This topic is of particular interest to me. I am a young
woman of reasonably high education, who by society’s standards should be a
great leader in my professional and social group. It is very easy to buy into
the idea that women are underrepresented in certain levels of society therefore
it is my duty to do all I can, disregarding principles, to achieve the heights
set by humanity.
I consented to stay in Bible Class after church, when asked,
because of what I heard the topic would be. It is one of great contention among
churches in this postmodern era. Because of the social cohort to which I belong,
I tend not to comment on certain topics, and allow certain assumptions to be
maintained. But I chose to speak today. The leader of the class introduced the
topic by stating her reasons for researching it. She said that she noticed that
the “church seemed to have a revolving door with regard to men joining the
church”. She prayed and began investigating instances in the Bible of God interacting
with men, God interacting with women, and men and women interacting with each
other.
The example she used for God interacting with man she used
the story of Adam and of Abraham. She highlighted that man was made to be the
glory of God (1 Corinthians 11:7) and that God spoke directly to Abraham giving
him the promise of a son. Of God interacting with woman he gave the example of
the Samaritan woman at the well, and of God with Sarah. She pointed out that
when the Samaritan woman asked for the living water Jesus sent her to get her
husband and that the interaction between God and Sarah was through Abraham.
This indicates a hierarchy of responsibility in the God – human relationship.
Then for interactions between men and women she used Adam and Eve and Abraham
and Sarah as illustrations. Eve was deceived and Adam chose to follow her
leading to the world as it is, and Sarah convinced Abraham to have a child with
her handmaid, subsequently Abraham was forced to obey his wife again to send
away Ishmael. From these examples we can see what the intended protocol should
be and if we know these stories we can see the outcome of breaking this standard.
All this being said, why are there so few men in the church?
The simple answer – ranks have been broken due to determined diabolical forces.
For decades now the Biblical Gospel has been diluted and emotionalized. Science
has demonstrated that men tend to be “left-brain” dominant and women
“right-brain” dominant. This means men tend to be more analytical, logical, fact
driven and women tend to be more creative, intuitive, emotion driven. By presenting
the gospel as something to drive an emotive response and not a logical force to
elicit change, those of us that are analytical and would like to “reason
together” with God (Isaiah 1:18) don’t find a place in church anymore.
So what are we left with? Men have decided to relegate all
things God and Godly to women and the emotionally driven. They don’t walk with
God like Enoch did, or have that friend relationship like Abraham did, or move
with conviction like Paul did. Our churches are left like Isaiah said: “children
oppress and women rule” (Isaiah 3:12). And like Eve, women are steadily being
deceived, by the enemy, into thinking that ‘they are right’ and that ‘they have
a right’ to a position designated by God for a man.
Pride was the source of the first deception and sin. And
pride is the source of the declination of our churches and society today. Until women
decide to submit to their God given roles and me rise up to theirs there will
be no progress in our churches or in our world.
