The liberation of women in the church faces two very serious obstacles. First of all, comparatively few in the church, whether men or women, see the need for women’s liberation. Women are understood to find fulfillment only in their roles as wives and mothers and are definitely not seen as an oppressed group. Coupled with this false consciousness is the biblical interpretation that women are called by God to play a role subordinate to men in the home, the church, and society in general.
All We're Meant to Be challenges both these assumptions head-on, beginning with a comprehensive treatment of women in the Bible and ending with an account of where woman, married and single, find themselves in society. This personal work scrutinizes many of the problems women face today in the church--and by implication, the same problems men must face up to from a different angle.
One of the book’s real strengths is the breadth of attention given to the place of women in the Bible. Just about every passage that deals with women is examined. Insights are often drawn from non-biblical parallels that provide illumination for a clearer understanding of the scriptural text. Many common assumptions are shown to have no basis in fact.
One of the key problems in dealing with the issue of women in a scriptural perspective is getting to a correct interpretation of the text. The authors realize the fundamental importance of this task, and deal at length with principles of interpretation in their second chapter, “Understanding the Bible.” They work from a historical perspective, seeing the need to understand the descriptive material and the teachings in light of the cultural situation to which the passage was written. This principle in itself can clear up many of the difficulties some people find in relation to the place of women in a biblical perspective. Their description of women in cultures surrounding ancient Israel was particularly enlightening for me.
A second key principle for the interpretation of scripture is the need to search out the "locus classicus," the major biblical statement on a matter. Other passages can then be seen in their proper perspective. The fruitfulness of this is shown in interpreting Paul. All of Paul’s passages concerning women are found in sections of his letters dealing with practical situations that had arisen in the life of his churches--except for one passage. That passage, Galatians 3:28, occurs in a doctrinal section where the emphasis is on the breaking down of "natural" barriers between people by Christ. The principle is that there is “no male and female in Christ.” If this is an overriding principle in understanding women and the Bible--and the authors and others make a strong case that it is--then there are radical implications for properly interpreting passages such as 1 Corinthians 11:33 (the women should keep silent in the churches ...) and 1 Timothy 2 :12 ( "I permit no woman to teach or to have authority over men ..."). In fact, as the authors show in detail by understanding the principle of Galatians 3:28 and examining the situation to which the apostle was addressing himself, many of the difficulties that people have with Paul’s teaching disappear.
I think a couple of examples will show the richness of the biblical research they have done. Genesis 2:18, which in the King James Version speaks of God creating “a help meet for him (Adam),” is often quoted to show the inferiority of women and their proper place in subjection to men. As the authors show, the noun translated as help or helper is used 21 times in the Old Testament. Sixteen of those times the helper is superior to the one helped, often referring to God’s help. Never is it used of a subordinate helping a superior, unless Genesis 2:18 and 20 are exceptions to the general rule.
A second example is the way “Head” is used in scripture in referring to Christ and husbands. When we refer to a person as a head today, we usually mean a person who is the superior in a hierarchal order. We naturally think of this when we see the word in passages such as 1 Corinthians 11:3 and Ephesians 5:23. These verses often buttress an “order of creation” argument, where God is understood to have ordained that men be superior to women. But as the authors show, scripture nowhere explicitly says that the head rules. As they point out, in a passage like Colossians 2: 9-10, “head” obviously means “source.” 1 Corinthians 11:3 points to a relationship of interdependency, with Christ as the source of life, and Ephesians 5:23 is part of a call to husbands to follow Christ’s example of self-giving, not his rulership.
I was particularly impressed by the way the argument from the scriptures was developed in detail. Not all who read their book will agree with their interpretation of every passage; in fact, I would disagree with certain details myself. However, it is the cumulative effect of their argument that carries impressive weight. The serious scholar who has held to a more traditional view of women cannot throw their case out of court simply because of disagreement about details or about the interpretation of individual passages. Their challenge is far too solid to allow this.
The resolution and clarification of issues dealing with women and the Bible will mean a direct challenge to the whole understanding of women and the church that many people have. Women will find no less than a new significance to their lives; men will find their traditional role of superiority completely undercut. As the authors say in chapter 2, “For too long, proof texts have been hurled at women to ‘keep them in their place.’”
