© 2003-2009 Ageless Mercy

Modern theology portrays God the Father as a patriarchal father figure who rules over the other Persons of the Trinity and who is the model all male humans are to emulate while female humans ought to imitate the subjection of the Son. At the same time, however, the same theologians insist that the Son is omnipotent and rules over the universe as its King, and that all husbands should emulate the rule of the Son and all wives ought to imitate the subjection of the church. Selective theology can be used to prove anything to be true since one chooses the proof only after one has already decided what one wishes to believe. The subjection of the Son, and the maleness of God, appeared after the subjection of the woman in the fourth century; the third century theologians refused to subject the Son to the Father since it would have removed from Him the attribute of supremacy, without which He could not have been God. Neither did they agree that God was male, since the sexual distinction belongs only to the created world. The hierarchy of authority which seems so essential in modern theology became necessary only after women and slaves were relegated into the category of dependent subjects, ruled by the freeborn male. This was of course a decidedly Roman concept and the early church knew nothing of it. The first century Christians lived and died as one in accordance to their belief that Christ had abolished all earthly distinctions; as sisters and brothers they were called to love and serve each other.

If there is no hierarchy within the Godhead, it cannot exist in the church. If there is no hierarchy, there cannot be rule and authority. Our understanding of the Gospel changes when we move away from the Roman obsession with power and authority, and move towards the gentle example of Jesus who did not come to rule the world but to die for it. The church was not commissioned to rule the world, although she did believe she was in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The church was commissioned to spread the Good News – that death had been conquered – and to love and serve a world filled with suffering. A Christian, someone who is Christ-like, does not demand service and obedience from others, for he or she is serving others; a servant cannot be a master at the same time. Yet, serving does not mean being abused and used by others, for as seen in the example of Jesus, it takes a strong person to know when to leave the scene and to tend to one’s own needs.

We have all made mistakes and need God’s forgiveness which is given freely to all who ask because of the death of Jesus. But forgiveness is only the beginning of the journey: the great hope we have is that the grave is not the end; because Christ rose from the dead, death has been conquered and we will all be resurrected to a new life. But we should not neglect life here on Earth for we were created for this life; creatures made of dust, animated by the breath of God. As Christians we have an opportunity to make life better for all humans by forsaking selfishness and by serving the world through love. It is a formidable challenge, but one that we cannot neglect, for it is the example Jesus gave us.