God loves men and women equally.
Not everyone believes this. Feminists say that the Bible is chauvinist propaganda. Chauvinists treat the Bible as fuel for their arguments. "True Christians" are always claiming that God loves women equally, but they don't always give very convincing arguments. And you know what's really sad? When people say they believe the Bible and yet disagree with the above statement.
So...what is right? What does the Bible actually say? Is the Bible to blame for the Battle of the Sexes or not? Well...we can't deny that most of the Bible characters were men. We can't deny--try as we might--that there are a lot of laws (especially in the Old Testament) that seem much harsher on women than men. We Christians don't like to debate with feminists about these kinds of things. Why? Because...on the surface and out of historical context...it really seems like they have a point.
Why do I think I should say anything on this subject? Well...plain and simple, the Bible is not chauvinist. Frankly, that needs to be explained, b/c there is feminist and atheist agenda all over the web and college campuses that quotes famous supposed male-dominated verses from the Bible out of context. These people are searching for truth, and yet they reject the Source of Truth? Why? Because they were "bitten by an ignorant Christian" at some point in their lives. That should not happen (see Lisa's blog "You Give Christians a Bad Name"). There are definite answers in the Bible and when it comes to explaining this matter to non-Christians, the majority of Christians do a pretty poor (and usually counterproductive) job of explaining. Christians write-off the "flaming liberals" instead of letting Truth speak for itself in Love. It's actually pretty simple. You don't need to "hem and haw." You don't need to get angry. Just state the facts.
Why do I think I CAN say anything on this subject? Because I am a woman, and I am not married. I'm not even currently dating. So, I don't have any outside male influences telling me what to say. The facts need pointing out--not b/c people need to be proved wrong--but, b/c searching people need to know the truth.
Now...before I can commence with my argument, I want to start somewhere at the beginning of the whole thing. Initially, I think where the idea of "male domination" came from needs addressing and correct application to current times. The Bible CANNOT be in favor of male domination if it supports women being equal. One is wrong. One is right. If you are interested, keep reading...and stay tuned for more installments. Keep in mind that I am trying to be exhaustive in my reasoning...but I may not cover everything. If that bothers you, please feel free to 1.) research 2.) comment.
I think the best place to start would be to begin by taking apart each popular feminist criticism and measuring it against the Bible. In later blogs, I will get into more about women's roles in the church and home and society in general.
1. Woman was created in man's image, which means woman is inferior to man.
This argument always falls apart when the Christian being confronted hasn't studied. This statement sounds so utterly chauvinist, that most non-Christians STAY non-Christians because they can always use it as fuel to back a Christian into a corner, and then leave the debate even angrier and more callused than when they started. Likewise, the angry Christian leaves the debate feeling good about himself, b/c he just "fought the good fight." Bal-o-ney!!!!
What does this statement mean? First let's look at the verses this concept comes from. The famous passages are: Genesis, I Tim 2:11-15, and I Cor. 11:1-15. The verses in Genesis say that God created Adam in His image and says that Eve was created from Adam's rib. I Cor. 11:7 goes so far as to say that man is in God's image and woman is in man's image! Or does it....? Well, I've had many people explain it to me that way. But...how can men and women be EQUAL if they aren't? That doesn't make any sense. Likewise, I have met people who readily agree on the equality of men and women, and yet proceed to live their lives contradicting that stance. (Incidentally...if you feel you HAVE to say "I don't think of women as second-class"...yes...you do.) People can see right through this contradiction and immediately doubt the validity of your faith. And...honestly...well they should.
So...what do the verses mean when they say that woman was created from man and in man's image while man was created in God's image?
Well, for one thing...let's interpret the verses correctly. (Look in I Cor. 11 to follow along. No Bible handy? Open an online one in your tabs.) The verse in question is talking about head coverings and why a woman should cover her head when worshipping and why a man shouldn't. There are various interpretations as to what head coverings mean and if they have relevance currently...however, my purpose for this verse is to see what is meant by man being in God's image and woman being in man's image. Head coverings are a future blog.
