Christian Patriarchy, a short answer

This was asked on my blog some time ago:

Hi Biblicalpersonhood,

I study about this movement referred to as Stay at Home Daughters, or Christian Patriarchy. It would like daughters to stay in the family home doing housework. They do not want their women to go to university or functioning outside the household, she should be under the protection of her father/husband. They are conservative homeschoolers and train their little ones – fathers coaches the boys to be ‘bread winners’ and the mothers prepare the daughters to be ‘keepers of the home’. They really don’t even call it ‘raising a child’ but ‘train up a child’. This is kind of like the Duggars from 19 children and Counting. And there is also those Purity Balls, where daughters pledge their virginity to their dads and the dad has to vow to preserve them. They also say that any daughter/wife who disobeys her father/husband is disobeying God as well.

Is this mistaken in some way?

Worst of all, they say this is from the bible, they adhere to the Isaiah 3:12 and Genesis, stating be fruitful and multiply.

– Nancy

Hi, Nancy. I would argue that this movement is very much mistaken. Look around my blog a bit more for evidence. The things tagged patriarchy mostly discuss that very movement.

See for example: https://biblicalpersonhood.wordpress.com/2011/10/30/is-christian-patriarchy-biblical-links/

Where Christianity has God/ Jesus at the center, their movement has male authority at the center. For example, Vision Forum’s Tenets of Biblical Patriarchy mention …

> God’s authority once,

> the authority of the husband/ father 7 times,

> wifely/ motherly authority never,

> authority of the church three times and

> of the government once.

The Bible, by comparison mentions God/ Jesus as authority a lot, and government authority rather often. Half of the verses on Christian authority (Matt 20:25 Mark 10:42-43 Luke 22:25-26) are of the nature: “The unbelievers have rulers who exercise authority…you should be different.” The only verse I know of with husbandly authority gives husbands and wives the same authority – 1 Cor 7:4. There are no verses which teach fathers have a special authority over children that mothers do not have. All in all, God’s authority and the authority of female believers is badly undervalued in “Biblical” Patriarchy. Church authority is somewhat overvalued, and husbandly/ fatherly authority overvalued out of proportion to anything else.

This movement is not very big on Jesus, either. His name appears only twice in their tenets – Once to remind us He was male, and once in an expression talking of husbands following the example of Jesus. There is nothing about Jesus himself, His work or His teachings, and no mention that women and children need to follow Him too.

All in all, their ways are man idolatry. Google “Sarah Faith Schlissel” and what she says of “God takes the back seat” and being the property of her father. This movement also set up men as mediators between God and children/ wives, while Christ is the only mediator we need!