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Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood: A Response to Evangelical Feminism Posters
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Rating:  -
The editors of this book have made the exagerrated claim that this book is "thoroughly biblical." In fact, the bible never calls the husband "leader", "servant leader", or "spiritual leader". However, we do have an idea about leadership from Jesus:
"Do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ". (Mt 23:10)
I agree that our lives would be a whole lot easier if the bible said "This is how to be a man" or "This is how to be a woman." Unfortunately, the bible does not. It gives us some hints as to how a marriage should work, but it stops there. What it does tell us is how to be sincere Christians. (And I'll give you a hint: it's not different for men or women.)
Grudem and Piper's intentions are probably good, but what they've effectively done is taken male pride/ego and put a halo on it. Whenever a man feels his "manhood" offended by a woman's strength or leadership ability, it's HER fault for violating his "God-given sense of benevolent responsibility to lead, protect, and provide for women," and she needs to adjust her behavior. If this sense is truly God-given, would it really be so tenuous that a single exhibition of strength by a woman would conceal it? Let's compare this to the doctrine of grace. God has given me forgiveness of all my sins through Christ's work on the cross. When I come across an atheist/agnostic/non-Christian, do I feel less secure in my forgiveness? No. It's not up to non-Christians to make us feel like Christians; it's not up to non-men (i.e. women) to make men feel like men. Manhood is not a feeling, and it cannot be reduced to a definition or job description.
This book has enormous pragmatic appeal. It appeals to the weaknesses of men AND women (men wanting to be superheroes, women wanting a man to "rescue" them). The truth is that we all have to carry our own cross. Wives, you can't pawn yours off on your husband, no matter how manly it would make him feel to carry it. You are fully accountable for yourself, and he is fully accountable for himself. No more and no less. This is simply what it says in the bible. "So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God" (Ro 14:12) To claim that men have "primary responsibility" for their families is practically heretical.
Having a man lead, protect, and provide for his family while the woman affirms, nurtures, and receives is not unbiblical in itself. It's simply not the only way to be biblical. The man is the wife's head, the wife is the man's body. This is a MYSTERY: Paul says so (Eph 5:32). Grudem and Piper have successfully demystified it. Ask yourself: is that what faith really is? If you want easy answers, read this book. But if you want to walk with Christ, you know that only the truth will set you free.
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When I became a Christian, I set out to gain a thorough and comprehensive understanding of the bible. Over the course of pursuing that goal, I have come to realize that although the central thrust of the bible is clear and unassailable, the bible can be interpreted to support a variety of positions on various "peripheral" issues. The issue of women and women's roles is most definitely an instance of this. The benefit of this book, _Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood_ is that it eliminates practically all ambiguities, which are something we humans like to avoid. Men are clearly put in the lead, and women are soundly subordinated. Our roles are concrete and clearly defined. Their theories are exceptionally neatly packaged.
The problems arise when one realizes that if they came to the bible with their mind a "clean slate", they would never arrive at the conclusions of Grudem and Piper. (This is especially true if the NT is read in its original language). If one comes to the bible with ANY sort of preconceived notion that women are even the slightest bit less fit to be leaders than men, their theories will resonate and find acceptance. For example, their case for pre-fall male headship will ring true, yet it is hardly necessitated by Genesis 1 & 2. Yes, it "fits the facts" of the text, but an enormous bias must be "read into" the verses to make that happen.
Additionally, I believe this book only poses as being the more biblically conservative position on women. We could write books on "Recovering Biblical Modes of Transportation", "Recovering Biblical Forms of Government" etc, and they would carry normative force because they argue for the STATE OF THE WORLD AS IT WAS IN THE TIME OF THE BIBLE. This is a MASSIVE folly. We are told in Romans 12:2 NOT to be conformed to the world. Patriarchy and the restricting of leadership positions to men is in no way a uniquely Christian idea; indeed it is or has been nearly universal. This fact alone should force us to doubt seriously whether their position comes from the world or from God.
This book also carries appeal because bound up with it are some actual good points. For example, there are several articles authored by women encouraging them to stay home with children rather than advance their careers while their kids are growing up. This is probably good advice; however, IT DOES IN NO WAY NECESSITATE male-only leadership. Similarly, they make arguments from biology and psychology to prove that women are different. This appeals to those who are tired of feminists making bizarre claims that gender is solely a product of socialization. Complementarianism does NOT require an authority structure between men and women!
This book makes use of many rather dubious (indeed spurious!) claims. My personal favorite is the chapter on "Why Male Leadership in the Family Requires Male Leadership in the Church." The author states that since we are told by Jesus to call God "our Father", and since pastors, elders, and deacons are called to mimic the loving, fatherly guidance of God, we must restrict these positions to men because only men can be fathers, and women, regardless of their gifts or talents, can never be fathers. So would we also prevent childless men from becoming pastors, since they aren't fathers? This is just one example of how their theories are superficially cogent yet do not hold up under scrutiny.
In conclusion, all Christians with an interest in the role of women should read this book, since it represents the majority opinion of the Southern Baptists and several other denominations. I will warn the women: reading it hurts. It hurts very badly. I often found myself shaking, sobbing, or feeling pretty awful in general.
The truth is that we as Christians have one role to fulfill: to love all and live as Jesus Christ did. Christ is a relationship, not a rulebook. Martin Luther said "Love God and live as you please, in that order." If we can resist the temptation to assign tasks to each gender, we can more fully experience the abundant life that God has given each and every one of us.
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The more I read of Grudems scholarship, the more it lacks.
And what he proports to be the "truth" is in fact a pack of lies that only serves to damage women and perpetuate male idoltry. It lacks logic when taken to it logical conclusion. "Equal in being, unequal in function." You can tell a tree by its fruit and the fruit of this tree brings nothing but pain and degedation to women and men who eat its fruit. This way of thinking DAMAGES women and whether or not it leads to PHYSICAL abuse, the emotional scars are there.
I feel very sad for those that "buy" into this mentality that feel that women must always been kept in their place, and that such an aggressive, unloving way of being is still perputuated in the church. I also feel sad that the Holy Spirit is quenched and silenced because of speaking to someone with a female body. its just so ugly and unChristian.
Rating:  -
Interesting that those attacking this book use hyper-emotionalism and/or rely on taking a small handful of verses out of context. This book gets back to the Bible itself -- you either believe the normal, plain meaning of the passages regarding the roles of men and women or you don't. The only counter opponents can logically make is that the passages are invalid today because they were the product of a different culture. But think, if that's so, what about homosexuality? You could argue that the New Testament prohibitions against that are also cultural and invalid today. Same with divorce for reasons beyond those given in scripture. Same for marriage to a non-Christian. Same for polygamy. For consensual incest. For principles of child-training. For lawsuits among Christians. For the command to assemble with other Christians. For obeying the government and paying taxes. For loving even your enemy. For avoiding occultic activities. For gossiping. For cursing. Even for theology on the nature of God. Intelligent people with agendas of "liberation" could skillfully dismantle almost all of the New Testament using the "cultural" out. This book helps force a decision: am I going to believe the New Testament, or am I going to pick and choose based on my personal desires?
Rating: -
Certainly, people who go into reading this book believing that women have no place in ministry will feel affirmed (and perhaps a bit smug), while those (particularly women) who feel the call of God to minister in a traditionally male setting within the church are only in for more heartache. I have to say I expected more of John Piper.
For those who want to explore an evangelical approach to fully participating in ministry and life I recommend the books by Rebecca Merill Groothuis.
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