I Cor. 11:7 (ESV)
For a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man.
Hm....when we actually look at the verse...we see something interesting. Notice that there is absolutely nothing stating that woman is in man's image...It clearly says that man was created in the image and glory of God but...wait...woman is the GLORY of man. It says nothing about woman being in man's IMAGE. The ESV is not alone in this translation. Every translation I have seen translates the words into "image" and "glory" and they are not interchangeable. "Image" means "likeness" and glory means "splendor, majesty, and exalted."
On the surface, I suppose it is all right to say that God glorifies man and is glorified through man. Likewise women glorify their husbands and are glorified through their husbands. After all, there is that whole "picture of Christ and the church" thing...but...I don't know about you. I've never been able to leave it there. I think there is more to think about than that.
Let's think about men and women for a second. Are we equal? You would seriously have to put yourself at tremendous mental and societal risk by saying no. Of course we are equal. Are we different? Y-Y-Y-E-E-E-S-S-S. So let's focus on these differences--specifically, let's think about the stereotypical strengths of men and women and how they differ.
There are internal strengths. Of course there are exceptions to everything, but as a general rule, men tend to be straightforward/linear thinkers and women tend to be subtle/multi-tasking thinkers. Scientific studies have shown conclusive evidence to these theories. Basically, men sacrifice perspective for the sake of efficiency and women do the reverse. Can you see how when these two work together, great decisions can be made? Perspective and efficiency working together. However, usually we just end up fighting b/c we don't feel the other one is listening...how typical of humans.
Then there are the physical/outward strengths. A man is physically stronger than a woman and a woman is physically more attractive. A man automatically wants to protect a pretty lady. A beautiful woman doesn't necessarily automatically want protection. Usually, she just wants attention. Perhaps their love will grow over time to be more than this surface infatuation, but...this initial desire to protect the beautiful--this is human glory. The man receives a certain amount of glory from the woman he desires whether or not she desires him for protection or just attention, b/c she is pretty.
Let's get back to the God's glory vs. man's glory thing now. When you think of the word "glory" what comes to your mind? I get a visual picture of glory. Do you? Do you get a picture of light shining or a choir singing, "Ahhhh!!!" or a beautiful face or angels? This is because you are human. You think in human terms, and in order to understand something, you create a picture in your mind. To humans, the word "glory" creates an aesthetic image. This is partly owing to all the references of God's glory being shiny and light-filled--but that is still so simplistic from what God's glory must actually be. I mean, remember when God let Moses "look" at Him? Moses only saw His back and it made Moses' face to shine so that it scared the people of Israel. The disciples were awe-struck from Jesus and Elijah and Moses on the Mount of Transfiguration b/c of what they saw. We picture "glory" as a physical tangible thing.
Now think of how God receives glory. Is God scared to look at Himself? No. What glorifies God? When we obey Him. It has nothing to do with seeing or hearing something. It has to do with our hearts. Now...before I leave it there, also realize that God doesn't need us to give Him glory. He can glorify Himself quite nicely by Himself--much better than we can, in fact! But...the point is He desires love from our souls, and that is not something you can see. Man looks on the outward appearance and God looks on the heart, remember?
Now let's put these bits and pieces of reasoning together. If God desires and receives glory from our hearts, then...creating a being who has a freewill to glorify God with his heart is the most logical thing to do. This was man. Man is the glory of God.
Since man is created in a three dimensional (plus time) world and can only think within the confines of his observation and language and reasoning, creating a being of aesthetic beauty is the most logical thing to do. This was woman. Woman is the glory of man.
Now...just to clarify, I'm not saying that men are not attractive!!! But notice something. You know pictures of attractive men...have you ever noticed that their eyes, nose, brow line, and lips tend to be rather feminine looking? Not that they look like women, but...think of it this way, testosterone is what makes a person have bigger ears, nose, pores, neck, body hair, baldness....When a man has these traits he simply looks like a man. If a woman has these, she "looks like a man"....and that's an insult to her. When a man looks like a woman, he has the option of growing a beard. :o)
Think of it this way as well. Angels are always pictured as either women or blond-haired blue-eyed dainty featured men. They are never described like that in the Bible.
