Rebecca Kiser responds:
There are many distortions about what it means to be a Christian that have misled feminists into thinking they cannot embrace the Christian faith.
In Scripture, it says that the followers of Jesus of Nazareth, whom they called “Christ,” or “Messiah” (one sent by God) were first called “Christians” at a town called Antioch (Acts 11:26). It may have been a put-down, just as the 1960s term “Jesus People” was originally, or it may have been simply a short-hand way of referring to a small but devoted group of followers.
EEWC-CFT has a broad acceptance of what it means to be a “Christian.” Christians are those who follow Christ, in all the variations and understandings within this large group.
Many Christians confuse following Christ with the strict teachings of certain religious leaders— something that happened even in the early churches. Many Christians confuse national pride and cultural traditions with following Christ. Many Christians confuse the norms they’ve grown up around with following Christ.
Some Christians are politically far right, some are far left, and some in the middle. Some Christians like hymnals and a reflective worship, some like rock music and emotional worship, some like traditional rituals. Christians often disagree about interpreting the Bible and everything else possible to disagree about!
In other words, not all Christians are the same, except in the desire to follow Christ as the path to the Divine.
It’s too bad that the Christians on the extreme edges are often the ones that make the papers and the TV news or have movies made about them. That makes it hard for people to appreciate the diversity within Christianity.
Christians have worked to build colleges and hospitals in this country and around the world; Christians have worked for literacy and public education; Christians respond to disasters, support micro-lending, advocate for clean water and environmental wellness, and much, much more, often without recognition.
Many of us have no problem reconciling our feminism with an informed and thoughtful Christianity.
Feminism is antithetical to the Bible. Period. There is jo such thing as Christian Feminism as the entire (“ism”) movement is against the patriarchal hierarchy God placed in marriage.
Christian Feminists is an oxymoron. If you choose to truly follow the Bible, God’s Word as your guide in life,
then you go to the Bible for all your answers. 1 Corinthians 11, says The head of Christ is God, The head of man is Christ The head of woman is man. Simple. Woman even at times should wear head covering in
worshiping God. This is a sign of subjection. Clearly God’s arrangement for now. It’s a very loving arrangement, and liberating. After all we are not a part of this world, simply passing through. Feminists
fight to be equal, we aren’t. God says, woman was made for man, not the other way around. God gave us
life, God makes the rules and the rules are loving for our own good. No such thing as a Christian Feminist.
The first woman EVE was the first type of feminist. And its a shame like today if men follow their female
wife in this mess, like Adam did.
Somehow when I’m reading the comments it upsets me because so many men have abused women and used the Bible as a weapon to keep women down. It just feels wrong. I hate to question god because I am a believer and I do understand certain roles but I wish people wouldn’t use certain scriptures as a pass to abuse women.
But isn’t it odd how Jesus truly lifted and continually acknowledged women. You have to understand that the Bible was written in a certain way because of the constraints of the cultural and societal norms. However, even what Jesus did (Conversing with a prostitute and touching an unclean women –> due to blood, even including Martha and Mary’s story) was very out of place from the cultural norms.