Christianity, Complementarity and Equality: a compatible concoction?

This post is divided into sections. You can find the intro, Part 1 and the conclusion in this section. For Part 2 and Part 3, click on the links below. Hope you enjoy the journey!

INTRODUCTION

PART ONE: PHYSICAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS

PART TWO: COMPLEMENTARITY

PART THREE: MEN AND WOMEN’S ROLES AS LAID OUT IN THE BIBLE

CONCLUSION

             Introduction

I remember a time in my first year of university where along with a friend, as part of our termly Christian Union ‘Text a Toastie’ evening, during which members of the CU go round to students’ rooms and answer their questions about different aspects of Christianity, I was summoned to answer a question about Christianity’s views on women, in particular in relation to women bishops. I was rather taken aback by the response: I found myself met with an alarming amount of hostility when I voiced my views. I soon realised that of the eight or so people in the room, most hated religion and wanted to mark it out as irrational with every ounce of their being. More than that, I found myself in a position where I was essentially being asked whether I supported a sexist religion.

It was at that point that I started on my own personal journey which at times called into question my unquestioning belief in the compatibility of the Bible and the equality of the sexes. As I stood in that room being prodded by this entourage of my peers, I found myself doubting the words I was saying. Men and women have equal roles in the workplace, don’t they? So why should that be different in the church?  Doesn’t the man being the head mean that the woman’s in a subordinate role? I’ll be honest: there were already parts of the Bible which enumerated how men and women should behave that I struggled with. Some things that Paul (the apostle and writer of many of the New Testament books) said I definitely had issues with.

I’m glad that that journey was started because I’m now quite sure of where my feet stand, instead of wavering unsteadily along the pathway. I’m convinced that, contrary to what modern feminism likes to say, equality does not mean sameness. Men and women are equal but different

PART 1: PHYSICAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS

The Physical Differences between Men and Women

The facts show it quite plainly: men and women are different.  It isn’t typically difficult to tell whether someone is a man or a woman, just from a quick glance or from hearing the person’s voice on the other end of the phone line.

On a basal level, it is the genetic make-up of chromosome pairs that an individual possesses that determines their sex: males have a pair of one X-chromosome and one Y-chromosome, while females have a pair of two X chromosomes. It is this fundamental difference that lies at the root of the many distinct characteristics which mark out men and women.

1. Of course we all know that men and women have different reproductive organs and genitalia. And I think it’s safe to say you’ll already be fully aware that on average men are taller than women. Skeletal structure varies greatly between the two sexes, meaning a woman typically has a shorter head, broader face, less jutting-out chin, longer torso, shorter legs and smaller hands and feet than her male counterpart. Moreover, a woman’s pelvic bone is much larger than a man’s and results in wide hips, making a woman’s hip line the broadest part of her body and her waist markedly narrower. By contrast, the broadest part of a man’s body is his shoulder line, due to his wider shoulders. And even men’s and women’s elbows are different. When a man stands in a relaxed position, his elbow points out – whilst in the same position, a woman’s elbow points either backwards or inwards. The anatomical differences continue:

Photo credit: http://design.tutsplus.com/articles/human-anatomy-fundamentals-advanced-body-proportions--vector-19869

2. Women have larger kidneys, livers, stomachs and appendices, but smaller lungs than men. In body weight, the male anatomy is made up of 40% muscle, whilst the female anatomy is composed of 23% muscle and tends more towards the storage of body fat.  Owing to this divergence in physiological make-up, on average a man possesses 50% more brute strength than a woman.

3. Men and women store body fat in different ways: females store fat right below the skin (subcutaneously), whilst males tend to have more visceral fat (fat stored within the abdomen), meaning that they have a higher rate of basal metabolism – but are also more prone to heart disease. This difference in method of storing fat doubtless contributes to the fact that women live longer than men.