Think of this too! Jesus is always pictured as a male model from Calvin Klein only with long hair and a beard, when in fact the prophet Isaiah tells us in Is. 53:2 that:
He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. (NIV)
Jesus wasn't attractive, guys. Yet, in order to picture Him as a divine being, we automatically picture some gorgeous Mediterranean male model.
Think of this as well: God created man b/c he desired a being to want a relationship with him. Agape. Does this involve sex? No. (although...think of how many religions do!) Sex is for people. Eros. However, sex (I'm talking about actual sex and not a deviation) is only possible between men and women. So...it's a no-brainer that woman needed to be created in order for this human "glory" and desire to be fulfilled.
Not everyone believes this. Feminists say that the Bible is chauvinist propaganda. Chauvinists treat the Bible as fuel for their arguments. "True Christians" are always claiming that God loves women equally, but they don't always give very convincing arguments. And you know what's really sad? When people say they believe the Bible and yet disagree with the above statement.
So...what is right? What does the Bible actually say? Is the Bible to blame for the Battle of the Sexes or not? Well...we can't deny that most of the Bible characters were men. We can't deny--try as we might--that there are a lot of laws (especially in the Old Testament) that seem much harsher on women than men. We Christians don't like to debate with feminists about these kinds of things. Why? Because...on the surface and out of historical context...it really seems like they have a point.
Why do I think I should say anything on this subject? Well...plain and simple, the Bible is not chauvinist. Frankly, that needs to be explained, b/c there is feminist and atheist agenda all over the web and college campuses that quotes famous supposed male-dominated verses from the Bible out of context. These people are searching for truth, and yet they reject the Source of Truth? Why? Because they were "bitten by an ignorant Christian" at some point in their lives. That should not happen (see Lisa's blog "You Give Christians a Bad Name"). There are definite answers in the Bible and when it comes to explaining this matter to non-Christians, the majority of Christians do a pretty poor (and usually counterproductive) job of explaining. Christians write-off the "flaming liberals" instead of letting Truth speak for itself in Love. It's actually pretty simple. You don't need to "hem and haw." You don't need to get angry. Just state the facts.
Why do I think I CAN say anything on this subject? Because I am a woman, and I am not married. I'm not even currently dating. So, I don't have any outside male influences telling me what to say. The facts need pointing out--not b/c people need to be proved wrong--but, b/c searching people need to know the truth.
Now...before I can commence with my argument, I want to start somewhere at the beginning of the whole thing. Initially, I think where the idea of "male domination" came from needs addressing and correct application to current times. The Bible CANNOT be in favor of male domination if it supports women being equal. One is wrong. One is right. If you are interested, keep reading...and stay tuned for more installments. Keep in mind that I am trying to be exhaustive in my reasoning...but I may not cover everything. If that bothers you, please feel free to 1.) research 2.) comment.
I think the best place to start would be to begin by taking apart each popular feminist criticism and measuring it against the Bible. In later blogs, I will get into more about women's roles in the church and home and society in general.
1. Woman was created in man's image, which means woman is inferior to man.
This argument always falls apart when the Christian being confronted hasn't studied. This statement sounds so utterly chauvinist, that most non-Christians STAY non-Christians because they can always use it as fuel to back a Christian into a corner, and then leave the debate even angrier and more callused than when they started. Likewise, the angry Christian leaves the debate feeling good about himself, b/c he just "fought the good fight." Bal-o-ney!!!!
What does this statement mean? First let's look at the verses this concept comes from. The famous passages are: Genesis, I Tim 2:11-15, and I Cor. 11:1-15. The verses in Genesis say that God created Adam in His image and says that Eve was created from Adam's rib. I Cor. 11:7 goes so far as to say that man is in God's image and woman is in man's image! Or does it....? Well, I've had many people explain it to me that way. But...how can men and women be EQUAL if they aren't? That doesn't make any sense. Likewise, I have met people who readily agree on the equality of men and women, and yet proceed to live their lives contradicting that stance. (Incidentally...if you feel you HAVE to say "I don't think of women as second-class"...yes...you do.) People can see right through this contradiction and immediately doubt the validity of your faith. And...honestly...well they should.
