67 Lin,

Besides the obvious biological differences, what characteristics do you see as different by Design? Where are they listed?

I don’t see any characteristic as belonging just to one gender. What I do see is some things belonging less to one gender than the other gender and some things as generally belonging more to one gender than the other.

An out-front ego seems to be generally more of a male characteristic than female. Barak seemed to be an exception to the rule when he trusted God enough to want God’s prophet-leader to go into battle with him. He didn’t seem to care that he would not receive the honor from the battle.

In some ways having less of an ego than is generally in the male population makes a woman a good all around leader.

We simply do not know if hormones are a result of the fall or not.

We do know that hormones were there before the fall. God told Adam and Eve to procreate before the fall and this is impossible without hormones. Also when God said to Eve after the fall that he would greatly increase her child bearing, he did not add hormones but he greatly changed the original female child bearing level. What was there originally in the beginning was just changed so that humanity would continue on in enough numbers that the dying process would not wipe out mankind.

And if they were and affect every area of our life then they would have to affect us spiritually, too.

Our spirits do not have organs to be affected by hormones. God is not male or female as he does not have body parts. Our spirits are neither male nor female as they also do not have male or female “parts” and our physical hormones cannot and do not touch our spirits.

For example, Driscoll thinks this is why women are more easily deceived than men. They can’t help it.

Driscoll is dead wrong. He has misunderstood the scriptures and he is teaching error in this area.

How? By what non biological characteristic? I keep seeing this statement but no one has listed the “Different by Design’ characteristics between males and females that are non biological?

I do not believe that there are non-biological differences. It is only our bodies and our brains (which are affected by hormones) which are different. Our spirits are not different. I cannot give you non-biological differences because I don’t believe that these kinds of differences exist.

We keep talking about something we refuse to define. And the reason is that if we try to define it, we find it is not universal at all.

We can discuss generalities but not all generalities fit every person. Most women are “designed” to be nurturers. They come by it naturally. Men can also be nurturers but most will not come by it naturally and most will never excel in this area as their female counterparts do.

And we argue that Deborah proves that women not being allowed to rule is the exception that proves there is no rule.

I agree that leadership is not an area that is against the design that God created in women. If it was then God would have said so. Not only would women not have any leadership qualities, but God would have forbidden them to use these gifts in the church. However Paul encouraged all to participate with their gifts in the body (1 Cor. 14) and he said that anyone may aspire to the work of an overseer (1 Timothy 3:1). Paul certainly did not contradict God’s word. God’s word does not limit women in their service to the body of Christ.

How? Outside of biological differences, what do you mean? Now, if you mean that HUMANS are different, I totally agree.

I am speaking about biological differences that influence who we are and the special way that God can use us because we bring a balance. A group of gifted male servants is wonderful but they are missing something without the females working alongside them. Jesus had only 12 male apostles during his lifetime but after he died, the apostles were ministered to by women and women worked alongside them as equal heirs of God just as the OT predicted. This shows that change in our thinking that is prejudiced against women may be slow but eventually the church has to come to recognize not only the value of women, but that women are necessary for true balance in the servanthood of the church.

But I am wondering outside of biological differences how we can attach pink and blue to all other characteristics of emotions, intellect, reasoning, etc? What are the pink and blue differences outside of the biological ones?

There aren’t any pink or blue characteristics. The differences are biological ones where some characteristics are stronger in one gender and some are just different so that women add a strength to leadership and a balance. The problem with complementarians is that they see “different” as inferior. “Different” is not inferior. Our differences can be celebrated because we are needed. One day I believe that we will not only be needed but wanted.

Can you define this way of thinking? Is it universal for all women? If not, then how can it be a difference by design?

It isn’t universal for women, but it is from a woman’s perspective. For example I have been able to see things in Genesis because I can see in the text things that men don’t normally pay attention to because they are not women. When I read that Eve gave a slightly different version of God’s command, I do not read that the woman got the command wrong. I read that she gave the perspective that God gave to both of them, but that was a focus to her – the command not to even touch the fruit. While a male readily discounts the woman’s testimony, I give Eve credit for telling the truth. As a woman I understand that she is emphasizing a different part of the prohibition. As a woman I will not attribute sin to Eve just because she is a woman, unless the text proves that she sinned before sin entered the world.

Is compassion a pink or blue characteristic?
Is pride a pink or blue characteristic?

There are no pink or blue characteristics. However once again I will emphasize that men and women typically have more or less of the characteristic by gender. To say “Male pride” one gets the picture. Males struggle with an ego issue far more than females do on the average. Also compassion is far more naturally high in a female than in a male. I ran a support group for 16 years for former Jehovah’s Witnesses. This required a great deal of patience and specific compassion. The reason I ended up with this position is because the males that tried to run it to begin with would have destroyed the support group because they had a significantly less amount of patience and compassion to make it work. When they failed, they willingly handed the job over to me and I carried on for many years with great success.

I am not sure how else to explain this. It is all about a biological difference that explains why we do things differently. But aside from the outward biological differences, inside we are spirits without gender – completely equal and gender will not matter in heaven if there is indeed physical differences in heaven. We are all sons by inheritance and all are the bride of Christ by our relationship to Christ.