Don't be Disarmed

This post was originally drafted after March 8th, 2018. As you ought to know by now, I'm incapable of finishing anything. So here is the final draft, a year in the making.

March 8th was International Women's Day, and it set me thinking about the rather hot-button issue of feminism. I know a lot of people are not going to be all that excited about reading some 19-year-old white guy from Mississippi talk about feminism, but I am going to attempt to handle the issue sensitively and yet biblically.

A Little Background

Let's start by defining some terms. Our friend the Merriam-Webster dictionary defines feminism as "the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes." Some may not be satisfied with this definition, but I think it definitely serves as a good starting point. Something worth noting is that these concepts are not inherently bad. The Lord Jesus shows us this by reaching out to women that were shunned and/or marginalized in that culture and time.
I also plan to reference complementarianism a good bit here. In her article for The Gospel Coalition entitled, "Complementarianism for Dummies", Mary Kassian says,

"Complementarians believe that God created male and female as complementary expressions of the image of God—-male and female are counterparts in reflecting his glory. Having two sexes expands the view. Though both sexes bear God's image fully on their own, each does so in a unique and distinct way. Male and female in relationship reflects truths about Jesus that aren't reflected by male alone or female alone." 

The argument of many new wave feminists is essentially that women still have not achieved political, economic, and social equality due to the oppressive societal "patriarchy," and thus women ought to still be engaged in feminist efforts.
Allow me to explain what my argument in this post is NOT going to look like: 'Feminism was once a good thing, but now that women have economic equality, it is bad and no longer necessary.' I do not see that as a productive way to argue.
My aim is to show how modern (or 'new wave') feminism is fundamentally inconsistent with a biblical view of sex, and how it disarms, discourages, and effectively neutralizes strong Christian women. 

So, What's the Problem?

What ought to unease us about new wave feminism is not its push for women's issues in the economic and political realms. These are results of an underlying philosophy. What ought to unsettle us about new wave feminism is its intention to undermine the Bible's teachings on femininity and masculinity. Perhaps as a reaction to the more romanticized view of homemaking held by some evangelicals, many young women in the Church have quickly swung to the other end of the spectrum. As a result, any talk about headship or gender roles tends to become awkward, and men are expected to keep quiet, especially if they are not in places of teaching authority.

New wave feminism has essentially become what I call a "Men-Need-to-Shut-Up-ism." I will concede that there are times when men need to shut up and listen to the concerns that women have, especially when we have not given the issue thought outside of these types of conversations. There are also times, however, when a man cannot seem to do any kind of musing about sex or gender roles without getting slapped in the face with Men-Need-to-Shut-Up-isms.
Furthermore, how many feminists does it take to screw in a light bulb? The answer: that's not funny.

Some Clarification

To be sure, a healthy concern for women's needs and issues (perhaps even an Alice Walker brand of "womanism") is a good and biblical thing. I want to affirm that with my whole heart. Women ought not to be made to feel that they are not important, especially within the church. If, however, the way that you advance the causes of women is simply to try to delegitimize and shame men, then you're doing it wrong. 

So what is this about feminism disarming women? Isn't that the opposite of what it's supposed to do?
Someone I have learned a lot from recently is Dr. Carl Ellis, Jr., Provost's Professor of Theology and Culture for RTS. Dr. Ellis is a theological anthropologist and has written a good deal of material on race and civil rights (a good deal of which I can highly recommend). He sometimes notes how progressives have correctly diagnosed the problem of racism, but have pushed ideologies that, though they talk of empowerment, actually encourage dependence.
I believe that the same is true of this brand of feminism. Women are encouraged to be empowered, to be able to do everything that a man can do, and to fight the "patriarchy". Feminism talks of empowerment but encourages dependence because feminism compels women to constantly compare themselves to men.

