"The “new woman” was not an invention of second-wave feminism either. Betty did not start the “woman movement”; Christians did. Motivated by the belief that men and women were made in God’s image to “rule the earth” together, these pro-woman, pro-justice believers sought to right wrongs for those who had less social power.

Isn’t it time we reclaimed our own story?"

Sandra Glahn, ThM,

http://inamirrordimly.com/2012/02/16/womens-history-give-credit-where-its-due/

"The “new woman” was not an invention of second-wave feminism either. Betty did not start the “woman movement”; Christians did. Motivated by the belief that men and women were made in God’s image to “rule the earth” together, these pro-woman, pro-justice believers sought to right wrongs for those who had less social power.

Isn’t it time we reclaimed our own story?"

Sandra Glahn, ThM,

http://inamirrordimly.com/2012/02/16/womens-history-give-credit-where-its-due/

"So when Paul says that he and his fellow apostles were present among the Thessalonians like a nurse or mother, perhaps we should understand that there is something distinctly “feminine” about leading the church of God. And, that this femininity is part of what it means to bear the image of God and manifest the presence of Christ.

Who is the Father of our Bible? Who is the Son? It is not only the king and conqueror, but the nurturer and nourisher, the one who cares for and holds close. Not only (I should say, stereotypically) “masculine” but also the (stereotypically) feminine.

It is the God who is only rightly and fully imaged as male and female. Together."

J. R. Daniel Kirk

http://www.jrdkirk.com/

Liberian Women

Very interesting article on the Christians for Biblical Equality site.

http://blog.cbeinternational.org/2011/10/exciting-news

Tell me what you think of this definition of feminism. Does it counter your understanding of what is Christian or does it reinforce it?

A Feminist is “a person who is in favor of, and who promotes, the equality of women with men, a person who advocates and practices treating women primarily as human persons (as men are so treated) and willingly contravenes social customs in so acting.” Leonard Swidler

Authenticity--

1. Research on the attributes that we associate with "being feminine" tells us that the most important qualities for women are:

- Thin

- Nice

- Pretty

If you want to play it totally safe, you have to be willing to stay as small, quiet, and attractive as possible.

2. In my own decade-long research on authenticity and shame, I found that speaking out is a major shame trigger for women. Here's how the research participants described the struggle:

- Don’t make people feel uncomfortable, but be honest.

- Don’t upset anyone or hurt anyone’s feelings, but say what’s on your mind.

- Sound informed and educated, but not like a know-it-all.

- Don’t say anything unpopular or controversial, but have the courage to disagree with the crowd.

3. #2 applies to all issues, not just politics. When "being liked" is more important than "being real", we'll need to be very careful everywhere - at work, church, at our children’s schools, and on the soccer fields. It's exhausting.—Brene Brown

Do you find this to be true in your church work? If so, how do you overcome the tendency to try to be liked at the expense of being real?

The Eternal Subordination of the Son?

Until the twentieth century Christians universally spoke of the “superiority” of men and the “inferiority” of women. After the 1970s, with the advent of “women’s lib,” Christians had to abandon this language, and, in addition, most abandoned the idea that women were subordinated to men. Conservative evangelicals, without exception, gave up this language as well, although some sought a new way to uphold male hegemony with more genteel wording. They affirmed that men and women are equals, yet God has given them different roles. This sounds fine, but when unpacked it means women have the “role” of obeying and men the role of leading; no other “role” is in mind. What is more, this “role” is permanent since God ascribes it in creation. Since God established this social hierarchical order before the Fall, it cannot be changed. It is the ideal. As this difference in “role” (in plain speak, difference in authority) is the one essential difference between men and women, to deny the permanent subordination of women is to deny male-female differentiation as such. This novel case for women’s permanent “role” subordination raises exactly the same problem as their novel case for the Son’s eternal “role” subordination. If women are permanently subordinated in role, and their subordinate role can never change, then they are the subordinated sex. They do not merely function subordinately. Their God-given subordination defines their person or being. They are the subordinated sex. Kevin Giles

The ' eternal subordination of the Son' argument is one of the issues that women face as they consider and enter the role of pastor or minister. It is the basis of the complementarian argument for the role of women and men. If you read the article you will see that he argues against the permanent subordination of the Son. In fact, he wrote a whole book on the subject called, The Trinity and Subordinationism: The Doctrine of God and the Contemporary Gender Debate (InterVarsity, 2002). It is worth the read!