Q. What is Scripture’s basic teaching on the natural differences between men and women?
A: Genesis 1 begins with a fundamental distinction between men and women: “in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them” (Gen 1:27b). To be human is to be male or female; therefore humanity requires the categories of male and female, which are clearly established by God at creation. Although these categories can be misconstrued or emphasized in a way far beyond what the biblical text permits, that is not our modern dilemma. Consider the Fall and God’s subsequent judgment upon Adam and Eve. The two judgments are different: the Lord addresses Eve and Adam. Even in God’s judgment, there is a distinction in the sphere in which Adam and Eve will experience it. To Eve, the Lord speaks of pain in childbirth (Gen 3:16). To Adam, he speaks of sweat and labor in the field (Gen 3:17–19). Throughout the Old Testament, the distinction of men and women is assumed and built upon. In the New Testament, Paul’s teaching on men and women in the household codes, such as we find in Ephesians 5–6, is entirely consistent with what we find in Genesis 1: The husband is to be the leader in the home, a moral example, and a protector and provider; the woman is to be a helpmeet, a complement to him.
Q. What is the relation between the natural law and the natural differences of men and women?
A: The natural law is God’s revelation through the natural, created order. The Creator instructs us through nature itself. Natural law is the expression and codification of what nature is teaching us. The natural differences between men and women are a part of this creation order; they are revealed in creation. These differences are revealed even in the physical nature of a man’s and woman’s body, and in the social nature of men and women. Additionally, men’s and women’s bodies are different in their functional characteristics, down to something as basic as nurture and the feeding of children and the entire process of human reproduction.. Even some who hold ideological commitments to the contrary know at some level that the order established around men and women is inescapable. This is why you can have conversations with liberals whose homes are ordered like conservatives. They believe it in theory, but they practice something different at home.
Q. How should natural differences between men and women inform their roles in the home, church, and society?
A: Genesis 1 and 2 establish the foundation for men’s and women’s roles. But the Bible also reveals God’s intention in the Law, in the historical narratives concerning the patriarchs and matriarchs, in the experience of Israel, and in the wisdom literature. The natural differences are inherent to these texts, but it is interesting that these subsequent Scriptures do not have to go back and define those natural differences once they have been revealed and implanted within creation itself. As it pertains to men’s and women’s roles, there are passages where roles are addressed directly, and there are other passages that simply reveal them naturally in how husbands and wives are depicted in Scripture. The church instructions, for instance, in 1 Timothy 3 or in Paul’s letter to Titus establish explicit direction for the roles in the church. But you also find these roles established in the ways various people interact throughout Scripture. Mothers and fathers interact with one another in positive and negative ways. Families interact with one another in positive and negative ways. To understand men’s and women’s roles requires a comprehensive reading of Scripture.
Q. Where is the Christian teaching of male-female natural differences most at odds with the prevailing narrative regarding men and women in the Western world?
A: The greatest opposition to Christian teaching on male-female difference is related to the very fact that there are ontological differences between the male and the female that bear social and moral consequences. That in itself is the great stumbling block, because the secular world assumes that if there are differences, they have to be grounded in something other than ontology, and certainly grounded in something other than the intention of a divine Creator. The secularist worldview argues that any differences must be the result of some kind of social conditioning or anthropological project rooted in male aggression or male oppression. Yet, families and marriages tend to work their way towards established patterns, which, to be honest, cannot be explained away with reference to something like patriarchal oppression.
Q. What do you see is the greatest temptation or strongest challenge to Christian faithfulness with regard to male-female natural differences?
A: For Christians there is a danger of either exaggerating male-female differences, or undermining those differences. The most dangerous category here would be somehow impugning the fullness of the dignity of women. An exaggeration of differences could compromise the imago dei that is proper to all mankind, male and female. The other temptation is to minimize the differences in such a way that defies Scripture. A corruption in one direction or the other would be at the expense of biblical fidelity and Christian faithfulness. This is one of the reasons why we need to consider this kind of question aloud, which is done most effectively in the context of a gospel congregation. It is in the context of the church that we reason with one another by the Scriptures, being confronted with the consistent preaching of God’s Word, so that we would be led into a unity of understanding on these issues.
Q. How can Christians employ the Christian view of men and women as a witness in the midst of cultural opposition?
A: When you get down to the structure of thoughts and ideas, you are talking about the collision of two irreconcilable worldviews. Because of this, the more you engage, the more disagreement is going to become apparent. This is because there are disagreements at the level of first principles. We have no choice but to employ the Christian view of men and women as revealed in Scripture as a witness to the glory of God and the perfection of the Creator’s plan. The cultural opposition makes this clearer and raises the stakes of the challenge. But when pressures increase, we better be sure we are faithful to Scripture, clear in our arguments, and respectful in our conversations. We better be sure we live out what we say we believe in our own homes, lives, and congregations.
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