Discerning Truth from Error: Responding to Biblical Arguments Against Women’s Voting Rights
Morning friend,
Today, we're tackling something troubling that’s gaining traction in some Christian circles. Someone sent me a video from a man who believes abolishing a woman's right to vote in America is a good idea and God's will. I don't want to get political in this blog, but since he's using Biblical arguments to support his idea (and it's a growing movement), it's critical that we learn to discern truth from error.
One of the most important things to keep in mind when reading Scripture is the historical context and who the Bible was written to and for what purpose. Two questions I always ask myself when I read something troubling are: “Is this descriptive of the culture or prescriptive, as God's will?”
For example, when the Bible speaks of slavery, does that mean God endorses slavery as a practice (prescriptive), or is it descriptive of the cultural practices at the time? When the Bible speaks of godly men marrying multiple wives, is that descriptive of the culture (polygamy) or prescriptive of God's will for men and marriage? Similarly, when we read in the New Testament about women being silent in certain church contexts (1 Corinthians 14:34-35), we must ask: Is Paul prescribing an eternal practice for all churches everywhere, or is he describing how to handle a specific problem in a specific cultural context? Context matters.
Patriarchy (the belief that men are superior to women and hardwired to be leaders) was practiced throughout history in most (not all) cultures (even godless cultures). However, is this idea of patriarchy prescriptive of God's ideal plan for society? Or was it descriptive of how culture was typically oriented and practiced?
Today's Question: What are your thoughts on this video clip from a Biblical perspective (this man claims to be a Christian)? The video states that women's right to vote should be repealed. As far as I am aware, the Bible doesn't take a stance on voting rights, but some use the deception of Eve as proof women should not vote. Though Adam, as far as we know, was standing right next to her and did nothing, even though he was the one given the command before Eve existed. I know the New Testament said Eve was the one deceived, not Adam, but yet it also said sin entered into the world through Adam. I am just confused as this feels oppressive to women and that we are less than, rather than equal. How do you respond to someone who believes this? Watch the video for yourself here
Answer: First, thank you for asking this important question. He sounds so confident and sure of himself, doesn't he? Biblical even. You asked for my thoughts, but it sounds as if you are having some of your own doubts. Good for you. Just because someone claims to be a Christian doesn't make him one.
Friends, this short video clip is an example of where we must grow wise and careful to do our homework. Today, it's easier than ever to create fake videos. Be suspicious and know who you listen to. Fact-check information that comes from seemingly confident teachers who portray something as Biblical but feels wrong. (Feelings are good informants despite what the video teaches.)
After listening to his video, you were right to raise concerns. Is it Biblical? Did God forever ban Eve from equality with Adam or from having any authority, or assuming leadership because of her gender and Satan's deception? Is it true that before women in the United States got the right to vote, male leadership was morally superior to what it is today? Is it also true that because women now have the right to vote, morality in our country has deteriorated because women vote with their feelings instead of logic? No! No! No!
The Nazi party (Hitler) was led entirely by men, and their atrocities were ordered and executed by male leadership. And what about WWI, the Civil War, the stealing of Native American land, the horrific abuse of Native American children, or the atrocities of slavery? All decisions made by power-hungry men. What about the Crusades, the Russian Revolution, and the Killing Fields in Cambodia? What about the Salem Witch Trials? History tells a different story, and there are hundreds more examples that speak of oppression, injustice, immorality, the misuse of power, and atrocities that were enacted long before women ever received political equality or voting rights.
Second, the video makes the case that feelings and emotions have no place in leadership or good decision-making. The speaker in the video says that logic is the best decision-maker and a masculine strength. But that's not true. Jesus challenged the “logic” of the disciples' thinking when they objected to Mary of Bethany pouring expensive perfume over his feet (John 12). Logically, they made a good case. The money could be used to feed the poor. Yet Jesus said, “Leave her alone, she is doing something beautiful for me and will be remembered throughout eternity.” Her actions were based in love, not logic.
