The complementarian-egalitarian
debate is alive and kicking in some parts of the church. For some
reason this area of theology evokes extremely strong opinions from some people on both sides. I suspect that much of the rancor arises
because people have been personally wounded by those who disagree.
Few subjects in the church seem quite as likely to vilify one’s
“opponents.” One blog I read recently gave the impression that
egalitarians were being led by the devil.
Perhaps that is why I found Elyse
Fitzpatrick and Eric Schumacher’s book, Worthy:
Celebrating the Value of Women,
to be a breath of fresh air. I wasn’t overly familiar with their
writings, and I didn’t read the book endorsements, so for the first
several chapters of their book I was under the impression that they
were going to bring forth an egalitarian argument. I was therefore
surprised when they affirmed a complementarian perspective. You might
see why I thought that from these quotes:
“We
are saying that women—as a sex—are not more sinful than men.
Women are not more deceivable than men. Women are not less
intelligent than men. Women are not more prone to error than men.
Women are not more dangerous than men. Women are not more arrogant or
domineering than men. Women are not to be viewed with more suspicion
than men. All women are born into sin, unrighteous by both nature and
choice—as are all men” (ch. 2).
“What
should you see when you see a Christian woman? You should not see a
snare, a temptation, and a pitfall. You should not see an object of
sexual gratification, a threat to power, or a crafty usurper. You
should see a mother and a sister, a family member in the faith. See
someone who, regardless of her past, wears the righteousness of Jesus
Christ. See someone who God adopted as a child—a fellow heir of the
kingdom—someone who is still commissioned to be the necessary help
that is needed as we fight against the evil one. See someone who the
Spirit of God fills and gifts for service as a blessing to the world,
the church, and her home. See a woman who will one day rise from the
dead to reign with Jesus forever. Tell her that’s who she is. Tell
her the Gospel” (ch. 3).
“What
is the significance of women’s presence throughout Jesus’
ministry and especially in the last hours of his life? Women were a
marginalized social class. Faith would be expected from one of the
Twelve, such as Judas and Peter. But it is the women who followed him
without betrayal or denial. The chief priests, the elders, and the
high priest of Israel should have recognized their Messiah. But a
woman anoints the King. The unexpected, despised, rejected Messiah is
followed by unexpected, despised, rejected people. But Jesus does not
despise and reject these unexpected disciples. He sees, receives, and
affirms them, and promises that they will never be forgotten” (ch.
5).
“A
Christian woman’s vocation is simple: make disciples and teach them
the truth about the One who has come. That doesn’t mean that women
who are gifted and so inclined shouldn’t seek to fulfill this
commission in part by raising godly children or loving their spouses
in his name. But that particular vocation is no longer primary…
Single Christian women
no longer have to await motherhood in order to bring others into his
covenant people. This shift away from the sole option of motherhood
to joining their brothers in disciple-making is seen in part in the
change from male circumcision to male and female baptism…
Women were shown to be members of the [old] covenant only through
their relationship to a circumcised male. But now women are free to
enter into the new sign, baptism, whether they are bound to a
believing male or not; a woman’s circumcised and baptized Husband
has already come” (ch. 11).
However,
I’d say one of the best quotes comes from their conclusion:
“As
your fellow believers—church members and leaders—wrestle with
hard questions, search the Bible, and consider how to faithfully live
together as a family of believers; do not view them as enemies. View
them as God does—as family. You share the same blood—that of
Christ—and the same future. View them as necessary allies, gifts of
grace, given by God for your good. You need this Spirit-filled family
to sharpen, challenge, and shape you, just as much as they need you.
“Christian
faithfulness requires compassion toward Christians who disagree with
us. We realize that as sincere Christians go to the Bible to develop
their doctrine, we often come away with different, yet Christian
convictions. This is why we have paedobaptists and credobaptists.
This is why we have congregationalist and elder-ruled churches. This
is why we have Christians who serve in the armed forces and those who
are conscientious objectors to war. This is why we have
complementarians and egalitarians. People who love Jesus, believe the
Gospel, and submit to the authority of Scripture, come away from the
Bible with differing but sincere convictions.
“We
must not shy away from discussion and debate about what the Bible
teaches. But we must bear in mind that we hold our differing
convictions as members of a larger family. Let us not turn genuine
brothers and sisters in the faith into enemies, but remember to show
compassion in each disagreement. We are part of a bigger realm, the
kingdom of God, in which brothers and sisters disagree as we wait
together for our King to come and make us (and our doctrine) perfect…
Christian conviction
should compel Christian unity, not excuse Christian division. We
should strive to stand and serve together to as great an extent as
possible with all who confess Jesus Christ as the Son of God who died
for our sins and rose from the dead.”
As
people of the Book, we can disagree on many things without turning
our co-laborers into enemies. We need to remember who the true enemy
is. “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against…
the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual
forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12 ESV). Let’s not
create more wounds by attacking those within our own eternal family.
“My
beloved children, let us not love merely
in word or in tongue —
Contenting ourselves with complimental expressions of regard, or with
giving our Christian brethren nothing but fair speeches;
but in deed and in truth” (1 John 3:18 Benson Commentary).
© 2020 Dawn Rutan.
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