Andrew Smyth

We Stand Against Feminism? In a recent article in the New Horizons analyzing the lack of young men desiring the ministry, the author defended the masculinity of the Reformed and Presbyterian officers. He wrote, “We stand against feminism, egalitarianism, and sinful male dominance" ("Where Are the Young Men?"). My prior article demonstrated that there is a problem in our churches, from tone-policing to attacks on biblical patriarchy. This article will dig further into the evidence, focusing on the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC). First, in 2001 we have on record a larger number of church officers (43) protesting the majority report against women in combat. Part of the protest reads as follows: “The undersigned do hereby protest the declaration of the 68th General Assembly of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church that, ‘the use of women in military combat is both contrary to nature and inconsistent with the Word of God’ upon the grounds that, ‘This is a ministerial declaration of what is revealed in Holy Scripture, cf. 1 Cor. 11: 14 ...’ Such a position has not been adequately demonstrated from Scripture and therefore cannot be declared as the teaching of God’s Word.” Certainly, some of the men who signed this would disagree with standard feminist and egalitarian thinking. Yet it is just as certain that women in combat is a go-to secular impulse. Second, around the same time as the OPC combat report, Rev. Lee Irons’ wife wrote in defense of gay marriage; he followed up with a post acknowledging his “private opinion” in favor of homosexual “civil unions.” Unlike today where feminism is divided over transgender issues, gay “rights” were pushed by the National Organization for Women on egalitarian grounds. Third, in various ways, men have pushed Christian female influencers, and rarely to any lasting goodness. Aimee Byrd is an excellent example. It started with a podcast, and now she is preaching. Once she was pushed into the masculine realm of public teaching and admonitions, it was only a matter of time. This is clearly an instance of using the means, causes and occasions—and certainly the appearances and provocations—that often dovetail with feminist activity or thinking. Fourth, a last-minute motion was brought before the 2021 OPC GA to use the services of GRACE (Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment). Further examination of the major players around GRACE showed this is not just a group of Christians trying to end the crisis of sexual abuse in the church. They wanted to eradicate corporal punishment of rebellious children, ignore our Book of Church Order (BCO), and eliminate Biblical male leadership. Fifth, in a related matter, a Presbytery in the OPC hosted Dr. Langberg in 2021 to talk about abuse in the church. She was working with (at the time) GRACE. Unfortunately, she was presented as someone reliable. In reality, she taught, “The man is not told to rule over the woman; neither is the woman to rule over the man. They are to rule together, in a duet...” Sixth, we have the 2022 OPC GA hastily denouncing supposed acts of racism before all the evidence was forthcoming, and after further inspection, the complaint was false. This suggested an automatic empathetic response instead of an impartial stand upon principles. Seventh, serious accusations arose in the Presbytery of the Southeast. Their in-depth report of 2025 appeared to described OPC officers operating too close to “believe all women” mentality instead of applying proper objectivity as warranted. Eighth, that same year an article published in the OPC’s Ordained Servant ("The Church’s [Not So] New Fundamentalism") expressed growing concern over so-called “Reformed patriarchal fundamentalism.” It also appears many are uncomfortable with the Reformed teaching on superiors, inferiors and equals. Finally, we have Rev. Mize’s article on Genesis 3 in the OPC’s Ordained Servant in early 2026, where he reworked the pronouncement over Eve as a Christ-and-church text, conveniently removing the fact that Eve is to submit to her husband (in the Lord). Another minister even preached a sermon about Peter’s description of the woman being the “weaker vessel.” The 1 Peter 3 passage was reinterpreted in a similar manner as a Christ-and-church metaphor. Whether any of these facts are equally weighted towards the claim that feminism or egalitarianism has any hold in our circles, I leave for you to decide.