Feminism has replaced thousands of years of biblically decreed and transcendent principles of Christian patriarchy as the ruling paradigm, not only of the West, but of the modern Evangelical church, argues William Einwechter in an article entitled, “The Feminization of the Family,” posted yesterday on the Vision Forum Ministries Web site:

Men have fallen away in fear at feminist charges of sexism, repression, tyranny, and exploitation, as a coward would wither before the charge of a determined enemy on the battlefield. Nothing seems to have terrified men more than the angry glare and words of feminist ideologues.

Einwechter goes on to outline six areas in which “feminist’s radical vision of social revolution” has triumphed:

1. Marriage has been destabilized, and divorce is rampant.
2. Male headship in the family has been replaced by an “egalitarian” arrangement where the husband and wife “share” in the leadership responsibilities of the family.
3. The man as provider has been rejected for a new model of joint economic responsibility.
4. The woman as a full-time homemaker is scorned, and the working woman who seeks fulfillment and independence in employment outside of her home is now a cultural norm.
5. The biblical norm of a woman as a nurturer of children has been replaced by the feminist ideal of a working mother who places her children in “daycare” so that she can pursue other important matters.
6. The idea that a large family is a “blessing” is rejected for notion that a small family of one or two children (and for some, no children at all) is far better.

Einwechter rightly observes that it is the “passivity of the church” that has lead to feminism’s success, and he charges Christian men to once again take the lead:

Men must lead by precept and example in eradicating all aspects of feminist influence from the life and structure of their family and restore it to a biblical pattern. Men must prove themselves men and shoulder the full load of responsibility given to them by God. Men must stop being intimidated by feminist rhetoric and radicals and fearlessly promote God’s order for the family.

Click here to read the entire article.