Proponents of Biblical patriarchy have been under attack lately. Surprisingly, the attacks seem to come primarily from Christian brothers and sisters. Worse still, they are all too often built upon statements taken out of context and used to formulate accusations and doctrines that these brothers never taught.
You might know that my husband works for Vision Forum. Although we don’t attend the same church as most of the staff, we do have much in common with them.

From Doug’s Blog:

The Bible rejects the egalitarian doctrine of feminism. It expressly teaches hierarchy within the home, including the servant-like, Christ-honoring leadership of fathers. It expressly teaches differences of roles and responsibilities between men and women (although there are many areas of overlap). (1 Cor. 11:3; Eph. 5:22-24; Col. 3:18; Tit. 2:5; 1 Pet. 3:1-6)

The Bible does not, however, teach (a) the subjugation of women under the oppression of men; (b) the right of parents to brutalize or dominate children; or (c) the inferiority of women to men.

Nor does the Bible teach or encourage the notion that (a) women are barred from Christian ministry; (b) that the mind of a woman is inferior to that of a man; or (c) that women should not benefit from advanced training and higher education.

Vision Forum has addressed areas in our modern culture in which many Christians are not self-consciously acting upon Biblical principles. Critics might say that Vision Forum is obsessed with the idea of patriarchy, but this is not the case. Vision Forum is simply reasserting what the Church has clearly taught for 1900 years. Take a moment to skim the stated mission of Vision Forum and you will see that it centers around the family. Correctly defining roles within the family rests heavily upon properly defining the Biblical role and responsibilities of the father.

We at Vision Forum have raised serious objections to: (1) the working-woman philosophy of the late 20th century; (2) the cultural depravity of the modern university; (3) the feministic philosophy of the anti-complementarian, pro-egalitarian household leadership; (4) the culture of death and self-gratification, with its emphasis on closing the fruitful womb; and (5) attempts by liberals or vendetta-driven individuals to viciously mock fruitful mothers as baby machines, etc.

While raising these objections, we have also discussed and published material addressing: (1) alternatives to traditional college for both men and women; (2) the importance of cultivating the minds of both men and women to the fullest (for example, training both to be vigorous entrepreneurs); (4) the necessity of holding abusive husbands (and wives) accountable through the local church; and (5) the biblical imperative that men act nobly and sacrificially for women and children first.

I especially appreciated Doug’s answer to the whispered accusations of “cult.” First, he quotes from an old post of his:

Cults do exist. They are wretched abominations, which rightly should be denounced. But if people are going to raise the ?C? word publicly, they had best be prepared to defend such a charge before the world, and if found guilty of defaming a legitimate work of Christ, they must be prepared to face the consequences which are rightly due to those who divide brethren and slander the servants of the Lord. Doug?s Blog, August, 2005

Then he goes on to say:

I wrote that comment more than two years ago, and I stand by it today. I stand by it because as a former attorney for the Home School Legal Defense Association, I have defended parents whose families and basic parental rights have been placed in jeopardy by reckless, talebearers who throw around such language before the world. (I watched innocent mothers and fathers undergo tremendous persecution at the hands of professing Christians who believed that it was weird and cultic to home educate.) I stand by it because, as Geoff Botkin pointed out, it is the tool of ?infantile Christians? to send those brothers with whom they differ to the coliseums of the 21st century. I stand by it because one need only watch the news to see the comparisons that some in the Press are trying to make between Christians who teach role distinctions between men and women and militant extremist groups like the Taliban. Nor do we have to think hard to remember at least one case where American children were sent to their deaths by the Clinton administration because their parents were part of real cult groups.

Finally, I stand by my statement of more than two years ago because our ministry receives too many reports of mothers and fathers who are mocked, belittled, and accused of being ?cultic? by fellow Christians, because these parents home school by conviction, or actively desire the fruit of the womb, or spank their children, or educate their college-age daughters at home instead of thousands of miles away at a defiling university, or embrace courtship and betrothal over the dating model when it comes to their children?s marriages, or believe men should be leaders in the church and the home, etc., etc..

And this is where he comes to the heart of the issue. Bold Christians who are unabashedly ordering their lives around the Word of God will risk looking strange or different to the world. The world might fear, distrust, or even hate them. Christ warns of this, so it should come as no surprise.

The surprising part is when Christian brothers and sisters react this way to each other, but I think that simply shows how influenced we are by the culture in which we live. If you have doubts and questions about what Vision Forum teaches, I would strongly encourage you to read the entire article. It’s long, but is worth every minute of your time. Please also consider reading Brian Abshire’s article in its entirety.

We welcome with a Berean spirit the frank discussions about the validity of doctrine and theology, yet we must also stand beside Doug Philips, Brian Abshire and others who are taking public stands against tale bearing and spreading false witness around the internet.

Since this issue is close to our heart we will leave this at the top of the blog for a few days and add the links and commentary of others as we become aware of them.

More links and commentary:

• Nathaniel @ Persevero on Cutting the Tail Off of Tale-Bearing
• Ketocton Baptists on Doug Philips: How to Respond to a Tale-Bearer
• Scott Brown Online on How to Respond to a Tale-Bearer
• Shepherd’s Journey on Thank You, Dr. Abshire
• Caleb Hayden on Vision Forum President Doug Phillips Responds to Criticism
• The Stubblefields on How to Respond to a Tale-Bearer
• Stacy McDonald at Your Sacred Calling on What’s In A Name?
• Engstrom Family Cerebrations on Patriarchy Under Attack