Gender Roles

Gender Roles

Written by Keri Williams

Published by: Good News, May 2013

While in our modern context, we might not immediately recognize Jesus’ attitude towards women as particularly radical or liberating—that is indeed what it was to women trapped in a highly patriarchal system with few legal rights and subjugated to male authority. By giving women places of honor in his life, ministry and legacy, Jesus began a major historical shift in views on gender.

As a result, Christianity through the ages has emphatically affirmed the equal value of both men and women as created in God’s image. Since its inception, however, Christianity has widely interpreted the Bible as delineating gender-based roles in the home and in the church. This is the foundation of today’s complimentarian view of gender. More recently, the egalitarian view has emerged. Both outline how men and women should function in and relate to the home and the church.

Egalitarian

Egalitarians believe the roles of men and women should be based on personality, expertise, interests, strengths, and weaknesses—not gender.

According to Christians for Biblical Equality (CBE), “All believers—without regard to gender, ethnicity or class—must exercise their God-given gifts with equal authority and equal responsibility in church, home and world.”
Author and outspoken egalitarian, Rachel Held Evans explains, “Being egalitarian doesn’t mean being against traditional gender roles; it means being for the many roles through which women can bring glory to God and love to their neighbors.”

How it works in the home
Husbands and wives are equal partners. Tasks like homemaking, raising children, and providing financially are delegated based on each person’s abilities and interests. Both spouses are spiritual leaders. In areas of disagreement, the person whom the decision will affect the most often carries more weight in decision-making.

How it works in the church
Men and women are equally fit for all roles in the church including leading as pastors. People are given roles in the church based on their calling, skill-set, and gifts.

Biblical perspective
God created men and women for equal partnership and responsibility. God instituted a gender-based hierarchy because of sin. When Christ redeemed humanity, he restored full equality regardless of race, ethnicity, socio-economic status and gender.

Paul’s instructions regarding gender-based roles were relevant to the cultural context of the patriarchal society he addressed. Female biblical leaders, including Deborah, Miriam, and Priscilla, demonstrate the equality of women for leadership roles.

Objections
Opponents of egalitarianism believe scripture is being misinterpreted or ignored to support this position. They point out that women are not necessarily happier in equal roles and caution that the egalitarian position can be distorted to devalue men.

Complimentarian

Complimentarians believe God designed men and women for complimentary roles.

According to The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW), “Some governing and teaching roles within the church are restricted to men.” They go on to say, “In the family, husbands should forsake harsh or selfish leadership and grow in love and care for their wives; wives should forsake resistance to their husbands’ authority and grow in willing, joyful submission to their husbands’ leadership.”

Biblical teacher and complimentarian, Pricilla Shirer, explains, “A place of freedom and peace awaits every woman who aligns herself with God’s design.”

How it works in the home
Men are servant leaders, protectors, providers and the spiritual leaders for their family. Women are trusted advisors who prioritize homemaking and raising children although they may also work outside the home. In areas of disagreement, women submit to the authority of their husbands as decision-makers.

How it works in the church
Pastoral and elder positions are reserved for men only. Women may hold supportive positions and teach women and children, but not men.

Biblical perspective
God created men and women equal, but with different and complementary roles. As a result of the fall, women innately desire to usurp men’s authority and men desire to rule over women improperly. When Christ redeemed humanity, he restored male headship in the home and the church.
Paul’s instructions regarding gender-based roles are applicable in all cultural contexts and times. Patriarchal leadership in Israel, and the fact that Jesus did not appoint a female disciple among the 12, point to gender-based roles for men and women.

Objections
Opponents of complimentarianism believe it is contrary to the freedom of the gospel. They point to abuses of patriarchy that have led to the subjugation of women around the world. They caution that the complimentarian position can be distorted to allow for sexual abuse and domestic violence.

You can learn more about the egalitarian view of gender from noted proponents Rachel Held Evans, Tony Compolo, and Shane Claiborne. For more information on the complimentarian view, check out the writings and teachings of John Piper, Priscilla Shirer, and Mark Driscoll.

The New Evangelical Partnership for the Common Good

NEP

Published by: Good News, April 2013

Written by: Keri Williams

For the growing number of evangelical Christians who are disillusioned by the culture-war rhetoric of the Christian Right, the New Evangelical Partnership for the Common Good (NEP) is reframing the evangelical response to social justice issues. A faith-based nonprofit, the NEP serves as a rallying point for what they dub “the New Evangelicals,” Christians who adhere to orthodox theology but identify with a social progressive agenda.

