Does the Church Really Oppress Women?

Jimmy Carter: Does the church really oppress women?

I was a little stunned when I read the following words by Jimmy Carter in an op-ed piece he wrote on July 15th: “My faith is a source of strength and comfort to me, as religious beliefs are to hundreds of millions of people around the world. So my decision to sever my ties with the Southern Baptist Convention, after six decades, was painful and difficult. It was, however, an unavoidable decision when the convention's leaders, quoting a few carefully selected Bible verses and claiming that Eve was created second to Adam and was responsible for original sin, ordained that women must be "subservient" to their husbands and prohibited from serving as deacons, pastors or chaplains in the military service.” He went on to say, “At its most repugnant, the belief that women must be subjugated to the wishes of men excuses slavery, violence, forced prostitution, genital mutilation and national laws that omit rape as a crime. But it also costs many millions of girls and women control over their own bodies and lives, and continues to deny them fair access to education, health, employment and influence within their own communities.” (see the full article here)

Now, my concern is not what other religions believe and teach, but how Christianity is falsely portrayed. The teaching of Christianity is crystal clear about the God-determined and designed roles of men in marriage and the church.
To be sure, tragic abuses will be found, mainly due to the the misinterpretation and misapplication of God’s original design. I would even agree with former President Jimmy Carter that some teaching (distorted as it is) on the roles of men and women in marriage have been used to justify all kinds of repugnant beliefs and practices. But abuse of any kind is not nor should be the determining factor in deciding what is right and best for living life, especially when the Creator Himself has given His wise instruction and design for optimum living.

The truth of the matter is that Christianity has liberated women from the abusive subjugation that has littered most of history and non-Christian cultures. God created men and women equal (in personhood, worth, dignity, Genesis 1:26-27), but He designed them to exercise distinct functional roles within that equality in marriage, the church and even in society. That’s not sexist, chauvinistic, or discriminating, it is simply following the wisdom and design God intended.

Former President Jimmy Carter concludes his article by saying this: “The truth is that male religious leaders have had - and still have - an option to interpret holy teachings either to exalt or subjugate women. They have, for their own selfish ends, overwhelmingly chosen the latter. Their continuing choice provides the foundation or justification for much of the pervasive persecution and abuse of women throughout the world. This is in clear violation not just of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights but also the teachings of Jesus Christ, the Apostle Paul, Moses and the prophets, Muhammad, and founders of other great religions - all of whom have called for proper and equitable treatment of all the children of God. It is time we had the courage to challenge these view”. This is a sad and tragic conclusion from the former president because it edits God’s explicit will and His written Word which is not allowable. The Bible clearly teaches that women are allowed and encouraged to do anything their giftedness has empowered them to do and within the boundaries God has determined. What this means is that God has given different functional roles for men and women that do not undermine their equality.
Here’s a basic overview of what the Bible teaches. Please use this as a guide to understand and study this issue further. A simple summary of Scriptural teaching would say:

• Men are designed by God to be the husband, father, provider, and protector as the head and leader of the family and, if qualified to be a pastor/elder and primary teacher in the church.
• Women are designed by God to be wife, mother, nurturer and supporter by submission to the man’s servant-leadership in the home and in the church.

1. God created the human race sexually distinct as male and female (Matthew 19:4, Genesis 1:27). This is why homosexuality and gay marriage is unacceptable. It is a sin against God’s creative design and His intention of populating the earth (“be fruitful and multiply”)

2. God created both the man and women equally in His image (Genesis 1:26-27). God stamped His divine image and likeness on both the man and the women, so each gender becomes an image-bearer of the one, true God in personhood (mind, emotion, will), eternity and leadership.

3. God named the human race “man” (Genesis 1:26, 2:5, 5:1-2). God said, “Let Us make man in our image”. The word “man” is used in a generic sense for “mankind” or the “human race”, but what is noteworthy is that God chose to use the name of one of the sexes to designate the whole human race. God didn’t use the term “woman” generically to describe the whole human race.

4. God made Adam the central character in His story. All the action and events revolve around the man. The male is the one to whom God speaks in the narrative (Genesis 2:16), he is first to receive divine revelation and instruction (Genesis 1:15-17), the animals were brought to the male to name, not to the female (Genesis 2:19-20), the woman is made from the man and for the man (Genesis 2:18, 22). The man makes a theological comment upon the woman’s creation, not vice versa (Genesis 2:23) and the man names the female (Genesis 2:23).

