Above is a pic of my youngest daughter and me.
My Husband, My brother in Christ
VIII. A Biblical Vision of Manhood and Womanhood in the Church, Part 5
This is my 8th of a series of weekend postings from Evangelical Feminism and Biblical Truth by Wayne Grudem. (Go to my category list on the right sidebar and you will see a "Biblical Womanhood" category that you can click on to see some of the rest of these posts or go to the archives at the top left sidebar.)
This post will be covering Chapter 2.5 and 2.6 on "The History of Male Leadership Throughout the Whole Bible" and "The History of the Church" (pages 82 and 83)
"From beginning to end, the Bible is simply not an egalitarian book." Grudem urges the reader to look at the Bible as a whole from Genesis to Revelation and point to "one example in the entire Bible of a woman publicly teaching an assembled group of Believers."
Governing and teaching roles that are restricted to men according to the Bible are in 1 Timothy 2:11-15; 1 Corinthians 14:33b-36; 1 Timothy 3:2; and Titus 1:6.
"Some people mention Deborah in Judges 4, but she did not teach the people publicly, for people came to her privately to hear her wise decisions in disputed cases... in the Old Testament, the priests were responsible to teach the people and the priests were all men... On rare occasions where women gained power as queens in Israel or Judah (Jezabel in 1 Kings 16-21; Athalia 2 Kings 11) they led the people into evil, so they can hardly be used as positive examples as women having governing authority over the people of God."
Women's gifts and ministries throughout church history and today have been and should be "valued and affirmed." Yes, there are some that have an unbalanced view and have warped the role of women on both sides of the argument. I have already written about what women should do in the church HERE.
Libbie wrote, "There are many roles for women in church - many roles in which men are ill-equipped for. Roles in which it is of vital importance that they remain women who can be trusted to do good."
John Piper has a fantastic little book that I highly recommend that gives a huge list of ministry opportunities appropriate for both men and women called What's the Difference? (It's less than 100 pages.)
Did you know that it was the Quakers who were the first egalitarians in church history?
"(William Weinrich) notes that John Wesley (d. 1791) expected that Methodists would follow" the Biblical complimentarian rule, but he would allow from time to time "for an extraordinary impulse of the Spirit" that would allow a women to speak in public... The Anabaptists, Anglicans, Puritans and Separatists all prohibited the women from the public minisrty of preaching and teaching. While groups that emphasized religious experience and interior calling did allow women to assume ( more or less restricted) public preaching, not until the 19th century did women begin to make significant strides" towards egalitarianism.
I do not think most that hold the egalitarian view realize how recent this movement is and how it clearly parallels the rejection of the full authority of the Bible as the innerrant Word of God.
"It has only been in the last half of the 20th century that the major Protestant church bodies have begun to accept women as regular preachers and pastors... This course does not prove that the complimentarian position is correct, but it does mean that anyone who accepts the egalitarian position must conclude that the overwhelming majority of interpreters throughout the history of the church have all been wrong on this matter."
So what argument do I predict will be thrown at me here? The cultural one. You know, the crutch built with toothpicks. Remember, Jesus NEVER hesitated to do culturally unpopular things.
Again, I urge you to buy this MUST-HAVE book. What I write here is done in hopes that you will eagerly add this book to your library and buy it for anyone struggling in this essential area.
(drop me an e-mail if you need help getting one)
Comments
Great post Lisa!
When I examine the actual text in 1Tim 2:12, I get the following:
"But to teach, a woman I do not allow; neither to have total authority of a man, but to continue in quietness."
Now, the greek word of quietness, hsuxia, is used elsewhere to imply listening and orderliness.
So, I don't believe it means a woman must be a deaf mute as our former church apparently practiced.
Can a woman teach a Sunday School class? Can she teach children? Scripturally the older women are instructed to teach the younger women. And we see godly women instructing their children. I'm quite confident they don't exclude their sons.
That's what I know. Apart from that, well...
I do believe this is very useful, however, in our Oprah generation where there are women teaching other women in areas that are inconsistent with the scriptures. And as such, they are actually being unruly and disorderly.
And as a man and as a husband, I can tell you that I use to take serious issue with my wife deriving her doctrine from other men and other women. This was very short lived and just after marriage. But it was hurtful as it undermined my responsibilities to be the spiritual head of the home.
I do understand that I am fully capable of bonehead moves. And there are those husbands who possess complete disregard for the scriptures. I recognize these things too.
Opposing scripture may at times seem justified. But it never is.
Anyway, I hope I didn't come across as woman bashing or oppressive. On the contrary, I believe they are to be exalted vs. exhausted.
Peace!
-Mike
Posted by: Mike Young | June 24, 2006 11:03 AM
Okay Lisa, for some reason I feel compelled to comment on this one. Perhaps it is because it is midnight on Saturday/Sunday night when I should be sleeping in preparation for the morning service. But I am not asleep so here goes:
One of the arguments that I have heard is not really an argument at all but goes along the lines of this – “Are you saying that women are inferior and incapable of such positions and activities in the church?”
I was personally confronted with this “argument” at one of our denomination’s district conferences when I challenged the constituency regarding the placing of women on the district’s board of directors. I summed up my response by simply saying, “It is not a matter of a woman’s ability, but rather about God-given responsibility.” It saddens me how many Christians are willing to ignore the clear teaching Scripture as well as the history of the church in this matter.
Soli Deo Gloria,
Pastor Ed
Posted by: Preacher G | June 25, 2006 12:14 AM
Mike Y. wrote: "Opposing scripture may at times seem justified. But it never is."
That is the key right there. When we oppose it, it is like saying we have more wisdom than than the all-knowing God we serve. (1 John 2:4, 5 says, "The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what He commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys His Word, God's love is truly made complete in him.")
And no, you did not come across as a woman basher. You should see some of the e-mails from other women that I get because I post these articles.
WOW, Pastor Ed... I'm honored. I also know that before we came to this church home, several people left when you began a study in the book,"Equal, Yet Different" by Strauch, because they were strongly egalitarian. Excellent book.
The deeper I dig into the Word of God on this issue, the more I wonder why it is an issue. It is clear. And thank you for your input.
His servant for His glory,
Lisa
Posted by: 4ever4given | June 25, 2006 07:09 AM
Oh... and the cartoon... I drew that at 2:00 in the morning one night when I could not sleep. I know... it looks like it.
:-)
Posted by: 4ever4given | June 27, 2006 11:22 AM
The world's feminism is not feminine at all. It is however masculinity with a dose of estrogen on order to keep the facial hair away.
What I really mean is that "feminism" robs a woman of the peace that comes from fulfilling the planned order of God. We are continually faced with the world's opinion on this matter. Every time a salesperson calls, and a godly wife is unfortunate enough to answer the phone, when her response reflects her husbands headship ("I'll have to talk with my husband.") and the salesperson says "it's only $15 a month. The Word and order of God are challenged.
I don't even want to begin with the tendancy TV programs have to make the Dad a complete "dude" and the Mom the wiz about all issues. It goes way back. Remember Ozzie Nelson, usually only there for comic relief. At least he acted as head of his home on the big stuff.
Well, the point is that when we let Satan's lies and the world who continually believes them define what we do in our homes and eventually in the Church herself we are slowly robbed of the expressed victory of our Savior. Even a naive thief does not willing steal his own treasure. Egalitarianism is a duller than naive thief.
Posted by: N.L. White | June 28, 2006 08:16 AM