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February 13, 2006
Kaleo Conference on Gender and the Church: Keynote 1
Kaleo Conference on Gender and the Church
Covenant College
February 11, 2006
Carolyn Custis James presented a keynote address re-exploring the Bible's "blueprint" for women. She began be sharing the story of her personal struggle to reconcile the paradigm on which she had been raised and the realities of her own life. She had been planning on being a wife and mother, but it she had to wait a decade after graduating from college before she married. During this time, she realized that her theology really did matter. "What did it mean," she asked, "to be a woman, especially if you don't follow the usual path of being married and having children." Even after she was married, a battle with infertility and her husband's insistence that she use her theological training and gifts in the church forced her to ask, "Has God given a blueprint that is too small? One that doesn't fit all woman? Does God do His best and most important work through men?"
In unpacking this question, we begin, of course, with Eve, the first woman. "She is the lens through which we view our lives and the lives of women in Scripture." There are two main components to the prevailing understanding of Eve. The first is that Eve is often seen as "the temptress." If women are not kept in check, we will cause trouble in the church; men and women working together can only end in temptation. Secondly, we view Eve as a wife and mother, but we mistakenly assume that all women will be wives and mothers and we forget that someday the nests will empty or a woman may find herself widowed.
But, James argued, the Bible actually casts "a rich and expansive meaning for us as women." She presented three major things that God says about women. First, women are image bearers. We hear this so often that the shock has worn off, and yet this is the most important truth we can know about ourselves. Sometimes, James said, when we talk about gender as Christians, we are on the defensive from the culture. But, the Bible gives us a message about gender that "we need to go on the offensive with." In this paradigm of woman-in-the-image-of-God, feminism is a low view of women. "We are called to be like God, and there is no higher vision than that."
Secondly, women are to be an ezer. In Genesis, God says "it is not good for man to be alone; I will make an ezer (usually translated "helper") suitable for him." This word describing the woman is used 21 times in the Old Testament: twice for women, three times for nations, and 16 times for God. Some have proposed, given this usage, that the word be instead translated "strong helper." "What does that mean?" asked James. "Is she as strong as she wants to be? Is she strong, but without it affecting her rank?" A more thorough word study reveals that in the 3 occurences where the word is used regarding nations, it is used in a military context. Similarly, the 16 times it is used in relation to God, it is speaking of God as a warrior. Why, then, when we talk about women, do we put it solely in the context of "making babies"? It is appopriate to call a woman a warrior, argued James, because the world has always been a war zone. Other military language is used in the creation narrative: the man and woman are called to "guard" the garden and to "subdue" (meaning "conquer and defeat") the creation. This view of woman as warrior actually elevates both the man and the woman. It means that the man's need for a helper is not trivial and that the woman's call is vital. In this, "the vision that God casts for us is big enough to include every woman."
Finally, women are meant to participate in the blessed alliance. Although it is easy to become cynical about the "battle of the sexes," the Bible sees men and women working together as a "blessed alliance." This is "embedded in God's blueprint for humanity...God's image shines brighter when men and women work together" in relationship. In fact, man and woman were working together -- towards the common goal of cultural dominion and stewardship -- before men worked with other men or women worked with other women. This alliance was "lost in the fall but recovered in the gospel." The gospel not only forgives sins, but transforms relationships. Furthermore, this concept of the blessed alliance was advanced by Jesus in His ministry. Jesus engaged in deep theological discussions with women even when that was taboo in his culture. He called the Samaritan woman to proclaim the gospel to her village; He made known to a woman, first, His imminent arrival on earth; He entrusted a woman as the first eyewitness of His resurrection, even in a society where women were not accepted as witnesses in court. Mary of Bethany performed one of the first truly theological acts when she anointed Jesus' feet with oil in preparation for His sacrificial death. Such work with women continues to be modeled by the Apostle Paul. When Paul arrived in Philippi in Macedonia, the group he first ministered to was a gathering of women. Later, when he writes his epistle fo the Philippians, he thanks God "for your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now." The only ones there from the first day were women. Women are described as standing side by side, fighting for the good news.
James concluded, "There is no such thing as a healthy body when only half of the body functions. It is as though we have put a tourniquet on the body of Chirst." Like our brothers, we are called to be like Christ, to be warriors for the gospel. What, then, is our vision for ourselves, for our community, and for our church?
Faith | By elissa | 09:21 AM
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