The California Collection/TheCaliforniaCollection.cdr/his092/feminism.lzh/FEMINISM.TXT

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ISS:The Bible and contemporary Feminism  by Duane Litfin

   Evangelical Christians have strong, but mixed feelings toward
feminism. On one hand, they sense there is much that is of value.

   What follower of Jesus could ignore the fundamental injustice of
laws that work to the disadvantage of women? Who could fail to be
outraged at the prospect of a woman being paid a fraction of what a man
earns for the same work? What fair-minded person is not dismayed when
reminded that it has only been within the life spans of many Americans
that women have been thought worthy of the vote?

   Any who are willing can find much in the feminist movement to
support. But therein lies the rub. The worthy goals of the movement
occur as part of a structure that is contrary to the Bible.

   Should a Christian embrace the movement with its heresy, or reject
it with its truth? The issue is not so clear cut. Some Christians have
embraced the feminist cause entirely. Others are so incensed at the
heresies of the feminist movement that they are blinded to its worthier
aspects.

   That leaves most Christians trying to find a biblical view between
the two extremes--searching to find that point of balance where we can
embrace the good aspects of feminism while rejecting the bad.

   To make the decision more difficult, many Christians are unaware of
the theological choices they must make.

   Feminists can be divided into three camps: Secular feminists are
humanists who disallow any voice to God, revelation, or religion.
Liberal religious feminists express an agenda that is virtually
indistinguishable from that of secular feminists, but maintain ties
with the Judeo-Christian religious establishment. Evangelical feminists
hold an evangelical view of the Bible and theology, but also seek to
abolish gender-based roles in society, church, and home.

   * Feminism and the Bible

   The Bible is crucial in determining how an evangelical approaches
the debate.

   Secular feminists have no time for the bible and are irritated at
the very mention of it. They consider the Bible a relic of antiquity
that is useful only in showing how men have oppressed women through the
years.

   Liberal religious feminists vary widely in their approach to the
Bible. Some reject it altogether as an oppressive, patriarchal burden.

   Less radical are those who seek to retain for the Bible some of the
role it has played at the church, and who seek feminist conclusions in
the Bible. Robin Scroggs, a respected professor of New Testament at
Chicago Theological Seminary, argues that Paul is "the only certain and
consistent spokesman for the liberation and equality of women in the
New Testament."

   But to reach that conclusion, he has to reject most of the passages
in Paul's letters that contradict his view. "Ephesians, Colossians, and
the Pastorals are immediately discarded, and, for our purposes,
hopefully forgotten, " he writes. "Also to be discarded as written by
someone later than Paul is 1 Corinthians 14:33-36, which prohibits
women from speaking in the Christian assemblies."

   Scroggs also dismisses 1 Corinthians 11:2-16 as "hardly one of
Paul's happier compositions." Nonetheless, Scroggs proceeds in an
adroit bit of revisionist exegesis to show that no subordination of the
woman is suggested in 1 Corinthians 11. The only other "authentically
Pauline" comment on feminism is Galatians 3:28, and that verse shows
Paul as a strong spokesman for the liberation and equality of women!

   Evangelical feminists take a much less critical approach. Some argue
that both ancient and modern readers have read the subordination of
women into the text. Others have suggested that the problems have to do
with the application of key biblical passages to a modern audience.

   * The Feminists and God

   At an even deeper level are issues dealing with traditional views of
God, especially such "patriarchal" themes as Father, Master, Lord, and
King.

   Secular feminists eliminate God altogether.

   Liberal religious feminists are more interested in redefining God
than in eliminating "him." They see the overwhelming masculinity of the
biblical references to God as merely another evidence that sexists
males have made God in their own image.

   Evangelical feminists have the precarious task of balancing an
ancient, biblical view of the Creator with a modern, egalitarian view
of the creature.

   Because the two don't mix easily, a vast outpouring of literature
over the past 20 years has attempted to make the marriage. Such
evangelicals tend to downplay notions of sovereignty, authority, and
immutability. They also downplay strident feminist demands such as the
elimination of all authority-submission roles.

   Evangelical feminists claim that Galatians 3:28 swept away all sex
roles and that egalitarianism is a direct, necessary deduction from
Christ's redemptive work.

   * Feminism and the Doctrine of Humanity

   "What is man?" the psalmist asked.

   Secular feminists can claim no authority but their own for arguing
that human beings can be whatever they want to be.

   Liberal religious feminists see us as God's creation, made in the
image of God, and even brought to our full potential in Jesus Christ.

   But both groups seek the transcendence of maleness and femaleness.
All structures and stereotypes that emphasize sexual differences are to
be resisted. The healthiest people are "androgynous, " capable of
expressing both female and male responses.

   How can evangelicals, holding to traditional views of God, espouse
an unreserved feminism?

   The more respected evangelical feminist theologians reject
androgyny. They see the image of God as referring primarly to human
sexuality. Male-female partnership mirros the partnership in the
Trinity. They thus conclude that the image of God concept leads to the
elimination of gender-based roles.

   The greater difficulty for evangelical feminists is that the Bible
appears to teach sex roles, hierarchy, male authority, and female
submission. The biblical versions must, of course, be distinguished
from both their sinful abuses throughout history and their caricatures
as found in feminist rhetoric.

   The evangelical feminist position seems to be a house divided
against itself as it pleads for traditional theology and a feminist
society.

   Printed in Moody Monthly, November 1987. Adapted from "Theological
Issues in Contemporary Feminism, " in Walvoord: A Tribute, edited by
Donald K. Campbell (Moody Press, 1982).