Biblical Femininity - Teaching a Girl to Think

"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." (Pro 22:6)

When people think of a biblical blueprint for a girl's education, they often see a major conflict between this and a so called higher education. Both sides argue that a college or university education would be wasted on a girl that prepares to be her husband's help meet as a good and godly home keeper and mother to their children, with a different thrust of the argument, of course. One side wants to stress the importance of young women to stay under the protection of their fathers until married and not run off to college or university, the
other side wants to stress the importance of equality of chances, and basically uses the argument to make biblical womanhood look hopelessly backward and outdated. Both sides, however, are missing the point.

The question of whether or not a girl is able to think straight and reason well, whether or not she is able to be a responsible adult who knows God's word and follows it, whether or not she is able to fulfill her part in the family with intelligence, prudence, and efficiency has nothing to do with what the world calls a higher education. How many people with a degree in one field or another have you met that, other than in their chosen field of knowledge, were unable to follow a discussion with the necessary concentration and awareness, or were unable to apply simple logic, or were unable to develop a consistent view about anything ? How many so called educated people fall back on the "I mean, come on!" attitude when faced with something they are simply unwilling to accept or even see, or resort to an ad hominem attitude, or to other logical fallacies ? The kind of higher education we should strive for in our children is not to be had in a college or university.

Instead of looking at society's standards, we look to the bible for the goal in educating our children. The first and foremost principle we find in the bible is that teaching our children is our own responsibility, and not that of either church or state.

According to God's Law, the parents are held responsible for how their children turn out to be when they are grown up, whether they be a burden and an evil to the community, or not (Deu 21:18-21).

In the New Testament, the conduct of the children is one of the criteria by which to select an elder or leader in the young church communities (1 Timothy 3, Titus 1).

And in Deutronomy 6, we are very clearly told what it is, first and foremost, that parents are to live and teach their children:

"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up." (Deu 6:4-7)

So there we go. The #1 issue to teach a child, male or female, is God's word and God's ways. Everything else groups and structures itself around this main goal, starting with an awe for God's creation as well as reading and writing skills, some Greek and Hebrew as well as arts and crafts mentioned, and with all this, knowledge about all the things mentioned in the bible, family matters and matters of kings and prophets, cultural habits and eternal truths, God's design in everything and the direction the world is headed. Understanding the
bible requires teaching, and study, and most of all, the fear of God and trust that His word stands unchanged in its entirety, yesterday, today and forever.

A girl just like a boy learns to think with God's word as his and her "training material" as well as the content of their studies. God's logic is perfect, and completely consistent, and therefore the perfect example to be used as a teaching tool for clear, consistent and logical thought. Only if she is not afraid to accept God's logic will she end up with a consistent world view, and she will learn directly from the one Teacher that teaches best.

If a girl is taught this way, and at the same time lives with parents who are living according to God's roles He has ordained to husband and wife, mother and father, there will be no question of college or university or not, but she will grow up to be a godly woman who knows her place as well as her responsibility, and not only enjoys all the different aspects of biblical womanhood, but is also well versed (literally) enough to stand up for God's word if need be, and cling to God's word not only in good times, but also in the times of trial and tribulation we are preparing for.

Technorati Tags: biblical femininity, biblical womanhood, biblical blueprint, higher education, college, university, God's logic, Joshuah's House

Biblical Femininity

The concept of biblical femininity is largely lost in modern day society. Even if countries like the USA claim to be mainly Christian, they are in fact much more secular than Christian - unless you want to go as far as saying that modern Christianity has distanced itself so much from the biblical blueprint for life that it can look completely secular and still call itself Christian. This would indicate that Christianity has become Churchianity indeed, a man-made and man-shaped religion.

Be that as it may, every day examples of practical biblical femininity are rare these days, and mainly found in larger or smaller fringe groups. The outward signs of biblical femininity are easily listed:

According to the biblical command and example, a godly woman stays at home instead of going to work outside the home. She is her husband's submissive and obedient help meet who runs his house according to biblical standards under her husband's lead. She has a quiet attitude, yet stands strong with her husband and family and is an example to her children and possibly younger wives, if we are talking about a polygamous family.

She wears long hair under her head covering and dresses modestly in dresses and skirts, without outward adornment such as jewelry, perfume and make up. She is not concerned with the cares and concerns of the world, such as pop culture or Hollywood, fashion trends or shopping, and she keeps away from gossip and vain talk on the phone, as she is her husband's garden enclosed.

She does not minister to people outside the home in any form or fashion, for example by engaging into all kinds of church activities or being a Sunday school teacher. Her hospitality is whole hearted and exemplary, but she remains within the confines of her home. She educates and home schools the children together with her husband, and contributes to the family income with her many economic activities in the home and garden.

She gives all her energy to the family, happily so, and does her work as unto the Lord, and not unto men, for her attitude and behavior is not just an outward role, but the fulfillment of her personal relationship with God, lived out in the fulfillment of the role He has given her.

So this is what we as mothers and fathers who live life according to God's design are aiming for when we think about educating our daughters. We know that God has given us the responsibility to raise our children, the fathers first and foremost, the mothers as help meets, and to raise them right so that the children know God's word and His plan for all of us from an early age onwards, and can live a pure and godly life, avoiding the mistakes that are so common nowadays that lead to misery, defilement and sin. We are to educate our sons so that they will not shirk the responsibility God has placed on men, and we are to raise our daughters to be godly women according to God's will, and not according to what society says or expects.

This series of articles will deal mainly with the education of girls. Since we are expecting a new female member of the family in the fall, the girl's education is our main concern at the moment. Individual articles will touch on different aspect of biblical womanhood and how to teach these to our daughters. We will try to be as practical as possible, and even if every girl is an individual and will probably adopt one aspect of biblical femininity more readily than another, the general principle is the same for everyone: The best way of teaching is by example.

Technorati Tags: God's design, biblical womanhood, biblical femininity, educating daughters, modest dress, head covering, home keeping, Joshuah's House

Called to the Home — Called to Rule

by Melissa Keen, June 16, 2004

"The propriety of Christian, Bible-believing women having careers is a controversial subject in the modern church. However, I believe that God has something to say about everything, even if it is simply a subtly stated principle instead of a direct command or explicit explanation. When tackling any subject, it is vital to use Scripture as the basis for all points of discussion. Following are my personal thoughts and beliefs on the subject and the interpretation of this matter that God has laid on my heart. (...)"

We very much enjoyed reading this article and agree with the author wholeheartedly on the issue. The fact that Adams curse was not the very first one in the bible is just a side note and should not diminish the overall very well made case. Thanks Melissa for putting it so plainly and clearly: A career outside the home in no way "honors or obeys God’s design for who we are as women".

Here is her complete article.


Technorati Tags: keepers at home,Melissa Keen, biblical femininity, biblical blueprint, adam's curse, eve's curse, vision forum ministries, Joshuah's House