Editorial
May/June, 1975
Volume 10, Number 3
The current Women’s Liberation Movement is heralded by many as the primary social issue of the day. It seems that there is an attempt to muddle the roles of male and female until we have “she” men and ”he” women. Some urge the importance of “de-sexing” any language that makes a distinction between male and female roles. Words like “chairman,” and phrases like “a man-sized job,” and descriptions like “housewife”–are all considered taboo.
Will the Women’s Liberation Movement bring real liberation to women? When a woman feels compelled to play pro-football, or to work in a coal mine, or to pour concrete — as an attempt to express her liberation from womanhood — she seems to have lost her liberty to be .a woman. Much of what is promoted as bringing liberty to women, may actually result in increased bondage.
Along with the increased talk about unisex has come a rapid increase in the incidence of homosexuality. Homosexuality–whether male or female–is sexual activity which is a perversion of nature’s provision and of God’s command (Romans 1:26-27). Let us never forget that the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah was related to a rejection of divinely ordained sexual roles. It is possible to be influenced by this kind of thinking unwittingly. Remember Lot)s wife (Luke 17:32).
Some Brethren leaders are saying that a woman should be placed on all church committees. (It’s too bad that Jesus didn’t know about this when He selected the disciples). One thing each reader will want to glean from Harold Martin’s excellent study of the woman’s role, is his clear definition of the difference between functional distinctions and spiritual privileges.
If we try and change him to she and she to him, we may end up with all becoming shims. Shall we add to the confusion by changing ”manager” to “personager,” and instead of “mentality,” say “peopletality”? Is it possible that this chaotic mumbo-jumbo may draw from some persons a fervent A-people?
Women’s Liberation and the Bible
by Harold S. Martin
The year 1975 has been designated as International Women’s Year by the United Nations. Our own country also has designated 1975 as a year of commitment to improving the status of women. During the past few years, many thousands of women have been demanding job equality with men, day-care centers for children, and top administrative positions in business, government, and the church. A few radical women’s groups have been responsible for bombing buildings and interrupting conventions, but we believe that some demands are being made by persons who are sincere in their determination to help keep women from being trampled upon. Yet many times, those who are sincere, are not doing what is right.
The Women’s Liberation Movement is beginning to emerge as possibly the next great social objective for a large segment of the institutional church. The Episcopal Church is experiencing furor over the issue of women becoming priests. Catholic women have been given the right to act as participating leaders during Mass when no men are available. A Church of the Brethren leader predicted that “in the not-too-far distant future, the Brethren will be addressing the presiding officer at Annual Conference as “Sister Moderator”‘ (May 15, 1971 Messenger). A recent article in Bethany Seminary’s Seminarian says, “We are hoping that women will be assuming to a greater extent, positions of leadership within the Church.” Tentative guidelines for contributors to Church of the Brethren publications (Messenger, Agenda, etc.) have recently been mailed to those who do much of the writing. Among the guidelines are these instructions: “Women should be portrayed in positions of authority over men and over other women. Books designed for children should show married women who work outside the home, and should treat them favorably.” The radio and television and newspapers and magazines for many years have been telling women that being tied down in the home stands in the way of their success, that housework is degrading, and that being subject to one’s husband is a sign of weakness. Now the church seems to be echoing what society has been saying for nearly a decade. What should be the Christian woman’s attitude toward this whole issue? As we see it, the answer should not depend on what the sociologist says, nor on what the mood of society about us dictates, nor on what seems to be reasonable–but on what the Scriptures say.
We want to look in a few moments at what the New Testament says about the woman’s place in the home, in the church, and in the world–but before we observe these teachings, let it be clearly understood that women are often mistreated and looked upon as second-class persons. Women are often stereotyped (put into a general category), and sometimes men tell jokes about women which are grossly unfair. Because one woman couldn’t back a car out of the garage without scraping a fender, it is assumed that no woman can do it–and so we hear all kinds of stories about “women drivers.” We hear jokes about women talking too much simply because some women have been noted for much talking. Men sometimes say, “Well, you know how the women are.” They seem to class women with children and slaves and idiots! Any attempt to stereotype women (or to tell jokes at their expense) is indeed a serious sin.
The conversations of Jesus with the Samaritan woman, and with Mary and Martha, show that He respected their abilities and their individualities. The Bible bestows honor upon women and elevates womanhood far above the place accorded her by the ancient world religions. Wherever Christianity has gone, the woman has been elevated in value and in treatment. Anyone who has traveled in the Middle East has found it not at all uncommon to see a man riding a donkey, while the woman trudges alongside, carrying a burden on her head. In almost every area where the Gospel has not been widely preached, women have always done the hard work while enjoying few rights and privileges.
