Will Medicine Stop The Pain?

Let's be real, ladies. I think it would not be a stretch at all for me to say that probably half or more of the women I know are on or have at some point been on medication for depression, anxiety, and the like. For those who have not, you will likely at some point consider it or wonder if you need it. Some of you may think you know what is causing your troubling emotions. Some of you have no clue. Some of you think your troubling emotions are purely physical--a disease of sorts. Some of you are not sure. Some of you just want to know what in the world is going on inside your heart and mind.

Today, I am not going to delve into a long explanation of any of this. Why should you listen to me right? I'm no doctor or psychiatrist. Instead, I want to point you to a book written by just that--a former psychiatrist and current biblical counselor: Will Medicine Stop the Pain?: Finding God's Healing for Depression, Anxiety, and Other Troubling Emotions by Dr. Laura Hendrickson MD and Elyse Fitzpatrick.



You can actually read the first 20 pages or so of this book HERE on Google Books.

Who should read this book?

-Anyone who is currently or has in the past taken any kind of medication for depression, anxiety, panic attacks, etc.
-Anyone who is considering taking medicine for depression, anxiety, panic attacks, etc.
-Everyone else, because you will likely consider it or go through a difficult life experience where your doctor recommends it at some point in life.

What is this book going to tell you?

The back cover of the book lists these questions that this book will answer:
-Where do my feelings come from?
-Is emotional pain a disease?
-Can I really change?
-What is wrong with me?

Nancy Leigh DeMoss writes in the Foreword:

"Countless women struggle daily with depression, anxiety, out-of-control moods, and other troubling emotions. Will Medicine Stop the Pain? offers clear answers to help women handle emotional problems in a stable, God-honoring way.

The authors, both seasoned biblical counselors, include stories from real people and practical advice on issues like how to talk to your doctor. Read this book to learn:

* How your body and your emotions affect each other.

* Why drugs that help you feel better may end up making your emotional problems worse.
* How applying biblical principles can help you deal with the true sources of your pain.
* Why it is possible to respond to emotional pain in faith and hope.

“God is with you—no matter how you feel. His promises are stronger than all your feelings.”

I urge you to read this book all the way through—with a prayerful heart and an open mind. It may be one of the most important, helpful books you have read. It will likely challenge your thinking on many fronts. It will certainly give you a vision for how your suffering (and the suffering of others) can become a path to great blessing and growth and can result in the display of God’s glory in this fallen world."

Just another tidbit--Dr. Laura Hendrickson, in addition to being a former psychiatrist, was herself once diagnosed with depression and bipolar disorder. She herself spent years on medication. She herself was on the brink of smothering her son and killing herself one night years ago in the midst of all these troubling emotions. She didn't. She asked her husband to take her to the hospital. He called their pastor instead...She herself has been completely off of medication for over sixteen years now, praise God! You can read her story in the Google books 20-page preview HERE.

This book does an excellent job of explaining the connection between the spiritual an physical--how each affects the other. She combines medical knowledge with scriptural truth in an easily understandable way to help you understand what is causing your emotional pain (is it physical? is it physical in some cases?) and how to deal with it in a biblical, God-honoring way. The most wonderful thing is that not only will dealing with these issues biblically be the way that glorifies God and adorns the gospel, but it will also be the only truly effective way to deal with your troubling emotions. As is the case with everything in life, God's way is the only God-glorifying and personally satisfying way to do it. Isn't that wonderful that in obeying Him, the LORD gives us true delight and peace?

So before you take anything or before you take anything else, would you please consider reading this book? Wouldn't it be wise to take the small amount of time it would take to read this to ensure that you have a proper perspective of these issues--a perspective that is firmly grounded in God's word--before taking something? God's word is sufficient, dear friends, for all of life and godliness--even and especially for our troubling emotions.


(Fitzpatrick, Elyse, and Laura Hendrickson. Foreword. Will Medicine Stop the Pain?: Finding God's Healing for Depression, Anxiety & Other Troubling Emotions. Chicago: Moody, 2006. Print.)

Out of Touch With Reality

I've had a couple of conversations with friends in the last week or so that have gotten me thinking on a certain issue in the life of the church these days. So, I'll give you a break from gender roles today. Here's what I've been chewing on...

