Feminism: Should Woman Submit To Man?

            When did we last hear a sermon in the church about wives submitting to their husbands? Sermons about husband loving his wife are in abundance, but sermons devoted to Christian wives submitting to their husbands…?  

            The church, existing in the feminist era, strives to be politically correct. But churches need to be biblically correct!  

            Should the wife submit to her husband in a Christian home? Who is the head of the Christian home – husband or the wife?

            In God’s creational intent, the woman may have been a sequel to man but she most certainly is an equal to man. Neither dominates the other; neither is inferior to the other within the context of God's creational intent.

            But God in HIS perfect wisdom has ordained a hierarchy in the Christian home. The husband is the head of the Christian home. This hierarchy should be unequivocally accepted.

            The wife is not the head of a Christian home, “Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.” (Ephesians 5: 22-24, NIV, Emphasis Mine.).

            The husband is compared to Christ and wife to the church. As Christ is the head of the church, husband is the head of his wife. Period.

            Moreover, when love (verse 25) and submission (verse 22) are being equated in Ephesians 5: 22-25, unjust domination of any form in a Christian household is forbidden.

            Christian feminists dilute the meaning of the word “submit” or “subject” as being ‘thoughtful and considerate’ or ‘to act in love’ toward one another! This interpretation betrays the biblical intent for this passage.

            The Greek word “hypotassō” - the root word for “submit,” renders the meaning of “submission to authority.” Here are a few other instances in the New Testament where “hypotassō” has been used:

            Luke 2: 51: Submission of Jesus to the authority of his parents

            Luke 10: 17: Demons being subject to the disciples (Demons cannot be “thoughtful and considerate” to the disciples and neither can the demons “act in love” towards the disciples!!!!)

            Romans 13:1: Citizens being subject to government authorities

            1 Corinthians 15: 27: Universe being subject to Christ

            1 Corinthians 15: 28: Christ being subject to God the Father

            Titus 2: 9: Servants being subject to their masters.

            Hebrews 12: 9: Christians being subject to God.

            In all the above instances, the relationship is pretty straightforward – it’s submission and not anything else.

            Wives cannot rebel or be resentful of their husband’s leadership in the family. Wives cannot compete with their husbands for leadership in the family. (A husband cannot be abusive, selfish or domineering.)

            Submission to authority does not include an utterly inactive presence in the family and agreeing to everything that the husband does or does not do. A wife can be totally submissive and at the same time participate in the decision-making process of the family. (Husbands ought to provide godly leadership, and be loving and considerate towards their wives while wives ought to joyfully submit to their husband’s leadership.)

            The Bible provides us with a few instances of feminism, where the husbands succumbed to their wives, who actively performed sinful deeds. A husband cannot be so considerate of his wife that he allows her to make all decisions, even the wrong ones.

            Always remember that the first man Adam was persuaded by his wife Eve to disobey God. King Ahab submitted to his [wicked] wife Jezebel to worship Baal (1 Kings 16: 31-33). The so-called wise King Solomon listened to his many wives and turned his heart after other gods (1 Kings 11: 4) and even sacrificed to Molech (1 Kings 11: 7-8).

            A dominating wife and an inactive husband are a clear recipe for disaster in a Christian household. Feminism will raise its ugly hood in the Christian home when the wife’s faith in Christ is inadequate. The wife who dominates her husband cannot be a mature Christian. The husband who submits to his dominating wife for the sake of peace and stability of his family will always be the victim of Satan’s evil scheme against the Christian household.  

            This then is the solution to any feminism infected Christian household. It’s not surprising that apostle Paul, who laid out the modus operandi of Christian household, concluded his letter with an exhortation to constantly fight Satan’s evil schemes, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.” (Ephesians 6: 10-18, NIV).

            Feminism that destroys the Christian household does not spare the Christian church.

            Consider a church that apparently suppresses its women by mandating them to cover their heads (1 Corinthians 11: 5) and to remain silent (1 Corinthians 14: 34). Should the [spiritually-gifted] women of that church be utterly feministic and rebel against authority?

            Primarily, does the Bible mandate women to be silent in the church? No.

            Before we study 1 Corinthians 14: 34, which appears to mandate women to be silent in churches, we ought to have studied 1 Corinthians 11: 5, which says, “But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head” (Emphasis Mine).

            It’s sufficiently evident that Paul advises women to cover their heads. He does not prohibit women from praying or prophesying. Therefore, Paul did not mandate women to be silent in churches.

