GENDER NORMS AND GENESIS
A thousand Wars have been waged involving the book of Genesis: literal or symbolic, young earth or old earth, belly button or no belly button. These disagreements have created divisions in the church as denominational and political lines were drawn.
Adding fuel to the fire are conversations involving true femininity and true masculinity and gender. Whether these issues are new to you or you have been actively engaged in them, every self-professing Christian must consider what Genesis has to say.
I want to acknowledge, right from the beginning, that I am writing as a white male and I speak from that perspective. Admittedly, this article might raise more questions than give answers (it’s supposed to), and it will likely unsettle both “progressives” and “conservatives.”
So take a deep breath and open your hearts and minds to where the Holy Spirit would like to lead. In fact, stop right now and ask the Holy Spirit to give you discernment in this area before you continue reading.
As we have discovered in our Gospel Story Series (check out previous sermons), God created the universe with an intentional structure that brings life-giving order to the chaos. With every environment created on days 1-3, God provided something to fill and rule over it in days 4-6.
God delegated authority to His “image bearers.” The Bible says “God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” God placed humanity in an authoritative position over creation and all of it is held together under the ultimate authority of YHWH. Together, man and woman, were meant to put God’s benevolent reign and rule on display, as they stewarded God’s good creation well. Of course, Chapter 3 reveals how the perfect balance (read: shalom) of God’s created order was shattered when Adam and Eve rebelled against God’s authority ushering death, sin, and a myriad of consequences into the earth.
Looking back to Genesis, we are left to wonder, “what aspects of today’s world are part of God’s intention for a thriving society and what parts have been broken by sin?” In other words, what is our goal for redemption, specifically when it comes to gender and definitions of normal femininity and masculinity?
You may be shocked to discover that we know much less than you might have been told!
Reading the Bible for gender norms, we actually have very little to help us define femininity and masculinity. Can it be that these are simply biological definitions boiled down to reproductive organs and hormone surges or are there a set of behaviors that accompany these two?
Cultural stereotypes and historical patriarchy has wreaked havoc upon the church by presenting a toxic form of both genders. Being told “be a man, don’t cry, and toughen up” couples well with commands to “be submissive, and sexy...but not too sexy” to create a stew of confusion, abuse, and brokenness. Looking at the human examples throughout Biblical History leaves us wanting for better clarification, because even the best heroes are human and flawed on the latter side of the rebellion in Genesis 3.
With this level of uncertainty about gender norms, shouldn’t we just throw the whole thing out and make definitions that fit our lifestyle today?
No - we are no less broken and sinful than those who set up our current gender role structures, and we must take a close look at God’s good creation to reset our trajectory. Genesis, before the rebellion, addresses gender in binary terms: man and woman. It is not my hope to be insensitive to those who identify on a gender fluid spectrum. I agree the framework for modern day gender definitions do not cleanly fit into binary categories, and the dominant culture has ostracized those who do not behave within the majority definitions. As a Christian, I offer you an apology and hope you will forgive us for the damage we have caused. However, the base assumption in Genesis 1 and 2 is that humanity operates as male and female for fruitful multiplication and the full ability to bear the image of God. I see our current gender definitions and framework as the problem - and I hold to God’s word.
After the rebellion in Genesis 3, every relationship was distorted and, while pieces of it are intact, the original intent of shalom no longer exists. I like to think of this as a picture on a completed puzzle wherein all the pieces are locked neatly together, but someone comes into the room and scrambles it. The memory of the completed picture still lingers, and the individual pieces still depict an accurate portion of the image, but it is only one small part of the whole, detached from it’s placement, and scattered about in a messy pile. Our relationship between God, each other, and even creation has been severely altered including our understanding of gender (and our identity found therein), healthy engagement between sexes, and the communal framework we operate within.
I believe our patriarchal culture (including distorted forms of mutual submission) are a result of the rebellion. In Eden, God fashioned Eve from Adam’s side indicating equality for both and a beautiful mutuality between the two in accomplishing the mandate to be fruitful, multiply, and steward God’s earth.