Just yesterday I was talking with a friend about how many people within the church nowadays have this idea that theology, or really just a deep understanding of God's word that requires time, effort, and study is just for pastors, ministers, seminary people, and the like. They feel like the average Christian really has no need for that. They'll just leave all that academic stuff to the theologians and they can be a good Christian without it. Along these same lines is another prevalent thought. Many people also think of most pastors, ministers, seminary students, etc. as sort of "out of touch with reality."

I would like to address both of these thoughts. First let's talk about theology, which is basically just a proper, sound understanding of the doctrines and truth of God's word. Is it just for ministers and seminarians? The answer to that is a resounding NO. Imagine this:

Imagine that you are legally blind. You go through life unable to correctly or clearly see anything. This would make for lots of problems. Things that should be easy would now be difficult, dangerous, and perhaps disastrous. Things that are intended to be enjoyable and satisfying would be frustrating and loathsome.

Theology is like the right prescription lens. Theology is the lens through which you are intended to view all of life. If you don't have it or you don't have it right, then you are basically wandering through life spiritually blind. You wonder why things don't seem to work the way they should, why you have so much trouble doing this or that, why this thing is so depressing...because you need to put on the right glasses. You need to see life through a correct and thorough understanding of God's word. Many people are like this spiritually. Either they don't know they are spiritually blind or they are aware of it but they are unwilling to put in the time and effort required to know God's word. They'd rather just leave that stuff to the pastor. They don't realize that the blessings of having the right "glasses" far outweigh the time energy necessary to get them.

Now about theological people being out of touch with reality...This thought is based on a commonly believed falsehood--a lie that Satan delights to deceive us with--and it is this: that theology and reality are unrelated...that there is no connection between theology and the "real world" (whatever that means). Actually just the opposite is true. The reason that many people think that theological people are out of touch with reality is precisely because theology is so intricately connected with the practical realities of everyday life.

Let me explain. My husband and I are young in the ministry, but even the mere four years of seminary that he has completed have drastically altered our everyday life. You see nearly every aspect of our day-to-day lives is different than it would have been had he not received the sound and thorough teaching that he has. The theology has impacted our reality in an immeasurable way. "Like how?" you ask? We do marriage differently. We parent our kids differently. The fact that we have two kids and want more is a result of theology. The fact that I am at home and not in the workplace is a result of theology. How we spend our money is a result of theology. How we celebrate some holidays is a result of theology. The church we go to is a result of theology. Don't tell me theology is disconnected from reality.

But this brings us back to why most people think that ministers, etc. are out of touch: Oftentimes theology has, in fact, impacted their lives to such an extent that they do many things very differently from most people, even most people in the church...and to most people doing things differently (especially for religious reasons) = being weird = being out of touch with "reality."

If Scripture is true and it really does have everything we need for life and godliness, then why would we not want to love God with all our mind? Why would we not desire a correct and thorough understanding of God's word? Why would we want to leave it to the pastor? Why would we want to be spiritually ignorant and spiritually blind? Why would we want to make things hard for ourselves in life that should not be? Why would we want to make things unsatisfying that were intended to be a blessing?

We should desire to be taught sound doctrine above all else, and you don't have to go to seminary to do that. It starts with your local church. The teaching and preaching of sound doctrine and of the whole counsel of God's word is one of the tasks that is assigned to the church in Scripture. Sadly most churches these days give you a theology that is a mile wide and an inch deep. That is why it frustrates me so much to hear the remarks of many people today who are looking for a church. They are concerned about the music, about it being contemporary, about how nice of a children's ministry it has...about everything EXCEPT theology/sound doctrine. In a nearby town there is a great church whose pastor faithfully preaches sound doctrine. The correct and thorough preaching and teaching of God's word is preeminent in the life of this church. However, the pastor is not the most charismatic speaker around, and their worship is slightly on the traditional side. So, many young couples scratch this church off their list and head down the road to some church with an awesome praise band and a contemporary atmosphere.

Please, folks! God's word must be FIRST on your list of criteria! Otherwise, you will be well entertained, but spiritually blind. Oh, you'll get great music and meet lots of people your age, but you will be anemic in the very thing that has all we need for life and godliness (for God's glory and your joy in your marriage, in your parenting, in your job, in your finances, in everything): God's Word!. I would rather sit through a service with music that is not exactly my taste, and a bunch of elderly people, and a pastor who is dry but preaches the whole counsel of God's word correctly, thoroughly, and with no apologies any day than be entertained with lots of lights, and a praise band with a bunch of men in skinny jeans, surrounded by lots of young couples, listening to a pastor who is entertaining, but shallow (or even worse: entertaining, but wrong).