            If Paul did not mandate women to be silent in the worship service, he would not have contradicted himself later in the 14^th chapter when he said that women ought to remain silent in churches. Therefore, we ought to study 1 Corinthians 14: 34 in the context of Paul’s letters.

            Paul has always been accused of being harsh towards women especially in their involvement in the worship service. But the very same apostle Paul speaks highly of women in positions of leadership in Romans 16: Phoebe (v2); Priscilla (v3-4) and the other women in the same chapter. 

            Therefore, the restrictive passages such as 1 Corinthians 14: 33-36 ought to be viewed as relating to local context of the Corinthian church than interpreting it universally to restrict women from speaking in any church today.

            Should women cover their heads today?

            Would God be more bothered about a head covered in a worship service than a heart that worships HIM in spirit and in truth? Obviously God is more concerned about the heart than the head (cf. Matthew 23: 25-28). 

            Could women be pastors and elders in the local church?

            1 Timothy 2: 11-14, 3: 1-7 & Titus 1: 5-9 and few other passages seem to mandate women to not assume positions of leadership in the churches, whereas we have other verses in the Bible such as Acts 2: 17-18 that seem to suggest that women can indeed participate in leadership positions.

            A church that prohibits women from being pastors and elders does not demean the womenfolk. Women in such situations could be actively involved in the ministries of hospitality, mercy and evangelism. If women are prohibited from teaching men, then women who are spiritually gifted could use their time and resources to teach other women.

            Creating chaos to divide the church is not an option for women who suffer these prohibitions. If your church prohibits you from assuming positions of leadership then so be it. God will provide you with opportunities to serve HIM from other situations.

            Role of women in the church is a fringe theological aspect, which we can agree to disagree. The concerned churches and the women should be gracious and not confrontational. As Saint Augustine said may we be charitable in our relationship with each other, “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity.”

Feminism: Does the Bible Oppress Women?

            Read any print or watch any video or hear any podcast that introduces feminism, the minimalistic definition of feminism that you would be exposed to would be in any flavor of this definition from Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, “Feminism is both an intellectual commitment and a political movement that seeks justice for women and the end of sexism in all forms.” Within the context of this definition, if you or I affirm that we are not feminists, we would be raucously ridiculed, for it would superficially portray us as being supportive of the prejudice against women. We would then be termed a misogynist.

            But should not our identity, as Christians, in the context of feminism, be based on an accurate understanding of this subject, especially from within the framework of Historic Christianity? So let us get down to the brass tacks in order to understand the foundation of feminist theology (a theology moored in a feminist perspective that advocates equality to women by abolishing the patriarchal rule – rule of men).

            It is of paramount importance for Christians to minimally understand the feminist theology, for we need to comprehend the modalities of feminism from within a Christian worldview. In other words, we need to understand how feminism strives to achieve its objectives through its consideration of God, Bible and salvation from within the Historic Christian perspective.

            Feminist theology belongs to the theological movement named “liberation theologies.” The liberation theologies movement includes a cluster of theologies namely, Black, Feminist and Third World theologies.

            This movement propounds a unique view of salvation. The specific nature of salvation propounded by the liberation theologies contradicts the traditional understanding of Historic Christianity:

            1. Bible is not considered as a book with eternal truths and rules. In other words, the Bible is not considered as universal in nature but of specific history.   

            2. God is not considered as immutable (changeless) but actively involved in change and favoring equality. Significantly, since God favors equality, HE cannot or must not work equally for all people, because justice ought to compensate the inequality, which entails that God ought to favor the oppressed, poor and the lowly.

            3. Salvation is not essentially life after death. Eternal life is always thought of in the context of a new social order. In other words, our goal in life (or within history) is not to gain access to eternity. Millard J. Erickson, in his work Christian Theology, summarizes the concept of salvation as propounded by liberation theology, “The salvation of all persons from oppression is the goal of God’s work in history and must therefore be the task of those who believe in him, utilizing every means possible, including political effort and even revolution if necessary.” (Emphasis Mine).

            Christians ought to consider their feminist identity from within this background. Feminism, from a Christian perspective, is not merely to attain equality and justice for women. But a Christian ought to understand how this equality comes into being or attains fruition.

            Contradicting the core tenets of Historic Christianity is the modality of feminist theology. In its essence, the feminist theology falsely assumes that the Bible’s proclivity is to oppress women. Hence, the feminist theology movement induces a contentious hermeneutic to alter the message of the Bible.

            Since feminism superimposes the feminist ideology into the Bible, this protracted introduction is necessary to understand feminism from within the Historic Christian perspective.

