For the past several years (since studying out the God-designed roles of men and women as found in Scripture in a couple of my core college classes) I have become increasingly irritated by the feministic movement and the affect it has had on society as a whole. Feminism confuses gender roles (among other things), and the consequences are drastic.
I have been accumulating and reading books and articles that speak to this issue of gender role-confusion, and the more I read, the more my frustration has turned to anger. The Christian conservatives out there aren't the only ones talking; even secular authors, comedians, columnists, and psychologists recognize that there is a problem.
It's a problem that most people feel in some way or another. We are all affected by it, and many left unsatisfied by its emptiness, but most can't quite place, define, or recognize the root of it all. Secular authors try to pinpoint the philosophies behind the feministic movement and their social and psychological impact on people, but they miss the Biblical foundation for who we are and what we were made for as men and women created in God's image.
One thing we need is more education. People need to know where the problems really came from and why they have made such a mess out of love, marriage, and family that leaves us ultimately unsatisfied with the way things are. When we can pinpoint the underlying problems, and what makes them problems in the first place, there is hope for change.
Only an understanding of our God-given roles as men and women will answer the questions of why our current gender-role problems exist. Only an acceptance of those God-given roles will move us toward to a solution. Such an acceptance demands a significant shift in worldview, a change in the way we see and think about ourselves and the world around us. Obviously, this kind of change is not necessarily salvific.
A worldview shift alone doesn't promise to reverse all the problems caused by our sin and its consequences. Unless that shift is toward a Biblical worldview, with an understanding and embracing of the gospel, it offers little more than a band-aid to fix the problems caused by feminism and gender role-confusion.
Real, lasting change and rescue from our desperate condition can only come by the grace of God through regeneration, redemption, and sanctification. We must own the fact that God is holy and that we as sinners have rebelled against Him. We are the cause of our miserable state, and the ultimate consequence of our failures to live up to His holiness is eternal separation from God. We deserve nothing less than the wrath of Almighty God.
Ephesians 2 provides a nice summary of the situation and the solution:
"...you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formally walked according to the course of this world... But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)... For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast."
Ephesians 1 tells us that in Christ those who believe on Him have
"...redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us... In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation--having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise..."
This kind of transition, from death to life, is the real shift that must take place in an individual if true hope is to be realized. Without Christ, there is no hope for change.
Though we may readily admit this, we cannot forget that those of us who have been saved must also remain rooted and grounded in truth. Believing men and woman must know God's Word and what He has to say about our respective genders and roles if we wish to stand up against the pressures of the world and its lies.
Lack of Biblical literacy makes it far too easy to believe and casually accept whatever lies our world tells us. In such cases, the prevailing and accepted worldviews around us (what we likely hear/see most often) undoubtedly shape and influence our own. That shouldn't be surprising. Without a knowledge of the truth, we cannot expect to recognize what is false when we see or hear it.Labels: feminism, reflections