“I have to strongly disagree with you on that,” a Harding University student responded to renowned Christian philosopher Dr. William Lane Craig during his visit there when he said “it’s not because of discrimination” that theology is a male-dominated field.
During Dr. Craig’s meeting with the Harding University Bible and Theology Club in February 2018, the student explained “women … are excluded … because of sexism and discrimination,” but Dr. Craig replied “I don’t believe it.” He went on to say that the experience of such women “is either extraordinary or they are reading things through colored glasses ….”
The exchange, captured on video, suggests several things, including that Dr. Craig probably did not know that Harding University—affiliated with the Churches of Christ denomination—does not allow women even to read scripture out loud in its chapel worship assembly or to lead singing, much less preach. Women read scripture and preach in chapel regularly at over half of the colleges affiliated with the Churches of Christ, but Harding is not one of them.
Dr. Craig also probably did not know that there are only a tiny number of employment opportunities for women with Church of Christ churches, Church of Christ colleges, and other entities affiliated with the Churches of Christ in a position that requires a Bible or theology degree. A growing number of Church of Christ congregations do not exclude women from preaching or teaching men in Sunday School, for example, but the vast majority of them do.
The Exchange
Dr. Craig answered questions from those attending the club meeting for about 45 minutes. The last questioner was called on as they began to run out of time:
Student (to Dr. Craig):
“[W]e were reading a lot of very insightful papers by you and your colleagues, and I cannot help but notice but most of them, pretty much all of them, are male.”
“So, from the horse’s mouth, is there room for female and minority voices in Christian philosophy or is that field still being excluded?”
Dr. Craig:
“Of course, there’s room for it, but look at the room about you, my friend.”
“I mean how many minority and female persons are there in this room?”
“The fact of the matter is that philosophy and theology just tend to be very male-dominated fields, and it’s not because of discrimination.”
“On the contrary, departments are looking for hires of minority and women applicants.”
“But it’s just not a field that attracts … those scholars. …”
Student:
“I have to strongly disagree with you on that.”
Dr. Craig:
“Really?”
Student:
“Yes. Because women I have spoken to who are interested in this field find that they are excluded from them because of sexism and discrimination. And …”
Dr. Craig:
“I don’t believe it.”
“Their experience is either extraordinary or they are reading things through colored glasses because as someone working in the field, and in a department that is looking to hire a woman, for example, as a model and someone who can … I mean a role model … who can connect with our female students, …”
“It’s much easier for them in the profession.”
“And so, I think their experience is either extraordinary or they are looking at it through colored lenses because as someone in the field I can tell you it’s wide open to minorities and women if they will simply avail themselves of the opportunity.”
Moderator:
“We are …” —and the video ends.
Context, Context, Context
I admire Dr. Craig and have long appreciated his honesty and clarity. His answers normally display a complete grasp on the subject about which he is speaking. In this exchange, though, he displayed a lack of awareness, including of the context from which the question came.
Dr. Craig asking “how many … female persons are there in this room?”—referring to the Harding Bible and Theology club meeting—and asserting “it’s not because of discrimination” and adding “[i]t’s much easier” for women in the profession completely misses the mark when Harding bars women from actively serving on a regular basis in the chapel worship assembly and when there are very few Church of Christ congregations or other Church of Christ-affiliated entities that will hire a woman for a job that requires a Bible or theology degree.
I admire the Harding student who was brave enough to say to an internationally known visiting scholar: “I have to strongly disagree with you on that.”
Dr. Craig’s reaction—“I don’t believe that”—probably would have been different had he known of Church-of-Christ practices and realized that the women of which the student spoke were likely in the Churches of Christ denomination.
Throughout the discussion, he seemed to be thinking about his own university department and ones like it in an academic context and the Christian philosophy or theology practiced there, rather than the reality of the questioner’s context.
Extraordinarily Extraordinary
Dr. Craig’s statement that the field is “wide open” would come as a shock to Church of Christ women who have given up on the idea of seeking a Bible, theology, or related degree from a Church of Christ college because of unavailability of employment or who obtained such a degree but who are shut out of opportunities by their own denomination.
In many cases, though, it is now her former denomination, as fewer and fewer put up with such discrimination.
Yet, the damage is done—most all of those women have been diverted from a Bible or theology degree or are on a journey without denominational support, without substantial encouragement by her college or the church of her youth, without readily available mentors who have blazed such a path, and without an alumni network encouraging such pursuits.