We also see in the Bible several examples of male leaders making terrible decisions ruled by emotions. For example, King Saul acted impulsively out of fear and jealousy (1 Samuel 13, 18). Peter cut off a soldier's ear in an emotional reaction (John 18:10). David (lusted) and misused his power to rape Bathsheba and then murdered her husband out of fear (2 Samuel 11). Emotional dysregulation isn’t just a female problem—it’s a human problem that affects leadership regardless of gender.
Accessing both our right brain (emotion) and our left brain (logic) are important in leadership as well as good decision-making. God created both male and female in his image and to bear his likeness (Genesis 1:27). One is not superior to the other. Both men and women have the capacity for right-brain and left-brain thinking. Men may lean more towards logic and women may lean more towards emotion, and we need both to have wisdom to lead and make good decisions (Galatians 3:28). Women were created to be the “ezer” to the man, meaning helper. Not a subordinate helper such as a slave, but a powerful ally, like the Lord is to his people.
Third, his claim that women's voting rights have been the cause of America's moral decline is false and misogynistic. Moral degradation is not a female voting problem; it's a sin problem. The Bible shows many instances where women stood up against unjust and abusive laws enacted by male leaders in power.
For example, the Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah, did not obey Pharaoh's order to kill all baby boys born to Hebrew women. They lied, and God blessed them for their resistance to the Pharaoh (Exodus 1). Esther courageously spoke to the King regarding Haman's treachery and saved the Jews from genocide (book of Esther). Abigail refused to “submit” to her husband's foolish decision, quickly prepared a meal, and humbly spoke to David. Her wisdom and courage helped David come to his senses when he was overcome by his emotions (anger) and saved him from committing mass murder. God and David honored Abigail's courage and good judgment (1 Samuel 25). Deborah was a prophet and judge and led Israel, even in battle. Barak, the male leader, would not go to war without her (Judges).
The video said that since women were granted the right to vote, there's been an increase in normalizing homosexuality and legalizing abortion. Not true. We see throughout the Bible as well as in other cultures, homosexual practices (Genesis 19) as well as the history of child sacrifice (Leviticus 18:21; 20:2-5; Deuteronomy 12:31, 18:10), rape (2 Samuel 13:1-22, Genesis 34, 2 Samuel 11-12, Judges 19), as well as other sinful practices enacted by men in patriarchal cultures where women had no power or vote.
Finally, Jesus is our final reference point of who God is and what he's like (Colossians 1:15, Hebrews 1:3). If we take everything else away and just observe the way Jesus interacted with women in the Bible, we see that he treated them as equal image bearers. Joint heirs. He did not treat them as less than men or secondary in his kingdom. He didn't relegate their role to simply wife and mother. They supported his ministry with their own money (Luke 8:2-3). He taught them theology (Luke 10:39-42; John 4:7-26). They ministered to him. A woman was the first one to see him after his resurrection (Mark 16:9; John 20:14-16). He demonstrated that women were valued in his kingdom and interacted with them as equals in a culture that did not.
Let me be clear. This video isn’t about a return to biblical faithfulness or moral restoration. It’s about power and control. From the beginning of history, individuals who have power use whatever they can (including twisting Scripture) to maintain power. Slavery was never God’s will. But people used the Bible to justify it. The same is true here.
His teaching isn’t about honoring God or his word; it’s about silencing women who speak truth to power, to injustice, to challenge the patriarchy. Please steward yourself well so that you are not easily deceived or fooled by people who use the Bible inappropriately or manipulatively to justify taking power from you or using power over you. God gave you a mind to think, a heart to feel, a Bible to read, and a Holy Spirit to know. Train yourself to discern because sometimes evil masquerades as good (Hebrews 5:14).
And if you found this helpful, please share it. Other women (and men) need to hear this truth.
Friend, what came up for you? Was his smooth talk and biblical confidence convincing?
12 Comments
Leave a Comment
Ask Your Question
Have a blog question you'd like to submit?