The NEP and the Christian Right share the same traditional evangelical beliefs—belief in the authority of scripture as God’s Word, the virgin birth, death and resurrection of Jesus, the call to be born again and the command to share the good news. However, the NEP has positioned itself as an alternative to what it characterizes as the partisan and ideological culture-war of the Christian Right, best known for its allegiance to the Republican Party and their signature opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage.

In response to the culture-war they say has damaged the Christian witness and produced a gridlock instead of solutions, the NEP has cast a distinctly different vision for evangelical Christians—a renewed public witness with a different strategy and approach to effect change.

The strategy
The NEP is working to mobilize the growing constituency of New Evangelicals around important social justice issues and refocus evangelical Christianity back on the “evangel”—the good news about Jesus—something co-founder Richard Cizik feels has been obscured by the dogmatism of the Christian Right.

They distinguish their strategy from that of the Christian Right with two key principles. First, they are bridge-builders readily aligning themselves with partners outside of evangelical circles for the common good. Secondly, they are involved in public policy advocacy, but independent and not aligned with any one political party.

“We want to see a renewed Christian public witness in America for the sake of the Gospel. We want to see an engagement of Christians in American public life that is loving rather than angry; holistic rather than narrowly focused; healing rather than divisive; and independent of partisanship and ideology rather than subservient to party or ideology,” says Richard Cizik.
The issues

The NEP champions issues traditionally given low priority by the Christian Right such as nuclear disarmament and inter-faith dialogue. In some cases, they take an entirely different position, for example, advocating for affordable access to contraceptives and affirming human-caused global warming.

Nuclear disarmament
The NEP seeks to broaden the definition of “sanctity of life issues” by advocating for nuclear disarmament. They believe that evangelical Christians should lead the way in building a moral consensus around America’s leading role in nuclear disarmament. “To do so, America’s evangelicals must learn to see nuclear weapons as perhaps the ultimate sanctity of life issue, and respond accordingly,” they say.

Muslim-Christian dialogue
The NEP actively promotes interfaith dialogue, particularly between Muslims and Christians. “The future of the world depends on our ability as Christians and Muslims to live together in peace. If we fail to make every effort to make peace and come together in harmony…‘our eternal souls’ are at stake as well,” they say.

Creation care
The NEP believes that human-caused climate change (global warming) is real. They are deeply concerned about the impact of climate change on the world, but particularly on the poor. Through political advocacy and strategic partnerships and initiatives, they are committed to addressing climate change.

Human rights
The NEP is deeply concerned about human rights around the globe and actively promotes human rights for the marginalized. One of their more unique positions is their strong denouncement of U.S.-sponsored torture. They also advocate for humane treatment of detainees and investigations of abuse.

The dialogue
In 2012, the NEP published The New Evangelical Manifesto, a series of essays casting a vision for the New Evangelical movement. The first section covers the background and theology behind the movement in detail. A second section of essays explore how we can love our neighbors and who our neighbors are, covering topics like sex trafficking, feminism and Muslim relations. The final section of essays proposes evangelical positions on various hot-button issues including the death penalty, nuclear weapons, abortion and consumerism.

The NEP promotes dialogue about the intersection of faith and social justice through “Uncommon Voices”—a series of progressive blogs from Christian thinkers and activists. Many of these bloggers are also part of the NEP’s speaker’s bureau which offers expert speakers on topics including: “What are the ‘New Evangelicals’,” “Femmevangelical: Women & the Church,” “Islam 101: What you’re not hearing in the current debate” and “The Twin Apocalypses of Climate Change and Nuclear Disarmament.”

You can find additional information about the NEP and their positions on their website and Facebook page. They also accept donations, offer email updates and suggest other ways you can get involved.

Saint Patrick: The slave who set his captors free

Written by: Keri Williams

Published by: Good News, March 2013

This month, we celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day. But do you know who Saint Patrick is and why we devote an entire day to his honor and remembrance?

Taken captive

Patrick was only 16 years old when he was captured from his family’s estate in Scotland and taken to Ireland. It was the fourth century and Ireland was steeped in paganism, a nature-based cult lead by druids. There Patrick was sold as a slave to Milchu, a cruel druid priest. As a captive he learned Celtic culture, language and religion. However, it was the God of Christianity that Patrick turned to for comfort when he found himself alone in the wilderness year after year tending his master’s flocks. Though he did not have a particularly religious upbringing, Patrick became a devout Christian finding solace in a life of constant prayer and communion with God.

After six long years as a slave, God spoke to Patrick in a dream that he was to escape by way of the sea. Courageously he ran away from his captors and walked 200 miles to the sea coast. There he boarded a ship back to Scotland where he was reunited with his family.

