God & Women: Chapter One

Deconstructing the Christian Caste System

“Gentlemen, don’t even think about marriage until you have mastered the art of warfare.” —Pastor John MacArthur, quoting World War II Field Marshall Montgomery in the introduction to his teaching, “The Fulfilled Family….”

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Copyright © 2025 by Jocelyn Andersen, God and Women: Deconstructing the Christian Caste System. Previously published as, Woman this is WAR! Gender, Slavery, & the Evangelical Caste System ©2010 by Jocelyn Andersen

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be used as training for AI, reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photography, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Note about the new edition and the chapter heading image: The new edition includes the entire 1st edition along with all 400+ footnotes. Links and resources have been updated. The image shown at the top of every chapter is a Peace Lilly. It was included in the 1st edition, as it has been the goal of this work from its inception bring peace to the divisive issue of gender-based adult autonomy.

What readers are saying

"This book is well written, well researched, and a real eye opener."

"Andersen is a gifted writer, and the book was easy to read even as it covers thoughtful and sometimes technical information. I am glad I read it. I’ve read a great deal about women in the church and home, and it is easy to think there is nothing new to be learned or considered, but this book has a unique approach and covers aspects overlooked by others. Everything is well documented with footnotes in case you have questions or want sources."

"The author is not only a gifted writer but clearly well-studied and informed."

" I was pleased that translation bias was covered in a chapter, an issue that needs to be addressed, and one that I find quite hard to bring up with lay people or everyday believers who lack knowledge about Bible translation. We can trust our Bibles, but we also need to acknowledge that certain passages are difficult to translate, and bias can come into play."

"Andersen tackles most of the primary the teachings of complementarianism with an impressive exegesis"

Contents

Important Definitions

Issues

Evidence

Common Enemies

Feminist Fright

Setting the Record Straight

Women with an Agenda

Was There Not a Cause?

Traditions of Men Pertaining to Marriage

Twist it Brother

Gender-Biased-English-Translation-Theology

Arguments

Nature Based Arguments

Headship –Vs- Lordship

Trinitarian Marriage

He Said She Said

Submit Yourselves One to Another

Evil Woman

As Also Saith the Law

Because of the Angels

Husbandolatry

Prejudice: The Great Wall

Deborah

Smokescreens, Mantras, and Slogans

Equal but Different

Family Business

My Sin’s Better Than Your Sin

Submission & Abuse

Abuse: What is it? What Causes It?

Poor Master

Divorce: The Ultimate Act of Un-Submission

Happy Slaves

Sequence of Subjection

What to Do?

PART ONE

“Gentlemen, don’t even think about marriage until you have mastered the art of warfare.” —Pastor John MacArthur, quoting World War II Field Marshall Montgomery in the introduction to his teaching, “The Fulfilled Family….”

Chapter One: Important Definitions

Traditional role religion

Traditional role religion has always held that the first man and the first woman were created as equally autonomous human beings, with no semblance of female subjection to male dominance until the balance of power was shifted to favor men by the introduction of sin into the world.

No argument is brooked that in the beginning, women and men were given equal mandates to rule over all non-human creation together. Traditional role religion teaches that equality and autonomy was taken from all women at The Fall but will be restored at the resurrection.

Complementarianism

Complementarianism, also known as “Male Headship” or “Male Leadership,” began in 1987, when a new doctrine of men and women was introduced to the Christian community, via a document called the Danvers Statement.

One year later, in 1988, the same group that issued the Danvers Statement, formed the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW). The doctrine of CBMW challenged traditional role religion by claiming the first couple was not created equally autonomous but created unequal as part of what they call God’s divine plan for men and women.

The word equal is used by complementarians, but they define it differently from virtually everyone else. Complementarian equality of the sexes consists of equality in essence only—whatever that means—and not equality of purpose, functional autonomy, or action. This leaves only an ethereal, non-tangible, smoke and mirrors, sort of equality, that no one can really grasp or understand. They admit that women and men are all equally human and can equally be saved, but beyond that, all notions of equality end.

Under the complementarian paradigm, Christian men are entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This inalienable right is denied to all Christian women. The idea of equality of purpose and autonomous function and action, when applied to both sexes, is anathema to complementarians.

The Complementarian Image of God

Complementarian women, according to male governance doctrine, do not share the same image of God as complementarian men. It is claimed that men share the male aspects of the image of God, while women reflect only what is considered the inferior female aspects.

No scripture is given to back these fantastic claims.

The Danvers Statement

Many Christians claim never to have heard the term “complementarian.” But whether they have heard the term or not, they have likely experienced effects of the doctrine within their homes and church fellowships.