Bringing it Full-Circle

Radical feminism, like all other forms of "creaturism", has at its root a violation of the first commandment. May I remind the reader that anything can become an idol? What happens when we make an idol of masculine traits?
Men are not off the hook here. If and when a man makes an idol of his own masculinity. it is usually very clearly manifested in things like misogyny, brashness, rudeness, a domineering attitude, and the like. These things are clearly wrong. If and when a woman buys into the idea that women should share certain traits with men, she very well could be making an idol of masculine traits, which manifests in a breed of Men-Need-to-Shut-Up-ism.

It is a despicable thing for a woman to be made to feel as if she must fill male roles, live up to male performance, and put on an air of quasi-masculinity in order to truly be a "strong" or "independent" woman. God made male and female (Genesis 1:27) for a reason. Femininity is a blessed thing. Masculinity is a blessed thing. And they are, believe it or not, better together.
Woman of God, do not be disarmed.

In Memoriam

Today, I've come out of a long hiatus to mourn the loss of a dear brother, teacher, scholar, pastor, and father in the Lord, R.C. Sproul.

Words cannot express the impact Dr. Sproul's teaching has had on my Christian life. He was one of the finest preachers one could have the joy of hearing and very formative in what I now believe and how I communicate it.
Even having never met him, I feel a profound sense of sadness and loss at his passing.
Dr. Sproul, a brilliant and fierce defender of reformed orthodoxy, was truly one of the greatest theologians of his time and will likely be remembered as such. I'm privileged to have shared a brief period on this earth with him.

Let's continue to pray for Vesta, the rest of the family, and Ligonier Ministries in this difficult, sad, and yet joyful time. More information about R.C.'s life and ministry, as well as details about the memorial service, can be found here.

Dr. Sproul is now with the Lord whom he served so faithfully in some 50 years of gospel ministry. Rest well, R.C.. We'll meet someday.

Rev. Dr. Robert Charles Sproul

Feb. 13, 1939 - Dec. 14, 2017

"Well done, thou good and faithful servant."

Help Les Lanphere make "Calvinist"!

I, for one, am excited to see where this will go. There is a lack of quality Christian media in this digital age. This is slowly, but surely changing, and this movie is an indication of that.
As of July 2, the project is fully funded, but there are still stretch goals to be reached. Let's see if we can make this thing happen!

#IMACALVINIST

P.S.- If you haven't listened to the Reformed Pubcast, check it out! I've really been enjoying it.

Pulpit, Font, and Table

Something I have been thinking about a lot lately is what we Reformed folk call the 'Means of Grace' or sometimes the 'ordinary Means of Grace.'  Specifically those that we receive in Worship; Word and Sacrament, as dispensed from the pulpit, Font, and Table. It might be said that these are the three most important pieces of furniture in your church. The "Big Three." Obviously, the furniture itself isn't holy, right? No, it's not. The pulpit is just a pulpit, the Font is just a font, and the Table is just a table. They're truly just pieces of furniture. What's more important is what is being dispensed from them. From the pulpit (assuming your church still has one) the Word of God is read and exposited. Sinclair Ferguson said, "Biblical Christianity is where the Word of God jumps out of the pulpit and runs around the church transforming people's lives." Preaching ought to thunder from the Sanctuary and into the halls of the church. It ought to affect everything that we do as the Covenant people.
The Word in all its forms is our food (Matthew 4:4, Psalm 119:11), and this brings us to the visible Word: the Sacraments.
From the Font (or baptistery, if you're most of American Evangelicalism) we receive the visible Word of Baptism, entering into the Covenant community and signifying and sealing to us that we belong to Christ.
Finally, at the Table we are fed and nourished by Jesus himself in a glorious Covenant meal that binds us to Him until He returns.
I am convinced that today's Evangelicalism has a warped and low view of all of these; the ultimate result of a low view of God's Word. These Means of Grace are not to be taken lightly. Are they not, after all, means by which God has chosen to communicate his saving and sanctifying grace? They were given for our spiritual good, to engage all our senses. We hear the Word preached, and see, taste, smell and feel the Word administered in the Sacraments. That's pretty cool.
So come to the pulpit, wonder at the Font, and rejoice at the Table week in and week out. Gratefully receive the gifts of God from the "Big Three."

