We are in the middle of campmeeting season and anticipating the general assembly. I’ve attended two camp meetings, and I’ve been reading several post in anticipation of debating the agenda. What do they all have in common? I’ve heard it over and over again. I believe what the Bible says! Really?
Let’s talk about the status of women. The Bible says women should be silent. The Bible says women should be subject to their husbands. The Bible says women should keep their heads covered. The Bible says women should not be teachers.
But the Bible says more. The Bible says Sarah demanded that Abraham disown Hagar (That doesn’t sound like submission to me). The Bible says Priscilla instructed Apollos. The Bible says women can prophesy in church. The Bible says women were military leaders, judges, prophets, deacons, and pastors of house churches. The Bible lauds the excellent wife who works hard at home and in business.
When we read the Bible, we all make choices. We choose which verses have priority, which passages have more weight. So, on one hand the Bible supports the position that women are subordinate. On the other hand, the Bible teaches that women are corresponding equals.
If women are subordinate, then that suggests women are not created in the image of God, but created in the image of Adam. Therefore, women are one degree removed from the image of God. If that be the case, then Abraham’s treatment of Hagar is acceptable. That’s been the majority view for millennia. In the United States, women were prohibited from voting until 1920, fifty-five years after freed male slaves were enfranchised. Women could not have a credit card in their own name until 1974. If one believes that women are inferior, then all this makes sense. If one believes that women are inferior, then I understand why women should be prohibited from full participation in the life and mission of the church.
Well, it doesn’t make sense to me. I’ve made some hermeneutical choices. I choose to read the Bible with the redemption of humanity as the metanarrative. My views are supported by a faithful reading of Scripture. While the Scripture tells the story of Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar; I do not believe for one minute that God was pleased with their treatment of Hagar. I believe that men and women are created in the image of God as corresponding equals. I believe that God’s Spirit is poured out upon males and females. I believe that to be baptized into Christ Jesus is to become a new creation in which male and female are co-heirs and co-laborers . I believe that women should be full partners in the life and mission of the church.
