I'm glad the speaker was careful about making a lot of cultural stereotypes. I'm still learning about this, but when he said men are strong and women are beautiful, the first verse that came to mind is are "she girders her loins with strength and strengthens her arms." Prov31 Is of possible that men and women both have strength, it's just used differently. Also, and maybe this is just my family, but my teenage boys are very concerned about what they look like. :)
I mostly heard confusion on your part in this message. Which surprised me after reading your scathing review of Beth Allison Barrs book. I was expecting more certainty and less emphasis on 1. The obvious. 2. The exceptions. Which tells me the this is a very deep and complex issue as it is lived out in real life. You seem to be demonstrating that. Here are some fundamental questions. 1. A woman bald from chemo...is she still a woman. 2. When a wife has to take charge because her husband has dementia, at what point is she sinful. 3. Is strength narrowly defined as muscle power the only or most important measure of strength? 4. Is Paul actually demonstrating a confidence in his manhood when he is unafraid to describe himself in female language? On and on...
Was ruth less of a woman working as a field hand? Are hermaphrodite barred from heaven? Is it permissible for a group of women to form a church? Is it still a church? What if a man shows up? Is he in charge now by virtue of his gender? Are 3rd world women who cannot live u p to the American evangelical ideal because of their need to feed their children...Are they still women? Is a man who refuses to rescue his child from a crosive dirty diaper....is he more of a man or less of a man for staying in his role?
