An Interview with Carolyn McCulley (Part 2)

[Editor's Note: This is the second part of our interview with Carolyn McCulley. You can read part 1 here.]

How has feminism effected the next generation of men and women?

By next, I assume you mean the rising generation. One of the most profound ways it has affected young adults is in the presentation of what is normative. Most of the young women I speak to have no idea about what happened in the feminist movement. They don't know there were three waves (the second wave was the women's liberation movement of the 1960s and 1970s, but that's not the only one), and because of that, they are unaware of the third wave that affects them now.

The third wave began in the 1990s as a rejection of the victim ideology of the second wave, which did briefly align with evangelicals in the anti-pornography movement. The daughters of second-wavers rejected this mentality and instead embraced a "pro-porn, pro-sex" ideology that has created the hyper-aggressive female sexuality that we live amongst today. Because it's not a politically visible movement, many people are unaware of it, but not of its effects. Third-wave feminism has contributed to the pornographication of our culture, to the immodesty of women's fashions and behavior, to the celebration of women's immorality in shows like Sex and the City and Girls Gone Wild, and so on. It is also decidedly anti-family and pro-pansexuality.

This affects both young men and women in widespread ways, from the hook-up culture to gender identity confusion.

What do people training for ministry need to be aware of when they are helping people think biblically through manhood and womanhood?

I think it is helpful to know how we got to where we are in our culture and to be able to explain that to others. Of course, the Word of God is all that is necessary to convict and convert people. But for those who oppose the authority of Scripture on this topic, I believe it is quite illuminating for them to understand the motivations behind certain aspects of the feminist movement. To be able to explain, for example, Margaret Sanger's embrace of eugenics, her racism, her harsh attitude toward children, and her lethal philosophies that are part of Planned Parenthood's legacy as their founder can open someone's eyes to the motives behind this pro-abortion business. To be able to understand the deep impact of Social Darwinism and the Industrial Revolution on our concept of the home can be helpful to someone who accepts the 20^th century's sea change of the home once being a place of productivity and now being a place of consumption. To know that helps women, especially, to understand why the home-or the private sphere, as I like to refer to it-is so important in the biblical framework.

But I think the most important thing for people in ministry to understand is that the seeds of feminism lie in all of our hearts. Apart from the grace of God, we are each rebels before God's authority. Feminism is just another expression of that indwelling rebellion. Therefore, our enemies are not the flesh-and-blood feminists, but the enemies listed in Scripture - our sin, our worldly, flesh-driven lusts, and our spiritual adversary. We must condemn the ideas but be merciful to those in captivity to them. I am appalled by Margaret Sanger's ideas and life, but if the Lord had not revealed Himself to me, I would be walking in lock-step with her philosophies.