A heart for Ireland

Though safe and free in his homeland, Patrick’s heart was still captive in Ireland. After having a dream of the Irish people calling out to him, “We appeal to you, holy servant boy, to come and walk among us,” he was determined to return to Ireland as a missionary. Patrick prepared by studying in a monastery, devoting himself to religious training for 15 years. He was ordained as a Roman Catholic priest and later consecrated as a bishop.

After two decades, Patrick finally returned to Ireland as a missionary. There he was able to use his understanding of paganism and the traditions of the Irish people to make Christianity instantly familiar to them. For example, Patrick knew that the Irish worshiped their gods with fire, so he celebrated Easter with bonfires. He also superimposed the sun, a sacred pagan symbol, on the cross to create the Celtic cross. Christianity spread quickly across the island country as Patrick spent the rest of his life there preaching, teaching and building churches, monasteries and schools.

A legend is born

Despite his years of devoted work in Ireland, Patrick died virtually unknown in his time. Only two of his letters survived, and most of the actual historical details of his life and ministry have been lost. However, as Christianity flourished and grew in Ireland, so did Patrick’s legacy. Over time, Patrick’s miracle working power has been exaggerated and spun into fantastic legends: he is said to have lit an inextinguishable fire, raised people from the dead, banished all the snakes from Ireland and to have owned a walking stick that grew into a living tree.

More probable are the stories of Patrick converting and baptizing thousands of people from all walks of life—from paupers to pagan priests to princes. His missionary work is widely credited as starting the ripple effect that resulted in the shift of Ireland from paganism to Christianity within a single century. Though Patrick was never canonized by the Roman Catholic Church, he has come to be popularly known as the Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland.

Saint Patrick’s Day is officially celebrated on March 17, the day Patrick is believed to have died. With all the festivity, shamrocks and parades, it is easy to forget the true meaning of the holiday. This year, let us remember Patrick, the slave who found God while in captivity, and later returned to the land that had enslaved him to set his captors free with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Say What!? Christian Bloggers that Question the Status Quo

Written by: Keri Williams

Published by: Good News March 2013

Blogs are a great way to engage in vibrant dialog about hot-button issues with Christians who have different points of view than your own. Below we have highlighted several popular blogs written by evangelically minded Christians who are exploring the intersection of faith and contemporary culture and even questioning some evangelical assumptions. While you probably will not agree with these bloggers about everything, you are sure to find their posts engaging and challenging. So, grab a cup of coffee. Read, comment and join the conversation!

The Simple Way

Shane Claiborne is a leader in the new monasticism movement, a movement that reinterprets the simplicity of monastic life in a contemporary context. Claiborne lives with and serves the homeless as a member of the Philadelphia community The Simple Way. He has traveled around the world promoting non-violence and caring for the poor. Claiborne’s bestselling books include, The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical.

On his blog, The Simple Way , Claiborne challenges the Christian right on political and social issues like gun control, homelessness, immigration and health care. He calls for a radical shift away from “pop-Christianity” towards missional Christianity that is focused on a relationship with God and others. Claiborne posts about social justice issues and regularly responds to headlines about politics.

Beyond Evangelical

Frank Viola is a leader in the organic church movement who advocates for reform in the structure of the church based on New Testament principles. He places emphasis on the headship of Christ and the priesthood of all believers. Viola speaks and writes about missional organic church life and contemporary theology. His most recent book is Jesus: A Theography.

On his blog, Beyond Evangelical, Viola explores practical ways the church can return to its biblical roots. He fearlessly exposes the pagan roots of many church practices and regularly writes posts “rethinking” elements of evangelical Christianity. Viola also writes extensively on theology, the historical Jesus, and deeper Christian living. He also posts book reviews and interviews with Christian thinkers and authors.

Rachel Held Evans

Rachel Held Evans calls herself “a skeptic, a creative and follower of Jesus.” In her book, Evolving in Monkey Town, she shares how she came to question some of the tenets of evangelical Christianity. Her highly controversial bestseller, A Year of Biblical Womanhood, chronicles her experiment in living according to the Bible’s instructions for women as literally as possible. Evans is also a well-known feminist evangelical voice championing the egalitarian view of marriage, which says men and women are equal partners in marriage.

On her self-titled blog, Rachel Held Evans, Evans challenges evangelical assumptions, particularly regarding the role of women in church and marriage. She regularly weighs in on the creation-evolution debate and explores the historical roots of fundamentalism and its outworking in Christianity. Evans hosts online discussions she calls “book studies.”

