A Bachelor’s Degree in Homemaking: Another Brief Reflection

Southwestern Baptist Seminary’s Bachelor’s degree in Homemaking is still stirring up controversy. But what I am finding most interesting is the fact that no one is addressing a related issue that is just as important in the discussion of gender roles and the home: the husbands.All things considered, there is more in the Bible (especially if one takes it literally, as Dr. Paterson and the SBC do) regarding the role of men in the home and in society than there is women. In fact, there is very little restriction on women if the Bible is taken literally, even in the New Testament. Even more, the Bible is actually, in some sense, liberating for the woman. She is not confined to some silent, passive, domestic role, and the only place where there is any blatant restriction on her is within the church.

But what about the men? If you look at the course list of Southwestern Seminary, you do not find a single curriculum directed at men only. As far as I know, all of the theological degree programs are open to both men and women. So women are getting special treatment at SWBTS. But the critics of this course are sexist? If we are going to teach women how to be proper women, then we must teach men how to be proper men. In fact, if anyone needs to be taught it is the men, not the women. If anyone has had a crap load of bad examples of what they should be, it is men, not women.

What do you think?  Is it men or women who need to learn their proper roles within the context of the home?