Rebecca Merrill Groothuis is the author of two
excellent books, Women Caught in the Conflict, and Good News for Women. In
these works, her analysis of the issues and her critique of the contemporary
arguments for the permanent functional subordination of women in the church and
the home is eye-opening. She has written numerous articles and essays,
and is also known as an outstanding teacher and lecturer. Rebecca holds a
B. S. in psychology from Arizona State University where she graduated summa
cum laude. Her husband, Douglas, who is an Associate Professor of
Philosophy at Denver Seminary, is also a writer. The following editorial
was written for Mutuality, the magazine of Christians For Biblical Equality.
More of her writing is available on her IVP website and on her blog: "Men and Women: Leaders Together" .
Here are links to two thought provoking articles by Rebecca Merrill Groothuis:
Click Here to read: “EQUAL IN BEING,
UNEQUAL IN ROLE” Exploring the Logic of Woman’s Subordination (Chapter 18 of the book "Discovering Biblical Equality")
Click Here to read: Leading Him Up the Garden Path: Further Thoughts on 1 Timothy
2:11-15
Questions That Mislead the Gender Debate
by Rebecca Merrill Groothuis
Political polls unnerve me. The questions are carefully phrased such
that one’s answer must support the perspective of the pollster (not unlike the
classic question, “Have you stopped beating your wife yet?”). When those
who set the agenda also pose the questions, the debate easily veers off into
conceptual territory that is favorable to those who are framing it. We
need to keep an eye out for questions that serve more as assertions than genuine
queries.
A question often asked by pastors and seminary students is: Which ministerial
roles are appropriate for women? But this question is not even asked apart
from the assumption that sexuality necessarily limits and defines women’s
activities, even in nonsexual areas of life (such as Bible teaching and decision
making).
The following question, on the other hand, spotlights the crux of the issue: Is
there a principle clearly taught and consistently applied in the Bible that
states women are universally limited in their rights, opportunities, and
authority (whether personal, cultural, or spiritual) solely on account of their
sex, and, if so, what is the logical and theological explanation for this?
Alas, few there are who ask this question. Those who readily answer “yes”
to the first part of the question are usually either mightily confused or
sublimely unconcerned with the answer to the second part of the question.
While today’s gender hierarchalists are fond of pointing out the “historical
novelty” of the egalitarian view, they themselves are promoting a view devised
only in the last few decades: that women are, in principle (by virtue of their
female nature), ordained and suited to occupy a permanently inferior status with
respect to men, yet are not themselves inferior to men. Why, then, must
women relate to men as though they were inferior to men? This question
goes unanswered because it goes unasked.
Consider a question often posed by those who advocate gender hierarchy: Does
Galatians 3:28 do away with gender role differences? The answer, readily
acknowledged by nearly anyone, is “of course not.” Yet, in posing the question
the suggestion is made that some Christians (i.e., biblical egalitarians) are
claiming that this text negates all gender specific roles--including, evidently,
even gender specific roles such as husband and wife, or mother and father--thus
rendering ludicrous any egalitarian interpretation of this text.
The truth of the matter, however, is that biblical egalitarians are disputing
the doctrine of a gender-based chain of spiritual communication and command, not
the mere fact of male/female differences and the resultant differences in
social/cultural roles. This text is not about gender differences and
social roles; it is about the freedom of every believer under the new covenant
to stand on equal ground before God, each one accountable directly to God with
no mediator but the Lord Jesus Christ.
Asking, and answering, the wrong question is an effective way to “win” an
argument without ever even engaging the argument. To face the real issue
with this text, one must ask: Does Galatians 3:26-28 rule out a spiritual
stratification of male and female in terms of their opportunity to access,
understand, hear from, obey, and serve God, such that religious privileges
denied to women are granted to men? Posing the question thus sweeps away
the benign issue of mere “differences” between men and women (something we all
recognize), and places at center stage the debatable theological compatibility
of Galatians 3:26-28* with the male hierarchy of spiritual authority defended by
traditionalists.
But this is precisely why the question is not typically cast in these terms: it
requires one to begin with the premise that the issue is legitimately debatable;
the question is real, not rhetorical. Once this is acknowledged, it
becomes necessary to take seriously the evidence against the “traditional”
position, to leave off making indignant pronouncements and to engage in actual
arguments.
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* Galatians 3:26-28 "For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There
is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male
nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus."
