Cheryl Schatz

gengwall,

You said:

Cheryl – I agree with Paula, the answer to all of your inquiries which, if true, would yield inequality, is quite obviously “no”. I do have one possible quibble. You acknowledge the physical differences in gender (who could miss them), but those physical differences go further than our outside shell and reproductive anatomy. There are certainly hormonal and other bio-chemical differences between men and women, as well as significant brain structure and operation differences. So, although I agree that we are equal spiritually, I suggest that we may pursue spirituality quite differently.

Good!  Glad to have agreed here.  Are there differences between men and women that cause us to pursue spirituality differently?  I think biblically the answer is yes and no.  Yes there is a difference because God himself said that he would initiate an enmity between the serpent and the woman (Genesis 3:15).  We know that the enmity between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent has the seed of the woman (Jesus) doing spiritual warfare and winning the battle for us.  Is it reasonable to assume that if God is also initiating the conflict between the woman and the serpent then he is providing the woman with the means to do battle in some way with the serpent?

It should not be a surprise that there are more women in church, more women tend to be prayer warriors and typically there are more women who are involved in bible studies then there are men.  Some think this is the “feminizing” of the church, but I think that God has enabled women to join the battle against satan that is still being fought and their involvement is in increased numbers and increased intensity.  Women seem to come across as more interested in spiritual matters while many men are more interested in the daily things of life.

While there are some characteristics that appear to be more predominant in the general population of women than men, this doesn’t mean that these are characteristics belonging to women alone.  For example men are said to be more rational and women are said to be more emotional.  In our home, my husband is the soft heart and his tears flow easily when he is sharing a meaningful experience in public.  I am the one who operates in the logical realm.  This doesn’t mean that my husband is not logical, but I am the one who consistently deals with issues through a logical method and a logical mind.  In fact if someone presents “facts” to me that are illogical, my mind tends to shut down.  I am not able to continue to listen to the person because I am like a computer saying “this does  not compute…this does not compute”.  If something is illogical I tend to get stuck at that point and until I can unravel the illogical words, I miss everything else the person are saying.  Just the other day, this was brought out once again when my husband said that I appeared not to be listening to him.  I was stuck back at the beginning at the point where what he said didn’t make sense to me and I had shut down and couldn’t hear a thing after that.

I also believe that women as a whole have  things to say and teach that men may miss getting from male teachers and so having women teachers is very advantageous because it keeps a person well-rounded getting the facts from different angles.  This is the complementary part that is missing in so many churches.  Women on the other hand are privileged receiving teaching by both men and women teachers.  Many men do not have the privilege of learning from a woman and so many are stuck in traditions that may not be healthy because they have not been allowed to expand their learning base.

Even with my admission that men and women can teach differently, inside we are all basically human and so bottom line we are on the same level.  We are all individuals of the same species.  We all have emotions and we all have a will.  Each person takes what he/she has and uses their gifts individually.  I do agree with Paula that if one removes the ability to know whether one is communicating with a man or a woman, it is not readily apparent by our communication.  I have no doubt that I could be taken as a man since I teach with the level of authority given in 1 Peter 4:10, 11 that is available to all but which is culturally seen more in men.

I am going to see about catching up on more of the comments.  You folks have produced much to think about.  Thanks!