Aug 18, 2016

A Church in Crisis...? Indeed.


After reading the blog post titled 'A Church in Crisis...'
http://www.cbeinternational.org/blogs/church-crisis-pornography-and-patriarchy
I felt no small amount of _____? ...angst?...anger?

Ms. Kotz wrote, 

"...From the start, God revealed... the unshakeable dignity and equality of women in Genesis.
It was sin that corrupted, sin that created patriarchy."

How could sin have created patriarchy?
God is Father, head over all His creation.

The equality revealed in Genesis was no more than,

1)  A co-dominion over animals (1:26),
2)  A shared directive to 'be fruitful and multiply' (1:28),
3)  A common plant-based food source (1:29), and
4)  Death (2:17).

Solomon spoke of equality in Ecclesiastes 3:19-2, 

"For the fate of humans and the fate of animals are the same: 
As one dies, so dies the other; both have the same breath. 
There is no advantage for humans over animals, for both are fleeting.
Both go to the same place, both come from the dust, and to dust both return..."
                                                               
Although humans and animals share the same fate,
God gave humans dominion over animals.

And although man and woman share dominion over animals,
God gave man dominion over woman.

As nice as it sounds, Genesis does NOT 'reveal the unshakeable dignity and equality of women.'

In Genesis, God reveals, rather, the unique inequality of women in...

·       ...purpose,

"The Lord God said, 
'It is not good for the man to be alone. 
I will make a companion for him who corresponds to him.'
(Genesis 2:18)
"...Man ...is the image and glory of God.
But the woman is the glory of the man.
For man did not come from woman,
But woman from man.
Neither was man created for the sake of woman,
But woman for man."
(1 Cor. 11:7-9)

·       ...origin and design,

God "formed the man from the soil of the ground" (Gen.2:7) 
BUT "from the part he had taken out of the man, God formed a woman." 
(Gen.2:22)

·       ...and in consequence,

"To the woman he said, 
'I will greatly increase your labor pains; with pain you will give birth to children. 
You will want to control your husband, but he will dominate you.'"
(Genesis 3:16)

"BUT to Adam he said,
“Because you obeyed your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ cursed is the ground thanks to you;  in painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life."
(Genesis 3:17)

God said He punished Adam because he obeyed his wife.
Obedience is supposed to go the other direction.

"...Wives, be subject to your own husbands..."
(1 Peter 3:1)

"Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord, because the husband is the head of the wife..."
(Ephesians 5:22-23)

Was male domination a result of sin? Not according to Paul...

"I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man. 
She must remain quiet.  
FOR Adam was formed first and then Eve."
(1Timothy 2:12-13)

Male domination, i.e. patriarchy, corresponded with God's order in creation because...
"Adam was formed first."
Eve's sin was merely evidence of the dire consequence of female usurpation.

The only complete equality shared by humanity universally is the status, rights, and opportunities in the spirit, afforded by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
HERE is the equality of Christ...

"...The righteousness of God has been disclosed... through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ for all who believe. 
For there is no distinction..."
(Romans 3:21-22)

The righteousness of God is for all who believe.
IF you believe something, you live by it.

"Whoever lives in Me and I in him bears much fruit...
If a person does not dwell in Me, he is thrown out like a [broken-off] branch...
When you bear much fruit, My Father is honored and glorified, and you show and prove yourselves to be true followers of Mine."
(John 15:5-8)

"Whoever says he abides in Him ought to walk and conduct himself in the same way in which He walked and conducted Himself."
(1 John 2:6)

How did Jesus walk and conduct Himself?

Jesus said in Matthew 23:2-3, 

“The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses.  So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don’t follow their example..."

But Ms. Kotz claimed, 

"...Jesus’ deliberate rebellion against these patriarchal values is evident throughout his ministry."

I don't find rebellion in any part of Jesus' ministry
.
"... the collectors of the Temple tax came to Peter and asked him, 'Doesn’t your teacher pay the Temple tax?' 
... (Jesus said), we don’t want to offend them, so go down to the lake and throw in a line. Open the mouth of the first fish you catch, and you will find a large silver coin. Take it and pay the tax for both of us.”
(Matthew 17:24-27)

Jesus demonstrated submission in his fleshly ministry, not equality.

Paul wrote, in Philippians 2:5-7,

"You should have the same attitude toward one another that Christ Jesus had, who though he existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking on the form of a slave, by looking like other men, and by sharing in human nature."

'Equality' was not something Jesus held on to as he fulfilled His own earthly ministry. Why would we?

Ms. Kotz said,

"Many women... feel like objects. 
Some even feel like slaves..."

Feeling ‘like an object’ evidences a fleshly disposition rather than a spiritual disposition.