There was no hierarchy but, if one is to be found, we should note that God’s rhythm in days 1-6a, created the second entity to fill and rule over the first. However, God gives more clarity to their relationship by providing lonely Adam an “Ezer Kenegdo.” The connotation of the word “Kenegdo” is that of two corresponding, but different, humans. Differentiation is a part of the created human makeup. Likewise, the word “Ezer” is more effectively depicted as “guardian” than “helper” because the latter minimizes the woman’s role in their companionship and has had devastating effects for her communal life. Given the context of their relationship, the mandate to multiply, and the binary description throughout Genesis 1-2, we are to understand that males and females are both humans who are sexually different and have interrelated and reciprocal roles which allow them to accomplish the original assignment in a healthy, mutually-supportive way.
These roles harmonize with one another in Eden, but Genesis 3 tells us that this relationship is compromised and tension exists between the two counterparts (Genesis 3:16). The subculture of white-evangelicalism has depicted women as “damsels in distress” far too long. Other caricatures throughout history have circulated, demonizing women for their character, sexuality, and temperament (consider: the witch, the temptress, the femi-natzi, among others). Even the stereotype of men going to work in order to “bring home the bacon” and women as “homemaker” only is based loosely on directives after Eden is broken and reflect values of America in the 1920’s to 1950’s rather than the bible.
Indeed, we see examples of women in NT leadership operating as all five aspects of Christ’s gift: apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers. The truthless distortions of the “ezer” have inhibited the full effectiveness of women in accomplishing their part in God’s ordained mandate, subjugated them, and created life threatening social structures. The man-made cultural framework for biblical femininity has punished women for challenging, or simply diverging from, the cultural norms even when the biblical precedent was on the woman’s side!
So, how do we define femininity and masculinity according to the Bible?
While I still see evidence of differentiation (and possibly gender roles) present in Eden, we don’t have a full answer and, perhaps, much is left open to allow for communal discernment with the Holy Spirit. I do know that a major course correction is still needed today. As a male who was raised by a single mom but discipled by a culture of toxic masculinity (High School coaches preaching “football is more important than any girl” and misogynistic Christian stereotypes embedded into my psyche that I was some girls “knight in shining armor”), this culture must be subverted by the Gospel, and we must be re-discipled by the example of Jesus Christ.
There was never male domination in Eden, and there is no room for male dominated social structures in the Kingdom of Heaven. Men, we must come to terms with the fact that the common definitions of these roles have been constructed out of distorted male preferences.
The patriarchal social environment is severely, and sinfully, flawed, and it must be redeemed in a way that reflects equity and God’s creation -according to God’s intention as opposed to the stated consequences of the rebellion in Genesis 3. Womens’ perspectives should be adequately represented to overturn this social structure whenever there are decisions being made. This must be done without male gatekeepers to attenuate their opinions, experiences, and biblical discernment.
As men, we must awaken to our blindness (sometimes intentional blindness), lament in recognition of horrific consequences of this culture, repent for the damages done throughout history, and commit to making the necessary changes for correction. Men, we can, and must, do better to re-create a world as it was in Eden and as it will be in the Kingdom to come.
- Erik Thien, Lead Pastor
In this article:
If you would like to learn more about the history of women and the church see Her Story: Women in Christian Tradition by Barbera J. MacHaffie.
Dr. Preston Sprinkle writes, “Kenegdo is a combination of two Hebrew words: ki which means as, like, or similar, and neged, which means something like opposite or against. The combination of both words (ki + neged = kenegdo) captures Eve’s similarity to Adam and her difference.” See Grace/Truth 1.0: Five Conversations Every Thoughtful Christian Should Have About Faith, Sexuality and Gender . The Center for Faith, Sexuality & Gender.
For further study on the word “desire” in Gen. 3:16, Marg Mowczko gives a fair treatment on her site at https://margmowczko.com/teshuqah-desire/