Brussels and Islam

"They wish you would disbelieve as they disbelieved so you would be alike. So do not take from among them allies until they emigrate for the cause of Allah. But if they turn away, then seize them and kill them wherever you find them and take not from among them any ally or helper." (The Qur'an, Surah 4.89). 

Doubtless, you've heard by now. Islamic terrorists have taken the lives of at least 31 people in Brussels, Belgium, yet our government still refuses to directly confront the problem. I try not to talk about politics too much-- not unless it has theological implications (which it can!).  I posit that it will not be long before ISIS becomes a serious threat to the United States, and it does not appear that our leadership is particularly excited about fulfilling the qualifications given in Romans 13:4. President Obama seems to think that we can defeat terrorism with rhetoric. This is unsettling, to say the least. However, we tend to forget the first part of Romans 13 (Romans 13:1). No matter who we elect to the executive office, or who Islamic terrorists decide to target next, our God is sovereign. We know that "the Devil is God's Devil," right? Well, how about "ISIS is God's ISIS"? This is not to say that God approves of everything ISIS is doing. This means that ISIS will do nothing outside of God's sovereign allowance. That should comfort us. Let us pray for Brussels, let us pray for the Middle East, let us pray for ISIS, and let us pray for the world this Easter.

Je suis Bruxelles.  

Why I "Do Theology"

"Many people react negatively to the word theology, believing that it involves dry, fruitless arguments about minute points of doctrine." 

That quote is from the summary of Dr. R.C. Sproul's book Everyone's a Theologian. I have yet to read it, but I agree with the premise of that book. That is, of course, that everyone is a theologian. This is not to say that everyone makes their living by studying and teaching others about God. As Dr. Sproul points out: "Not everybody's a professional theologian with a capital 'T,' but we're all theologians in a lower-case 't' because we all have some view of who God is." There you have it. Some rather squishy Christians may say, 'I don't do theology.' Sorry to burst your bubble, but yes, you most certainly do. If one's theology is nothing more than their view of who God is (or who He isn't, or who the many are), then it is inescapable. Like it or not, you have a doctrine of God. G.K. Chesterton said, "Theology is simply that part of religion that requires brains."

Though everyone is a theologian in the abstract sense, there are those, like myself, who make it a point to study doctrine. Yes, it's a lot of what I do in my free time, and yes, I enjoy it. Go figure. 

Let's go back to our squishy Evangelical friend: 'We just want love Jesus and love people.' That's great; I do too, but guess who says the same thing? The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the Watchtower Society, Christian Scientists, etc. So who exactly is this Jesus fellow? He's our Savior, eternal second Person of the Godhead, who came to earth and lived as true God and true man before suffering and dying on a cross for our sins, rising again from the dead and ascending into heaven, right? Hold the phone, that sounds like theology! Right on; it's theology. Specifically, it is Christology, the study of the person and work of Jesus Christ. If I told you that I love Peyton Manning the football player, and then proceeded to describe Peyton Manning as a 5"1' tall white-haired grandmother from China, you would probably question whether I actually knew who Peyton Manning was. In the same way, people can assert that they love Jesus, but if they have a skewed doctrine of who Jesus is, the difference could very well be eternal. Woops.  

For the Christian, theology is essential. The Bible is a book of doctrinal truth, and truth has a profound effect on our lives, as Jesus prays in John 17:17. Truth is integral to our growth as Christians. All of that is to say: I like theology. I like studying God, I like singing about God, I like thinking about God, and I try to live in light of His truth. 

The general persuasion of our culture is of moral relativism and pluralism, and the Church has begun catching the disease. Through all of this, Christians have been coming out of the woodwork (particularly from the Reformed camp, I might add) to take a stand for theology, apologetics, and ultimately, the word of God. I hope to be numbered among them. 

Theology isn't dead; it's on fire, and I would be pleased for you to join me as I seek to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.