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The Kingdom that Turned the World Upside Down  /  Chapter 13, Am I of This World  /  Discussion Questions
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Question 10
Bercot argues the church has adopted a gender double standard (enforcing men’s uncovered heads while ignoring women’s covering, emphasizing commands for men while “neutralizing” commands for women) and warns that telling women they “don’t have to obey” sets them up to be disqualified; what makes this argument hard to hear, and what would repentance or reform look like if the chapter’s warning is true?
Another way to ask: Why is Bercot’s claim about a gender double standard in the church hard for people to accept? If his warning is true, what would real repentance or change in the church look like?

Direct Answer It’s hard to hear because Bercot says the church thinks it is helping women, yet is actually discriminating against them by telling them they need not obey Jesus; if he’s right, repentance would mean returning to the apostles’ teachings without cultural double standards and teaching women honestly about Christ’s commands.

Support from Transcript:

  • He says feminism produced a “double standard,” and “even so-called Bible-believing Christians have adopted wholesale the world’s double standard.”
  • Evidence in preaching: “Male bashing in sermons is now quite typical.”
  • Scripture for women is “neutralized or abrogated,” while commands for men are “emphasized and often amplified.”
  • Head covering example: historically “virtually every church” practiced men uncovered, women covered; today churches still enforce men’s part, but he’s “never seen a preacher tell a woman to cover her head.”
  • He calls this “the worst form of sex discrimination… possible,” like a lawyer misleading clients.
  • Warning: telling women they “don’t have to obey Jesus… [is] setting these women up to be disqualified from the kingdom.”
Discussion Follow-ups What fears (social backlash, appearing “sexist,” losing members) keep churches from teaching unpopular commands? If reform happened, how could it be done with humility and consistency rather than with harshness?

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