This issue of The Lutheran Witness tackles a difficult topic. Typically, when we approach difficult, contentious topics, we are told to “keep an open mind.” We invite you to approach this issue not with an open mind, but an open Bible. Do not check to see if we are being fair and loving; check to see if we have been faithful to God’s Word and what He has said to us by His apostles and prophets.
“Male and female he created them,” the Scripture says. And in that creation, God ordered the relation of the man and the woman, of Adam and Eve. Created first, Adam was made the head of Eve, who was made from his side. Then the woman and her husband fell into sin. As a result, they lived in conflict and disorder; they no longer lived in perfect relation to God or one another.
The relationship between man and woman, which culminates in the gift of marriage, serves as a reflection of God’s redeeming work for His chosen children. Throughout the Old Testament, God portrays His relationship with Israel as a marriage; St. Paul also declares, “I am saying that [marriage] refers to Christ and the church” (Eph. 5:32).
With the gift of marriage and the relationship of men and women so freighted with theological importance, we are not surprised to see Satan attack this gift. By corrupting the way men and women understand their relationship to one another, Satan seeks to corrupt the way we understand our relation to God.
And so, Satan has inflamed the tensions between men and women as feminism has promoted an ungodly egalitarian view of men and women. So also the world has denigrated men and rejected the good and godly patriarchy. Our culture mocks and ridicules fathers as objects of scorn. If you doubt it, reflect a bit on how fathers and men are portrayed in recent children’s movies.
Read on in this issue of The Lutheran Witness to learn more about how to approach these themes as a Lutheran. Once again, we ask you to approach these articles not with an open mind, but with the Word of God. Read the passages we quote. Study other passages alongside this issue; then judge this issue based on the Word of God.
Two other noteworthy items in this issue: First, we changed the look and feel of the magazine a bit and moved some regular columns and topics around. We are not changing for the sake of change but seeking to reflect in our design a renewed emphasis on words and teaching. The purpose of this magazine is to teach the Word of God. We believe the updated design will help.
Second and finally, we have included a new feature: a fiction series by Katie Schuermann. Beginning this month and lasting to the end of the year, Katie will write one story for every issue of The Lutheran Witness. We hope you enjoy them as much as we have.
Rooted in Christ,
Roy S. Askins
Managing Editor, The Lutheran Witness
Well, the editors introduction to the issue needed to be more nuanced. I am astounded that there was not a flood of emails questioning the legitimacy of such language. To lead off with threats of the satanic is bizarre. Young people are not going to tolerate this eventually. My granddaughter said, “Sounds like he got dumped or ghosted” in referring to the writer.
Reverend Askins, I agree with your reaffirmation of God’s view of the sanctity of marriage, and in the relationship between men and women in a monogamous covenant. It seems strange that we must now defend this covenant, even as Jesus Himself taught and commanded we follow it. Many voices in our fallen land, even inside the church itself, prefer to pick and choose what commands of the Lord they will follow, and which they feel free to disregard. We have a pluralistic society which has effectively poisoned the church through philosophy, secular humanism, and relativism, and by design these ideologies are antithetical to Biblical truth.
As I am 77 years old, I remember well the days before same sex marriage, transgenderism, and homosexuality were affirmed by this society, but as the culture became more debased, the floodgates opened wide. To add insult to injury, to defy God and His word more profoundly, many churches and denominations abandoned all Biblical prohibitions which did not conform to “woke” ideas. Thinking they are enlightened by today’s post modernist thinking, they now attack Biblical Christians in consort with the perverse culture.
We need not fear the persecution of Biblical Christians from a purely outside or existential threat by the government, since heresy from within the Christian church now works in tandem with them to deconstruct the influence of the faith. The wolves are already within the wire, and if you observe the church today, some denominations teach seminarians the buzz words they will need in the new order, words like “white privilege,” “systemic racism,” “LGBT affirming,” and “Social Justice.”
I have observed several churches in the New England area flying “BLM” flags and rainbow flags showing how much they support LGBT rights. And where does the Gospel fit into these churches? How will they now redefine “sin?”
I pray that the LCMS will stand with the remnant of faithful churches in America, on marriage, on the inerrancy of scripture, on sin. And even if our churches grow smaller, our seminarian applicants fewer, standing up in the gap is far better than seeking popularity and false respect in a nation that is dying spiritually, and will likely soon face God’s judgment. Soli Deo Gloria.
The belief that a movement that seeks to establish equal protection under the law, that sees the domination of one person by another as being unjust, and that seeks to protect persons from violence, poverty, and lack of self determination can hardly be the work of Satan. It is humorous that you have the audacity to publish this medieval tripe in the 21st century.
Have an open mind as well as an open Bible. Be loving and kind as well as being faithful to Scripture. It’s a “both-and” deal, although the way this article sounds, it’s either one or the other. I know that wasn’t intended by the article although that’s how it will be received by outside readers – the people you’re trying to reach. Or are you?
You think this type of language is effective when trying to attract readers you want to reach by persuasion?
“…feminism has promoted an ungodly egalitarian view of men and women.”
I happen to agree, but I won’t be able to use this article as an outreach teaching tool with loaded language like that which isn’t necessary and only serves to alienate those we need to reach.
Concerned Father,
Thank you for reaching out and expressing concern. How else would you have expressed this?
I’m not asking out of any animosity, but the language does not seem particularly loaded to me. Feminism has indeed promoted an egalitarian view of men and women that is not pleasing to God, hence, ungodly. This is not a rejection of egalitarianism, per se, but merely that variety which is not pleasing to God.
RSA
The language is extremely loaded. If you’re going to use terms like “egalitarian” and “patriarchy” and speak to a wider audience than to the theological experts, you need to define terms. I am understanding your comments within the framework of complementarianism vs egalitarianism as Christian gender role theological understanding, but that is assumptive. The language is inflammatory and makes it seem that feminism as a social movement has no valid critique to offer, where as a woman I am quite glad to see the days where a married woman couldn’t own a credit card in her own name gone. The conversation is more nuanced than the treatment given here.
Thank you for the comments. You are quite right that the conversation is more nuanced. This is simply the editor’s introduction to the issue. The articles in the issue expand and give greater depth and substance.
Amen, thank you for upholding a biblical view of marriage and the God given roles of men and women ✝️
Lord be praised.
I agree with Laura…thank you. I do not belong to the Lutheran church, but am contemplating leaving my current denomination, with which I am ordained, over such issues.