One of the more interesting theological books I have read over the past couple of years is The Trinity and Subordinationism: The Doctrine of God and the Contemporary Gender Debate by Kevin Giles. Ben Witherington has a post at his sight called The Eternal Subordination of Christ and of Women that has a lengthy portion of a recent article on the topic by Giles.
Subordinationism is the heresy that the Son is eternally subordinate to the Father in the Trinity. Going back to Nicea, the consistent position of the Church is that the Son in some way subordinates himself for a time to accomplish a mission (economic subordination) and then returns to normal co-equal status. Why has subordinationism emerged? From Giles:
Until the twentieth century Christians universally spoke of the “superiority” of men and the “inferiority” of women. After the 1970s, with the advent of “women’s lib,” Christians had to abandon this language, and, in addition, most abandoned the idea that women were subordinated to men. Conservative evangelicals, without exception, gave up this language as well, although some sought a new way to uphold male hegemony with more genteel wording. They affirmed that men and women are equals, yet God has given them different roles. This sounds fine, but when unpacked it means women have the “role” of obeying and men the role of leading; no other “role” is in mind. What is more, this “role” is permanent since God ascribes it in creation. Since God established this social hierarchical order before the Fall, it cannot be changed. It is the ideal. As this difference in “role” (in plain speak, difference in authority) is the one essential difference between men and women, to deny the permanent subordination of women is to deny male-female differentiation as such. This novel case for women’s permanent “role” subordination raises exactly the same problem as their novel case for the Son’s eternal “role” subordination. If women are permanently subordinated in role, and their subordinate role can never change, then they are the subordinated sex. They do not merely function subordinately. Their God-given subordination defines their person or being. They are the subordinated sex.
Having creatively constructed this novel theology predicated on obfuscating terminology to uphold male hegemony, these same theologians then reformulated the doctrine of the Trinity using the same terminology, thereby justifying the leadership of men. ...
In other words, despite their denial of either, these folks have resorted to heresy in support of misogyny.
Giles has a new book coming out in a few months called Jesus and the Father: Modern Evangelicals Reinvent the Doctrine of the Trinity. It will go to the top of my list. I hope to discuss the book chapter by chapter if others are interested.
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