The Rebellious Woman and the Destruction of Society

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not placing the blame of the destruction of our society squarely on woman’s shoulders. After all, God held Adam accountable for Eve’s rebellion, did he not? However, there is a trend in society, and we see it taking place in the Church as well, that when women rebel–that is, they remove themselves from their rightful place in the home, in the Churches, and in society–the judgment of God is imminent.

I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. 1 Timothy 2:12

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. He created night and day, land and water, vegetation, birds, sea creatures and land animals. He then created man and woman, Adam and Eve, and placed them in the garden, known as Eden. God gave them dominion over all of his creation, but gave them one command–not to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. All was well, until, one day, the serpent deceived Eve into eating of the fruit–she rebelled against God.

Though Eve was the first to eat of the fruit, Roman’s chapter 5 makes it clear that God held Adam responsible for sin entering the world, and causing death (Romans 5:12-21). God created Adam first and then created Eve to be his helper (Gen 2:18). This means Adam was the head of the two, and Adam was responsible for any sin that Eve committed.

This was the beginning of feminism. Feminism has spread throughout history, especially in recent decades like cancer. It has been largely unstoppable. Voddie Baucham recently talked about how society has “feminized” the office of pastor in the Church. He is absolutely correct. However, the feminization of society, the Church, and especially the pastorate is not just a matter of women usurping the role of men–but that also men, given to the notion of “toxic masculinity,” have become largely feminine themselves.

Stoked by the #metoo movement, the flames of feminism have worked to earn the backing of not only liberal progressives, but even many who would be considered conservatives. However, liberalism is actually one of many fruits of feminism. The feminine subculture seeks to liberate women from the “tyranny” of men, especially white men, by rebelling against their God-given roles in society, the home, and the Church.

The feminist movement has worked not to liberate women, however, but to enslave men to a society that is anti-male. Misogyny is seen as obscene and prurient whereas misandry is seen as virtuous.

Feminist ideology isn’t just espoused by women, it’s embraced by men too. In the wake of a recent string of sexual misconduct scandals in the evangelical Church, men such as Matt Chandler, JD Greear, Tim Keller, and many others have been “reevaluating” the role of women in the Church by redefining what it means to be complementarian. Of course, any rationally thinking biblically-minded person knows exactly where this ends–destruction.

Just to be clear, God did not place women under the headship of men because they are somehow less worthy of leadership, less valuable, or less capable. God placed women under the headship of men as part of the curse of the fall of Adam and Eve. But in the New Testament, we see the role of Christian women in submission to their husbands as a blessing–to be a picture of the gospel of the Church’s relationship to Christ.

Under the Abrahamic covenant, everyone is either under the headship of Adam or the headship of Christ. That is, you’re either under the curse of the law or the grace of God. So we see that male headship is either a curse or a blessing, depending upon which side of the covenant you are under. If you are under the grace of God, male headship is a blessing to proclaim the good news to the world, but if you are in Adam, male headship is a curse–and a curse that can only be lifted by the salvific work of Jesus Christ.

When, as a society we try to lift this curse ourselves through the course of feminism apart from the saving grace of Christ, the end result will always be the destruction of that society.