You will not find everything you need for life and godliness by sitting back content to remain spiritually ignorant and shallow--leaving the theology to the ministers. You will not find all you need for life and godliness in a praise band or a large young married group. You will find it in God's word. I have come to love Psalm 119. David goes on and on for 176 verses about how much he loves God's word. May that be our heart as well.

"I find my delight in your commandments, which I love. I will lift up my hands toward your commandments, which I love, and I will meditate on your statutes." -Psalm 119:47-48

Further Defining the Roles: What Do We Do?

So, we understand that we are created equal, but we have different roles. We get that we are to submit and our husbands are to lead. But there's more. Headship and submission is the overarching concept that applies to our gender roles. But your womanly role itself is not simply to "do whatever, just do it in a submissive way." Thankfully, the Bible, which has everything we need for life and godliness, tells us specifically what our roles are as men and women. What do we do...practically speaking?

Well, to find our answer let's begin at the beginning. In Genesis 3 we see that Adam and Eve have sinned and God curses their roles. Did you catch that? God does not curse men and women; he curses the role of the man and the women. The roles that were once natural and easy for them to fulfill are now, because of their sin, going to be difficult.

So, to figure out what our roles are, we need only to look at the curses. When we read how the woman and man were respectively cursed, we will see what their role is. Easy as that! We find the curses in Genesis 3:16-19.

-God cursed the woman in childbirth: "I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing" (3:16)
-God cursed the woman in child-rearing: "in pain you shall bring forth children" (3:16)The Hebrew word here refers not only to birthing but to bringing up children as well.
-God cursed the woman in her relationship with her husband: "Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you." (3:16) The Hebrew here is not a positive desire, but rather a sinful desire against the husband or to rule over the husband.

So we can see from the curses that a woman's primary God-ordained role is nurturer and helper. Her primary role is to bear and raise children and to help her husband. Because of sin, this role is now difficult. Childbearing will be painful. Child-rearing will be painful, figuratively. Instead of wanting to help and submit to her husband, she is now going to have to battle a sinful desire to rule over her husband.

Let's look at a couple of other passages in the New Testament (emphasis mine):

Titus 2:4-5
"[...] and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled."

1 Timothy 5:9-10, 14
"Let a widow be enrolled if she is not less than sixty years of age, having been the wife of one husband, and having a reputation for good works: if she has brought up children, has shown hospitality, has washed the feet of the saints, has cared for the afflicted, and has devoted herself to every good work.[...]So I would have younger widows marry, bear children, manage their households, and give the adversary no occasion for slander."

The message of these passages is right in line with Genesis 3. The primary life focus of a woman is to help her husband and nurture her children (the helping/nurturing applies to single women and girls, too...we'll get to that later). The epicenter of these tasks is the home, which she is to manage. This is God's design and command for us as women. As such, we must order our lives in such a way that we are not hindered in any way in accomplishing these tasks.

So, what about the man? Well, when we flip back to Genesis 3 we see that God cursed the man's work. (Let's get this straight, now: Work itself was not the curse. Man worked before sin. However, before sin work was delightful and enjoyable.) We read in Genesis 3:17-19, as a result of sin, man's work will be difficult. Psalm 104:23 says: "Man goes out to his work and to his labor until the evening." We won't spend much time talking about the man right now. Basically, what you need to know is that based on Genesis 3 and the word and example of the rest of the counsel of God's word, a man's role is to protect and provide (work...gainful labor...a job).

Tomorrow we'll go one step further and make the application even more practical. We'll discuss what it looks like to nurture your kids, help your husband, and manage your home.

Suggested Reading: Womanly Dominion by Mark Chanski and Manly Dominion by Mark Chanski

The Biblical Basis for and Purpose of Complementary Gender Roles: Part 4

This is the most important, in many respects, of all we've looked at thus far on gender roles: The Purpose..the "Why?"...Why did God, in his purposeful & wise sovereignty design male and female--equal yet different? Let's look at a couple of reasons:

(1) To Reflect the Nature of God Himself.

