are there any Christian feminists out there?
do feminists generally loathe Christianity (I understand that they're not the only one, but im just asking do they or not)
2007-09-25 19:55:48 · 21 answers · asked by Anonymous in Social Science ➔ Gender Studies
I think people as a whole lothe the idea of submission, yet men and women are asked to do it in the Bible. In a marriage situation women are asked quite specifically to submit to the authority of their male counterpart when they get married while men are only asked to listen to their wives concerns and treat as as a gift without spot or blemish....
Women throughout history and even MOST societies today have to face the truth that marriage is a form of living asset for a man....yet a this is a human being we are talking about. And that this cruel reality is perpetuated because of a social belief that it is an appropriate lifestyle.
So it is easy to see why women feel that Christianity is another one of those social beliefs that takes a human and makes them an asset...
I personally am Christian...and am not afraid to be submissive because I've gained a multitude of good from it over a single bad....Heck if you're husband is difficult, he's going to be difficult whether you yell, fight, and spit back at him...Or you can be calm and gentle...Which one do you think changes hearts faster? God is wise.
2007-09-25 20:13:37 · answer #1 · answered by boboo 2 · 5⤊ 2⤋
I don't believe that feminism and Christianity have to be mutually exclusive. And I'm sure that there are Christian feminists, just like there are all other mixtures of ideologies all over the world.
It is true that women have had their fair share of issues with Christianity. The first major feminist battle women had to face was getting the church to admit that they had a soul. That particular battle took quite a while, but was finally won. Today, we still have people that try to use their interpretations of the Bible in order to subjugate women. People on this forum do it all the time. It's important to remember that all ideologies, even those centered in good, can be used for evil purposes. The Bible was also misinterpreted in order to justify slavery. Most people will now admit that slavery was wrong and an institution whose badness is beyond the vocabulary of human speech. If mankind has been able to interpret the Bible to meet their own desires in one instance, what faith should women have that it is not being misinterpreted yet again?
I do not sincerely believe that the Bible, Jesus, or Christianity is what feminism rebels against, but the narrow minded interpretations voiced by people so scared of change that they are willing to do anything, including bastardizing a faith that teaches love, kindness, help and forgiveness in order to continue a status quo.
2007-09-26 04:18:39 · answer #2 · answered by lkydragn 4 · 3⤊ 0⤋
To clear things up, feminism does not really promote gender equality, as almost all people here say. Feminism is purely for women. Egalitarianism is the word you're all looking for. Jesus was not a feminist. He was a complementarian. Research the meaning of these terms, and you'll all learn a lot.
Well, I'm not a feminist, but feminism is probably not supposed to be generalized as antichrist. The less extremist feminists out there probably have some Christian in them.
2007-09-26 10:13:17 · answer #3 · answered by Charlotte 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I was a feminist, and I really did detest the concepts that seemed to be promoted in the bible. I always felt that women were at the bottom and of no importance. It always used to get to me that they only mentioned a few female names in the bible, like they would address the women mostly by "(man's name)'s wife." I did finally realize that this was applying to the early Christian times, because that was how they usually thought. The bible was probably made so the most of the people could understand and relate to it.
2007-09-26 16:11:16 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I am not a feminist, I'm an equalist. I call myself Christian and would like to be but I'm aware that I fall short of Christian ideals. Some of the posts here try to equate feminism with Christianity but I think that's wrong. I'm pretty sure that Jesus would have been an equalist.
2007-09-26 08:05:06 · answer #5 · answered by celtish 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I am a Christian feminist.
When you read the Bible, you will see that Jesus was all for equality. He listened to men and women equally and helped them no matter who they are (even the "unclean" among them). An important point to state is that even though there were the 12 apostles, Jesus chose to appear to Mary Magdelene first when he rose from the dead. This makes her the very first witness to his resurrection.
There may be parts of the Bible that is seemingly chauvinistic, but if you go to the very core of what Christianity is, it's about equality of all humans, love for your enemies and unconditional love from God.
2007-09-26 05:09:34 · answer #6 · answered by niteowl 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
A "feminist " or any woman who thinks of herself as a social equal to men , would loathe many of the traditions and concepts presented in the Bible . But they would also strive to show that those things were of that time period and do not have validity in today's world . In fact many would argue that the Bible in it's entirety should be dismissed as nothing more than a compilation of ancient literary pieces .
2007-09-26 03:07:00 · answer #7 · answered by allure45connie 4 · 8⤊ 1⤋
I am not a religious person but I am a very spiritual person. It would take more room to answer your question than this forum allows, so I'll keep it as short and simple as possible. I believe in a Creator, I believe that parts of the Bible were inspired by "Him", such as the Ten Commandments and the book of John, and the life of Jesus. However, there are many aspects of the Bible that I do not believe were inspired by God but inspired instead by men who claimed to be inspired by God...and these aspects are things that promote oppression toward certain groups of people (yes, women being one group that is oppressed by it.) I believe in unity, I believe in love being the most important message, along with tolerance, forgiveness, equality, and respect. I reject organized religion. I believe anything that divides us leads us away from being spiritually connected with the rest of mankind and our Creator. My personal belief is that the practice of organized religion leads people away from enlightenment instead of towards it. I believe that each person's journey to finding faith (if they desire it) is their own. I believe in educating oneself about different religions and using this knowledge to help make decisions about what one will or will not believe. Education is wonderful but it is not the only tool we have. I think we have divinity within us. I believe we are given the "tools" (intuition, our senses, our emotions, our skills and talents, etc) to help us along our journey in life, and it is our privilege to utilize them. I believe that there is no higher calling than to ease the pain or suffering of our fellow man. I believe that showing love and and practicing a non-judgmental attitude toward others is the key to peace and is the best way to give thanks for the gift that is life.
2007-09-26 04:32:52 · answer #8 · answered by It's Ms. Fusion if you're Nasty! 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I know that feminists, especially the militant ones, show complete and total ignorance of what the Bible really teaches.
Nowhere does it say that all women have to be slaves to all men. It says that a woman is to submit to HER OWN husband, and a husband is supposed to LOVE his wife.
2007-09-26 10:21:57 · answer #9 · answered by ? 6 · 1⤊ 2⤋
No, they don't. My 84 year old mother is many things, among them a Christian and a feminist. So are my three sisters, who are all parents.
Many social progress movements in the United States were started by or strongly supported by Christians seeing civil or minority rights being denied: Women's voting rights, labor organizing, birth control and equal pay in the workplace.
Just because someone is a Christian doesn't mean she gives up her Constitutional rights, no matter how overbearing a fundamentalist husband she may have. I'm sure he welcomes her income.
2007-09-26 03:06:28 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 5⤊ 4⤋