Submit
Your Question
Each week, Leslie & Co. answers an anonymous reader question on the blog. Due to the volume of questions we receive, we cannot answer every one. Please submit your question below:
Read More
When Your Heart Isn’t Sure: Rebuilding Trust in Your Own Judgment
Morning friend, We have just closed our CONQUER membership with hundreds of women eager to learn how to change their own dance steps to become safe, healthy, and strong. One of the things we often see when a woman has been in an unhealthy or destructive relationship is that she loses trust in her own…
Should I Love The Unlovable?
Morning friends, I hope you are doing something for yourself this season to recharge your spirit. This year normal holiday festivities are changed. They may be virtual or non-existent, but our need for community and connection remains strong. Even if you are single, divorced, or living out a “new normal” during this time, remember, you…
Do I have to give him another chance?
Blessings Everyone! Lately I have been deeply grieved by the depth of our own self-deception and how it so impacts our relationships with one another. Being a counselor you’d think I’d get used to it but I don’t. Sometimes I have to confront someone’s self-deception. Even after all these years, it always surprises me when…
The Nazis also claimed to be staunch “Christians”, and at the same time were setting themselves up as gods.
I think there may have been a little gap in semantic clarity here:
“…. What about the Salem Witch Trials? History tells a different story, and there are hundreds more examples that speak of oppression, injustice, immorality, the misuse of power, and atrocities that were enacted long before women ever received political equality or voting rights”
I’m sure you mean that the story history tells us is that this pattern of coercive control, domination, lies, and misogyny has been perpetuated throughout all of “ civilized “ history by power-hungry men who were definitely not following a Godly path in any sense.
While a common teaching for decades (centuries?) has been “ Men may lean more towards logic and women may lean more towards emotion”, science has proven that this assumption derives from cultural, not biological, differences.
In our culture, women have been “ valued” for their social-emotional skills, where men were given a “ pass” on the higher-level social skills, “ because they are more logical”, “ better at science”, and other outdated stereotypes that frankly, benefited men, and diminished women and their talents, skills, and contributions to society.
I ask with all respect and sincerity: Please don’t believe or perpetuate this outdated premise.
My hope is that we will listen to wise, true, Godly others…like Leslie and company…and ignore the liars and perpetuators of false “ spirituality “.
I reiterate Leslie’s encouragement to really look into the truth of whatever “ news” you consume. Sometimes the photo editing is laughable; other times the AI is virtually seamless, although still completely false. Technology has enormous benefits, but it also requires vigilant wisdom to safely and correctly interpret the truth.
Thank you for adding to this thoughtful response. I’m forever grateful for Leslie’s work. I too stumbled on the “men may lean more towards logic and woman may lean more towards emotion” comment; however, my reaction was based experience not science. My father was far more reactive and emotional than my mother and she was the clear leader in our family in her logical responses and forethought. She was the eldest of five children from a divorced family. She had opportunity and practice, some out of necessity, as the culture of her day certainly didn’t support her natural leadership skills or training. Thanks for adding the science to support my observation.
I agree thst when men seek to subordinate women or take their equal rights away , their hidden motives are power and control and jealousy. If male – only leadership would’ve solved the problems of the world , God wouldn’t have to create Eve. But God knew better. .Im thankful for the teaching Leslie puts out so courageously and I’m thankful that God loves me with the same love he loves men with.
Here to emphasize comments by Living in Grace and Carolyn: 1) To me, these comments about women being “more emotional” will only align with your reality if you’ve been in spaces where women were discouraged (or prohibited) from leaning into logic. There are many, many women who exist in spaces that are completely based in data, science, engineering, medical, legal, and on, and on. To those women, the idea that they are hopelessly (or primarily) emotional would sound silly and fantastical, because their reality so easily disproves it. On that same note, 2) Unless the Bible specifically says that the “reason” she poured perfume on Jesus is because she was “in her feelings”, it cannot be assumed. Saying so is an example of men trying to “fill in the blanks” with their own ideas about women and is denigrating. The very act of assuming things about the intentions or motives of people in the Bible that are not specifically written in the text is also an example of not operating from a standpoint of logic. Yes, she may have done it because she had an extreme amount of love for Jesus. And it may have been counter cultural for the times. However, people have reasons why they act in such a way all the time. The difference is that when a man does it, it’s assumed he has some greater intention, but when it’s a women, it’s assumed she is “just being emotional.”
