Journal: Priscilla Papers
Volume: PP 23:2 (Spring 2009)
Article: In Likeness and Unity: Debunking the Creation Order Fallacy
Author: Allison J. Young

PP 23:2 (Spring 2008) p. 12

In Likeness and Unity:
Debunking the Creation Order Fallacy

Allison J. Young

ALLISON J. YOUNG is a Master of Divinity candidate at Princeton Theological Seminary. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in biblical and theological studies from Bethel University. She served as a theological intern for Christians for Biblical Equality in the summer of 2007.

One of my first experiences as an intern with Christians for Biblical Equality (CBE) involved my staffing a CBE booth at a conference. Here, I met a woman who was very excited about egalitarianism; however, in spite of the enormous favor toward egalitarianism that she found in the Bible, she still considered herself a complementarian. Why? She said it was due to the “order of creation.” The creation of Adam before Eve was the last and major “obstacle” that she could not surmount.

Her response surprised me greatly. In my opinion, the “order of creation” is one of the weakest objections. As my internship progressed, I encountered more people who, although supportive of CBE’s mission, were convinced that Adam, being created first, had a special role as representative of humanity that Eve did not share.

The “order of creation” argument is significant to the hierarchical case. If inequality between man and woman was part of the original creation, it is logical that inequality was part of God’s original design for male/female relationships. By interpreting the creation order to imply that man was created to be an authority over woman, hierarchists teach that men are to be authorities over women today. A woman’s authority is, therefore, limited so that she cannot be in a position of authority or leadership over men. To be so, according to this line of thought, would be to ignore her God-given “role” as a subordinate helper to man.

While hierarchists refer back to the original creation for support for hierarchy in female/male relationships, egalitarians refer to the original creation to support equality. Because we are living after the fall and in the midst of broken relationships, egalitarians believe one must look to the biblical account of creation to gain a clearer understanding of God’s original intent for humanity. What implications does the “order of creation” in the Genesis account have for the structure of human relationships?

Two perspectives

According to the egalitarian perspective, the creation account in Genesis indicates that (1) man and woman were created equal in value, both being made in the image of God (Gen. 1:27); (2) man and woman were both given equal dominion over the earth and its creatures (Gen. 1:26-30); and (3) there...