Rethinking Biblical Christianity

Peter Enns is an evangelical Bible scholar and former Senior Fellow for Biologos. Enns recently challenged the cornerstone of evangelical apologetics, inerrancy—the concept that the Bible is without error—in his book Inspiration and Incarnation: Evangelicals and the Problem of the Old Testament. While Enns affirms divine inspiration, he also contends that there are serious issues with the contemporary definition of inerrancy. He offers an alternative model that accepts the Bible as, just like Jesus, both fully inspired and fully human.

On his blog, Rethinking Biblical Christianity, Enns advocates for intellectual honesty in biblical scholarship and interpretation. He writes extensively about creation, theistic evolution, the historical Adam, and what Genesis does and does not say about the origins of man. He also tackles difficult topics like the violence found in the Old Testament. He regularly explores evangelical presuppositions and grapples with what it really means to be a “biblical Christian.”

Crumbs from the Communion Table

Justin Lee is the executive director of the Gay Christian Network (GCN). In his recent book, Torn: Rescuing the Gospel from the Gays-vs-Christian Debate, Lee shares how he personally reconciled his sexuality and faith. As an evangelical insider who is gay (which Lee carefully defines as someone with same-sex attraction, who may or may not be pursuing same-sex relationships) he is working to advance the dialogue between the gay community and the Christian community.

On his blog, Crumbs from the Communion Table, Lee posts about faith, sexual orientation and contemporary culture. He offers practical advice to Christians with gay children and friends. He also suggests ways churches, regardless of their theological beliefs about homosexuality, can better relate to and support gay people. He comments regularly on the ex-gay movement with compassion—not vilifying it, but characterizing it as a movement of well meaning people who are spreading misinformation and false hope. Lee also weighs in on cultural news and issues.

While you may find points of disagreement when perusing the information these blogs serve up, it is both healthy and helpful to your own growth to hear the voices of those with points of view that differ from your own. The greatest minds throughout history have been those who have kept an open dialogue with people dissimilar to themselves. In the midst of the differences you are sure to be challenged and provoked to thought about what you believe and why you believe it.

Look for other thought provoking Christian bloggers on channels like Patheos, Her.menutics, Red Letter Christians, the Huffington Post and Religion Dispatches.

When ex-gays aren’t ex-gay: It’s not about hypocrisy. It’s about language.

Check out this very interesting and insightful post by Justin Lee. Let me know what you think.

Sigh.

I hate stories like this. And I hate even more that so many people take such joy in them. This isn’t a happy story, but it’s an important one.

Earlier this week, a 24-year-old Christian blogger named Matt Moore was “outed” as having an active profile on a mobile hookup app for gay men. If you follow these kinds of stories, you may already have read about it. But I think both sides have missed what should be the important takeaway.

First, a little background: Matt’s story went viral last year when he posted a blog about his years of partying, drunkenness, and same-sex debauchery—and how he had turned away from those things to follow Christ. Christians do love a good redemption testimony, so the post spread like wildfire, and before he knew it, Matt was being held up as an example of how others could “leave homosexuality” like he had.

Then this week, the news broke that Matt had been spotted once more on a mobile app for gay men—one primarily used to facilitate short-term sexual hookups. Matt has confessed that it was, in fact, him, and that he has been in a difficult place spiritually of late.

Predictably, the gay press and the conservative Christian press have handled this story quite differently. From the gay press, the message is largely about hypocrisy: One more hypocrite exposed! Here’s more proof that “ex-gays” are really still gay! From the conservative Christian press, the message has been framed more as a temporary setback: We’re sad to see that our brother Matt fell to temptation, but there’s forgiveness in Christ and we’re glad to see him confess his sin and turn once more toward righteousness.

Both sides are getting it wrong.

To continue reading the rest of this post by Justin Lee click here.

Also here is an expose of this controversy from the Huffington Post.

Other posts you might be interested in:

My book review of Torn: Rescuing the Gospel From the Gays-vs.-Christians Debate

Creation Declares The Story of Jesus

Photo Credit: Keith Williams

In Colossians 1:16, Paul declared that everything in the visible creation was created by Christ, through Christ and for Christ. Jesus stated the same, saying, “All things were made through Him.” The universe was framed by God’s Word, who is Christ—the visible was created from the invisible. This being so, all of creation reflects Jesus in some way. Just as an artist puts something of Himself into His artwork, the Lord did the same when He crafted the heavens and the earth.

Creation testifies to the glory of God, which is in the face of Jesus Christ. This sheds fresh light on Romans 1:20: “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.”

When Paul wrote of the “eternal power and divine nature” of God in Romans 1:20, he was speaking of Christ. For it is in Jesus that “the fullness of the Godhead” resides bodily. Consequently, when God created the world, He embedded into the physical universe pictures of His greatest passion, Jesus, His own Son.
Jesus, A Theography by Frank Viola and Leonard Sweet

Photo Credit: Keith Williams

How do we know we have the truth?