Thanks all who challenged my line on women tend to be more emotional, men more logical. It’s a common misconception and probably a better way to say what i truly meant is women are more in tune with their emotions and intuition – which is more right brain information – which is critical for making good decisions. Where as more traditional belief (especially in conservative church circles) is that rational logical thinking always trumps any other “way of seeing” or way of looking at things and has been more of a masculine belief.
Mary of Bethany also kissed Jesus’ feet and wept. There clearly was some powerful emotion behind her act. That doesn’t negate its validity, of course.
This video brings to mind the woman caught in the act of adultery and brought to Jesus. The account is found in John 8. Of course, many would focus solely on the woman’s actions and overlook the man involved, as the scribes and Pharisees in power did. Yes, John 8:3 says it was these leaders who brought her to Jesus: “Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery.” And ultimately, how did Jesus handle the situation? He wrote in the sand, probably the sins of the men there, and said to the woman, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.”And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” Afterward, Jesus says that He is the light of the world. In other words, He shines light on darkness, even this kind of darkness. Ladies, be encouraged in the Lord! Peace …
I think it’s important to realize that just because someone claims to be a Christian doesn’t mean they are grounded in the Truth of God’s word. Since the early days of Christianity, men have fought over various interpretations of the scriptures, and even done many horrible things in the name of Christ. We need to be grounded in “the whole truth and nothing but the truth.” Then we can discern what is being said and whether it is true or not.
In High School, I wanted to take Physics. I was told that girls don’t have the brains for it. I appealed to the principal, and he reluctantly allowed it. I didn’t want to be the only girl, so I convinced my friend to join me. She usually got average marks but we both aced it.
In my life, especially if you know that anger is an emotion, men are more emotional. Also, watch them at a game or race!
Think of the Wild West. Or the churches run by men only. Would there be as much SA if women had a seat at the table?
First, Connie, a person saying you were incapable of taking a class solely based on your sex and not based on your prior performance metrics is completely illogical and irrational. Good for you for doing that and for doing the work to ace it!! Adding to what you said, I heard the reason why colleges started having coed dorms is not because of feminism or liberalism, but because the men in men only dorms were trashing their buildings and completely out of control. When women were living in the same building (Even if restricted to a different floor), it reduced that sort of behavior. That does not align with the idea that women are the ones who bring the irrational element on scene. IMHO, this whole everything-was-fine-until-women nonsense is history and science being twisted and weaponized as being anti-woman and blamed on feminism. So, we have examples of women being able to do logic and to bring rational. There are also many women who are amazingly in tune with their emotions and who reflect the loving side of God beautifully. There are also those who were raised by a narcissistic or undiagnosed autistic mother or grandmother who know that loving default is not guaranteed. But now there are people who want to use made up ideas about women to rationalize why they can consolidate their own power at the expense of others. Just because where you live is mountains and streams, doesn’t mean all the world is so. Same with people. But apparently if someone hogs the microphone and uses it to repeat a point ad nauseam, they can get people to believe it eventually.
Is this guy a stand up comedian? His assertions are ridiculous – it has to be a satire or parody. His facts are so factually incorrect (eg, that women cause all our problems!) that I laughed. Men are more logical? If he’s actually serious, he’s just disproved that.
Any tips when your spouse now believes that women shouldn’t vote and other similar beliefs about women? He was not like this when I first married him and I am unsure how to proceed. It is hard not to feel disgusted by him which makes it hard to be close with him. Also, how do we raise children with these differing beliefs? I don’t want this influence on them. Thank you!