4. A woman’s heart rate is much faster than a man’s, however she has a lesser tendency towards high blood pressure. Furthermore, a woman’s blood contains more water and 20% fewer red blood cells than that of a man. The sex hormones that males and females produce have a great part to play in widening the gap of divergence between men and women. In males, testes release testosterone in a relatively constant amount and in females oestrogen and progesterone predominantly are released from the ovaries. It is the presence of testosterone that causes men to grow facial hair and thick body hair, and causes their voices to deepen. High testosterone levels are also associated with a tendency towards aggression in men. Oestrogen and progesterone are the hormones that regulate menstruation in females and begin the process of breast development at puberty. Women in fact mature earlier than men, with females beginning puberty on average two years before their male counterparts.

5. Men and women’s brains work differently. Women are more skilled at using both hemispheres of the brain, whilst men tend to use mainly the right side. Scientific studies have revealed that the right side of the brain is where mathematical and visual-spatial thought takes place, whilst the left side is the seat of abstract and verbal thought.  The areas thought to influence language skills, the frontal and temporal areas of the brain’s cortex, are larger in females than males. Women also have a larger hippocampus and a deeper limbic system than males, which makes them sensitive to the full range and depth of the emotional spectrum. Differences in the brains of men and women also equate to differences in vision between the two sexes: men have better depth perception and distance vision, whilst women have better night vision, better visual memory, and can see more of the red end of the colour spectrum than men can.

So there you have it: men and women differ in quite a lot of ways owing to their particular physiological make-up! But what does this have to do with anything, you might be asking yourself… How does this link in with the title of this post: ‘Christianity, Complementarity and Equality: a compatible concoction?’

Well, I think the anatomical differences between males and females have some pretty important implications. They show that we are adapted to function in different ways. There must be a reason for this, right?

The Implications of the Physical Differences in Men and Women

1. Let’s focus for starters on the varying skeletal structure of the two sexes. The more angular a man’s facial features, the higher his level of testosterone. Meanwhile the rounder and more fuller-faced a woman’s features are, the higher her level of oestrogen. Studies have drawn a link between high levels of these two hormones in the respective sexes and attractiveness to the opposite gender: women are more likely to choose men with higher levels of testosterone as their life partners, whilst men are more sexually attracted to women with high levels of oestrogen. Likewise, the pitch of a man’s voice correlates with the amount of testosterone he has – and as a high level of testosterone is indicative of fitness and muscle strength in men, women are more likely to go for men with deeper voices. Scientists have concluded that this is an instinctive response to the need to find a suitable partner with whom to procreate. 

The fact that women have a bigger pelvic bone aids in their unique capability to have children: it creates space for their bodies to house a foetus during pregnancy. Men’s broad shoulders help them effectively use their upper body strength. The difference between men’s and women’s elbows – which at first appears inconsequential – reveals another incredible specialisation (and helps to explain some frequently-observed peculiarities). The fact that women’s elbows naturally fold inwards renders the action of delicately holding a baby an effectively reflexive one for a woman, whilst for men, with elbows that naturally point outwards, carrying a new-born correctly doesn’t come quite so easily. On the other hand, the natural movement of men’s elbows means when running and throwing they assume the necessary position without thinking, whilst for girls it usually takes a bit more work. 

2. The fact that women have larger vital organs enables them to take on the load of another life inside of them during pregnancy. Similarly, another evident specialisation in women is demonstrated through breastfeeding.  During this unique bonding experience between a mother and her child, any micro-organisms that have infected the baby pass to the mother through the contact of the infant’s mouth to the breast, and then the antibodies the mother’s body has developed to fight those micro-organisms are transferred back to the baby in the milk produced by the mother. The unique lactation process that a woman’s body is able to implement is thus a clear indication of her natural capacity to nurture.

On the other hand, the fact that men have larger lungs than women equips them better for hard physical labour as it means they can work for longer periods without rest. Men’s muscle composition also works in their favour in this regard. Furthermore, their greater physical strength enables them to defend themselves better than women. This is why typically men come to the aid of women in situations of physical aggression, and men are naturally disposed to protect their partners.

3. By contrast, the manner in which women store body fat is specially adapted to prepare them for pregnancy and lactation, two of the unique capabilities of a woman. Women’s bodies store fat around the hips and thighs as soon as puberty begins, getting the body ready in preparation for having a baby. It is perhaps worth speculating over the fact that women live longer than men: this means a mother is usually a mother much longer than a father is a father!