Some say the Apostle Paul was a hater of women (and that he misunderstood the woman), but anyone who reads Romans 16 carefully, can see Paul’s esteem for Christian womanhood.
1. THE WOMAN’S PLACE IN THE CHURCH
There are two passages of Scripture that speak directly to the issue of the woman’s place in the Church. 1 Timothy 2:12 says, “But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.” 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 says, “Let your women keep silence in the churches, for it is not permitted unto them to speak … and if they will learn anything, let them ask their husbands at home”
We cannot ignore these plain instructions concerning the place of women in the assembly. The phrase “let your women keep silence” refers not to absolute silence, but to relative silence — for Scriptures indicate elsewhere (Acts 12:5; 15:22; Titus 2:3-5) that women may speak and vote and sing and instruct younger women and children — but not in the sense of leading in any authoritative way. The phrase “in the church” can best be explained in the words of 1 Corinthians 14:32-33 where it says, “If therefore the whole church be come together into one place.” The Scriptures here speak of times when the whole church comes together into one place. The word “church” does not speak of an edifice (or building). People met in homes in Paul’s day. The word “church” speaks of a public assembly of the whole body in one place. The phrase “to usurp authority” does not imply that a woman can’t even voice her opinion; the Greek word is one which simply says that she must not take upon herself the position of authority. The woman must not take executive positions within the Church; these are to be filled by men.
There were no women preachers and evangelists in the New Testament churches. Lois and Eunice had remarkable spiritual insight; Mary (the mother of Jesus) was a deeply spiritual woman – but there is no indication that these women ever preached or that they took any official position in the Church. 2 Timothy 2:2 speaks about the choice of preaching ministers, and says, “The same commit thou unto faithful men.” When Jesus chose the disciples He selected twelve men (Matthew 10:2-11). In the early church, the public ministry of women was one of silence. Some (such as Philip’s daughters, and Priscilla) prophesied in private, but there is no evidence that they ever prophesied in the public services of the assembled church. In Old Testament times, Deborah ruled among Israel, but that was during a time of spiritual decay and could hardly be a pattern for the Church to follow.
On the other hand, women do have an active place in the church. One ministry is to teach children and younger women the essence of the Gospel (Titus 2:4), and many women have demonstrated their ability to perform these tasks with great effect. Another ministry is to share kindness and teaching with families in the home. Perhaps the woman’s greatest contribution to the Church lie in her preparing the next generation. She has within her reach the power of shaping the world through the influence of a godly home. A third ministry for the woman is to help minister to those in need during times of sickness. Phoebe, the Bible says, was one who comforted the sad and the discouraged. She lifted up the spirits of those who were downcast (Romans 16: 1-2). Many times younger women (and elderly women) are sick, and need special help of the kind that only a woman can appropriately give. In short, women played a useful role in the early church, but we find no evidence that they were used in positions of leadership in the assembly.
2. THE WOMEN’S PLACE IN THE HOME
There was a time when the bride generally vowed to love, honor, and obey her husband. The vow of obedience is based on the biblical teaching that the woman is to be in subjection to her husband (Ephesians 5:22). One reason for her submission is simply that it has been God’s order from creation -“Adam was first formed, and then Eve” (1 Timothy 2:13). Eve was not made from the dust of the ground like Adam was — but from a part of his body — and thus God did not create two kinds of humanity, each independent of the other, but God created Eve to be Adam’s helper, meet to assist him. And just as a team needs a head coach, and a business needs a director, so the home needs someone to be in charge. God says it should be the man. The wife might be more intelligent and have a more vibrant personality, and yet in the home she must recognize the headship of her husband. This is God’s will (1 Peter 3:1) — and it works.
The Christian wife has a primary responsibility to guide the house (1 Timothy 5:14), to be a keeper at home (Titus 2:5), and to look well to the ways of her household (Proverbs 31:27). While God commends the woman who chooses not to marry especially during a period of persecution (1 Corinthians 7:26, 8, 34), it is nevertheless true that Adam was created to be a husband and father and Eve was created to be a wife and mother. It is still the woman who bears children, and thus the woman is equipped with special physical and emotional qualities to help her function well in her God-ordained place. She has the special responsibility for seeing that the home is neat and tidy, that her children have proper care, that meals are tasty and well-prepared, and that she observes a beautiful spirit of Christlike submission to her mate.
