- Christian leaders set the stage for domestic violence by perpetuating pop-culture stereotypes of femininity and masculinity. T. D. Jakes claims in his book Woman, Thou Art Loosed that all women were created to fulfill the vision of some man. Jakes bases his gender theology solely on the physical characteristics of male and female genitalia, insisting that all women are "receivers" and all men are "givers." This false dichotomy breaks down quickly when one considers that female sexuality includes giving birth and giving milk. More importantly, Jakes deviates from Scripture in claiming that women and men must operate like their genitalia in every facet of life.
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
Open Letter to Pastors
Open Letter to Pastors by Jeannie Babb Taylor
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5 comments:
that's ridiculous and offensive
I haven't seen the writings that this women mentions but certainly Biblical Gynecology by Dan Wallace is offensive to me.
Wallace does not call women receivers but "responders" - also a sexual metaphor in my view. I find everything that he writes here disrespectful and offensive to everybody concerned. It is extremely unhelpful to the issue.
I think attempting to define masculinity and femininity is just so difficult.
Establishing what a particular text says about what women should or should not do is difficult enough, though one might reach a definite conclusion on it.
Attempting to construct a Biblical model of masculinity and femininity seems to my mind such a bewilderingly complex operation.
God Bless
Matthew
Matthew,
If you can just think of women as fellow humans it is not difficult at all.
I would not want to a priori rule out the idea of psychological differences between men and women and that they have implications for gender roles.
But it seems very difficult to identify exactly what they might be. And if we did identify them, how could we be certain as to the best way to implement them?
I am frustrated at the unwillingness of my fellow conservatives to consider that a lot of their ideas about gender roles might simply be assumptions grounded in cultural convention.
There does seem to be a distinct lack of sytematic thinking in some of the circles in which I travel.
Every Blessing in Christ
Matthew
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