The word “Feminism” carries strong connotations. It is distressing to see it thrown about so casually by many whenever disagreements arise over the role of men and women in the church. It is always easier to label someone who disagrees with you than to deal honestly and seriously with the arguments. And Feminism has become the label of choice for many to tag on others in their zeal to circumvent the biblical examples of including women in the collective business of the local church. Feminism is a valid concern and an enemy of the truth, and Christians should be warned against it. But what is it, and what is the proper way to oppose it? Is it really the most serious threat to God’s people? What if efforts to oppose it backfire and end up promoting it? Let’s take a closer look.<\/p>\n
A Feminist is not someone who believes women may attend church business meetings. If it were, the Apostles were all feminists, since they commanded women to attend such (Acts 6:2). Feminism goes beyond the biblical pattern of including women under male leadership to put women in the actual roles of leadership itself – presiding over the assembly,\u00a0 preaching, and shepherding the flock. Many religious denominations are now struggling with Feminist movements that are calling for the placement of women in the role of preachers and bishops with leadership and teaching authority over an entire congregation.<\/p>\n
The Catholic church (especially in the USA) is struggling with a growing sentiment that women should be ordained to the priesthood on an equal basis with men. The Anglican church has, over the last few years, begun giving in to similar pressure by appointing women as priests and bishops. Some other Protestant churches are beginning to do the same, although many still oppose it. The efforts of conservatives in these denominations to oppose feminism are hampered, however, by their failure to appeal to biblical authority. They often use three erroneous tactics in combating feminism:<\/p>\n
Not surprisingly, we can find all of these being used among God’s people as well.<\/p>\n
I suspect most who are true seekers after the Bible pattern of the local church could count on one hand or one finger the number of women they have ever met who wanted to become a preacher or bishop. While it is true that some who worship in buildings labeled “Church of Christ” are now calling on women to be preachers, we need to recognize that far greater problems exist regarding those who are disqualified from the pulpit. Women are disqualified from public preaching by I Timothy 2:11-12 and from the eldership by I Timothy 3:2. There are a handful who need to be rebuked and warned against violating that principle.<\/p>\n
What many fail to recognize is the large number of\u00a0men\u00a0<\/strong>who are disqualified from these roles yet try\u00a0to fulfill them anyway. Be not many of you teachers, brethren (James 3:1). Which males are not qualified to teach and lead?<\/p>\n Now, think for a minute. Compare the number of preachers and elders you know who fail at these qualities with the number of women-preachers you know. Which is the greater threat to God’s people? I suggest that the number of disqualified practicing male leaders far exceeds that of disqualified practicing female leaders.<\/p>\n Even though it is relatively small in influence among God’s people, we still need to oppose the placing of women in roles prohibited by the Bible. The problem is that those who try to lead the vanguard of opposition frequently use inconsistent reasoning and human tradition.<\/p>\n Do you remember the Vietnam War? As bad as Communism was, many villagers in that poor country embraced it when they saw the corruption, evil, and violence of the regime that opposed Communism. It’s not hard to convert a man to Communism when the anti-Communists have just blown up his village and killed his family. So it is with some of the strange hermeneutics and dangerous arguments being used to oppose Feminism. Which of the following would you choose:<\/p>\n Come on, take your pick. Radical Feminism doesn’t sound so bad when compared with male saints being head of the church, does it? When undecided saints see the obvious errors promoted by those against Feminism, such tactics only backfire in favor of Feminist influence.<\/p>\n Another common mistake is teaching against something found in the Bible because of the “What’ll It Lead To?” argument. For example, there are preachers who admit privately that women are authorized by the New Testament to attend congregational business meetings, but who teach and practice publicly that they should be excluded. They wonder about all the bad things it would lead to if women were included the way they were under the Apostles’ leadership. Aside from the claim to greater wisdom than the Apostles had, the inconsistency is obvious, and raises the further question: What other authorized activities should women be excluded from? Suppose I am afraid that women will try to take over the Lord’s Supper. May I exclude them from eating it? Suppose I could show that in some church, a woman has taken leadership over adult Bible studies. Ban women from Bible classes? Of course not. The inconsistencies abound, and they add fuel to the Feminist fire by giving it credibility in the face of such obvious errors.<\/p>\n Another false solution is the elders’ crackdown tactic. Just have the elders privately decide everything for the church and keep the women out of it. In addition to violating Luke 22:24-25 and I Peter 5:3, this tactic is also backfiring in some churches. First, it backfires because the members (rightly) perceive it to be an authoritarian exercise that violates the entire picture of Christians and churches in the New Testament. This makes alternatives like radical Feminism sound more attractive. Second, the “elders decide everything” philosophy is actually being used to promote <\/b>feminism in some cases. One writer, arguing for private decision-making by church leaders to head off feminism, said the Apostles in Acts 6 privately decided that these [7 servants] would be men and not women (Guardian of Truth, 8\/18\/94). So, gender choices for leadership can be determined by the private judgments of church leaders. No surprise, then, to read of a church where the elders presented a statement declaring that they would be using women in public leadership roles (Guardian of Truth, 8\/18\/94). Well, if elders could choose male leaders, they could choose women, too. Elders need to be teaching the local church the things God has already decided, not arrogating to themselves the authority to privately decide everything for the church. Had the congregation been present, they might have been able to head off such a feminist digression by the elders. But without the presence of the whole church (Acts 15:22), Feminism can spread unchecked.