The Christian woman does not need to feel threatened by the principle of submission. God has provided safeguards for the woman. The husband is to love his wife as he loves his own flesh, and even as Christ loved the Church. That places a staggering demand on those of us who are husbands. Some seem to think that the principle of submission makes the man a kind of beastly ruler in the home — but in the Christian home (and that’s the kind of home we are discussing) such a statement simply isn’t true! God’s law of headship in the home is tempered by His law of love. The Christian husband seeks to understand his wife, to avoid those things that disturb her, and to do those things that please her. The husband who loves Christ shows a spirit of gratefulness toward his wife. The words “I love you” are a frequent expression from his lips.
3. THE WOMAN’S PLACE IN THE WORLD
There are several characteristics that set the Christian woman apart from the world. For one thing, she wears a sign of her submission to the leadership of the man. The veiling (1 Corinthians 11:1-16) symbolizes before the world (and even before angels) that here is a woman who accepts God’s order of headship. 1 Corinthians 11:3 indicates that God has a chain of command through which He has chosen to operate. The chain begins with God, and through Christ extends first to the man, and then to the woman. The woman’s veiling symbolizes her acceptance of that order. It also is a symbol of prayer, and of purity, and a symbol that shows rejection of vanity.
The woman who follows Christ, wears simple modest apparel. God doesn’t expect her clothing to look like the front page of the latest fashion magazine. It’s obvious that short skirts and scanty clothing are designed to display the woman’s body in such a way as to make it sexually attractive to men, and thus the kinds of clothing that women in general are wearing are outrageous beyond words. It’s true that the man who looks on a woman to lust after her, commits adultery in his heart (and he is guilty of sin), but it is also true that adultery cannot be committed alone. It takes two to commit adultery. The one who exposes the body to become lustfully attractive, and the one who is sinfully attracted — both are equally guilty before God. A few months ago the Church of the Brethren Agenda sent out to ministers a “Bicentennial Broadside” which suggested that churches “give money to buy whistles for women to carry and use to stop crimes such as assault and rape.” Agenda could do a much greater service for women, if it encouraged our ministers to speak out clearly on the matter of modest apparel.
The most important mark that characterizes the Christian woman, is a meek and a quiet spirit. It is entirely inappropriate for the believing woman to be boisterous and loud. The Bible says that a gentle and quiet spirit is the kind of deep beauty that was seen in saintly women of old, and that such an ornament is ”in the sight of God of great price” (1 Peter 3:4). The explosive rebellion and the rumblings of discontent which are typical characteristics of the activists in the Women’s Liberation Movement, simply do not manifest the kind of ornament which God highly values.
Some say, “But what about Galatians 3:28?” The Scripture says, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female; for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” We must keep in mind the contexts of Galatians 3:28 and of 1 Corinthians 14:34. In Galatians 3:28 Paul is talking about spiritual privileges; in 1 Corinthians 14:34 he is talking about functional distinctions. God is not saying in Galatians 3:28 that there are absolutely no differences between men and women after they become Christians. There are still differences between Jews and Greeks after they become disciples of Jesus Christ. And just so, there are still differences between men and women.
As far as spiritual privilege is concerned, there is no difference between male and female. If both are “in Christ,” then both have been elected by the Father, and both have been bought by the blood of Jesus, and both have been born again by the same Holy Spirit. Men and women share equally the same privilege of coming to the Father in prayer. Women, no less than men, have access to God through Jesus Christ. Together, they share in full, the privileges of justification, sanctification, and adoption. However, in relation to social obligation and functional activity, there are clear distinctions between men and women, as we have noted them in the foregoing paragraphs of this article. The same Apostle Paul (under the same Holy Spirit, and without contradiction), who wrote “There is neither male nor female,” also wrote “The head of the woman is the man.”
To “liberate” means “to release, to emancipate, to ransom, to set free.” The Bible says, “If the Son shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” (John 8:36). One who responds to God through faith in Jesus Christ, is truly free — free from guilt and slavery to sin. One who comes to know Jesus in a personal way, finds real freedom. He can say, “Jesus cares about me. He loves me. He has good things in mind for me. I have found freedom because I have found Christ. He was victorious over sin and death, and His victory (upon my faith and acceptance) has been imputed to my account.” Real liberation comes when one is liberated from the power of sin through submission to the lordship of Jesus Christ. One who seeks to live in submission to Jesus Christ will find that His commandments are not grievous (1 John 5:1-3) – and there is real blessing in recognizing God’s order, and in accepting one’s proper place in that order.