Rumi

This was an interesting post I saw recently on Facebook. Thoughts?

Desperate for God

All the religions of the world are after God’s attention. They throw their roses, tie their strings, and plead for their deity to give them—at least—a passing glance.

Muslims have their “Five Pillars.” Sikhs have “Five K’s.” Hindus ring bells when they enter their temples to awake their gods to their presence. Muslims pray five times a day and stead their lives on the Koran, and every day Hindu priests on the banks of the Ganges River scream, plead, bang metal, twirl fire, and ring bells to try to attract the attention of any one of their many gods.

All of that racket and ruckus, all of that noise and devotion, is informed by one simple belief: men and women believe they have to work very hard to get their gods to turn their faces towards them.

It’s the same all through history: man begging his God for grace, and doing everything he can to earn it.

A cacophony of worship has risen wildly into the sky for centuries as people grasp frantically for the attention of a god. Some god. Their god.

But Jesus changed things. He told a different story. He taught, and millions of Christians through the ages have discovered, a different kind of God. Jesus’ teaching gave birth to the only religious system in the world that breaks through the racket of worship with a simple message: the real God is a God who delights in giving grace.

We can stop trying so hard to get his attention.

We already have it.

Quoted from Johnnie Moore, Dirty God: Jesus in the Trenches

Torn: Rescuing the Gospel From the Gays-vs.-Christians Debate

TornGod Boy.

Evangelical Christian.

Southern Baptist.

Conservative.

Gay.

When Justin Lee began to go through puberty he found himself attracted to other boys. But, he was a devoted, evangelical Christian that kids at school teasingly called “God Boy.” How could he be attracted to boys? He was horrified, confused and desperate to make it stop. For years he begged God to make him like girls.

By his college years, Justin found himself exploring the ex-gay movement, but he was quickly disillusioned when he realized that these were merely behavior modification programs with very little actual success. He didn’t want to learn to control his same-sex attractions. He wanted to get rid of them.

In the midst of deep personal turmoil, Justin turned to the church only to be misunderstood—condemned even though he had not acted on his same-sex feelings. He was told that being gay was a choice. Yet, Justin says, nothing could be further from the truth. He desperately wanted to be straight. These were feelings he didn’t ask for and definitely did not know what to do with.

Justin found himself caught between two worlds. No place for him at church—a young man with same-sex attraction. No place for him in the gay community—a deeply devoted, conservative, evangelical Christian.

In his book, Torn:Rescuing the Gospel From the Gay-vs.-Christians Debate, Justin explores the coming-out experience from a compelling and unusual perspective—Justin is clearly an “evangelical Christian” insider who knew he was gay (which Justin carefully defines as someone who has same-sex attraction, but may or may not be involved in a same-sex relationship), but struggled with how to live life right before God. With the Bible as his starting point, and determined to follow God at all costs, Justin painstakingly considered three options for himself as a gay Christian: Suppress and hide his feelings, live a celibate life, or have a same-sex relationship.

While Justin shares in this book how he personally reconciled his faith and sexuality, he does not ask his Christian readers to come to the same conclusions. He simply asks that they recognize and begin to understand the struggles of gay people and gay Christians in particular. Being shunned by his own Christian community he quickly realized that Christians are failing to show grace to the gay community the way Jesus would. “At the very least, Christians ought to be listening to their gay friends, seeking to understand them, to know their joys and their struggles. If we [can't] do that much, how [can] we hope to be vessels for God’s lavish grace and unconditional love?” he asks.

In this book Justin shows why Christians and the church, regardless of their theological positions, need to exit the gay-Christian culture war. He explores what a loving, Christ-like response really is. Finally, he offers a much needed way forward for the church with practical suggestions about how churches (all along the spectrum of theological beliefs on this issue) can be inclusive of gay people, more effective and loving in dialogue, and above all offer the grace that Jesus was all about.

No matter what your theological or personal views are on homosexuality, this thought provoking book is worth reading. It will give you insight into how well-meaning Christians too often deeply wound and hurt gay people and what it feels like to be a young gay Christian struggling to reconcile faith and sexuality.

Justin is the founder and executive director of GCN (Gay Christian Network)

He blogs here: Crumbs from the communion table

Check out his video: What gay people wish Christians knew

“Sometimes I wo…

“Sometimes I would like to ask God why He allows poverty, famine , and injustice in the world, when he could do something about it. But, I’m afraid He may ask me the same question.” ~Anonymous

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