4. The difference in the blood composition of males and females means that women are more susceptible to fatigue: the fact that they have fewer red blood cells means they have less oxygen. On the other hand, the high levels of testosterone that men build up can have somewhat of an opposite effect, boosting their physical energy. Oestrogen and progesterone in women are instrumental in making the unique process by which she is able to conceive possible – although you can be sure not many women feel blessed at that time of the month, believe me! These two hormones have also been linked to an enhanced ability in women to recall memories with strong emotional components.

The fact that girls mature before guys (we all knew that already) is probably actually quite important. Carrying another life within your own body, giving birth and nurturing a child requires quite a lot of maturity, wouldn’t you say?

  

5. The differences in the way men and women’s brains work provide scientific basis for another well-known tongue-in-cheek observation – women can multitask, men not so much. It has to be said, with children, it’s a very useful skill to be able to juggle several thoughts and processes at once. Men’s predisposition towards using the right side of the brain makes them much more spatially-aware (there lies the reasoning behind another quip – ‘women can’t read maps’) and therefore more task-orientated. On the other hand, naturally inclined to use language, women are much more people-orientated than men. Whereas men tend to go about things with a single-minded approach, women are much more likely to think about the feelings of the people involved. Being more sensitive to emotions than men enables women to better read non-verbal cues and body language – all part of that female gift known as ‘intuition’. There is evidence to suggest that women also possess an enhanced physical alarm response to danger or threat, with the parts of the body that regulate the fight-or-flight response having a greater reactivity and lower threshold of arousal than in men. This goes hand in hand with the fact that women have better night vision and visual memory and a greater capacity to discern between colours than men do – all of which can be classed as part of ‘a mother’s instinct’ – where her natural response is to protect her child from danger.

Now I don’t know what you think, but I think the differences between men and women are pretty incredible. Mind-blowing in fact, in view of just how down to the letter their specialisations are (think elbows…!). I believe that God made us male and female for a reason: we complement each other in our differences and in so doing make it possible to keep the world going.

Click here to continue reading to Part 2: Complementarity

Click here to go on to Part 3: Men's and Women's Roles as laid out in the Bible

CONCLUSION

So, I’ve taken you on this journey with me through these last three posts. This journey was for me a very personal one; and when I started it felt I was trying to find my way through a dimly-lit maze. I wasn’t too sure of my footing on a lot of issues and felt unsteadied by the tension between certain things I read in the scripture and the secular definition of ‘equality’ between men and women.

Did Christianity, complementarity and equality make for a compatible concoction? Were women really equal with men if they were always being reminded of the order of creation? Did the fact that men were meant to lead mean women were little more than doormats? Was I really as valuable as a man in God’s sight? Was there really much women could do in church service?

I’ve got my answers now, and they would be:

YES, YES, NO, YES and YES. Christianity is compatible with the equality of the sexes. Recognising that we as men and women have our differences and that we have different skill-sets does not mean that we consider one sex as superior to the other. It means that we recognise that we do not consider equality as sameness, or complementarity as incompatible with equality. It means that we appreciate that we are expressly and magnificently designed to fulfil different functions.

Men’s leadership does not have to mean women become passive slaves, nor does it mean that men have the right to become tyrants who beat their wives claiming that in doing so they are showing them their place as women. God’s design was for the man to lead in humble love and for the woman to follow his godly leadership with intelligent submission.

Women’s role is not inferior to that of men’s. Increasingly, sadly, the radical branch of the feminist movement is convincing us that that is so in order to make us reject our precious nurturing, people-orientated capacities and trade them in to compete with men on men’s terms. We don’t have to compete, because we are different. Our capacity to bring new life into the world is a blessing, not a curse.

Women have plenty of options available to them as regards working in the church. They are not called to be silent, as it may at first seem, but are called to express their spiritual gifts in prayer and prophesy and so much more. What is more, they are singled out for having capabilities that men do not have.

Women may not be called to be archbishops, bishops and pastors in the church but they are called to build it up and make it a body. Without women at the heart of that body, the church would crumble. Men and women need each other: in the home, in the church and in the world at large.

I hope you agree with me.

Thanks for reading as always.