By Carole
This discussion arose from an excellent dialogue I’ve had with a good friend. We discussed the implications of Feminism, and questioned it’s role in the church, and whether or not Christianity and Feminism should “coexist” as it so often does in our churches. The first part of this discussion deals with a comparison of the Feminist worldview and the Christian worldview. (Please note that this barely scratches the surface of the differences; I included what I consider the most important distinctions)
(Feminism- the rejection of gender differences, and the pursuit of role equality in domestic, social, political and economic settings.)
Feminism (F) vs. Christianity (C)
F: Self-actualization
"Choice has always been the power of feminism...to create a society where women can live a full, self-determined life." (Ali P. Crown, choice is the power of feminism)
C: Self-denial
“"Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me." (Matt 16:24) "For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it." (Luke 9:24)
F: Anti-Family
“the women who ‘adjust’ as housewives, who grow up wanting to be ‘just a housewife,’ are in as much danger as the millions who walked to their own death in the concentration camps…” (Betty Friedan, The Feminine Mystique)
C: Pro-family
But did He not make them one, having a remnant of the Spirit? And why one? He seeks godly offspring. ( Mal 2:15 ) "...that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed." (Titus 2:4-5)
F: Against submission to husbands
"Feminists agree that male dominance within the families is part of a wider system of male power, is neither natural nor inevitable, and occurs at women's cost." (Myra Marx Ferree, Beyond Separate Spheres: Feminism and family research)
C: Submission is God ordained and His order
"Wives submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as also Christ is the head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything." (Ephesians 5:22) Also see: Col 3:18.
F: Identity in Self-fulfillment
"...women are victims of a false belief system that requires them to find identity and meaning in their lives through their husbands and children. Such a system causes women to completely lose their identity in that of their family." (Betty Friedan, The Feminine Mystique)
C: Identity in Christ
"I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." (Gal 2:20)
4 comments:
Wow, this is a great post. I have a few friends who are die-hard feminists, and it seems like they are always trying to fight against traditional roles just for the sake of sticking out, to say "I'm different from the generation before." I'm getting married in May, and I don't necessarily want to be a stay-at-home mom forever, but there's nothing wrong with that if that's what's best for the family. I think a lot of children today would benefit from having their parents around more (both parents). And being a housewife doesn't mean you are uneducated or pitiful by any means, contrary to many things you hear or read. I imagine there's nothing harder than bringing up a family in Christ.
I especially like the last part about identity. We are children of God first and nothing without Him. We would be better off measuring success by how closely our lives reflect Christ and His teaching on women's roles (although we will never be perfect) than by what position we hold at work or how many things we can do without a man's help.
Just because Christ created us differently doesn't mean he created us unequally. We all have our part to play.
Good points! I have enjoyed reading your blog. Keep it up!
titus and ephesians were both books written by the apostole paul.
these are not words of jesus, nor his example, and if you read around the quotes sited here you see that paul also speaks of bondservants and other roles which are no longer deemed just and which do not recognize the basic human rights of people.
paul is the only apostle to write that women should be silent in church among his many uses of the word "submissive" and "obey" when addressing women's role in marriage to a man. these are artifacts of paul's historical time and i believe that looking at the fall, where men's domination of women originates, and looking at the teaching from galatians that there is no man or woman in christ, and looking at jesus' own example of how to be a leader, of how to be king of the universe, you do not see submission, domination, silencing, or any other such behaviors as the model of how to be a man, a husband (as god is husband, as in caretaker and provider like "animal husbandry", to all, and all are as wives to him/god according to old testament biblical teaching).
the qualities of jesus as a man and as a leader are more "feminine" than any i have ever heard anyone acknowledge are the exemplar for how men should be, and thus it follows that these other, biased and oppressive ideas which are rooted in historical HUMAN and not divine ideas, are outdated and were put to death when jesus arrived and showed the way.
i would think christian women would spend their time arguing (it's called "apologetics") for THAT, instead of arguing for oppressive and dominating roles which are, if one has eyes to see, the root of the evil. calling evil evil is not the problem. blaming women's rights movements is absurd- it doesn't mean they got it all right- but they are not the source of the original problem.
well said Paige!
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