Do you know who the original example of headship and submission is? Do you know who was the first to demonstrate a relationship of equality of being and diversity of function?? GOD HIMSELF! That's right! We serve a triune God--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each carries out a different function or role. The Son submits to the will of the Father; the Spirit submits to the Son. But they are all equally divine. It is not degrading for Christ to submit Himself to the Father; indeed, according to Philippians 2:5-11 this is His glory. In our marriage relationship we have the opportunity to demonstrate to the world the very nature of God himself. When we function according to God's design in Scripture, we rightly reflect the image of our Triune LORD. When we choose to do things our way instead, we sin and wrongly image our LORD to the world.

(2) To Reflect the Relationship Between Christ and His Bride the Church...which is the gospel.

In Ephesians 5 (emphasis mine) we read these words:
"Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. "Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh." This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband."

So, in functioning according to God's design we demonstrate the relationship of Christ and the Church. When we choose to do things our way instead, we sin and wrongly image this relationship to the world. Do you see the major problem here? This relationship--between Christ and the Church--is the gospel. When we get this wrong, we are wrongly portraying the gospel to the lost world.

Let's meditate on these truths and allow them to motivate us to submit ourselves to God's design for our marriages to the glory of God and the advancement of the gospel.

We've done a quick overview of the overarching concept of headship and submission. In the coming weeks, we will look more at Scripture to discover what exactly our God-ordained role is as a woman. In other words, God's design is not just "Do whatever you want, just do it submissively." Thankfully, the LORD made it much easier for us and laid out some specifics for men and women's roles in His word for His glory and our satisfaction.

The Biblical Basis for and Purpose of Complementary Gender Roles: Part 3

In our last post we looked at the equality of the sexes in Genesis Chapter 1. Today we will flip over a page or two to Genesis Chapter 2:7-24 ESV:

7then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became aliving creature.[…]15The LORD God took the man and put him in thegarden of Eden to work it and keep it.16And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "You may surely eat of every tree of the garden,17but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shallnot eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."18Then theLORD God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I willmake him a helper fit for him."[…]20The man gave names to alllivestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of thefield. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him.21So theLORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while heslept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh.22And therib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a womanand brought her to the man.23Then the man said, "This at last is boneof my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, becauseshe was taken out of Man."24Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become oneflesh.

Strauch points out that this topic provides a great opportunity to see how "the Bible is its own best commentary" (Strauch, 21). By this, he means that most often our questions about one passage of Scripture are answered by another passage of Scripture. Let's demonstrate: The fact that God created Adam first is extremely significant in this gender role issue, and Strauch writes that "[w]e don’t have to guess what that significance is because the New Testament provides us with a divinely inspired commentary on Genesis 2.[...]the same God who breathed out the words of Genesis 2 also inspired Paul to comment on the true meaning of those words" (Strauch, 21):“I do not allow a women to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet. For it was Adam who was first created” (1 Tim. 2:12-13a). So basically, the New Testament uses the fact that Gad created Adam first to demonstrate God's designed for male headship. It's not merely suggested or implied. No, it is clearly and directly stated, inspired by the Holy Spirit, in plain English...or I guess I should say Greek (Strauch, 21).

A second point to look at from the Genesis 2 passage that gives us a foundation for differing gender roles is that woman was formed from man (Woman being formed from man also demonstrates the equality of their nature.). This is another great example of Scripture interpreting Scripture. In 1 Corinthians 11 Paul (inspired by the Holy Spirit!) uses Genesis 2:22 to demonstrate God's design of distinct roles for the sexes. Paul writes in 1 Cor 11:8: "For man does not originate from woman, but woman from man." This reference to Genesis that Paul makes in verse 8 is to prove his statement in verse 3: "the man is the head of a woman." In other words Paul writes that the man is the head of the woman because woman originated from man. The role distinctions that the Holy Spirit writes of through Paul in his letters are based upon Genesis 2. (Strauch, 22)

A third point to take from this passage is that God created the woman for the man. And, again, we can use another Scripture to bring out this point. The New Testament commentary on Genesis 2:18 which says that woman is to be a help to the man is 1 Cor 11:9: "for indeed man was not created for the woman's sake, but woman for the man's sake." Paul is again using verse 9 to prove verse three--the man is the head of the woman because woman was created for the man's sake. The fact that the woman was made for the sake of the man is proof of the biblical doctrine of headship and submission according to what the Holy spirit writes in 1 Corinthians 11. (Strauch 23)