Extraordinary are the women who pursue theological degrees, vocations, and employment in Church of Christ circles.
Extraordinary are the people who, when they see discrimination or hear assertions that it’s not because of discrimination, say “I have to strongly disagree with you on that.”
Postscript: The Video
This video shows the exchange recounted above and is worth watching (begins at about 44:20–the total time of the exchange is about 2.5 minutes).
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Sources & Notes
Steve, as a strong-minded, independent, single female member of the coC, I struggled for a little while when I first started studying the Word. I realized that God’s plan for women – according to His own Word – was not centered on the pulpit. Had I been born a man, I’d definitely be a preacher…that’s the kind of person I am. But, since I can plainly read in His Word that those duties are for the men, I find other things to do. In no way are the coC congregations being racist or sexist in this practice. They are striving to abide by God’s Word. Could they be completely wrong? Perhaps. But I cannot condemn anyone who’s trying to submit themselves to God. He can raise up women as He did Deborah and others if He so chooses. Until then, I’ll keep on preaching the gospel wherever I go…just not to the congregation 🙂 Be blessed.
Hi Christine,
Thank you for your comment. It is appreciated.
A
Virtually no one, even fundamentalists, interprets the relevant scripture to mean what a plain reading indicates.
Even though 1 Cor 14:34 plainly says “women should remain silent in the churches,” for example, they do not assert that it means women should remain silent — they are OK with women singing in the churches, greeting people, saying “good morning” and “Amen,” making comments in Sunday School, giving confession to the assembly before baptism, going forward in the assembly to ask about being baptized or about prayers for themselves or others, etc.
I encourage you to take a second look at the scriptures. Saying you can “plainly read” on this subject suggests a misinterpretation of scripture.
(See, e.g. part 2 of my series on “Most Church of Christ Colleges …”).
B
I know there are a lot of people of good will who believe that scripture directs women today not to speak or teach in the assembly or to teach Sunday School to an adult mixed class.
At the same time, though, I am confident that the vast majority of CoC leaders and congregants who have such a belief have *** never themselves *** engaged in an in-depth study of the relevant scripture, one that involves not just looking at things that affirm their view but also closely considering things that do not.
Yet, many of these leaders and congregants express such a belief as the word of God, seek to bind others on that belief, encourage exclusion of women, refuse to consider other viewpoints, and assert that those who view it differently are violating God’s word.
C
You said “they are striving to abide by God’s Word.”
I see very little striving.
Relatively straightforward scriptural analysis indicates the scripture does not bar women from speaking and teaching in the assembly. (See, e.g. parts 2-4 of my series on “Most Church of Christ Colleges …).
Other scripture directs women to speak and teach in the assembly (see my article entitled “13 CENIS ….”) and much scripture asks those leaders and congregants to love their neighbor, to love others as Christ loved, etc.
Yet those leaders and congregants don’t take any action themselves to closely consider the issue.
So I see very little striving.
I see reliance on tradition.
D
You said “I cannot condemn anyone who’s trying to submit themselves to God.”
The problem is that folks aren’t just trying to submit themselves—they are trying to submit other people— barring other women from active service in the assembly, telling other people what not to do, etc.
Thanks much, Steve
Steve, your thought that the scripture does not mean what it plainly stated is one of major interest to me because of your claim. You claim ” Authentic Theology is in question because you claim that Paul did not mean what he said but what you think he said and their is a vast difference between these two positions. Sorry to say, this will mean that your neither “Authentic nor Theological” .Billy
Christine,
While I can appreciate the sentiments you have shared, I also wonder how long you have held these views. My own story details a long theological struggle that concluded differently.
After 40 years of subverting God’s call to ministry from within the CofC – I left in frustration and with great sadness.
I went to seminary, following the Holy Spirit into the great unknown and am now working full-time as a health care Chaplain.
If you are being called to public ministry, the Holy Spirit will continue to beckon to you. Please question everything you have been taught to believe about “the role of women in the Church”.
I believe delineating spiritual gifting by gender is contrary to the movement of the Holy Spirit throughout history. For me, freedom in Christ includes freedom from the social and cultural restrictions of the first century.
Regardless of how one studies the New Testament, the cultural context cannot be ignored. The fact that all the Epistles of the NT are generally attributed to men provides another clue as to why the Church became a male dominated institution.
Kindly,
Karen