Their insights about women in society, women in the church, marriage, and singleness were especially challenging to me. Chapter 7, “He, She, or We?” was a reminder of how constantly the world around us tries to “squeeze us into its own mold” (Romans 12:2, Phillips). I think they summarize the situation we face every day well:
Not only do the sexes inhabit differently shaped bodies, but we have been taught that God created us with “masculine” or “feminine” minds and souls as well. Thus men are innately the spokesmen, the leaders, the builders of Society, while women’s greatest joy and fulfillment are found in marriage, motherhood, and housewifery.
Masculinity in our society, machismo, is characterized by power. The male is expected to prove his manhood through achievements in athletics, education, occupation, and even in bed. Sex becomes conquest; the object is to “score.”
“The feminine mystique” on the other hand lies in woman's supposed innate passivity. She finds total fulfillment in mothering her children and responding to the wishes of her husband. Her goal in life is to please other people, to sacrifice herself for them. She lives through their achievements.
They go on to show that “The meaning and content of these labels 'masculine' and 'feminine,’ in terms of behavior and temperament, are totally determined by culture.” By using cross-cultural analysis and by showing how culturally determined many of our roles and behavior expectations are, they show how these culturally conditioned expectations work to keep women “in their place.” They also show how institutions, even supposedly mature behavioral sciences like psychology, work to the same effect. They drive home these contradictions by showing that all Christians are called to follow the example of Christ: “We are not told in scripture to seek what it means to be a ‘man’ or a ‘woman’ in our society, but what it means to be Christ-like. He calls us to mature personhood in his image (Ephesians 4:13). And he offers us the Holy Spirit’s help in that transformation.”
An area that I could particularly identify with was Nancy Hardesty’s chapter on the single woman. As a single male approaching 30, I am well aware of the pressures and loneliness that the single person usually faces in our society and our churches, though I am aware that most women probably find the pressures even greater than men do. Nancy’s chapter is obviously written out of intense personal experience and an increasing realization that the life of a single person can be rewarding and fulfilling. We all need deep, intense personal relationships to make our lives meaningful. Unfortunately, just about everybody around us, including the church, tells us that such fulfillment should come through marriage. I myself have found that a great many of the needs I have for belongingness and affection can be met through involvement with a group of Christians that is struggling to be the body of Christ incarnated, the community of the Holy Spirit. Unfortunately, there is little such community struggle present in God’s people today.
I found the chapters on marriage potentially the most revolutionary of all. When I was in college, I expected to be married and that my wife’s vows would include the words “love, honor, and obey,” because that’s the way it’s supposed to be. The idea of marriage as an egalitarian partnership is a complete reversal, yet it is one that I feel can really free me and others to realize our fullest potential for dynamic maturity. The implications of this are drawn out in such a way that both married and single can’t help but be challenged.
One area that is not dealt with is the commonly heard challenge that women’s liberation is an upper-middle-class white phenomenon. While it is true that most of the proponents of the women’s movement come from such backgrounds, the need for women’s liberation extends to all classes and races. Oppression takes different forms in different classes and cultures, but it is nevertheless present. I think that the book's introduction sums up the perspective that the authors have:
In speaking of liberation for the Christian woman, we are not thinking of an organization or movement, but rather a state of mind in which a woman comes to view herself as Jesus Christ sees her--as a person created in God’s image whom he wants to make free to be whole. To grow, to learn, to utilize fully the talents and gifts God has given her as a unique individual. It is a realization that men and women alike may be freed from sex role stereotypes and traditions which hinder development into the true humanness that God intended when he created male and female in his own image to delight in fellowship with him and with one another.
It is necessary to add that women’s liberation is not just a women’s issue. It is fundamentally a human issue. Men need to be liberated just as well as women. Men’s liberation will involve costly struggle and dialogue, because to be liberated, many of our previously assumed privileges will have to fall by the wayside.
All We're Meant to Be is a book I want to give to a number of my married friends. Unfortunately, the number may be restricted because Word is only releasing the book in hardback. I hope they will be willing to release it soon in paperback to enable it to reach the wider audience it deserves.
Boyd Reese was on the editorial staff at the Post American when this article appeared.
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