Now, let me jump back to yesterday for a moment and talk about equality again. At the end of this passage in Genesis 2, we see another example of the equality of the sexes. Here we read of the very first marriage--the Father presents the bride to her groom. "God fashioned a partner for Adam"--a complementary, suitable helper--"out of his rib. This demonstrates their equality in nature" (Strauch, 24). We can see in Genesis 2:23 that Adam recognized that the woman shared his nature and that she was not just another animal. Because she was made from man, she also shared in his nature. She also bore the image of the Holy God. (Strauch, 24)

Okay, I know that was a lot of stuff to take in at once. But I hope you will read the Scriptures we discussed carefully and meditate on them a while. Please keep in mind that we are going to discuss the purpose of God's design soon. For now just familiarize yourself with the "what" of God's design and we will get to the "why" soon enough. I highly recommend Strauch's book. What we have looked at merely scratches the surface of everything he covers. He does a great job of presenting the material in a straight-forward and easy-to-understand manner. You don't have to be a seminary grad to read this. The book is also no inordinately long. He tells you what you need to know and where to find it in Scripture without any frills. This book is not some pleasure read to entertain you; it is to educate you on the truth of God's word on gender roles--a truth that will have great bearing on your day to day life. More later...

Strauch, Alexander. Men and Women, Equal Yet Different: a Brief Study of the Biblical Passages on Gender. Littleton, CO: Lewis and Roth, 1999. Print.

Birth Control: Is Yours on the List?

(We will continue our gender role discussion tomorrow...I need another book from my hubby's office.)
I've posted about this before (a loooong time ago), but I want to post on it again because it is such an important issue that affects pretty much all women. Even if you have read this before, I encourage you to scroll down and see if your birth control is on the list below of birth controls that alter the endometrium. My goal today is to make you aware of moral problems with many (most) forms of birth control, so that you can make a wise and God-honoring choice with your husband. First let's discuss how most birth control works. I have provided a list below of the products currently on the market that work this way.

Birth control (pills, patches, IUDs, etc.) functions in three ways. You can think of it like three lines of defense. The first way it functions is to prevent an egg from being ovulated, which is fine.

...but sometimes an egg is ovulated...

So, the second function is to thicken the cervical mucus in order to attempt to prevent sperm from reaching the egg, which is fine.

...but sometimes the sperm does get through to the egg...

This is where the moral issue arises. When the sperm reaches the egg and fertilizes it, this is conception. The embryo now has 23 complete pairs of chromosomes and its own DNA. As Christians, this is when we believe life begins. Even the world's leading non-believing scientists concur. The third function of birth control is to alter the lining of your uterus (to thin the endometrium) in order to prevent the embryo from implanting in the uterine wall. Instead of implanting the embryo is aborted from the body.

Do you see the problem? Life begins at conception, and birth control works to flush this life out of the body. This is no small issue. This function of birth control is abortive.

Now, at this point most women are terrified because they think that this means that they are going to have 20 children. Wrong. May I remind you that before the advent of the pill in 1960 there were women who had one child, women who had two kids, women who had 10 kids, etc. There are several barrier birth control methods that do not pose moral issues as well as the natural rhythm method.

Sadly, I have heard of many Christian women in recent months who have found their doctors very reluctant to discuss with them or prescribe them any of these appropriate methods--even Christian doctors. Many women have told me that their doctors told them over and over again about how much more convenient the pill is...how these other methods are archaic...how there is only a small chance of this happening...and on and on. Some doctors have even wrongly told women that certain forms of birth control do not work this way. For instance, a friend of mine asked her doctor if Mirena worked this way. He told her that it did not, yet the product website clearly says that it does. I say all this to make the point that you need to do your research and do it well before taking anything. You need to know the right questions to ask your doctor.

An additional concern that you should be aware of is this: Birth control can affect your body for up to one year after you stop taking it. Many young women are prescribed birth control for acne and other reasons. Suppose one of these young women gets engaged. She might assume that she could just stop taking the pill right before the wedding and it would be fine. But her body could be affected (her endometrium could still be thinned) for up to a year into her marriage.

A final caution I want to give you is this: Don't just take your doctors word for it, even if you have a great doctor and think you have made your desires clear as far as what you do and don't want your birth control to do. Do your research. I know of several ladies who knew that some forms of BC were unethical, communicated to their doctors that they did not want anything like that, and yet their doctor still prescribed birth control that does work in all three ways listed above. The problem is that these ladies went home thinking they were taking something that was okay. Take advantage of the Internet (there are links below) for research and specifically ask your doctor if the BC is going to alter the lining of your uterus in any way.

