Some of my colleagues have suggested that those of us who favor the egalitarian the view of men and women are practicing a dangerous hermeneutic that will ultimately justify the acceptance of homosexual marriage. I admit that bad hermeneutics have indeed been employed to justify all sorts of evils. That is why we must approach the preaching and teaching of God’s word with fear, prayer, knowledge, and love for truth.
My dissenting colleagues have suggested that to embrace an egalitarian view of humanity removes the distinctions that God ordered in creation. Their argument goes something like this: God created man and woman with distinct roles and responsibilities. Men rule, women submit. Men teach, women listen in silence. Any reading of Scripture that compromises the distinction between male and female confuses the sexual distinctions and eventually affirms homosexuality. They frequently claim that I am allowing political and cultural issues to inform my reading of Scripture.
I would suggest that all of us are tempted to read the Scripture from cultural biases. Cultural and political biases have indeed affected the reading of Scripture in ways that justified slavery, genocide, and all sorts of evil. My tribe of Pentecostalism was birthed in the Southeastern United States, a culture of racism. My tribe read the Bible with a cultural hermeneutic that justified segregation by routinely declaring a doctrine of “separate but equal.” A generation before, many “Bible believing” Christians defended slavery because they allowed their cultural bias to inform their reading of Scripture. It might be that one’s own view of male/female inequality is informed by a culturally biased reading of Scripture. We must confess hermeneutical sins and seek to correct injustices. If we don’t seriously confront our errors, then we can’t seriously proclaim the truth.
A biblical egalitarian view of humanity does not confuse the sexual distinctions. God created humans as gendered beings, male and female so that we could be interdependent equal partners in procreation and ruling over creation (Genesis 1:26-28). Male and female are distinct, but equally created in the image of God for their mutual benefit – to know and love each other, and to be fruitful and multiply. The subsequent sinful fall of humanity injured the relationship between male and female and in judgment God placed females under the rule of males (Genesis 3:16). Female subordination is not inherent to creation, but is subsequent to sin and judgement. However, in Christ the relationship between male and female is healed. To be “in Christ” is to be a new creature in which old things pass away and new things have come (2 Corinthians 5:17). In Christ, the wall of enmity between Jew and Gentile (and male and female, slave and free) is abolished so that all humans are reconciled to God and to each other (Ephesians 2:13-16; Galatians 3:26-28). In the kingdom of God the judgement of female subordination is dismissed even as male/female gender distinctions remain. To be in Christ does not confuse the various distinctions of humanity, but all humans share equally in Christ’s glory. Glorified humans of the New Creation are gendered, even though glorification transcends sexuality.
The confusion of sexual distinction is an effect of the sinful fall of humanity. Homosexual behavior is a denial of the gender specific order of humans created in the image of God. It denies the interdependence of male and female in creation in favor of individual autonomy. Homosexual partners cannot “be fruitful and multiply,” therefore homosexual acts cannot contribute to human flourishing. Instead, homosexual acts (like all sinfulness) diminish humans, robbing them of the glory and image of God (Romans 1:21ff). I would caution that all sinners should be embraced in mercy and compassion. Homosexual behavior, like all sexual immorality, is incompatible with life in the kingdom of God. However, in Christ, homosexuals (like all sinners) are washed, sanctified, justified and walk in the newness of Christ (1 Corinthians 6:9-11). To be “in Christ” does not affirm human sinfulness, but transforms humans to reflect the glory of God.
New creation in Christ restores the glory and image of God to humanity by reversing the curse and effects of sin. That means that homosexual behavior is reversed; and the subordination of women is reversed.
I am aware that this is an abbreviated presentation that needs to be further explained. However, suggesting that a godly Spirit-filled woman preaching the Gospel can be compared to godless acts of immorality is a glaring example of poor hermeneutics. We must do better.