<\/p>\n Even the Decrees from church authorities’ tactic used by the denominations in the war against feminism is being used by some among God’s people. One version of the infamous Questionnaire-Creed (which, by the way, is now being used by some as a direct test of fellowship for members in the local church) contains a question: Should women attend and participate in the business meetings commonly conducted by churches that have no elders (Acts 6:1-6)? The expected answer was “No,” despite the fact that the writer gave the scripture authorizing such, right after the question! Amazing how our traditions and creeds can override our reverence for the Bible when we’re in the heat of an argument. Such actions, while well-intentioned, only destroy the very cause they are trying to save: a local church free of human doctrines and Feminist influence.<\/p>\n What’s the proper way to oppose Feminism among God’s people?<\/p>\n Yes, Feminism is a bad influence and should be opposed. It is not the most serious threat to God’s people today, but it should be taught against and avoided. Most importantly, the fight against Feminism should be conducted with fairness and sound hermeneutics instead of with opposing doctrines that are just as bad as Feminism itself.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Vance E. Trefethen via Sentry Magazine, Vol. 21 No. 2, June 1995 The word “Feminism” carries strong connotations. It is distressing to see it thrown about so casually by many whenever disagreements arise over the role of men and women in the church. It is always easier to label someone who disagrees with you…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[165],"class_list":["post-95616","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-feminism"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":31874,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-you-support-conscientious-objection\/","url_meta":{"origin":95616,"position":0},"title":"Do you support conscientious objection?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 19, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Do you or your church support selective conscientious objection and conscientious objection? Answer: Registering for the draft is a government law that does not violate any teaching of God. \"Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1296,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-are-boy-girl-relationships-not-advisable-at-a-young-age\/","url_meta":{"origin":95616,"position":1},"title":"Why are boy-girl relationships not advisable at a young age?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 3, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Why are boy-girl relationships not advisable at a young age Answer: Youth is a time of impatient desires. They want the things available to adults, but adulthood seems so far away. The typical teenage boy enters puberty around the age of 11. 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Answer: We were taught to pray, \"Give us this day our daily bread\" (Matthew 6:11), but God still commands us\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":37138,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/we-lost-the-surprise-somewhere\/","url_meta":{"origin":95616,"position":3},"title":"We Lost the Surprise Somewhere","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 10, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton I remember watching Mayberry RFD and related shows most of my childhood. Poor ignorant Gomer Pyle who worked as an auto mechanic was a notable character. But I can still recall my shock when I found out that Jim Nabors, who played Gomer, could sing --\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Gomer.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":61889,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-book-of-my-life\/","url_meta":{"origin":95616,"position":4},"title":"The Book of My Life","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 23, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Job 19:23-27 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Each week the paper publishes its list of top selling books \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Sometimes the books are biographies, fictional stories, or fiction placed in historical settings. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0They hope that others will also purchase the books, if for no other reason than curiosity. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Many author\u2019s\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6988,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-there-passages-that-refer-to-the-lords-supper\/","url_meta":{"origin":95616,"position":5},"title":"Are there passages that refer to THE Lord’s Supper?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 2, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: We have been studying the Lord's supper issues and one of our main concerns is about a second offering in which only a few partake, for the reasons you listed in your article (not doing it together). 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False Solutions to Feminist Influence<\/h2>\n
\n
\n[]Searching the Scriptures, July 1992, p. 5]<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nElements of the Good Fight<\/h2>\n
\n
Summary<\/h2>\n