During the last week of 2023, thousands of young people flooded into Portland, Oregon, for the annual GYC (Generation.Youth.Christ.) Conference. Known for its solid, biblical presentations, inspiring testimonies, heartwarming music, practical Bible-based seminars, and community outreach, many youth and young adults from across the United States and other countries, flock to GYC. And this year, many remarked that the 2023 conference was one of the most inspiring GYCs ever held.
Focusing on the theme, “But if not . . .” (Daniel 3:18), morning devotional speaker Mark Howard and plenary speakers Andrew Park, Sam Walters, and Adam Ramdin, dived deep into the text, bringing out profound insights of being faithful to God no matter the cost. (You can read more about these presentations of GYC 23 here and listen to the excellent presentations on GYC’s YouTube channel here.
A wide range of engaging seminars beckoned attendees, making it difficult to choose from the many fine choices on offer. I decided to attend the five-part seminar, “Biblical Womanhood,” presented by Rahel Wells, a professor of Biblical Studies in the undergraduate department of Religion and Biblical Languages at Andrews University. She also recently served as the president of the Adventist Theological Society.
Rahel is no stranger to Andrews, as her parents are well-known professors Richard Davidson (Old Testament) and Jo Ann Davidson (Systematic Theology), who teach at the theological seminary.
I looked forward to Rahel’s seminar on Biblical Womanhood with eager anticipation, hoping for an uplifting study on what “Biblical Womanhood” is all about—something far better than what Beth Allison Barr portrays in her misleading book, The Making of Biblical Womanhood.
Sadly, I was greatly disappointed. Rather than learning what the Bible teaches regarding God’s design for womanhood, attendees were subjected to straight-up feminism. They learned that many prominent male heroes of the Bible were actually “anti-heroes” (Rahel’s words). For example:
Abraham: God gives Abraham the sign of circumcision (Gen. 17) because: “Abraham is messed up a lot, so God gives him a sign in his body where he’s messed up,” pointing out how Abraham lied about his wife twice, and the incident with Hagar.
Joshua is a coward. “Joshua is scared out of his mind. God told Joshua to go forward, but he’s scared. It’s Rahab’s word that gives Joshua courage to go forward.”
The husband of the Proverbs 31 woman is lazy. “Her husband is trusting her to bring in the money. He just sits at the gate.”
David is a rapist. “Not until the book of Acts is he called ‘a man after God’s own heart.’” (Note: Not true. See 1 Sam. 13:14. The text in Acts 13:22 is simply referring to the text in 1 Samuel.) Speaking of the genealogy in Matthew 1, God decided to list Uriah because “David screwed it all up,” said Rahel.
Gideon “is no hero. In fact, he’s an anti-hero.” “We think of these people as heroes because of Hebrews 11, but one verse can’t undo an entire book [of Judges].”
“God Himself is divorced!” (from Israel)
While telling us how bad these men of the Bible were, Rahel lifted up women of the Bible much higher than the text would indicate.
In a glowing 30-minute exposé reminiscent of the coming out sermon of Saša Gunjević, the bisexual “pastor” in Germany, Rahel focused on Hagar, comparing how an angel spoke to her much the same way as to Mary, the mother of Jesus. Going further, Rahel lifts Hagar up to the level of Abraham stating that God makes a covenant with her (Note: God made the covenant with Abraham, see Gen. 21:13, and simply reiterates that promise to Hagar). Rahel then compares the story of Hagar and Ishmael being sent away to the story of Abraham sacrificing Isaac. Finally, according to Rahel, Hagar is powerful because “she names God” (Note: in feminist theology “naming” oneself, the world, and God are key concepts). “Hagar’s story is so important,” Rahel reassured us.
Many other female heroes of the Bible were mentioned in these “Biblical Womanhood” presentations, such as Rahab, who, according to Rahel, was probably not “a prostitute but an innkeeper.” And, as mentioned earlier, “she (Rahab) is the reason Israel moves forward” into Canaan. Rahel also mentioned the usual list of female Bible heroes: Miriam (no mention of her jealousy of Moses and subsequent leprosy), Hannah, Ruth, Deborah, Esther, daughters of Zelophehad, Huldah, Anna, Priscilla, Phoebe, and many more. Interestingly, no mention of any female Bible “anti-heroes” were mentioned, such as Jezebel, Athaliah, Herodias and her daughter, etc.
Considerable time was spent on Proverbs 31, with Rahel stressing the point that this woman was “a businesswoman first; being a wife and mother is secondary.” The point of the passage, according to Rahel, is that this person in Proverbs 31 “fears the Lord—being a woman isn’t the focus.” Furthermore, “If we look to her and think we need to be like her, we’re going to feel like failures.”
In her final presentation on “Biblical Womanhood,” Rahel chose to focus on the horrific story of the concubine’s rape and murder described in Judges 19:22-30. She expressed her deep disappointment that the Pathfinders, who are studying the book of Judges for their upcoming “Bible Experience” won’t be studying this passage. (Quietly, I thought to myself that if I were a mother of a Pathfinder (ages 10-14), I wouldn’t want my child to be focusing on this passage and was grateful for the Pathfinder leaders’ decision.)
Going through this gory passage, Rahel emphasized the wickedness of men and the victimization of women, pointing out that “Israel had become worse than Sodom.”
This main theme of the wickedness of men and victimization of women ran through the seminar. “I can bet a lot of you have been abused,” Rahel stated in her final presentation —it’s kind of the life of a woman in this world. God keeps track.” Going on, she said, “God is going to judge. He doesn’t let the guilty go unpunished. As women we need to hear that. One in three women gets assaulted during their lifetime. And we get all sorts of other mistreatment. If we don’t get justice in this life, God will give us justice. . . . We need to learn to lament. We need to let women who have been abused to cry these prayers of lament in the Bible—and say, ‘You’re right. It’s horrible,’ especially for those who have been abused by men of faith.”
Referring to her personal experience of a failed marriage to an abusive and unfaithful husband, Rahel stated, “I’m not the same person because of the trauma I went through in my first marriage. I still cry out to God.”
And to be fair, statistics show that women are abused more often than men, including the female author of this article. But trying to paint men as all bad and as abusers, and women as all good and the victims is not the answer. It is not realistic, it is not helpful, and most importantly, it is not biblical.
The point is we all have sinned and need a Savior. Scripture is true. It shows true-life situations. And it shows the power of God’s redemption. It shows how God can redeem and change someone, and it also shows what happens when people reject Him.
It should be mentioned that Rahel did bring out some helpful points, such as the fact that our identity comes from God, not from what we do. Furthermore, God has a special calling for each of us and we should be willing to do whatever He calls us to do. She also emphasized that God can heal the brokenhearted, and that He never puts women down.
The question still remains, however: What is Biblical Womanhood? Sadly, it was not answered in this seminar. Perhaps a good place to start would be to read the book Daughters of God by Ellen White. And maybe in the near future, an article could be written about what the Bible really says regarding womanhood. I would like to read such an article.
Interestingly, no men were allowed to attend the “Biblical Womanhood” seminar. Furthermore, Rahel requested that her presentations not be recorded, as she wanted it to be a “safe space.” This is uncharacteristic for GYC, as nearly all seminars are recorded and uploaded to AudioVerse for those who may not have been able to attend.
I’m sure the GYC leaders who invited Rahel Wells thought her presentations would be uplifting and biblical. When people come to GYC (including parents who bring their kids to GYC) they believe it will be a “safe space.” But as wonderful as GYC is (and it is wonderful!), I’ve learned that the only truly “safe space” is at the feet of Jesus, following His Word.
****
“Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 1:13).