This is a continuation of my review of the book “The Resignation of Eve” by Jim Henderson.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

As I’ve been thinking over this topic, I imagined the push-back I might receive from some people. This brought me to a revelation: When someone argues against complementarianism and says that men and women should have equal opportunity, I think a significant number of people hear “It’s ok for men to be lazy, irresponsible, and passive.” (Like it or not, people often hear something different than what a speaker is actually saying.) If you listen to anyone argue for the egalitarianism, you’ll never hear them say this. But I am aware that one of the big areas from which complementarianism is presently coming is from Continue reading →

This is a continuation of my review of the book “The Resignation of Eve” by Jim Henderson.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Where does the belief that women must be subordinate to men come from? My distinct impression is that tradition is by far the primary reason for this belief. People use bible to support it, but they are using it to support their pre-existing belief. They are not going to the bible unbiased and coming away with this belief after careful study. One woman interviewed readily admitted that her primary reason for not thinking women should hold leadership positions was “I’ve been conditioned to think this way.” (Kathy MacKintosh, p. 88) Another commenter shared “how deeply ingrained gender inequality really is in churches. And Continue reading →

This is a continuation of my review of the book “The Resignation of Eve” by Jim Henderson.
Part 1
Part 2

There are three passages which instruct wives to submit to their husbands: Ephesians 5:21-6:9, Colossians 3:18-25, and 1 Peter 2:11-3:7. I am including whole sections rather than just individual verses, because I believe the context is important for understanding. In all of these cases, slaves and children are address along with women. I believe this sheds light on the type of relationship wives had to their husbands in that culture. When this is understood, the instructions found in these sections make more sense.

1 Peter 2:13 is especially interesting to this discussion: “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority.” Continue reading →

This is a continuation of my review of the book “The Resignation of Eve” by Jim Henderson. Click here to read Part 1.

Henderson holds that the difference in views regarding the relationship of men to women comes in large part from whether one holds to a pre-Fall or post-Fall paradigm (p. 257). Part of the curse pronounced to Eve is “you will desire to control your husband, but he will rule over you” (Genesis 3:16). To my understanding, this describes the breaking of the relationship between men and women, and suggests that things were not this way previously. Now, while in many cases women desire have men lead, they also often have in mind where they want to be led. In other words, they still want to be in control, and are tempted to Continue reading →

In “The Resignation of Eve“, Jim Henderson explores women’s opinions about women’s place in church primarily through a series of interviews. The book is in one sense a challenging one to read. The writing itself is quite accessible and the stories are easy to follow. Yet no matter one’s perspective, many of the stories shared were very upsetting because they revealed serious wrongs committed. It is all the more frustrating because of the fact that the context in these stories is Christianity and church—places where in theory these wrongs should be least likely to happen. The stories stirred a deep desire in me to see these kinds of wrongs eliminated.

The premise of the book is that women are unfairly barred from top leadership Continue reading →