“Therefore, since you have been raised with Christ,
Strive for the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
Set your mind on things above, not earthly things.
For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God…”
(Col. 3:1-3)

“Think of Him who endured such opposition against Himself by sinners, so that you may not grow weary in your souls and not give up.
You have not yet resisted to the point of bloodshed in your struggle…
Endure your suffering… it produces the fruit of peace and righteousness for those trained by it.”
(Hebrews 12:3-11)

Feeling 'like a slave' could be the beginning of a proper female disposition.

Look at what Peter said concerning slaves,

"Slaves, be subject to your masters with all reverence, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are perverse.
For this finds God’s favor, if because of conscience toward God someone endures hardships in suffering unjustly… if you do good and suffer and so endure, this finds favor with God."
(1Pet.2:18-20)

The passage transitions immediately into instruction for women,

"In the same way, wives, be subject to your own husbands. Then, even if some are disobedient to the word, they will be won over without a word by the way you live, when they see your pure and reverent conduct... the lasting beauty of a gentle and tranquil spirit, which is precious in God’s sight. 
For in the same way the holy women who hoped in God long ago adorned themselves by being subject to their husbands, like Sarah who obeyed Abraham, calling him ‘Lord.
You become her children when you do what is good and have no fear in doing so."
(1 Peter 3:1-6)

Holy women are subject, silent, gentle, tranquil, and obedient. 
Their faith is in God who turns the hearts of kings (Prov.21:1)... 
Who gives them dominion and removes them in His own good time (Dan. 2:21).

Ms. Kotz says,

"...The idea of 'equality' between women and men in the church is illusory and empty when women hold no real power..."

Jesus had equality with God, while laying aside His power (Phil.2:5-7).

A man named Simon once also asked for power not given him by God...

“Give me this power too..."

But Peter said to him, 

“...You have no share or part in this matter because your heart is not right before God!"
(Acts 8:19-21)

A woman who rejects patriarchy, either in the home of her father, with and concerning her husband, or in the church, has a heart that is not right with God… a fleshly disposition.

"...the one who rejects this is not rejecting human authority but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you."
(1 Thes.4:1-8)

"...The outlook of the flesh is hostile to God, 
FOR it does not submit to the law of God, nor is it able to do so. 
Those who are in the flesh cannot please God."
(Rom. 8:5-8)

God's word commands women to take a 'secondary and subordinate place.'

"The women should keep quiet in the churches, for they are not authorized to speak, but should take a secondary and subordinate place, just as the Law also says."
(1 Corinthians 14:34-38)

But Ms. Kotz says, 

"If women’s purpose in the church is to support the men who are doing the 'important things' women aren’t allowed to do, all claims of equality are rendered meaningless."

Jesus said, 

"It must not be this way among you! Instead whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave – just as the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
(Matthew 20:26-28)

The support role God gave to women IS important!
Claims to equality are anti-Christ.

"For many live, about whom I have often told you, and now, with tears, I tell you that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is the belly, they exult in their shame, and they think about earthly things."
(Philippians 3:18-19)

A woman ‘in Christ’ will guard her mind and thoughts.  Her values will be according to Scripture.  She will not love her life so much as to shy away from discomfort… even death (Rev.12:11).

"...WE consider and look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen; for the things that are visible are temporal, but the things that are invisible are deathless and everlasting."
(2 Corinthians 4:18)

"...WE are citizens of the state which is in heaven, and from it also we earnestly and patiently await the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior."
(Philippians 3:20)

In heavenly places... IS our equality.
While on earth, women have been given a subordinate role.
"Now there are different gifts, but the same Spirit. 
And there are different ministries, but the same Lord."
(1 Corinthians 12:4-5)

"For by one Spirit we were all… slaves or free,
baptized into one body, and all made to drink of one Spirit...
God has placed and arranged the limbs and organs in the body, each of them, just as He wished and saw fit and with the best adaptation... 
And the eye is not able to say to the hand, I have no need of you...
But instead, there is absolute necessity for the parts of the body that are considered the more weak..."
(1 Cor. 12:13-27)

"Husbands... treat your wives with consideration as the weaker partners and show them honor as fellow heirs of the grace of life. In this way nothing will hinder your prayers."
(1 Peter 3:7)

Sin within patriarchy is always dealt with by God and according to His order.

"If one man wrongs another, 
God will mediate for him; 
BUT if a man wrongs the Lord, who shall intercede for him?"
(1 Samuel 2:25)

Women who step into positions of authority over men are in violation of God's order.

