View source for Biblical patriarchy

{{short description|Set of beliefs in evangelical Christianity concerning gender relations}}
{{for|patriarchs in the Bible|Patriarchs (Bible)}}
{{Christianity and gender|positions}}

'''Biblical patriarchy''', also known as '''Christian patriarchy''', is a set of beliefs in [[Evangelicalism|Evangelical]] [[Protestantism|Protestant]] [[Christianity]] concerning gender relations and their manifestations in institutions, including marriage, the family, and the home. It sees the father as the head of the home, responsible for the conduct of his family. Notable people associated with biblical patriarchy include [[Douglas Wilson (theologian)|Douglas Wilson]],<ref>In his 1999 book, ''Federal Husband'' (Moscow, ID: [[Canon Press]]) Wilson argued that a husband as "federal head" assumes responsibility for his wife's spiritual condition. In a 2013 blog post, [http://dougwils.com/s7-engaging-the-culture/patriarchy-vision-forum-and-all-the-rest-of-it.html Patriarchy, Vision Forum, and All the Rest of It], he said, "Patriarchy simply means “father rule,” and so it follows that every biblical Christian holds to patriarchy... But there are objections, some to the substance and some to the word... There is a kind of male conceit that does not know how to submit, and a number of these people have embraced the word ''patriarchy''."</ref> [[R. C. Sproul, Jr.]],<ref>[http://www.highlandsministriesonline.org/journals/hsc/2004_08_01_archive.html Highlands Study Center Squiblog]  {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101030212821/http://www.highlandsministriesonline.org/journals/hsc/2004_08_01_archive.html |date=October 30, 2010 }}</ref> [[Voddie Baucham]] (who prefers the phrase "gospel patriarchy"),<ref>{{cite book |last1=Baucham |first1=Voddie |author-link=Voddie Baucham|title=What He Must Be: ...If He Wants to Marry My Daughter |date=2009 |publisher=[[Good News Publishers|Crossway]] |page=59 |isbn=9781433520815 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8lAqvhvaEtAC&pg=PA59 |access-date=13 June 2021}}</ref> the [[Duggar family]],<ref>{{citation |last=Marcotte |first=Amanda |date=April 16, 2014 |title=Sex Scandal Rocks the Duggars' Christian Patriarchy Movement |work=[[The Daily Beast]] |url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/04/16/sex-scandal-rocks-the-duggars-christian-patriarchy-movement.html |accessdate=September 3, 2014}}.</ref> [[Dale Partridge]],<ref name=Partridge>{{cite web |last1=Partridge |first1=Dale |author1-link=Dale Partridge |title=Biblical Patriarchy vs. Complementarianism: a Quick Look at their Distinctions |url=https://relearn.org/biblical-patriarchy-vs-complementarianism-a-quick-look-at-their-distinctions/ |website=Relearn |access-date=20 August 2024}}</ref> and [[Doug Phillips (speaker)|Douglas Phillips]].

== Beliefs ==

The "Tenets of Biblical Patriarchy" published by [[Vision Forum]] before their demise advocates such beliefs as:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.visionforumministries.org/home/about/biblical_patriarchy.aspx|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100305040250/http://www.visionforumministries.org/home/about/biblical_patriarchy.aspx|title=The Tenets of Biblical Patriarchy|website=Vision Forum|archive-date=5 March 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref>

* God reveals Himself as [[Gender of God in Christianity|masculine]], not feminine.
* God ordained [[Complementarianism|distinct gender roles]] for man and woman as part of the created order.
* A husband and father is the head of his household, a family leader, provider, and protector.
* Male leadership in the home carries over into the church: only men are permitted to hold ruling positions in the church. A God-honoring society will likewise prefer male leadership in civil and other spheres.
* Since the woman was created as a helper to her husband, as the bearer of children, and as a “keeper at home”, the God-ordained and proper [[Cult of Domesticity|sphere of dominion for a wife is the household]] and that which is connected with the home.
* God’s command to “[[Cultural mandate|be fruitful and multiply]]” still applies to married couples.
* Christian parents must provide their children with a thoroughly Christian education, one that teaches the Bible and the biblical view of God and the world.
* Both sons and daughters are under the command of their father as long as they are under his roof or as long as they are the recipients of his provision and protection.

