Third Way Thursday: Complimentarian or Egalitarian
In honor of Christianity Today launching a blog called her.menutics, this Thursday we delve into the two fixed positions on women: complimentarian or egalitarian. Each have their own official organizations that dispense information to back their ideological stances, the Council for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood on the complimentarian front and Christians for Biblical Equality on the egalitarian side.
From the Council for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood:
"In opposition to the growing movement of feminist egalitarianism they
articulated what is now known as the complementarian position which
affirms that men and women are equal in the image of God, but maintain
complementary differences in role and function. In the home, men
lovingly are to lead their wives and family as women intelligently are
to submit to the leadership of their husbands. In the church, while men
and women share equally in the blessings of salvation, some governing
and teaching roles are restricted to men."
And from Christians for Biblical Equality:
"The principle of biblical equality can be developed as three ideas:
1. Human equality. All people are equal before God, and are equal in church, home, and society.
2. Equal responsibility. Race, gender, and class are not barriers to Christ. Membership, ministry, and mission are
open to all in his kingdom, based upon our personal vocation, moral and personal qualifications, and the gifts of the
Holy Spirit.
3. Mutual submission. Christian love is the heart of life in the Spirit. Mutual submission is Christian love in action,
treating each person with dignity."
Can these two opposing views be reconciled? Is there a third way toward roles for both men and women?
Third Way Thursday is an ongoing series on Everyday Liturgy that poses a theological dilemma one week and tries to offer a third way out of it the next week.
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the short answer? no.
I believe true egalitarianism IS the “third way” between patriarchalism and radical neutered feminism (the notion that there are no differences between men and women).
The thing is, there aren’t two sides. There’s a whole gradation of views in the middle. A friend of mine calls herself “complegalitarian.”
Also, I don’t think it’s a yes or no answer. I think a lot depends on the culture in which we live and how it affects the gospel. The Church should be leading the way in proclaiming freedom, but it does so in stages. In the States, we live in a culture (I’m speaking outside the church) where equality is the norm (or, at least, it’s the norm we’re working toward). The Church needs to take a leading role in this in keeping with the Bible (I’m thinking here of the work of Webb and of Stackhouse). But in someplace (like predominantly Muslim areas), going full-scale egalitarian may not be appropriate.
In light of this conversation, I’d like to mention a group blog of which I am a part: Tapestry (www.thetapestryblog.com). It includes women who are complementarian and egalitarian (and in many stages of each).