5. God created Adam first (Genesis 2:7). You might say that this is a stretch, but Paul used the order of creation in I Timothy 2 when he was explained the reason why women should “not teach or exercise authority over a man…” in the church. Why? “For it was Adam who was first created” (I Timothy 2:12-13a). By the order of creation, God designed man to be the primary leader and teacher in the family of God. Historically, this is also played out in society as men have been the primary rulers of society. Is this by accident or design? It is interesting to note that women are always seeking liberation and not men.

6. God formed the woman out of man (Genesis 2:22). God created man out of the dust of the ground and breathed into him the breath of life (Genesis 2:7), but God formed the woman out of the side of man (Genesis 2:21-22 – out of Adam’s rib). The woman’s creation out of man not only demonstrates equality in nature, but also differences in function. How do we know this? Because I Corinthians 11:8 cites Genesis 2:22 to make this point: “for the man does not originate from woman, but woman from man”. Paul goes on to say that “man is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man” (I Corinthians 11:7)

7. God created the woman for the man (Genesis 2:18). This point offends the modern sensibilities of women desiring equality, but God said, “It is not good for man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him”. Eve was not another male nor was she a clone of Adam nor was she a twin. She was similar, yet different. Eve had her own biology, physiology and psychology, but was made to complement the man and help him populate and rule the earth and to unite with him as a loving-companion partner. The word “helper” (Hebrew – ezer) means to support or aid. This is not a demeaning term (God is said to “help” His people – Psalm 121). The Hebrew term for “suitable for him” is kenegdo and means “corresponding to him” or “matching him” (a counterpart). She is equally an image bearer of God and this shows her equality as Adam notes when he says she is now “bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh” (Genesis 2:23). The New Testament commentary on Genesis 2:18 is I Corinthians 11:9 which says: “for indeed man was not created for the woman’s sake, but the woman for the man’s sake” and helps establish that “man is the head of a woman” (I Corinthians 11:7, 3).
8. God gave man the right to name the woman (Genesis 2:23). Before the fall, Adam named his new companion “Eve”. When he saw her, he said, “she will be called woman” (Gen. 2:23). After the Fall, Adam “called” his wife “Eve”, a personal name (Genesis 3:20). The one who names a thing or person has the authority and power to name like parents do (Genesis 1:5, 8, 10, 2:19-20).

9. Adam is viewed as the representative head of the fallen human race (Genesis 3:9, Romans 5:12, I Corinthians 15:22, 45). Adam’s headship is recognized by God after the Fall as He calls to Adam, not Eve to give account even though Eve began the domino effect (Genesis 3:9). Adam’s headship is recognized in the New Testament as the representative head of the entire fallen human race. The record of the Old Testament highlights men as the prominent leaders (Noah, Abraham, Job, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, Joshua, Saul, Samuel, David, Solomon, Ezra, Nehemiah, Isaiah, Daniel, Ezekiel, Jeremiah. Although priestesses were common in the religious practices of neighboring nations, Israel’s priests were required to be male. All of Israel’s kings were males, except Athaliah, who violently usurped the throne. All the leading national prophets were men with only a few exceptions (Deborah was a prophetess and judge and Miriam was a leader and prophetess. The primary role of a woman in the Old Testament was that of a wife and mother (Proverbs 31:10) and they had a godly, heroic influence in the home and society (Hannah, Rebekah, Rachel, Sarah, Esther). The Old Testament paints a realistic picture of the treatment of women as it shows the cruelty of polygamy, the king’s harem, rape, divorce (only allowed by men) and abuse that was not pleasing to God.

10. Jesus had to be a man. Jesus was the only person ever born with two natures (fully divine and fully man), yet He is one Person and He had to be either a man or a woman and God chose a man because it was theologically necessary. Jesus had to be a first-born, Jewish male from a certain tribe and family and the perfect sinless male Lamb who would take away the win of the world. He is the ultimate counterpart to Adam (both entered the world through a special act of God and both entered the world sinless, and both acted on behalf of those the represented). Adam was a “type of Christ” (Romans 5:14) and Jesus is the “second Adam” (I Corinthians 15:45). God almost exclusively reveals and defines Himself in masculine language, titles, offices, images and roles. This not a cultural accident as female deites were numerous in the patriarchal societies (Egyptian goddess Isis, Caananite goddess Asherah, Babylonian goddess Ishtar; Greek goddess Artemis and Aphrodite), so both Judaism and Christianity were unique in the pagan world.

