise, the woman came staggering up to the house and fell down at the door. (Judges 19:26.) In the meantime, her cowardly common-law husband was preparing to leave without her. He didn’t know where she was, but he was afraid to look for her lest he run into trouble with the depraved men who had taken her.
On opening the door to leave, he was surprised to find her lying there face down. His conscience stung him because of the cowardly, brutal way he had acted. But instead of helping her up, he chose to assert himself as her master, even in the face of her pitiable circumstance.
“Get up woman!” he barked. “I want to get going for home right away!”
There was no answer or movement. The man motioned for his servant to help the woman up. The servant tried to get her to her feet. It was then that they discovered she was dead.
A Desperate Plan
Without a word the Levite lifted the body onto one of his burros and started for home. (Judges 19:27-28.) On the way he had plenty of opportunity to consider how cruel and cowardly he had been. He regretted his terrible conduct, but at the same time he hoped he could place the blame for his common-law wife’s death elsewhere. The more he thought about the depraved Benjamites, the more he considered their guilt and the less he considered his. By the time he arrived home, his anger and desire for revenge had grown to such an extent that he conceived a gruesome plan.
The first thing he did was compose twelve copies of this message, a copy to be sent to each of the twelve tribes of Israel:
“My wife was lately seized by Benjamites in their city of Gibeah. She died because of their brutal advances. I am sending proof of her death. I ask that something be done to execute vengeance on the foul men who are responsible.”
The Levite immediately sent the letter to all parts of Israel by swift carriers. Wherever it arrived it was startlingly effective, but not just because of the words. With each message the angry Levite included a piece of his wife’s body, having cut her up into twelve parts!
The story continues on from there, this incident being the catalyst for the civil war between the two kingdoms, that resulted in ten of the tribes being “lost”, i.e., captured by Assyria (Germany), and that segues nicely into British-Israelism, always an important concept to pound into the kiddies’ heads early. 
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