Gender
A Single Abiding Difference Between Men and Women
Rev. Steve Schlissel - February 23, 2019
If there is a single, valid, pervasive and abiding difference between men and women, the foundation of egalitarian-feminism may be seen as inimical to a truly free society. For that single difference, even if it were to remain alone, might, in a free and competitive market, justify discriminatory practices in, say, hiring for particular jobs. As it is, there are thousands of differences, many of which might suggest to a gleg employer that one gender or the other (of but two) might be preferred for a particular slot.
Naturally, we’ve been trained to knee-jerk when any form of the word “discrimination” is used. Would that our jumping joints were reactive to undefined notions of “equality.” A people may be free or they may be “equal,” but they will not—cannot—be both.
The following is from Bavinck and it is gorgeous and true.
“The human nature given to man and woman is one and the same, but in each of them it exists in a unique way…(T)he woman is constructed differently than the man [also] in terms of religion, intellect and morality. The same laws of logic and morals, the same religion and morality apply to both. The man is not intellectually superior to the woman and the woman is not morally superior to the man. But how entirely different each of them takes hold of religion and morality, art and science! The man sees in religion first of all a duty, the woman considers it a pleasure and a privilege. For the man, the good functions more in the form of justice, for the woman it takes the shape of love. The man wants justice and law, the woman sympathy and participation. The man strives for the truth of an idea, the woman pursues the reality of life.” (The Christian Family, p.69. Translated from the Dutch by Nelson Kloosterman.)
Getting ahold of these truths, their respective grounds and the uncountable implications will help everyone understand, 1. Just how it is married couples can talk past each other, even when they agree!, and, 2. when considering the debacle which is our current social morass, come to understand its being in large measure, a consequence of the feminine being deported (for the last 100 years) to the marketplaces and palestras, and today, finally banished from the domestic sphere.
Send them to questions@messiah.nyc