Gengwall

Ha! My anti-spam word was “MALE” in all caps. Is such name calling really necessary?!? :-0

I have seen some pretty wild interpretations of Genesis 3:16b in my day. Frankly, the one by Ortlund, while oppressive to women, is not the worst of its kind. But I do want to point out that conservative males are not universally in the patriarchal camp, nor are all egalitarian ideas necessarily “liberal” (at least not in fact, although they are to patriarchal thinkers). The problem for many conservatives is a knee jerk fear of radical feminism. But those conservative males (like me) who do not see burning bras around every corner (and who find it refreshing to hear a woman “roar” every once in a while) are far more open and less fearful of an egalitarian view. We don’t need to twist the bible in order to feel protected from those evil women’s libbers.

I don’t know if you are familiar with Dr. Robert Lewis. He is pastor at large of Fellowship Bible Church in Little Rock. By the name, you can probably tell this is a pretty conservative bunch of believers. He is also founder of Men’s Fraternity, a kinder, gentler version of Promise keepers. You may find it interesting what his views are on Genesis 3 (I know this because I have attended his Men’s Fraternity bible studies for the last 4 years). You will be happy to learn that he holds a similar view to Cheryl’s “Unfaithful Watchman” in regards to Adam’s dismal performance in the garden. He has little regard for patriarchy, calling its promotion a “moral failure” on the part of men. If you would like a counter “conservative” take on the marriage partnership that should be far more encouraging, I would recommend his book “Rocking the Roles: Building a Win-Win Marriage”. Also, a little more intimidating to some because of the title but also far more positive in relation to the fall and Eve, is his book “The New Eve”. Take heart ladies – not every “conservative”, and dare I say not even every “patriarch” (we should explore that word some time), is a woman oppressing, wife dominating fiend.