Notwithstanding the secular women’s movement of today, what is going on in the Christian Church?
When I became a Christian in the seventies, the most shocking thing that I discovered was the fact that the Church was a boiling pot of discrimination! I guess that pastors were trying to do everything that they could to keep the secular, rebellious women’s revolution out of the church. Conservative Christian women were being told, “Just submit to your husband, no matter what kind of life he leads and everything will work out.” Many women began to submit to ungodly men and were being abused by them. Many were submitting to every evil thing under the sun that was asked of them by unconverted men. Every single family problem was said to be happening because the women were rebellious.
I remember ministering in a church during the seventies and the associate pastor made broad statements to the women to “submit to your husbands, period.” When I asked him should a women submit totally to unbelieving man who might ask her to go to the bar, should she submit to him? He answered, “Yes!” What if a woman’s husband asked his wife to submit to a wife swapping situation, should she submit to her husband? He replied, “Yes,” I said to him, “I totally disagree to these ungodly teachings. The Bible says that women should submit to their husband, as unto the Lord.” Little did I realize that many male ministers were interpreting this Scripture as “the Lord” begins the husband and not Jesus being the Lord! This pastor said to me. Who are you that you should question me? The associate pastor exclaimed authoritatively, “the woman must submit, even to a wife swapping situation!”I replied, “Pastor, the Bible says that God’s people should be holy as God is holy. You are telling these women to do unholy things because their unbelieving husbands tell them to sin with him.”
I was asked to leave that church because, “I was in rebellion to the associate pastor because I disagreed with him.” Do these preposterous abuses still occur today? Yes! Just recently in a certain lady went for counseling in her church. She was being beaten by her husband. She was told to “go home and submit to her husband.” She did. She was again beaten by her husband. Unfortunately, even secular counselors are giving better advice than this. Nevertheless, this type of counseling over the years has caused Christian women to become “Christian zombies” and just try to work through their mistreatment.
This is not just a modern problem. Women have invariably looked down upon by many of the church men. For instance, in C.S. Lewis’ essay “Priestesses in the Church” Lewis concludes: “One wearing the masculine uniform can (provisionally, and till the Parousia) represent the Lord to the Church: for we all, corporately and individually, feminine to Him.” He says a priest is, “a double representative, who represents us to God and God to us.” Women can speak “to God for us” but they cannot ‘speak to us for God,” because “a good woman may be like God, but God is not like a good woman.”1 Where are those political correct people when we need them! This is one example of male composition of segregation that has caused God’s women to sit on the pews with a cause. Many developed this type of reasoning that is spiritually dumb but has for centuries been the popular stance of many of the men in the Christian Church.
