Feminism
While the female gender was created in the image of God to the same degree as the male gender (Gen. 1:26-27
), and while the female gender is to be loved and treated with complete respect and dignity (I Tim 5:1-2; I Pet. 3:7); and while in God’s eyes the female gender is equal to the male gender, we recognize that God intended there to be a difference in function between the two sexes. Women were created in a position of subordination to man, this being evident by: the fact that she was created to be his helper (Gen. 2:18); the order of creation, the man being created first (I Tim 2:13); and the fact that Adam named her (Gen. 2:19-23). Further, because Eve was deceived directly by Satan in the Garden of Eden (I Tim. 2:14), God placed the female gender in a position of subordination in the home and the church. We therefore, as a church, stand opposed to all philosophies, organizations, and movements which resist the Biblical teaching concerning the proper role of women and that teach women to be independent of men.