So...what do the verses mean when they say that woman was created from man and in man's image while man was created in God's image?
Well, for one thing...let's interpret the verses correctly. (Look in I Cor. 11 to follow along. No Bible handy? Open an online one in your tabs.) The verse in question is talking about head coverings and why a woman should cover her head when worshipping and why a man shouldn't. There are various interpretations as to what head coverings mean and if they have relevance currently...however, my purpose for this verse is to see what is meant by man being in God's image and woman being in man's image. Head coverings are a future blog.
I Cor. 11:7 (ESV)
For a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man.
Hm....when we actually look at the verse...we see something interesting. Notice that there is absolutely nothing stating that woman is in man's image...It clearly says that man was created in the image and glory of God but...wait...woman is the GLORY of man. It says nothing about woman being in man's IMAGE. The ESV is not alone in this translation. Every translation I have seen translates the words into "image" and "glory" and they are not interchangeable. "Image" means "likeness" and glory means "splendor, majesty, and exalted."
On the surface, I suppose it is all right to say that God glorifies man and is glorified through man. Likewise women glorify their husbands and are glorified through their husbands. After all, there is that whole "picture of Christ and the church" thing...but...I don't know about you. I've never been able to leave it there. I think there is more to think about than that.
Let's think about men and women for a second. Are we equal? You would seriously have to put yourself at tremendous mental and societal risk by saying no. Of course we are equal. Are we different? Y-Y-Y-E-E-E-S-S-S. So let's focus on these differences--specifically, let's think about the stereotypical strengths of men and women and how they differ.
There are internal strengths. Of course there are exceptions to everything, but as a general rule, men tend to be straightforward/linear thinkers and women tend to be subtle/multi-tasking thinkers. Scientific studies have shown conclusive evidence to these theories. Basically, men sacrifice perspective for the sake of efficiency and women do the reverse. Can you see how when these two work together, great decisions can be made? Perspective and efficiency working together. However, usually we just end up fighting b/c we don't feel the other one is listening...how typical of humans.
Then there are the physical/outward strengths. A man is physically stronger than a woman and a woman is physically more attractive. A man automatically wants to protect a pretty lady. A beautiful woman doesn't necessarily automatically want protection. Usually, she just wants attention. Perhaps their love will grow over time to be more than this surface infatuation, but...this initial desire to protect the beautiful--this is human glory. The man receives a certain amount of glory from the woman he desires whether or not she desires him for protection or just attention, b/c she is pretty.
Let's get back to the God's glory vs. man's glory thing now. When you think of the word "glory" what comes to your mind? I get a visual picture of glory. Do you? Do you get a picture of light shining or a choir singing, "Ahhhh!!!" or a beautiful face or angels? This is because you are human. You think in human terms, and in order to understand something, you create a picture in your mind. To humans, the word "glory" creates an aesthetic image. This is partly owing to all the references of God's glory being shiny and light-filled--but that is still so simplistic from what God's glory must actually be. I mean, remember when God let Moses "look" at Him? Moses only saw His back and it made Moses' face to shine so that it scared the people of Israel. The disciples were awe-struck from Jesus and Elijah and Moses on the Mount of Transfiguration b/c of what they saw. We picture "glory" as a physical tangible thing.
Now think of how God receives glory. Is God scared to look at Himself? No. What glorifies God? When we obey Him. It has nothing to do with seeing or hearing something. It has to do with our hearts. Now...before I leave it there, also realize that God doesn't need us to give Him glory. He can glorify Himself quite nicely by Himself--much better than we can, in fact! But...the point is He desires love from our souls, and that is not something you can see. Man looks on the outward appearance and God looks on the heart, remember?
