Complementarianism & Idolatry

Idolatry is worshipping a creation of God as a god. When that happens, humans (who are made in the image of God) become less like the image of God (Rom 1:23; Phil 3:19-21) and more like the image of the idol they worship (Pss 115:8; 135:18; Rom 1:23; Phil 3:19-21). They become slaves to these idols thru sin – like an addiction that is almost impossible to shake. The more they worship the idol and sin, the deeper enslaved they become. The enslaving sin and the idolatry has a deluding effect upon the worshipper, so they have difficulty recognizing the truth (Ps 115:5-8; Zech 10:2; Rom 1:21-22, 28, 31; Rev 21:8; 22:15). At the same time, the idolatry is debasing (Rom 1:24, 26-27; Col 3:5; Ezek 22:9-11; Phil 3:19; Eph 5:5). The idol eventually has a totalizing effect upon the person, absolutizing itself in the mind of the idolater, becoming all-consuming, encompassing the individual or group making itself appear permanent inevitable and inescapable. The prison becomes the ultimate reality, and the prisoner can never even think that there is any other way than that of the idol. Now, not only does the idolater become more like the idol, but he or she begins to see other people thru that idol. That’s part of idolatry’s deluded all-encompassing effect. The image of God in other people begins to break down in the mind of the idolater. People are objectified and then exploited by the idolater in service of the sin and the idol. Thus, a person can be used by an idolater for sex, money, power, etc. Idolatry then is what leads to oppression. That is the overall, general biblical conception of why things are bad.

Now, let’s take patriarchy. Result of the fall of humans (Gen 3:16). Men worship sex, possessions, power, masculinity, etc. as idols and begin to treat women like objects that they can take (Gen 4:19; 6:2; 11:29; 12:19; 20:3; 21:21; 24:3-4, 7, 37-38, 40, 51; 26:34; etc.). Thus, the result is polygamy, female slavery, prostitution, sexual assault, etc.

Now, specifically complementarianism. It’s become all-encompassing and totalizing to many complementarians to the point of being raised to the level of a gospel issue that there can be no “agree to disagree,” no tolerance, egalitarians must be excluded. Many complementarians are completely deluded on this issue, unable to see the truth in Scripture. They can’t even imagine another reality than their own, even to the point of believing complementarianism (as somewhat distinct from historical patriarchy) has always been what Christians have always believed. Whether they see it or not, complementarians deem women as subservient in some capacity. 

So, what are complementarians worshipping? Could be sex, power, possessions, tradition, masculinity, a theological doctrine or system, the past … many options.

There are biblical methods of addressing idolatry. One of the most important is truth. If idolatry deludes and deceives, truth is dangerous to idols. Because of that danger, idolatrous systems attempt to silence the truth thru bullying, peer pressure, and general fear. But even silence is not enough. Idolatry ultimately creates a delusional system so all-encompassing that no one will even think there is an alternative to it. Idolatry will create a world silent to the truth, so that people born into it never know there is an alternative. So, there are many people who are complementarians/patriarchists only because they were born into that system and knew no other until much later in life. They may have heard of egalitarianism but were told how evil it was by other people born into the system.

This is the reason Jesus is said in the bible to “set the captives free,” to “bring sight to the blind,” to be “the way the truth and the life,” “the light of the world, piercing the darkness,” and why what Jesus does is compared to a new Exodus and why his victory on the cross occurred during Passover.