So, when examining a product look to see if it says that it does anything to the uterus. Some product descriptions will say it "thins the lining of the uterus," "alters the lining of the uterus," "makes the uterus inhospitable for the egg," "causes changes in the lining of the uterus," etc. Another point to note is that many websites say that the thinned endometrium prevents the egg from implanting...this is incorrect terminology since it is no longer just an egg. Since conception has occurred it is now an embryo.

Below is an alphabetical list of the products currently available that work in the three ways listed above (I had no idea how many types of birth control there are!). The links are to the product descriptions where it tells how they work. Most of these say in the very first paragraph that it changes the uterine lining; a few require you to scroll down some. This list is not exhaustive, but I have tried to include all the brand names and generic names of everything available. I encourage you to scan down and see if yours is on the list. If you don't see yours, then go to Drugs.com and type it in to find out if it affects your uterine lining, and thus the implantation of an embryo.


Alesse
Apri
Aranelle
Aviane
Aygestin
Azurette
Balziva
Beyaz
Brevicon
Camila
Cesia
Cyclessa
Demulen
Desogen
Ella
Enpresse
Errin
Estrostep Fe
Femcon FE
Gildess FE (all kinds--same medication as Leena, just a different brand name)
Implanon
Jenest
Jolivette
Junel Fe (all kinds)
Kariva
Kelnor
Leena
Lessina
Levlen
Levlite
Levora
Loestrin (all kinds)
LoSeasonique
Lutera
Lybrel
Microgestin (all kinds)
Mirena
Mircette
Necon (all kinds)
Nordette
Modicon
Mononessa
Nora-BE
Norinyl (all kinds)
Nor-QD
Nortrel (all kinds)
NuvaRing
Ortho-cept
Ortho-cyclen
Ortho Evra
Ortho Micronor
Ortho-novum (all kinds)
Ortho TriCyclen
Ortho TriCyclen Lo
Ovcon (all kinds)
Ovrette
Portia
Previfem
Provera
Reclipsen
Safyral
Seasonale
Seasonique
Solia
Sprintec
Sronyx
Tri-Levlen
Tilia Fe
Tri-Legest Fe
Tri-Previfem
Tri-Lo-Sprintec
Tri-Nessa
Tri-Norinyl
Tri-Sprintec
Triphasil
Trivora
Velivet
Yasmin
Yaz
Zenchent
Zovia

The Biblical Basis for and Purpose of Complementary Gender Roles: Part 2

(If you have not, please read the previous post before reading this one.)
Today, we are going to examine the "equal" part of equal yet different.
Let's look first at Genesis 1:26-28:

26Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." 27So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28And God blessed them. And God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth." –
Genesis 1:26-28 (ESV)

There is a very obvious point that we can take from this passage immediately. Do you know what it is? You probably missed it...I did: God created them male and female.

"And...?" you say.

Have you ever considered that God did not have to create different sexes? He could have done whatever He wanted. He could have made one androgynous creature with the ability to procreate itself. He could have made ten different sexes...the Creator of all things could have done whatever He pleased, but He chose to make two sexes, male and female. "Why?" Well, we will answer this much more specifically at the end of this series, but here's a preliminary answer. God's design was not some sort of arbitrary whim. He didn't just throw a bunch of numbers in a hat and pull one out to decide how many different kinds of human beings he would make. No, our God is a God of purpose and order, and, indeed, His design of two different sexes has a purpose. Let's continue now to look at His design and we will come back to exactly what the purpose is later.

In the Scripture passage above, there are two points that demonstrate the equality of the sexes. First, we see that God created both man and woman in His image. Men and women equally bear the image of God. This demonstrates that they are equal in dignity and being and equally necessary and important to God's design for the human race. Second, we see that God commanded both the man and the women to to multiply and rule (have dominion over) the earth. We will look more at what that dominion looks like for men and women in the following posts.

So, today we need to plant it in our brain that (1) God's design for the sexes, in accordance with His character, is one of purpose and (2) that men and women are equal, equally bearing the image of God. Tomorrow, we will begin to dig in the the "different" of equal yet different...which is where the gender role controversy is centered.

Strauch, Alexander. Men and Women, Equal Yet Different: a Brief Study of the Biblical Passages on Gender. Littleton, CO: Lewis and Roth, 1999. Print.