Thread by @ZachWLambert

I turned 35 back in December. You know what else turned 35 years old in December of 2023? Complementarianism.

Complementarianism (the theology which deems women to be equal in worth to men; but lesser in function and hierarchy) is NOT the traditional teaching of the church.

🧵

Complementarianism was invented in December of 1988.

Denny Burk describes how it happened in his 2019 article: What’s In A Name? The Meaning and Origin of “Complementarianism”

The overwhelmingly predominant view prior to the late 1980s was that women were ontologically inferior to men--essentially subhuman.

Consider these quotes from church fathers:

“Every woman should be filled with shame by the thought that she is a woman.” Clement

“Woman is a temple built over a sewer, the gateway to the devil. Woman, you are the devil’s doorway. You led astray one whom the devil would not dare attack directly. It was your fault that the Son of God had to die; you should always go in mourning and rags.” Tertullian

“Amongst all the savage beasts none is found so harmful as woman.” John Chrysostom

“Woman was merely man’s helpmate, a function which pertains to her alone. She is not the image of God but as far as man is concerned, he is by himself the image of God.” Augustine

"All women are born that they may acknowledge themselves as inferior in consequence to the superiority of the male sex.” Calvin

"Women should stay at home, keep house and bear children. If a woman dies from childbearing, let her die. That is all she is here for." Luther

“Woman is slow in understanding and her unstable and naive mind renders her by way of natural weakness to the necessity of a strong hand in her husband. Her use is two fold; animal sex and motherhood.” Pope Gregory I

“Woman in her greatest perfection was made to serve and obey man." John Knox

“Wife: Be content to be insignificant. What loss would it be to God or man had you never been born?” John Wesley

“The word and works of God is quite clear, that women were made either to be wives or prostitutes.” Martin Luther

I could keep going. This is the tip of the iceberg.

So what happened?

Why was complementarianism invented just a few decades ago?

John Piper explains it in this book.

This "new vision" called complementarianism was a "response to evangelical feminism" which sought to oppose the "feminist blurring of God-given sexual distinctions."

In other words, the "women are subhuman" argument used for the first 1980+ years of church history was debunked by science and exposed for the blatant bigotry it always was.

The traditional view had fallen out of favor and feminism (equality between the sexes) was on the rise.

But many Christian men like John Piper and Wayne Grudem refused to let patriarchy go.

So a little over 35 years ago, they called a meeting and came up with a plan.

They slapped a new coat of paint on patriarchy and called it "complementarianism."

This is the origin of complementarianism. It's not a secret. It is well-documented by the men who invented it.

Complementarianism is not the traditional teaching of the church nor is it an attempt to interpret the Bible in a more Christlike way.

It is patriarchy repackaged.