"...Angels who did not keep within their proper domain but abandoned their own place of residence, He has kept in eternal chains in utter darkness, locked up for the judgment of the great Day."
(Jude 1:6)

Patriarchal sin does not justify a feminist movement within the church.
Demanding 'equality' never has been, and never will be, Christ-like.

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6:7, 

"The fact that you have lawsuits among yourselves demonstrates that you have already been defeated. 
Why not rather be wronged? 
Why not rather be cheated?"

Pornography wrongs women. Pornography is sin.

Ms. Kotz said,

"...Porn imitates the patriarchal values we often find in the church. There is a striking overlap between pornography and patriarchy if we take a closer look in that mirror."

Pornography has no value or values.  How can it imitate patriarchal values? What are the ‘values’ of patriarchy but those rules which God has established concerning leadership?
How can a parallel honestly be drawn between pornography and patriarchy?

Ms.Kotz has taken up yellow journalism. She presents shocking truths concerning pornography, sexual abuse, and the misuse of authority by those who consider themselves Christian and, having caught the attention of the abused and the sympathies of the tender, she draws conclusions that pander to female emotion, logic, and natural tendencies toward  vindictive and controlling response patterns.

C.S. Lewis once said,

"Mixing truth with a lie makes the lie much stronger."

Pornography and sexual abuse may very well be the foundational roots of most problems that are occurring in our marriages and within the church today.
But patriarchy is NOT the problem. 
And sin did NOT create patriarchy.

Violation of the God's patriarchal order WAS the first sin. 

SIN is the problem.

Patriarchal abuses stem from corrupted individual values.
God has given guidance to those within positions of headship...

To fathers (Eph. 6:4, Col. 3:21),
To husbands (Eph. 5:28-29, Col.  3:19, 1Pet. 3:7)
To church leaders (2Tim.4:2, Gal.6:1)

When a patriarch sins against those over whom he is head, the Lord disciplines him one way or another.

"Vengeance is Mine, and recompense, in the time when their foot shall slide...
For the Lord will revoke sentence for His people and relent for His servants' sake when He sees that their power is gone and none remains, whether bond or free."
(Deut. 32:35-36)


The Bible contains many stories of the faithful and of the faithless, so that we can receive encouragement to pursue righteousness and the wisdom discern it.

There are stories of people who have obeyed God without fear...

Exodus 1:17-21,

"...Because the midwives feared God, they refused to obey the king’s orders... 
So God was good to the midwives..."

In Daniel 3:16-28, government employees defy orders in order to remain true to God.

In Job 2:9-10, a husband rejects the godless advice of a faithless wife and stays true to God.

Acts 5:27-29 and Hebrews 11 tells of those who obeyed God with no thought to their own personal rights or preservation.

And then there are stories of the faithless, and those who lost faith, who disobeyed God because of their circumstances...

1 Samuel 15:10-28...

"Then the Lord said to Samuel, 
'I am sorry that I ever made Saul king, for he has not been loyal to me and has refused to obey my command.'
Samuel was so deeply moved when he heard this that he cried out to the Lord all night...
'But I did obey the Lord,' Saul insisted...
Then Saul admitted to Samuel, 'Yes, I have sinned. I have disobeyed your instructions and the Lord ’s command, for I was afraid of the people and did what they demanded...'
And Samuel said to him, 'The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to someone else—one who is better than you.'"

Acts 5:9-10,

"How could you two have agreed and conspired together to try to deceive the Spirit of the Lord? Listen! The feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.
And instantly she fell down at his feet and died..."

In Deut.32:48-52 and Num.20:12 we find the story of the consequence to leaders to disobeyed God because their subordinates exasperated them.

In Numbers 16:3, we read of the result of a struggle for equality between the congregation of God's people and a leader God had appointed over them...

"And they gathered together...
'Enough of you! 
You take too much upon yourselves, seeing that all the congregation is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them.
Why then do you lift yourselves up above the assembly of the Lord?'"

In Numbers 12 is the story of a man and a woman who spoke against their brother (talk about equality).  But God had appointed him as head over the congregation of His people. Read how God punished the woman while merely rebuking the man.

Read the story of sinful religious leaders in 1 Samuel 2:12-25...

"The sons of Eli were base and worthless; 
They did not know or regard the Lord... 
They did not listen to their father, for it was the Lord's will to slay them."

Read the story of a woman who did what was right while courageously facing an ill-tempered husband in 1 Samuel 25:23-38...

"...Nabal...he is a fool...a wicked and ill-tempered man... the Lord struck him, and he died."

And Genesis 38:7-10...

"Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord slew him... 
Onan... when he cohabited with his brother's widow, he prevented conception, lest he should raise up a child for his brother. And the thing which he did displeased the Lord; therefore He slew him also."

