Gender discrimination?

When you think of the word- Discrimination, do you think of something that is right to do or wrong to do?  I think most of us think in terms of segregation or bigotry when we hear this word. Interestingly though, when Noah Webster wrote his dictionary of the English language in 1828 the word had overwhelmingly positive connotations. Essentially, the word meant something that we should do, not something we should refrain from. I wonder what has happened

In 1828 Webster defined discrimination as:
“The act of distinguishing, the act of making a difference, distinction as the discrimination between right and wrong.”

Today, Dictionary.com defines discrimination as:
“Treatment or consideration of, making a distinction in favor or against a person or thing based on the group, class or category to which that person or thing belongs rather than individual merit.”

In the second case, we can see that discrimination is clearly wrong. In the first we see that discrimination is clearly right. The challenging thing is that once we fail to discriminate properly about what is right and wrong, we suddenly are caught in a conundrum of never being able to decide on what is the proper way of treating peoples and groups. The founding documents of our nation stress the reality that “all men are created equal and are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights.” But when we make equality of personhood equal with equality in outcomes we are suddenly mired in an endless morass of never being able to discriminate correctly as to right and wrong. Two issues in the current news illustrate this well: The Boy Scouts of America and the issue of women serving in combat.

Women in Combat

Let’s first think about women in combat. I read an interesting editorial written by Kathleen Parker entitled: Anything men can do, girls can do better, NOT COMBAT. In the article she details some of the difficulties we are going to face if we begin to actively send women into combat as part of combat infantry units. All kinds of unintended consequences are going to be facing us, and all in the name of equality. Physical strength standards are being “gender normed”. It has also been asserted that women will be given the right to “opt” out of combat if they are not wanting to fight. Kathleen makes this very lucid point:

“In fact, men do not have the option of declining combat. How can the military justify giving women special treatment? Letting women but not men, choose whether to enter combat duty likely would cause deep resentment among male soldiers. To make life fair and allow both sexes to choose would be, as military sociologist Charles Moskos once put it, “The end of an effective military force.”

How about women being drafted? Can you Fathers stomach the thought that your daughter would be drafted and sent to war as cannon fodder? How about P.O.W.’s?  It’s hard enough for us to think of our sons in the hands of Islamic extremists, but can you imagine your daughter? How about latrines in the field? How about living arrangements? Can you imagine young men  and womenin highly charged environments with testosterone and other hormones raging in their bodies and not think that this will only lead to all manner of conflict and immoral behavior? Wouldn’t the “discriminating” thing be to say “no” to women serving in combat roles? I think any understanding of “right and wrong” would say yes.

Freedom of Choice For the Rest of Us?

How about the Boy Scouts? As a private organization they have been under huge pressure to admit Homosexual scout leaders. Our President has already weighed in on this one, believing that it is time to end this huge injustice.  In addition, the state of Wyoming, where I serve as Pastor, very recently barely killed a bill before the legislative body that would have included homosexuals as a protected class against which businesses and civic groups could not discriminate in hiring, etc. However, to force a private group to hire or grant membership to any individual is a huge invasion of that organizations freedom. The ability to choose is fundamental to freedom.  Persons and organizations should be free to choose to hire, rent homes and admit people to membership based on the criteria they establish for themselves. Too coercively force, based on quotas or other artificial means is the essence of governmental tyranny.  For instance, if I had a position open to hire someone as a ranch hand, I should be free to choose to discriminate against hiring a woman if I so choose if I feel it is not in the best interest of my ranch to hire a female. I may have any number of personal reasons for not wanting to hire a girl.

I think as a nation we have a guilty conscience over the evil‘s of slavery and segregation. The residual effect of these national sins has been that we are overly sensitive to issues of “discrimination” and have now allowed the pendulum to swing into foolish extremes. We are suddenly placed in the situation, where to keep from discriminating against a group, we are forced to call something God calls evil- good! As a result we have forged new chains for our Negro neighbor, not made of steel but rather made of entitlements. We have done the same in the name of equal rights for women and Homosexuals.

A Biblical Responce

So what does the Bible say about all this? Is discrimination a Biblical practice or not?  Let’s direct our minds to one verse. In Galatians 3:28 The Scripture states: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: For ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” In this verse we are being told that the justifying grace of God is equally available to all regardless of ethnicity, social status or gender.  We are, in the words of the founders of our nation: “Created equal.” That being the case, this inherent equality does not erase the differences within the created being. Genders are complimentary to each other not identical.  While we are equal in status before God, we are created with distinct roles. I would submit that the same holds true to the nations and economic status.  God has created some to be entrepreneurial business men, while He has created some to be employees.  God has ordained the limits of the nations as well. Nations rise and nations fall, at times certain ethnic groups seem to prevail over others while later a new nation will come to prominence. The important thing is that we fulfill the Royal Law (James 2), “Loving our neighbor as ourselves” while seeking true justice. If we truly love our neighbor we will treat him/her with “discrimination” choosing to do was is good, while rejecting what is evil. Just some things to think about.

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