[[Michael Farris (lawyer)|Michael Farris]] notes three examples of patriarchal teaching: that women should not vote, that [[higher education]] is not important for women, and that "unmarried adult women are subject to their fathers’ authority."<ref name=Farris>{{cite web|last1=Farris|first1=Michael|author-link=Michael Farris (lawyer)|title=A Line in the Sand|url=http://hslda.org/courtreport/V30N2/V30N202.asp|publisher=[[Home School Legal Defense Association]]|accessdate=30 August 2014}}</ref>

According to [[Rachel Held Evans]], the biblical patriarchy movement is "committed to preserving as much of the patriarchal structure of Old Testament law as possible."<ref>{{cite book |last= Evans|first= Rachel Held|author-link= Rachel Held Evans|date= 2012 |title= A Year of Biblical Womanhood: How a Liberated Woman Found Herself Sitting on Her Roof, Covering Her Head, and Calling Her Husband "Master"|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=4EfzlbFmzukC&pg=PA51|location= Nashville|publisher=[[Thomas Nelson (publisher)|Thomas Nelson]]|page= 51|isbn= 978-1-59555367-6}}</ref>

==Practices==
Some churches connected to Biblical patriarchy practice "household voting" in the church, where only the male heads of households cast votes in church elections.

Many members of the biblical patriarchy movement are also [[Homeschooling|homeschoolers]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Joyce |first=Kathryn |title=Quiverfull: Inside the Christian Patriarchy Movement |date=2010-05-01 |publisher=[[Beacon Press]] |location=Boston |isbn=978-0-8070-1073-0 |page=3}}</ref>

== Differences with complementarianism ==

Biblical patriarchy is similar to [[complementarianism]], and many of their differences are only ones of degree and emphasis.<ref>[[R. C. Sproul, Jr.]] says that "Both the patriarch and the complementarian affirm that husbands are called to lead their families. Both agree that wives and children are their equals in the eyes of God, that the husband/father’s authority isn’t the fruit of being a superior form of humanity. Both affirm that wives are called to be helps in their families’ call to fulfill the dominion mandate.  Again, I’m not clear on what the difference between these views might be." [https://web.archive.org/web/20150528032049/http://highlandsministriesonline.org/blogs/ask-rc-jr/ask-rc-how-do-i-avoid-embracing-hyper-patriarchy/ Ask RC: How do I avoid embracing hyper-patriarchy?]</ref> While complementarianism holds to exclusively male leadership in the church and in the home, biblical patriarchy extends that exclusion to the civic sphere as well, so that women should not be civil leaders<ref>[http://www.visionforumministries.org/issues/ballot_box/should_christians_support_a_wo.aspx Should Christians Support a Woman for the Office of Civil Magistrate?].</ref> and indeed should not have careers outside the home.<ref>[http://www.visionforumministries.org/issues/family/called_to_the_home_called_to_r.aspx Called to the Home — Called to Rule].</ref> Thus, William Einwechter refers to the traditional complementarian view as "two point complementarianism" (male leadership in the family and church), and regards the biblical patriarchy view as "three-point" or "full" complementarianism (male leadership in family, church, and society).<ref>[http://www.visionforumministries.org/issues/family/men_and_women_and_the_creation.aspx Men and Women and the Creation Order, Part 1 - Vision Forum Ministries]</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080928072521/http://www.visionforumministries.org/issues/ballot_box/the_palin_predicament_resolved.aspx The Palin Predicament Resolved - Vision Forum Ministries]</ref> Similarly, [[Dale Partridge]] says, "Unlike the complementarian view, which confines male leadership to the familial and ecclesiastical domains, biblical patriarchy is consistent by extending male authority to all societal aspects, including civil governance and social life."<ref name=Partridge /> This issue was discussed during [[Vice presidential candidacy of Sarah Palin|Sarah Palin's vice presidential campaign in 2008]], when some adherents of biblical patriarchy stated that Palin, as a woman, was "biblically ineligible to run for vice-president".<ref>{{cite news|last1=Ingersoll|first1=Julie|author-link=Julie Ingersoll|title=Sarah Palin Calls Biblical Patriarchs "Neanderthals"|url=http://religiondispatches.org/sarah-palin-calls-biblical-patriarchs-neanderthals/|accessdate=23 September 2015|work=[[Religion Dispatches]]|date=17 November 2010}}</ref>

In contrast to this, [[Douglas Wilson (theologian)|Douglas Wilson]] rejects the idea that it is a sin for a woman to run for public office.<ref>[[Douglas Wilson (theologian)|Douglas Wilson]], [http://dougwils.com/books/wrestling-with-ghosts.html Wrestling With Ghosts]</ref> [[John Piper (theologian)|John Piper]] and [[Wayne Grudem]], representing the complementarian position, say that they are "not as sure in this wider sphere which roles can be carried out by men or women".<ref>[[John Piper (theologian)|John Piper]] and [[Wayne Grudem]], "An Overview of Central Concerns," in ''[[Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood|Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood: A Response to Evangelical Feminism]]'' (Wheaton: Crossway, 1991), 89.</ref>