No.
Patriarchy is NOT the problem. 
Sin is.

"He who turns away his ear from hearing the law [of God and man], even his prayer is an abomination, hateful and revolting to God."
(Proverbs 28:9)

"We must all stand before Christ to be judged. 
We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body."
(2 Corinthians 5:10)

God does NOT change.

"The counsel of the LORD stands forever,
The plans of His heart from generation to generation."
(Psalm 33:11)

"For I, the LORD, do not change..."
(Malachi 3:6)

"God is not a man, that He should lie,
Nor a son of man, that He should repent."
(Numbers 23:19)

God has NOT changed.

"Every scripture is inspired by God and useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the person dedicated to God may be capable and equipped for every good work."
(2 Timothy 3:16-17)

God still wants from women what He has always wanted from women.

"For there will be a time when people will not tolerate sound teaching. Instead, following their own desires, they will accumulate teachers for themselves, because they have an insatiable curiosity to hear new things.  And they will turn away from hearing the truth...
You, however, be self-controlled in all things, endure hardship... fulfill your ministry.
(2 Timothy 4:3-5)

"But understand this, that in the last days difficult times will come. They will maintain the outward appearance of religion but will have repudiated its power. 
So avoid people like these.  
For some of these insinuate themselves into households and captivate weak women who are overwhelmed with sins and led along by various passions. Such women are always seeking instruction, yet never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. 
And just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these people – who have warped minds and are disqualified in the faith – also oppose the truth. But they will not go much further, for their foolishness will be obvious to everyone, just like it was with Jannes and Jambres."
(2 Timothy 3:1, 5-9)

Why do you think Paul singled out 'weak women' as a problem in the last days?
I believe  the Holy Spirit was warning us through him. 
Paul had had experience with this...

"...Almost the whole city assembled together to hear the word of the Lord. 
But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy, and they began to contradict what Paul was saying by reviling him.  
Both Paul and Barnabas replied courageously...  
But the Jews incited the God-fearing women of high social standing... and threw them out of their region."
(Acts 13:44-50)

If women today refuse to fulfill the support ministry that God has given to them...

If women continue to demand equality and refuse to subordinate themselves...

The church will continue into more corruption more destructive than the pornography that stands as their excuse for rebellion against patriarchy. Sin is sin.

"Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, He abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done."
(Romans 1:28)

"Yes, they made their hearts as an adamant stone or diamond point, lest they should hear the law and the words which the Lord of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets. 
Therefore there came great wrath from the Lord of hosts. 
So it came to pass that as He cried and they would not hear, 
So they shall cry and I will not answer, says the Lord of hosts."
(Zechariah 7:12-13)

Ms. Kotz says,

"Combatting patriarchy within the church is not optional—it is an emergency."

No, Ms. Kotz, 'combatting patriarchy' would be a fight against Almighty God.

"There is severe discipline for him who forsakes God's way; and he who hates reproof will die [physically, morally, and spiritually]."
(Proverbs 15:10)

So, what are women to do about the abuses they suffer?

"We do not have a high priest incapable of sympathizing with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way just as we are, yet without sin. 
Therefore let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace whenever we need help."
(Hebrews 4:15-16)

One final story, from the heart of God Himself…

The Rechabites’ Obedience

The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord,

“Go to the house of the Rechabites and speak to them, and bring them into the house of theLord, into one of the side chambers; then give them some wine to drink.”

So I took Jaazaniah, and his brothers and all his sons and the whole house of the Rechabites, and I brought them into the house of the Lord, into the chamber of the man of God, which was near the chamber of the princes, above the chamber of the doorkeeper. 

Then I set before the men of the house of the Rechabites pitchers full of wine, and cups, and I said to them, “Drink wine.” 

But they said, “We will not drink wine, for Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, commanded us: ‘You shall not drink wine, neither you nor your sons, forever. Nor shall you build a house or sow seed or plant a vineyard or own one; but you shall live in tents all your days, that you may live many days in the land where you are sojourners.’ 
We have obeyed the words of our father, in all that he commanded us, in all our days we have never drunk wine, nor have our wives, our sons, or our daughters, nor have we built ourselves houses to live in; nor do we have vineyards or fields or seed. We have lived only in tents, and have obeyed and done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us…”

 Then came the word of the Lord to Jeremiah, saying, “Will you not receive instruction by listening to My words and honoring them?” says the Lord. “The command which Jonadab the son of Rechab gave to his sons not to drink wine has been observed as a custom for more than two hundred years. To this day they do not drink wine, for they have obeyed their father’s command. But I have repeatedly spoken to you, yet you have not listened to Me.”


--- Jeremiah 35

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