At a Glance
What happens when we ignore God’s design for gender and family? Today, we’re positioning ourselves at the crux of this question, grappling with the implications of a society straying from the divine image of male and female. Darrow Miller joins us as we take a hard look at the consequences of rejecting this design, which includes the disruption of family units, distorted perceptions of marriage, and the ripple effects of the feminist movements on societal norms. Today, we get an idea of why he wrote his new book and what you can expect as a reader. This book goes beyond a mere critique of feminism but really takes a proactive approach as Darrow seeks to offer a vision for God’s design for each of us–a vision that promotes unity and beauty among the sexes, in families, and even on the individual level.
What You'll Hear
- Introduction (1:31)
- The Consequences of Rejecting God’s Design (4:47)
- What was Maternal Feminism? (18:35)
- How has Second Wave Feminism impacted mothers? (32:28)
- Culture’s Impact on Gender and Family (47:16)
- Worshiping God and Following a Pagan Culture (58:22)
- Conclusion (1:07:10)
Using the link above, you can read the transcript, listen along, and adjust the speed of the podcast while you listen.
"And that's really what this book is about. It's about recovering an understanding of those powerful, revolutionary ideas that come from the Bible that create thriving, flourishing cultures, in a way that we are not experiencing in the West today."
Scott (1:02:46)
Quotes
- 16:05 “That idea had a consequence and it was part of what made the Western world and Western civilization: rooted in a concept of human sexuality, rooted in the concept of a covenantal relationship between men and women to form families–a covenantal relationship between men and women before God.” Darrow
- 26:33 “That’s the biblical concept. It’s one reality, it’s holistic, it’s comprehensive, and in that framework we understand what it means to be a man and a woman, what it means to form a family, what human sexuality is all about.” Darrow
- 38:00 “I deliberately use the phrase homemaking, but most people don’t speak in those terms, at least not today. They speak in terms of housekeeping, and there’s a difference between housekeeping and homemaking. And the words that we use are important because they reflect how we think, how we see the world. To make a home is to take the four walls of a house, as it were, and transform it from simply a building into something that’s more than a building. It’s to bring a moral, spiritual, transcendent life into a physical space and create a space where life is celebrated and life is lived. And that’s very different than simply taking care of a house.” Darrow
- 45:29 “But isn’t it enough to think that I can shape an eternal soul? Someone who will live forever, I’m the one that has the ability to shape them from before they are born and when they are born?” Darrow
- 49:22 “We were made in the image of God. Male and female, we’re not the same, but we are equal in our being made in the image of God, equal in our dignity, our value, our worth. And you have sexism on one side that doesn’t recognize that. And you have radical feminism on the other side that doesn’t recognize that.” Darrow
- 1:02:46 “Darrow’s a revolutionary. Darrow is pushing for a sexual revolution, but he’s pushing for the sexual revolution that happened when the Judeo-Christian worldview broke onto the scene and changed everything. We need to have that same revolutionary spirit again and we need to get back to the grand design. And that’s really what this book is about. It’s about recovering an understanding of those powerful, revolutionary ideas that come from the Bible that create thriving, flourishing cultures, in a way that we are not experiencing in the West today.” Scott
- 1:03:57 “We are talking about a revolution, a revolution that takes us back to first principles, biblical principles, and those principles aren’t just floating in the air. Those principles exist because God exists. He has a certain nature, a certain character. He has made the universe for a purpose and he has designed our physical bodies as male and female to reflect transcendent characteristics.” Darrow
Go Deeper
The Grand Design: Rediscovering Male and Female as the Image of God
By Darrow Miller
“Darrow offers a healing biblical vision where men and women reflect the relationship within the Trinity: unity without uniformity and diversity without superiority.” – Nancy Pearcey, Professor and scholar in residence at Houston Christian University, author of Love Thy Body and The Toxic War on Masculinity
“Rich, timely, wide ranging, provocative, and wise, Miller’s The Grand Design is a book to be read slowly, pondered, and discussed.” – Os Guinness, Author of The Magna Carta of Humanity
Throughout the ages, cultures have pivoted between two understandings of the sexes.
Men and women are equal,
and therefore they are the same – interchangeable.
or
Men and women are different,
and the differences are exploited to falsely claim that some people are superior to others.
But what if there is a third option? What if a true biblical understanding, rooted in the Trinity, provides a foundation and vision for the sexes, where unity and equality is possible without uniformity, and difference and diversity between men and women is celebrated without superiority? In an age where views about men and women have divided the church and the culture, The Grand Design offers an opportunity for everyone to discover with fresh insight all that it means to be made in the image of God, male and female.
The Grand Design Course
DNA’s Grand Design course will surprise and delight you. Many participants find they are engaging elements of worldview and the biblical narrative in ways they never have before. Their self-understanding has improved, as they realize what it means to be transcendently and biologically male or female. This has breathed fresh life and purpose into areas that previously felt mundane and unimportant, and their family relationships have improved. It’s time that you discovered the Grand Design.
Take your first step by starting our free course today!
