the differences between men and women. But we must steadfastly and
patiently hold to the middle, with the help of God.
By now it should be plain why I say that this controversy is big-
ger than we realize. The struggle to uphold equality anddifferences
andunity between men and women has implications for all areas of
life. Moreover, strong spiritual forces invisibly war against us in this
whole controversy. I am not now focusing on the egalitarian left or the
domineering right, but on the far left column and the far right col-
umn, the effeminate left and the violent right. I do not think that we
can look at those two columns for long without realizing that behind
the attempt to abolish all differences and make everything “one,” and
behind the attempt to destroy those who are weaker and make the
stronger always “right,” there is deep spiritual evil. At both extremes,
the hand of the Enemy seeks to destroy God’s idea of sex, of marriage,
and of manhood and womanhood. We see the hand of the Enemy
seeking to destroy everything that glorifies God, especially the beauty
of our sexual differences, which wonderfully reflect God’s glory. The
Enemy hates everything that God created as good, and hates every-
thing that brings glory to God Himself.
So in the end, this whole controversy is really about God and how
His character is reflected in the beauty and excellence of manhood and
womanhood as He created it. Will we glorify God through manhood
and womanhood lived according to His Word? Or will we deny His
Word and give in to the pressures of modern culture? That is the
choice we have to make.
NOTES- Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations in this chapter are from the
Revised Standard Version of the Bible. Italics in Scripture quotations have been
added by the author for emphasis. - For further discussion, see Wayne Grudem,Systematic Theology: An Introduction
to Biblical Doctrine(Leicester, England: InterVarsity; and Grand Rapids, Mich.:
Zondervan, 1994), 442-450. - God created us so that our likeness to Him would be seen in our moral judg-
ment and actions, in our spiritual life and ability to relate to God who is spirit,
in our reasoning ability, our use of language, our awareness of the distant past
and future, our creativity, the complexity and variety of our emotions, the
78 BUILDINGSTRONGFAMILIES