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Don't Blame the Feminists

Two weeks ago I preached a message on 1 Corinthians 11:2-16 called "Men, Women and Headgear" that included a discussion of God's good plan for distinct roles for men and women in marriage. As I studied for this message I came across the following quote by Richard Ganz about the feminist movement:

"When you realize that men have subjugated women for thousands of years, you can only wonder how it took so long for the feminist movement to form. It is unfortunately rare to find a marriage in which the husband recognizes that he bears the responsibility of headship and exercises it in humility and love rather than force and authoritarianism. While I too am against so much of what the feminist movement advocates, I understand why it has emerged. I believe that if Christian men had been the servant leaders in the home, rather than conceited chauvinists, the feminist movement would have died a quick and easy death. If men had sought ways to see the gifts and talents of their wives developed and utilized rather than taking a beautiful person and making her into little more than a personal slave, if men had not twisted this doctrine of headship, we would not have the current problems between men and women in our society....I am tired of hearing that feminists are responsible for the breakdown of the family. We need to put the responsibility where it belongs--on the heads of homes."
--Richard Ganz, 20 Controversies That Almost Killed a Church

I like what he says here. And I think this kind of tone and emphasis is needed among those of us who hold a complementarian view of male/female roles. I think we can better acknowledge how the grievous sin committed by men against women and the abdication of male servant-leadership has contributed to the distortion of God's plan for the genders. And could this also help us be more compassionate toward those who oppose our viewpoint? We need to realize how difficult it is for many women to embrace God's design for male leadership in the home when they've never seen a godly male leader. Many have only seen extreme forms of abuse and tyranny.

The fight to uphold a complementarian, or what I would call a biblical, view of gender doesn't start with attacking feminists. It should begin with Christian men--single and married--heeding the call of scripture to be humble, masculine, self-sacrificing servant-leaders.

Posted by on September 11, 2007

Comments (9)

Amen!

Posted by Anita | September 12, 2007 5:59 PM

Amen and Amen again!!!

Posted by Tracy | September 13, 2007 1:38 AM

This is the first time I've ever heard this POV. Keep preachin!

Posted by sisterlisa | September 13, 2007 1:52 AM

Guess what... I'm a guy and this is what I say

Yeah and Amen :-)

Posted by Sven | September 13, 2007 5:18 AM

Well, not to be an oppressive patriarch, but.....

Could Ganz be overstating his case? Well, for starters there aren't any citations, so we don't have any hard evidence to go on. But, aside from that, do we really think that all Christian men for thousands of years have "subjugated" women? Did Calvin, Luther, Edwards, and all of our many fathers in the faith subjugate women? I certainly agree that many men in history have misused their authority and that that has partially caused our problems today. But, Ganz seems to indict all Christian men throughout all of history, and that seems to me to be quite unfair. Did none of our fathers leave use a Godly heritage in this regard? Did every past age misunderstand gender so badly? Certainly as complementarians we may want to walk more slowely here. Further, I would argue that far more 20th century men were failures as leaders because they abandoned their role and pulled away from their families (as Adam did in the garden) than were failures because they ruled with an iron and authoritarian fist. They were negligent more than they were tyrranical. Should we apologize for past abuses? sure. Should we admit we're imperfect? Of course. Should we let up on feminists and indict all of our fathers in the faith? Weeeeeeeeeeell, I think that's where I get off the boat.

Posted by David Talcott | September 13, 2007 2:14 PM

David- I don't think it's an indictment of all our fathers of the faith. I think we have to face the reality that sadly, the men that are guilty of subjugating women are often the more vocal and often more remembered. I don't know many Christians who fit the typical stereotype of evangelicals, but as long as there are a few who do fit it, that stereotype will continue to exist. Same thing here, I think.

Posted by Jake Meador | September 13, 2007 5:38 PM

I notice that you are indeed preaching to the feminist minority. You're angst ridden handwringing does absolutely nothing more that make "women even more victims than they already are".

I find your male-hate offensive and your attitude towards all men ungodly and hypocritical.

Maybe you should change your vocation and become an "emotive" adviser at Duke University and join hands with the 88, you would fit in very nicely.

Posted by Christian J. | October 14, 2007 5:47 PM

I love this post.

I admit I am a feminist (and I lean more to egalitarian than complementarian views), but I can very much respect the complementarian view when it is upheld with such integrity and humility, as you do in this post.

Thank you for calling servant leaders to first see the log in their own eye; thank you for asking godly men to face historical alignments of gender and abuse of power. This post gives me much hope.

Posted by Kimberly George | December 10, 2007 3:18 PM

Neither feminists nor chauvinists are fully responsible for the breakdown of the family - sinners are. Male sinners and female sinners. The truth is that we tempt each other to further sin when we act like we are opponents instead of teammates, when we insist on our personal superiority or that of our gender, when we are more concerned with our status and power than God's glory. The gender wars may be funny on film but they dishonor God in real life.

The only concern I have about Ganz's statement is that is the implication that it is a uniquely masculine responsibility to nurture and develop feminine gifting. Could there be any condescension there?

Why not just partner together for the gospel? prefer each other in love? consider it our responsibility to provoke each other to love and good works?

If we genuinely believe that Christian gender relations (and particularly Christian marriage) are designed to reflect the unity and diversity and beauty and perfection of the Trinity, then why would either gender feel the need to attack or repress the other?

If Christ is really the model for Christian submission and if one cannot reasonably argue that Jesus did not exercise the authority given him by the Father, then why does it seem that many hierarchial complementarian leaders are reluctant to view women as equal partners in the church family, nuclear family and society at large, to respect their sisters, to train them (and I'm not talking about theology lite) and learn from them, and to appreciate rather than be threatened by the giftings of individual people whose gender is different from their own.

Posted by EM | January 29, 2008 1:55 AM

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