Related to my last post, about some churches limiting women far more than the Bible does, here is something shared by Kaitlyn Schiess. She wrote it in an informal way, on social media, but nonetheless an astute point:
“It makes no sense to sell men and women grossly stereotypical ideas about gender when our Bible has men writing poetry and women bankrolling Jesus. It’s almost like social and political factors play a greater role in our theology of gender than the Bible does. Also men cry a LOT in the Bible and oh this is weird but in Proverbs 31 this woman “speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue” (v 26). Where are THESE conferences?” – @KaitlynSchiess
Also see this post, where I summarize thoughts from Dr. Sandra Glahn of Dallas Theological Seminary. She points out some non-traditional gender behavior in the Bible. The Proverbs 31 woman had her own business income. Jacob made stew and Jesus cooked fish. Women financially supported the ministry of Jesus. Mary sat at the foot of Jesus and learned. The male deacons in Acts were serving the widows, rather than the “women’s ministry” doing it.
Seriously! How about a men’s conference about writing poetry and getting in touch with your emotional side? Cooking for the family?
And what about a woman’s conference focused on higher level academic learning, grounding women in theology and apologetics? And challenging women to not put their family first and to see themselves as capable outside of the domestic sphere?
What? The teachings of Jesus include hard and challenging statements about the priority of spiritual things over family, and Jesus expected women to make this divisive choice just like men. An exhaustively researched book points out that:
“in every instance where Jesus reproved women it was for their failure to subordinate their feminine interests to their interests as citizens of the Kingdom of God.”
Jesus “persistently set himself against a woman’s own belief that she was primarily a female, a creature of domestic relationships, and demanded of her that she realize herself to be a self-determining person, responsible for the exercise of the highest intellectual and spiritual faculties.” – More here.
Update, adding this from Tim Fall:
[Note: For those not aware, there are, unfortunately, Christian men’s events where the emphasis is on stereotypical “rough and tough” stuff – apparently assuming all men are like Rambo or extreme outdoorsmen, etc.]
I’m thinking about this quotation: “in every instance where Jesus reproved women it was for their failure to subordinate their feminine interests to their interests as citizens of the Kingdom of God.”
I can think of Jesus’ reproof to Martha. What are some other examples?
. . . and Jesus’ words to the woman who called out (Luke 11:27-28).
Still thinking . . .
Hi Marg! In my review of the book, in the “reproof” chapter, Southard discusses Mary (mother of Jesus, multiple passages), a woman out of the multitude (Luke 11:27-28), the mother of Zebedee’s children (Matt 20), and Martha. But I am going to grab the book off my shelf later and take a look. You got 2 of them.
Thanks, Laura. I’ll take a look. And I plan on reading, or at least skim-reading, Southard’s thesis.
Actually gender roles–even in the OT–were less restrictive than many would believe.
Only men could serve as priests. True. They also were the bread winners. But back then earning a living required more physical muscle. Many societal restrictions were biological rather than legal.
Under the NT, there are restrictions of leadership roles for women. But counseling younger women was relegated to other women for good reasons. (Has any prominent complementarian told men to quit giving young wives marital counseling?)
It seems we should also dress in a way to show we are the gender God gave us. And women need to have longer hair. But these are elastic guidelines, not meant for legalistic nitpicking.
Nothing in 1 Timothy condemns women wearing dark, neutral tones in favor of pastels either.