The Danvers Statement has been accepted throughout the world by virtually all—85% or more—Christian denominations.”

The creators of the Danvers Statement quickly formed the inter-denominational and 501c3 organization, the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW), the sole purpose of which is to promote female subordination to male dominance in all walks of life, within the church and, as we will show, even within in the secular workplace.

The Danvers Statement was enthusiastically adopted by the Southern Baptist Convention and included in the Baptist Faith and Message 2000.

Leaders of CBMW define complementarianism as just another term for patriarchy, “For millennia, followers of God have practiced what used to be called patriarchy and is now called complementarianism." -Owen Strachan, then President, Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, as quoted in the Journal for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, Spring 2012, page 25.

Egalitarianism

Egalitarianism is the doctrine that all people are created equal and deserve equal rights and opportunities. There have always been true egalitarians within every church fellowship, but with vast financial resources at their disposal, CBMW quickly flooded the Christian community with their patriarchal doctrine.

They did so with such evangelistic zeal and impact that, in 2001, the Church of the Nazarene felt compelled to put into writing what they had always taught and practiced. The following quote is from, The Manual, the official statements of doctrine and polity of the Church of the Nazarene, 2009-2013 edition (the official position has been reiterated in later Manuals up to the present day):

“903.5. Women in Ministry

The Church of the Nazarene supports the right of women to use their God-given spiritual gifts within the church, affirms the historic right of women to be elected and appointed to places of leadership within the Church of the Nazarene, including the offices of both elder and deacon. The purpose of Christ’s redemptive work is to set God’s creation free from the curse of the Fall. Those who are “in Christ” are new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17). In this redemptive community, no human being is to be regarded as inferior on the basis of social status, race, or gender (Galatians 3:26-28).

Acknowledging the apparent paradox created by Paul’s instruction to Timothy (1 Timothy 2:11-12) and to the church in Corinth (1 Corinthians 14:33-34), we believe interpreting these passages as limiting the role of women in ministry presents serious conflicts with specific passages of scripture that commend female participation in spiritual leadership roles (Joel 2:28-29; Acts 2:17-18; 21:8-9; Romans 16:1, 3, 7; Philippians 4:2-3), and violates the spirit and practice of the Wesleyan-holiness tradition. Finally, it is incompatible with the character of God presented throughout Scripture, especially as revealed in the person of Jesus Christ. (2001)” [END QUOTE]

Despite the denomination’s strong stance in their official statement for gender equality in ministry, at the time of this writing, their pastors are teaching and implementing the practice of complementarianism within their congregations, almost en masse.

Roles

Complementarians of all denominations maintain that although women and men are created equal in being and personhood—whatever that means—they are created to complement one another via different “roles” in life, with men always in the leader role and women always in the follower role.

Complementarianism further states that women will be subordinate to men, not only in this earthly existence but in the hereafter as well—throughout all eternity. And this is where they diverge from traditional role religionists, who share the complementarian belief that women are presently subordinate to men but have traditionally diverged from complementarian doctrine by teaching that woman will one day—in the resurrection—be truly equal with men in every way.

Complementarians view this teaching as a traditionalist loophole, offering women full autonomy with men at some point in the eternal future, and this idea simply cannot be tolerated. So, the traditionalist loophole [of equality after the resurrection] was conveniently plugged by creating the theory of a “Divine Order of Creation,” that teaches the imbalance of power, favoring men over women, is an original—eternal—fact of creation, and did not result from a temporary curse to women because of the Fall.

Despite the fact that complementarianism has almost completely taken over the world-wide Christian community [including all major Christian media], there exist many individuals and churches within complementarian denominations, as well as entire denominations themselves that are not officially complementarian, such as many Full Gospel and Pentecostal churches, the Church of the Nazarene, the Methodist Churches, and the Society of Friends (the Quakers) who hold to the biblical view that all Christians are currently freed from the curse of sin and are functionally equal and autonomous—now—between themselves, before God, and in Christ.

Many Christians agree with this and are finding the courage to proclaim that all children of God, both His daughters and His sons, have equal responsibility to use their gifts and obey their callings to the glory of God, and that God calls all believers to liberty, personal autonomy, and service to him without regard to class, gender, or race.

Jocelyn Andersen challenges the status quo with an often non-traditional and out-of-the-box approach to biblical understanding. She writes and speaks on a variety of subjects including Bible Prophecy, God and Women, and Christian response to domestic violence. Her work has been featured in magazines, newspapers, radio, and television.

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