Egalitarianism
[ih-gal’-ih-tayr‘-ee-uh-niz’-um]
(French egal, “equal”)
Theological position held by many Christians (contra complementarianism) believing the Bible does not teach that women are in any sense, functionally or ontologically, subservient to men. Women and men hold positions in society, ministry, and the family according to their gifts, not their gender. The principle of mutual submission teaches that husbands and wives are to submit to each other equally. Prominent egalitarians include Doug Groothuis, Ruth Tucker, William Webb, Gorden Fee, and Linda Belleville.
Does anyone have an opinion on this? As someone about to be married, what is your perspective on complementarianism /egalitarianism? What advice can you give me?
In my experience as a married woman with traditional views from the garden imposed upon my life, egalitarianism is the answer. In fact my experiences were such that I sought the answers that I needed from God (when ready to walk away from the church all together) and He gave me a word, expounded upon it in my life and then lead me to write about it as well.
I would never advise anyone with a heart and mind for God to place themselves in a position of a god in the life of another, which is really what the Complementarian view does as my understanding of it, yes complements the role of the female, but artificially builds her up just to continue to give her just as little in her God-given identity, authority, creation and purpose as does the traditional. It is without the outright negative tones often found accompanying the traditional view (sugar-coated) regarding women (and yes allows for her to do a bit more) but patronizing and limiting against the will, design and purpose of God all the same.
I say, if this is about God first, then let it be about him and not men, not tradition and not any other thing that would detract and take away from exactly who He tells us he is.
Check my site out, perhaps even consider my book if you really want to consider a different interpretation based upon a literal read of the garden word without gender bias. It doesn’t go easy and the cover is pink (you know us girls!) but it does speak truth. The garden word is in fact quite amazing, we forfeit much by way of ego, pride and arrogance, but it is not the will of God. In fact the accurate interpretation of 3:16 is so simple it boggles the mind given the history of the church in these areas.
God is a good God, he supplies all of our needs and He has already given graciously to both the male and the female in the garden. Gender was never the point, only a demonstrated show of righteousness was.
Think about it, what attribute of a male would have benefitted him more in the garden? His masculine strength just to pluck and pick up fruit? His natural aggressive inclinations in a garden with peaceful animals and no physical enemies? And what about Eve, what dinner was there for her to cook, what clothes for her to make and mend, how many church chicken dinners did she have to serve? Not taking anything away from the sister, but the Proverbs 31 woman, in the picture of her that we have, would have literally been bored stiff!
But it was never about these things, only we make it about this. The garden was nothing less or more than a testing ground for the humans to demonstrate righteousness in the garden, not perfection (only God is Perfect) but righteousness. Specifically, the garden was about the word as given by God and righteous confession due and made payable before God by faulty, fallen humans.
Yet despite the false picture painted of her, is was Eve alone who made a garden confession in 3:13 even honored by God. Adam unfortunately lodged confession by way of accusation alone (Genesis 3:12) and it did not please God.
Hence we have a punished Adam who received the death pronouncement and an Eve, who suffered consequences from the fall of course, but who even by God was rewarded in name and title even after the fall by God. (Eve=life-giver/”mother of all living” is a spiritual title which an Adam (a name denoting shame, humiliation and a man of low-degree) who would even physically father children in the earth, did not also respectively earn from God. Nothing about a fallen, un-confessed Adam spoke to life. But why? The church certainly won’t teach you.
Let me say, that I believe an un-confessedd Adam was the true human culprit in the garden is not a blanket indictment against all males in the earth unlike the way the females, down from generations, have been treated. This was true in the life of a fallen, un-confessed Adam only. The garden issue was about a show of righteousness only. They both fell, yet only one made right confession before God. There are many other aspects to consider but this is just a bit in a nutshell. Yet the point is, we are supposed to learn from both individuals according to their garden experiences in such a way that transcends the issue of gender.
As a God-fearing man, you wouldn’t withhold making the garden confession of sin in your life just because it was the female Eve who alone made confession of sin before God in the garden, would you? Of course not. In fact, according to Christian teachings, when are we ever taught to expect deliverance or elevation by God when we refuse to make right confession of sin and thumb an arrogant finger up to God instead? But the church teaches that for Adam this was indeed the case. That God rewarded a proud, arrogant and fallen man with proven disdain for making confession and for exalting truth (among a host of other things). Well, now, what are we saying about God in doing this? We must study the word and exalt God first and only in order to rightly divide.
Before I go I will say this as well given your pending marital status, the church will kill your marriage if you let them. Now this is not true of all churches, but regardless of where you are, be led by the Holy Spirit in learning first, and don’t let anyone off who is content to give you fuzzy answers not lining up with the whole of word but only the mind of men. If you have questions demand proof in the word. Always call your own self and actions into account first and respond from a place of love – not pride, not arrogance, not status and not position.
Nothing that a church rightly teaches about women and marriage should be pushing your wife away. Because even if she is still able to muster that good ole’ Christian smile and wave, there is likely a storm brewing within. You wouldn’t take a knife to her so why allow the church to do it? Yes dear brother, I have been given more than my share of issues in this, I do get a raw as times, but if I did not love the church I would simply just walk away. I am putting meat on the table here, because a good Christian marriage is not for anyone still on the milk.
You do have women who are able to deal with this word as is, but there are many more like me who vomit every time. Assuming that we are God’s children, and if it was truly a right interpretation based upon this word from God, why would this be happening? Why would the Christian church pertaining to marriage and women be in the state that it is today? Why would I, someone with enough love to nurture a rock, be in the state that even I am today as a wife and a female called of God?
God would not by-pass your mind, only the enemy seeks to do that. The whole of the Bible, the very word of God does not even line up with what the church teaches about the garden. Nothing about the actions and positions taken by Christ regarding the call and position of women is in agreement with the church’s teaching about the garden. Complementarianism? Jesus would reject anything first lacking in truth and ultimately still predicated upon pride and the faulty mind of men.
It seems I am done. Peace and love.