Originally posted 10/4/23
According to www.gotquestions.org, “egalitarianism is simply viewing men and women as the same and completely equal. If we apply that to Biblical issues, it would mean that men and women are treated as equal creations. If they are equal, then opportunities should be the same for men and women.”
Many people quote Galatians 3:28 to support this view. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither ( Galatians 3:28) slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If we fail to look at the context of each passage, it becomes easy to twist and pull Scripture out to make it say what we want it to say. The passage in Galatians was written to make the point to the Gentiles that becoming Jewish was not a prerequisite to becoming a Christian. When it comes to salvation, we are all equal before Christ. This does not mean that gender roles are equal.
Other passages are used: My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory (James 2:1) But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors (James 2:9)
James wrote his epistle to the Jews who had been scattered. It was not written as a correction but rather as a guidebook for Christian living. James knew the dangers of showing partiality to others. These verses are not suggesting that there are no differences. The danger is treating people as if one is more worthy than another. We are not to treat people differently. What if someone walked into church dressed in a designer outfit? Would that person be treated the same as someone who came in with dirty, smelly clothes? Showing partiality to someone does not apply to gender roles.
Determining your position between complementarianism and egalitarianism can be a daunting task. I encourage you to continue to search Scripture for the answers. I am a huge believer in letting Scripture interpret Scripture.