            Having said this, we also ought to understand that feminism is not a totally wasted ideology. Women have been unjustly oppressed, so they ought to be delivered. Feminism achieves this objective, but does extensive damage when this objective works against God’s will.  

            Does the Bible oppress women?

Woman are Created Equal

            Both man and woman are created in the image of God (Genesis 1: 26-27, 5: 1-2). If both man and woman are created in the image of God, then the creational intent of God reveals that the notion of woman being inferior to man is false.

Woman are Not Inferior

            God described the woman as a ‘helper’ to man. The common understanding of the term ‘helper’ in the context of woman’s relationship to man is that of inferiority and subordination of the woman to man.

            Think about this from our day-to-day understanding of the term helper. The one who receives help is in a weak position (within that very context), for he is unable to help himself (he needs help). The helper, on the other hand, is in a stronger position, because he has something that the needy person does not have. So, the person who helps is not necessarily inferior to the one who receives help.

            A proper translation of the Hebrew word ‘helper’ in Genesis 2:18 into English renders the meaning of co-worker or enabler. This certainly does not refer to being subordinate or being inferior.

Woman are Not Insignificant

            Proverbs 31 praises the virtuous woman. She promotes the welfare of her family and is engaged in trading and business. She is by no means confined to her home, whereas she is a very significant presence in her family.

God Referred in Feminine Imagery

            Deuteronomy 32: 18 portrays God in a feminine imagery (as a God who gave birth). God is depicted as Israel’s mother.

            In the context of God’s concern and search for lost persons, Jesus narrated three parables – the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son, which are found in Luke 15. In the parables of lost sheep and lost son, Jesus used masculine imagery to depict God, whereas in the parable of lost coin, Jesus depicted God in a feminine imagery because it was the woman who is the main character in this parable.  

            Therefore, since God has been depicted in the feminine imagery, women have not been created as inferior beings by God.

Jesus’ Attitude toward Women

            The Jews did not consider the women as equal to men. They pronounced three blessings each day, “Blessed be the Lord who did not make me a heathen, blessed be he who did not make me a woman, blessed be he who did not make me an uneducated person” (Emphasis Mine). The Jewish man who followed the teachings of Rabbi Hillel could even divorce his wife if she burnt his dinner.

            Jesus, being in that very oppressive situation, was very sympathetic to women. Jesus cared about the spiritual condition of the Samaritan woman (Jews and Samaritans did not have normal relationship). Christ commended the woman with hemorrhage for her faith (Matthew 9: 20-22). Mary and Martha were Christ’s closest friends. Anna was probably the first woman disciple of Jesus (Luke 2: 36-38).  

            We can go on and on.

            That Jesus Christ, God incarnate, treated women at par with men, instructs us that women and men are co-equals in God’s sight.

Women’s Role in God’s Kingdom

            Women, although in a minority, played a significant role in the growth of God’s Kingdom.

            Miriam saved her brother Moses. Deborah was a judge of Israel. Jael slew Sisera (Judges 4: 17-22). Esther saved the Jews from destruction by Haman.

            Women were given the gift of prophecy: Prophet Joel prophesied that women will also prophesy (Joel 2:28), Isaiah’s wife was referred as a prophetess (Isaiah 8:3), and four unmarried daughters of Philip the evangelist prophesied (Acts 21:9).

            The faithfulness of women in Jesus’ time was noteworthy. Women were at the cross (Luke 23: 49), women sought to anoint Christ’s body (Luke 23: 55-56), women discovered the empty tomb of Christ, they heard the message of two angels, and conveyed the news of Christ’s resurrection to the apostles (Luke 24: 1-10).

            Finally, am I a feminist?

            I believe that women and men are created equal although different in abilities (women’s world record for 100 metres sprint is 10.49 seconds, whereas men’s world record is 9.58 seconds, and there are domains where women are better than men). But I do not consider myself a feminist by the popular understanding of that term. I do not consider myself a feminist because the feminist theology sets aside the universal authority of the Bible; it dilutes God and salvation severely.

            The Bible does not oppress women. But the Bible indeed lays down a hierarchy for mankind. It is this hierarchy that the Christian feminists are against.

            Christian feminism espousing feminist theology has caused much pain in the church of Jesus Christ and in Christian homes. Many families and churches are suffering inordinately because of Christian feminism. I will engage this theme in my next blog.

            Until then, may the peace of God be yours and may HIS gracious presence sustain you and yours always. Amen.