Chapter 45: The Courage of the Creator
THE COURAGE OF THE CREATOR
IN ISAK Dinesen’s story “The Deluge at Norderney” she has four people marooned in a barn loft during a flood. There are a cardinal, an old maiden lady, and a young man and woman, all of them strangers to one another. The floodwater is rising, and they know that this is their last night. The young couple are married by the cardinal, and the cardinal and old lady settle themselves to talk.
We will consider the lesson which these lovers above and before all other things teach us about the tremendous courage of the Creator of this world, “says the cardinal. “Every human being has, I believe, at times given room to the idea of creating a world himself. The Pope, in a flattering way, encouraged these thoughts in me when I was a young man. I reflected then that I might, had I been given omnipotence and a free hand, have made a fine world. I might have bethought me of the trees and rivers, of the different keys in music, of friendship and innocence; but upon my word and honor, I should not have dared to arrange these matters of love and marriage as they are, and my world should have lost sadly thereby. What an overwhelming lesson to all artists! Be not afraid of absurdity; do not shrink from the fantastic. Within the dilemma, choose the most unheard of, the most dangerous solution. Be brave, be brave! Ah, Madam, we have got much to learn.[19]
And the cardinal fell into deep thought.
Who of us, given the chance to arrange the world to our liking, would have had the powers of imagination that the cardinal allowed himself, let alone those that God had? Who of us would ever have had the courage of the Creator when He conceived the idea of sex? We cannot suppose that He overlooked the potentialities, the pitfalls, the high risks that would accompany it. He saw them all. And He made a woman, suitable, fit in every way, for man.
“Every good endowment that we possess and every complete gift that we have received must come from above, from the Father of all lights, with whom there is never the slightest variation or shadow of inconsistency.”
I think it would be correct to include sexuality as one of the good endowments that we possess. It is one of the terms of our life, one of the givens, that we had no choice about and that we are not at liberty to alter. There is an underlying principle of sexuality. The relationship between man and wife, as we have already seen, symbolizes the relationship between Christ and the Church. In the family of God, however, some have seen sexuality as a distinction to be carefully obliterated. Paul’s declaration in Galatians has been cited as proof that there is no difference between the respective positions of men and women. “For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
But the man who wrote those words is the same man who took care to distinguish between the roles of women and men, exhorting women to modesty in dress, silence in church, the use of head coverings, and submission to their husbands. He also was generous in his praise of the women who had assisted him in his apostolic ministry. He recognized spiritual gifts as having been distributed to men and women alike and set down rules for their proper use. But he strongly maintained the sexual distinction. This is what is important. Paul not only never denied sexual differences, he emphasized them. This passage in Galatians refers to what happens to a Christian through baptism. He becomes, whether male or female, slave or free, Jew or Greek, a son. He enjoys the same privileges which all sons of God enjoy. But this “order of redemption” does not unite the two poles nor displace the “order of creation,” as is shown by Paul’s reference to this order in 1 Timothy, “Let a woman learn in silence with all submissiveness. I permit no woman to teach or to have authority over man; she is to keep silent. For Adam was formed first, then Eve.”
It is a misguided kind of super-spirituality that attempts to erase all distinctions between Christians. It is a form of escapism, an evasion of responsibility, and a serious distortion of truth.
Thank the Giver of this great gift, Valerie! Don’t join those who apologize for it or want to make you forget it. It wasn’t your idea to begin with —it was your Creator’s, and what a courageous Creator He is! Your obedience to Him will help other women to be women, men to be men.