Response to "Yea, Hath God Said..."

       This blog contains a comment on Lori's previous blog entitled "Does Feminism Seek to Destroy Christianity?" Blair, the author of the comment, uses a tactic commonly used by defenders of patriarchy, one that is meant to frighten those who disagree into blindly accepting their teaching. 

       As we all know, the serpent in the garden of Eden created confusion and doubt in Eve's mind as to what God had commanded regarding the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. "Did God really say..." Indeed, we need to be familiar with the commands of God so there is no confusion. However, it is a problem if this fact is used to defend that which is not, in fact, a command of God. If God did not say it, then it is legitimate to ask this question, and the correct answer is "no." This may seem like an obvious point, but the defenders of patriarchy twist this story to discourage us from questioning not God but them. They assert God commanded something He never did, and if we point out that God didn't say it, they try to manipulate us by comparing us to the serpent in the garden. 

       Blair's words are a perfect example of this, as she writes her skewed view of the egalitarian position:  

 Yea, hath God said – that you are a help meet to your husband? He is really supposed to be helping you instead.

Egalitarians do not believe husbands alone should "help" or serve their wives; we believe husbands and wives ought to support and help each other! It is people such as Lori who suggest that the call to be servant of all for some reason applies only to women. 

       Besides, when Genesis calls the woman a "helper" to her husband, it uses the Hebrew word ezer. This word does not mean secretary, or servant, or subordinate, and in fact is used most often in the Old Testament to refer to God Himself as He helps us. The use of this word demonstrates the full equality of the woman and the fact that she comes alongside her husband as an equal in ability and position. 

Yea, hath God said – that you are the weaker vessel? You are not weaker. You can do anything a man can do, and do it better and faster.

1 Peter 3:7 does not actually say women are the weaker vessel, but only that men should treat them as weaker in the sense of showing them honor and care. Of course, women are on average physically than men, but it says a lot about defenders of patriarchy that they make so much of physical strength. And, of course, egalitarians do not believe women can do anything a man can do better and faster. Instead, we believe each person, regardless of gender, has unique strengths and weaknesses specific to them, regardless of their gender. 

Yes, hath God said - that you are supposed to be keepers at home? You have brains. You need a job and your own money. 

Paul urged women to be "busy at home" in a culture in which there were only two options for women: keeper at home, or prostitute. Big surprise that he preferred the former.  

Yea, hath God said – that you are to submit to your husband? You are no one’s slave. How dare your husband tell you what to do. This is 2020 not 300 A.D.

Egalitarians are not, in fact,against submission. Actually, we believe in more submission, as husband and wife both ought to submit to each other, in the sense of laying down their lives for each other, placing the other above themselves and considering the other's needs above their own, etc. This is, in fact, Christlikeness. It's interesting that people with views like Lori's demand Christlikeness only from women. 

Yea, hath God said – that a woman shall not teach or have authority over a man? You can teach men. And what about that promotion to being a boss at work. Those men can now look up to you.

In 1 Timothy 2, Paul forbade women from having authentien, which means forceful dominance. He specifically avoided the word exousia, which is what he would have used if he were forbidding women from having legitimate authority over men. And it is no surprise that he didn't allow women to teach, as they would have been without the necessary religious education in such a culture. But it's interesting to note that Paul urged the women to learn (which would have been radical at that time and place!), and also that he uses the present tense in this statement: in the Greek, it reads "I am not allowing a woman to teach" rather than "I do not allow a woman to teach." This strongly indicates a temporary rather than permanent intent. 

       Something I found interesting in the above statement is the fact that she implies that women should not be bosses in the workplace. Of course, I know she doesn't think women should be working at all, but that's beside the point. Most complementarians believe the restriction of women from authority positions technically applies only to the church. Blair, however, seems to think it applies even to the workplace, a much more extreme view. 

Yea, hath God said – that a woman is to keep silence in church? No one is going to tell you to be silent. And you know you are more spiritual than men, so get up there at the pulpit and preach.

When Paul said women should not speak in church, he had 30 Greek words to choose from. He specifically chose the word for "converse." In other words, the women, having little knowledge of how to act in social situations, would have been engaging in conversation during the church service. Paul was simply saying "don't talk during church", a command that would apply equally to men but didn't need to be said to the men because they already knew this. Paul was not saying any more than this. 

       So, to answer Blair's questions: No, God did not say the woman alone is a servant to her husband, but that husband and wife should serve each other. No, God did not say women are inferior to men because they are weaker. No, God did not say only wives must submit to their husbands but not husbands to wives. No, God did not say women are barred from authority positions (indeed, God Himself placed women like Deborah in authority!). And no, God did not command all women to be silent in the church simply because they're women. You see, Blair (and Lori), it's okay to acknowledge that God did not say something...when He actually didn't say it! We see through your attempt to equate your own words with God's and usurp His authority in order to promote your own man-centered ideas. 

Link to the original blog: https://thetransformedwife.com/yea-hath-god-said/