Recently, the Senate’s Committee on Armed Services advanced the National Defense Authorization Act for 2025. The proposal would “amend the Military Selective Service Act to require the registration of women for Selective Service.” If the bill became law, every daughter, upon turning 18, would be required to sign up for the military draft, just as men currently must do.
This effort illustrates the confusion behind the contemporary call for equity instead of equality. Equality is about dignity. Men and women are equal in standing, dignity, and value, despite the significant differences between them. This understanding of men and women is, in fact, grounded in Scripture. As described in the first chapter of Genesis, God made his image bearers male and female. Both are made after His likeness. Each are, before God, equal.
Equity, on the other hand, grounds dignity in sameness. It demands that men and women are seen as identical. Difference, in this view, implies inequality.
The picture of humanity described in Holy Scripture is one in which men and women share sameness as well as difference. They are, in this sense, complementary to one another. In order to fulfill their God-given purpose to fill and subdue the earth, men and women partner. Both are required. In fact, in sameness and difference, we are like the God whose image we bear. As revealed in Scripture, God is Trinity. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit share the sameness of the Godhead, with differences in persons. When we presume women to be the same as men, we undermine what our natures reveal about God.
Because confusion about male and female is, in fact, a confusion about reality, it requires adjustments. For example, a 2017 Marine Corps study found that three out of four women failed to meet combat standards in boot camp. Of course, there have always been women able to excel in the physical service of the military, but this is far from the norm. So, standards were changed.
In 2021, Congress delayed the implementation of the Army’s new Combat Fitness Test over the fear that 54% of women had failed to pass the requirements. In 2022, a new Combat Fitness Test was implemented with different requirements for men and women, both of which were significantly less demanding than previous ones. Women must now run two miles in under 23 minutes; men in under 22 minutes. Both must complete 10 pushups, yes 10.
The men and women who give themselves to serve and defend our country should be honored, and there are growing areas of military service not dependent on physical strength and prowess. However, in those many areas that are dependent, giving an assault rifle and a pair of boots to men or women unable to meet the physical demands is not wise or kind.
Even more, a part of God’s design for men is as a protector. In the Old Testament, whenever women led in wartime, the men of Israel had failed. God still used, for example, in Judges 4, Deborah, the judge, and Jael, a woman with a deadly nail, and both received honor over Barak. But it’s clear that Barak had first failed to lead.
This historic shift in how males and females are currently understood is a symptom of the bad ideas of our gender politics. God’s design was wise and good, grounding our dignity and yet acknowledging the real differences that exist. When that design is ignored, there are consequences for individuals and nations.
Right now, I’m focused on protecting my daughters from this national absurdity.
This Breakpoint was co-authored by Michaela Estruth. If you’re a fan of Breakpoint, leave a review on your favorite podcast app. For more resources to live like a Christian in this cultural moment, go to breakpoint.org.
Photo Courtesy: ©Getty Images/Jupiterimages
Publish Date: July 12, 2024
John Stonestreet is President of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview, and radio host of BreakPoint, a daily national radio program providing thought-provoking commentaries on current events and life issues from a biblical worldview. John holds degrees from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (IL) and Bryan College (TN), and is the co-author of Making Sense of Your World: A Biblical Worldview.
The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of CrosswalkHeadlines.
BreakPoint is a program of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. BreakPoint commentaries offer incisive content people can't find anywhere else; content that cuts through the fog of relativism and the news cycle with truth and compassion. Founded by Chuck Colson (1931 – 2012) in 1991 as a daily radio broadcast, BreakPoint provides a Christian perspective on today's news and trends. Today, you can get it in written and a variety of audio formats: on the web, the radio, or your favorite podcast app on the go.