== Criticism ==

Biblical patriarchy has been criticised for holding views that demean women and view them as property. Don and Joy Veinot of [[Midwest Christian Outreach]] interpret the Vision Forum statement to imply that "women really cannot be trusted as decision makers" and "unless a daughter marries, she functionally remains pretty much the 'property' of the father until he dies."<ref>L. L. (Don) and Joy Veinot, ''Midwest Christian Outreach Journal'' [http://www.midwestoutreach.org/Pdf%20Journals/2007/spring_2007.pdf Spring 2007], p. 4. Emphasis original.  {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090219030311/http://www.midwestoutreach.org/Pdf%20Journals/2007/spring_2007.pdf |date=February 19, 2009 }}</ref>

[[Andrew Sandlin]] criticizes biblical patriarchy for teaching the authority of fathers, whereas the Bible teaches the authority of both fathers and mothers. Sandlin argues that "whenever the Bible has in mind children’s obligation to parents, it never depicts a ''paternal'' hierarchy, only a ''parental'' hierarchy", that "the father has no more say in the children’s rearing than the mother", and that "the Bible does not teach that the father is the head of the household".<ref>[[P. Andrew Sandlin]]"[http://docsandlin.com/2012/04/17/the-patriarchy-problem-2/ The “Patriarchy” Problem]", emphasis in original.</ref> Elsewhere, Sandlin argues that a "renewed patriarchalism in some quarters is working for hegemony over the other legitimate spheres of God’s authority."<ref>P. Andrew Sandlin, "The Hegemonic Patriarchy," ''Christian Culture'' January 2004, available on the [http://undermoregrace.blogspot.com/2009/03/hegemonic-patriarchy-by-andrew-sandlin.html Under Much Grace] website.</ref> In other words, the authority of the father dominates other authority structures in the church and in society. Sandlin writes that some patriarchalists "have gone so far as to suggest that Christian day schools are sinful or erosive of the family" and to "demand almost unswerving obedience and servanthood from their forty-year old married sons."

[[Michael Farris (lawyer)|Michael Farris]] takes issue with the teaching that women should not vote, and argues that "nothing in the Bible can possibly be twisted to expand the duties between a husband and wife in a loving marriage to reach the conclusion that [[Bill Maher]] can vote but Vickie Farris cannot."<ref name=Farris />

In 2008 Cynthia Kunsman ran a workshop at [[Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary]] (sponsored by [[Evangelical Ministries to New Religions]]) critiquing biblical patriarchy.<ref name="Kunsman" /> She described it as an "intolerant ideology" that has arisen within circles of the Christian homeschool movement during the last two decades. She suggested that the biblical patriarchy movement was guilty of [[subordinationism]], and identified the [[Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood]], the [[Federal Vision]] movement, and [[Southern Baptist Theological Seminary]] as adherents of biblical patriarchy. In response, both [[Evangelical Ministries to New Religions|EMNR]] and [[Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary|MBTS]] accused Kunsman of making "unwarranted and misinformed accusations against Christian teachers and ministries, including the [[Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood]] and agencies within the [[Southern Baptist Convention]]."<ref name="Kunsman">Web: 30 Jan 2010 [http://ethicsdaily.com/news.php?viewStory=12555 Speaker Chastised Over Criticism of 'Biblical Patriarchy' at SBC Seminary] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091004114224/http://ethicsdaily.com/news.php?viewStory=12555 |date=2009-10-04 }}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Christian head covering]]
* [[Family Integrated Church]]
* [[Gender roles in Christianity]]
* [[Chauvinism#Male chauvinism|Male chauvinism]]
* [[Patriarchy]]
* [[Quiverfull]]
* [[Stay-at-home daughter]]

== References ==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
*{{cite web|title=My Life as a Daughter in the Christian Patriarchy Movement|url=http://www.alternet.org/teaparty/152393/my_life_as_a_daughter_in_the_christian_patriarchy_movement_--_how_i_was_taught_to_obey_men,_birth_8_kids_and_do_battle_against_secular_america?page=entire|publisher=[[AlterNet]]}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20100305040250/http://www.visionforumministries.org/home/about/biblical_patriarchy.aspx The Tenets of Biblical Patriarchy  Vision Forum Ministries Editorial]

{{Evangelical Protestantism in the United States}}


[[Category:Christian fundamentalism]]
[[Category:Christian movements]]
[[Category:Gender and Christianity]]
[[Category:Evangelical theology]]
[[Category:Family]]
[[Category:Fatherhood]]
[[Category:Biblical topics|Patriarchy]]
[[Category:Patriarchy]]
[[Category:Complementarianism]]