Now let's put these bits and pieces of reasoning together. If God desires and receives glory from our hearts, then...creating a being who has a freewill to glorify God with his heart is the most logical thing to do. This was man. Man is the glory of God.
Since man is created in a three dimensional (plus time) world and can only think within the confines of his observation and language and reasoning, creating a being of aesthetic beauty is the most logical thing to do. This was woman. Woman is the glory of man.
Now...just to clarify, I'm not saying that men are not attractive!!! But notice something. You know pictures of attractive men...have you ever noticed that their eyes, nose, brow line, and lips tend to be rather feminine looking? Not that they look like women, but...think of it this way, testosterone is what makes a person have bigger ears, nose, pores, neck, body hair, baldness....When a man has these traits he simply looks like a man. If a woman has these, she "looks like a man"....and that's an insult to her. When a man looks like a woman, he has the option of growing a beard. :o)
Think of it this way as well. Angels are always pictured as either women or blond-haired blue-eyed dainty featured men. They are never described like that in the Bible.
Think of this too! Jesus is always pictured as a male model from Calvin Klein only with long hair and a beard, when in fact the prophet Isaiah tells us in Is. 53:2 that:
He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. (NIV)
Jesus wasn't attractive, guys. Yet, in order to picture Him as a divine being, we automatically picture some gorgeous Mediterranean male model.
Think of this as well: God created man b/c he desired a being to want a relationship with him. Agape. Does this involve sex? No. (although...think of how many religions do!) Sex is for people. Eros. However, sex (I'm talking about actual sex and not a deviation) is only possible between men and women. So...it's a no-brainer that woman needed to be created in order for this human "glory" and desire to be fulfilled.
Not that human glory is always found through sex or physical beauty. People find the most fulfilling human glory in simple human life-long companionship. It is this companionship that is the foundation of marriage--not just the sex.
Or you could simply look at Donald Trump. Ugly man...but with every new young wife he looks way more successful. (Or maybe more desperate. Yes...desparate...anyway...in his mind, he is getting glory from her.)
I actually have more to say about this glory issue, but...I need to move on. I'll explain more in future blogs.
Does this mean that God doesn't receive glory through women? Of course not. Gender doesn't matter with God (Gal. 3:28). It doesn't matter what gender you are to God, He still sees you as one with Him. Plus, every other verse in the Bible instructing us to glorify God is to BOTH men and women equally. He also explains that man and woman are both in His image in Genesis 1:27
"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. (NIV)"
He created the creature "man" to inhabit the earth and be in His image. This creature was in God's image, yet in the practicality of the rest of creation: male and female. So...why does Paul say things like this in the verses that follow I Cor. 11:7?
8For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; 9neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. (NIV)
Is woman the property of man? The answer is in the following verses:
11In the Lord, however, woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. 12For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God. (NIV)
Verse 11 gives us the spiritual view to the physical view in verses 8-9. 8-9 are simply explaining the order of creation. This is important, b/c God uses this order as a picture of Himself and the church in other verses in the Bible.
Then Paul very wisely says the words "In the Lord." In other words, no matter who was created FIRST--in the Lord--neither one is independent from the other. Woman was initially created from man. However, women have given birth to men ever since then. This is a huge "equalizing" verse.
Notice how verse 12 ends. "[E]verything comes from God." In other words, "In the event of a gender battle, remember this: Neither of these anomalies would even be POSSIBLE without God's sovereign hand, so...don't fight. You guys are the same."
Next:
2. Men were created first, women second. Order of importance?...
Posts
1 comment:
Definitely worth the wait! You brought out so many great scriptures to back this up. It is definitely something I need to think about and study more so that I can be ready when the issue is addressed by a non-believer. There is definitely a lot of chauvinist thinking in the church and outside of the church. Within the church it seems more acceptable because so many people are ignorant to what the bible actually says - so they just go along with whatever somebody tells them. At least in the world non-believers take the time to study the issues. You're right when you talked about the differences in men and women and how the polarity of each really works together - the way God intended it to be.
Post a Comment