The Bible and Feminism
The stereotype that Christian women are thought of as second-class citizens in the church has emerged into common thought today. In many ways the source of these suspicions has been generated from outside the Bible. Some influencing factors are, firstly, the consideration that the Bible represents the values of an antiquated society that has now been proved suppressive and disregarded as obsolete. Secondly, the rise of a certain type of feminist theory has destabilised the distinctions between men and women. The assumption of this type of theory is that men and women are not only equal, but are the same. For example, feminist theorist Judith Butler has argued that gender should not be determined by sex, but rather by performance. Therefore, she denies that gender is predetermined by the physical. As such, she believes that equality of persons necessitates the removal of gender distinctions, and thus gender roles are defined subjectively due to one’s taste and preference. The Bible fully endorses one aspect of this feminism, insofar as it supports equality between the sexes. But in contrast, Christianity teaches femininity and masculinity to be different and complementary, and to be celebrated as such.
Women and Men are equal
The Bible makes it very clear that women and men are equal:
‘For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.’ (Galatians 3:27-28)
This is because women and men are both made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27). Being made in the image of God means that we reflect aspects of God. For example, we create, we use complex language and thought and we have the capacity to love. It also means that we live in community, as God does in the Trinity (Father, Son, and Spirit).
The Trinity and Identity
In many ways the Trinity is beyond the grasp of our mental capacities, but we can see aspects of God’s perfect unity between his diverse persons in the fact that men and women are equal in value, but different. There is Father, Son and Holy Spirit, but all are equally God. We are male and female, and are equally human. Ray Ortlund describes this well:
‘God exists as one Godhead in three persons, equal in glory, but unequal in role. Within the Holy Trinity the Father leads, the Son submits to him, and the Holy Spirit submits to both. But it is also true that the three persons are fully equal in divinity, power, and glory (the ontological Trinity). The Son submits but not because he is God Jr., an inferior deity; the ranking within the Godhead is part of the sublime beauty and logic of true deity. And if our Creator exists in this manner, should we be surprised and offended if his creaturely analogue on earth exists in paradoxical form?’
(Ortund, Raymond, Jr., Male-Female Equality and Male Headship Genesis 1-3, in Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood: A Response to Evangelical Feminism, Ed. Piper, John., Grudem, Wayne., Wheaton, Crossway Books, 1991, p.92)
The roles of men and women in the church are derived from this basis, that we, equal and in complementary relationship, reflect God.
Let’s generalise...
The distinctions between men and women are, in many ways, quite general. The differences between us consist mostly of our proclivities, rather than what we can or cannot do. For many, involvement in the local church does not consist of clear-cut tasks or gender boundaries, such as, traditional stereotypes of women cooking whilst the men discuss theology. There are many overlaps in the roles and duties within the church. For example: leading group activities from small to large, working with the poor, running any sort of Christ-inspired social action (this can be anything from working with young children, to heading up petitions to local and general government), administration, leading worship, writing articles, apologetics, alpha courses, counselling, giving financially, encouraging, and the list could go on and on.
Therefore, men are not considered superior to women in Christianity, as we are all God’s image bearers. The fact that we are, as men and women, in some ways different and possess some gender specific roles is an analogy of the Godhead. One is no better than the other.
In the next article, we will look at this issue with regard to serving within the local church in some more specific areas.