11. Jesus appointed twelve male apostles as His authoritative representatives. They provided foundational leadership and revelatory teaching for the founding of the Lord’s church (Ephesians 2:20). When Judas was replaced, only men were considered (Acts 1:21) and two years later, God called another male apostle to the Gentiles named Paul. Modern feminists say that Jesus was only accommodating the sinful, male-chauvinistic spirit of the age, but this is not consistent with His countercultural, non-traditional lifestyle (He drove out moneychangers, broke Sabbath-day traditions, interacted with untouchables like Samaritan woman and had a band of woman who met His needs-Luke 8:1-3).

12. Husbands are given the leadership role in marriage. Paul describes this as being the “head of the wife” (Ephesians 5:22-32). Some think Paul is some old, crusty, woman-hating, male chauvinist, but a woman-hater doesn’t tell a husband to love his wife with a Christlike self-sacrificing love that is ready to even die for her if needed (Ephesians 5:25). Headship doesn’t mean physical and mental abuse or authoritarian domination. The term “head” (Greek word “kephale”) is the common word for a physical head, but Paul obviously uses its figurative meaning, “one in a position of authority” or “leader” (i.e. head of state, department head not “origin” or “life source” as some of the feminists try to say, but there are no non-authoritative uses in the Greek language). As head, the husband is ultimately responsible to provide direction for the well-being of the family. The key to this headship is “love” and Paul compares it to Christ’s sacrificial love for His church as well as the way we care for our “body” (Ephesians 5:28-29 – caring for its practical needs…food, clothing, shelter) and ourselves (Ephesians 5:33 – “love his own wife even as himself”) and by not being “embittered against them” (Colossians 3:19 – being sour, crabby, irritable, harsh, taking out ones frustrations upon, impatient, fault-finding).

13. Wives are given the supportive role in the marriage. Both Paul and Peter instruct wives to submit to their husbands (Peter to an unbelieving husband-I Peter 3:1 and Paul to believing husbands-Ephesians 5:22, 24, Colossians 3:18,. Titus 2:4-5, I Timothy 3:4-5). The word “submit” or “submission” has been scandalized in our modern feminist-leaning world. It sounds abusive, demeaning, slavish, chauvinistic, second-class, door-mat oriented and add to this all the abuses of men who thought they needed to enforce submission with their unloving and harsh authoritarian demands which then make the concept of submission outrageous. The Greek word is “hupatasso” is a military term that means literally to “get in line under an authority” and it is always one-directional and never mutual (Jesus to parents, Citizens to Government., Demons to disciples, Universe to Christ, Believers to God, Servants to Masters, etc.). The husband-wife relationship is not a boss-employee relationship nor is it a commander-soldier relationship nor is it a teacher-student relationship. It is a love relationship, a covenant-one-flesh relationship where one lovingly takes the lead and the other willingly and actively supports that lead. This does not negate the expression of mutuality and interdependence that is healthy and a part of a loving relationship. Submission is qualified by several things: “as to the Lord” (her submission to her husband is part of her submission to Christ) and “see to it that she respects her husband” (Ephesians 5:33 – this recognizes him as the God-appointed head) and “as is fitting in the Lord” (Colossians 3:18 - it’s the right and proper thing to do). Titus 2:3-4 says the older women and wives ought to be teaching the young women how to love their husbands, love their children, submit to their husbands, and be diligent home-managers.

14. Men and Women are equal, but different functionally in the church. The local church is a model of masculine headship and feminine submission. The men are called to pastor, teach and exercise authority over the church family. There are to be no women pastors or elders. Paul backs up what he says about functional roles in the church with the strongest possible arguments:

• The design of God and the deception of Eve (I Timothy 2:8-13). The prohibition is not against women teaching at all (Acts 18:26, Titus 2:3-4, 2 Timothy 1:5, 3:14-15), but against women teaching men publicly in the formal church setting and gathering. Teaching is primarily seen as a governing function. Why? Paul says because men were created first (I Timothy 2:13) and Eve was deceived first (I Timothy 2:14).

• It was the universal practice of the churches (I Corinthians 14:33b – “as in all the churches of the saints”).
• It is the command of Christ (I Corinthians 14:37-38 – “…the things which I write to you are the Lord’s commandment”)
• It is patterned after the submission of Christ to His Father (I Cor. 11:3 – “But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man and the man is the head of a woman and God is the head of Christ”). Christ/man, Man/woman, God/Christ – Christ exercises both the role of authority (over us) as well as the role of submission at the same time. He is an example of both sexes.

• It follows Paul’s apostolic authority (I Tim. 3, Titus 1)

Let’s pattern our marriages and church ministry to follow the Lord’s design and not let the world squeeze us into its trendy distortion which will invite God’s disciplining hand upon our lives.