Feminism, the unfairly designated antithesis to Christianity

Christianity and Feminism have tended to be mostly antagonistic towards one another. Christianity is associated with tradition and Feminism with progressivism, and each regards the other with deep suspicion.

The Christian belief is prone to love and equality, but society is male-inclined. And to add insult to injury the Bible itself seems to encourage this gender sovereignty. Can both lifestyles be reconciled? Will it be hypocritical to be both Feminist and Christian? Or must one gender absolutely gain the upper hand on the other?

Read this article in French here.

What is Feminism?

The term “Feminism” means different things to different people and to some it is actually an umbrella term for various types of other social theories. So before we continue exploring Feminism with regards to Christianity it is good that we define what Feminism means to this article.

Feminism: A social or political movement which argues that legal and social restrictions on women must be removed in order to bring about equality of the sexes in all aspects of public and private life.

In other words –excluding the physiological attributes –what a man has, in terms of opportunities, chances, respect, properties, positions, influence… a woman should have, in the same measure.

To some, this is a logical way of thinking while to others it is senseless, and that for various reasons. We will focus only on the ones linked with the Bible and the Christian lifestyle.

Other definitions of Feminism

Out there are other definitions of Feminism which will be fair for us to mention so as to have a good base for comparison.

• Feminism is the superiority of women over men and not equality between sexes.
• Feminism is the worship of the woman’s body over anything else.

While for the first group of people it is mere boycott and insurgency, for the second group it is a means to freely give into sexual promiscuity, abortion, banning of breast milk, etc

Feminism as viewed from the Bible

At first glance, there cannot be a more misogynist book than the Bible. Let’s see:

• Women were no different than properties: They were exchanged between men by their own relatives as gifts (1 Samuel 17:25 and 25:44), or to preserve family possessions (Deuteronomy 25:5).
• Women were underrated humans: They never were counted whenever censuses were taken (Exodus 12:37, Numbers 1:2, Mathew 14:21). They could inherit only if a male couldn’t (Numbers 27:8) and they were given freely to be sexually abused (Genesis 19:5-8, Judges 19:22-24).
• Adultery was a gender-based sin: In practice, only women were condemned for adultery (John 8:3-5) violating Deuteronomy 22:22 which required both the man and woman to be punished. In fact, there was a ritual dedicated to husbands who suspected their wives but not the other way around (Numbers 5:11-29).
• Women had to shut up in the presence of men: They were not allowed to speak in public gatherings at all (1 Corinthians 14:34-35).

These are some of the few points which will make modern Bible readers (feminists especially) wince and twitch. One will say “Is God not supposed to be a loving and just God? For by which by whichever angle we look at this that doesn’t look like love and justice”, but there is another thing to take into consideration when reading these disturbing Bible passages.

The Bible as a work of literature

“The Bible is written for us, but the Bible is not written to us”

Tim Mackie

It is important not to confuse what is in the Bible, with what the Bible teaches. The Bible was inspired by God, yes, but it is a work of literature written by humans. Just like ancient Greek, Egyptian, Chinese texts and tales are studied today in the context of yesterday, so it should be with the Bible.

Through men of human capacities, God spoke divine truths. Since this inspiration was not mere dictation, the Scriptures in many ways bear the marks of their human authorship, thereby including historical social constructs.

God does not bulldoze people to be where He wants them to be. He meets them where they are and leads them where He sees fit. Therefore God had to work with what He had back then. That meant working with the men available, as well as their socio-cultural practices which in fact He had started modifying via the Law of Moses, making ancient Israel very different from surrounding nations.

Also, patriarchal assumptions are baked into our society and thus into the way we perceive Scripture, but reading with more awareness can fix that. Sometimes Christians seem to want to read the Bible on a verse by verse or story by story basis. Wanting a specific story or verse to answer a specific question they may have. Unfortunately, we cannot answer every question by looking up specific passages. We have to refer to the picture that the Bible paints as a whole.

The Bible’s pros and cons to Feminism

Justifying being for or against Feminism, using scripture word for word, is inadequate.

Our modern perceptions are based on contemporary concepts and have no basis in ancient literature. The authors of the books of the Bible would have had no idea what modern readers would mean by equal rights. All modern notions of rights would have been a totally foreign concept to ancient authors.

But since we are exploring the topic, here are some points which can be raised during a debate:

Against Feminism

• It is an attack on the God-given order. Man came first. Woman second (Genesis 2:7 and 22).
• It does not respect the God-ordained basis of administration and authority (1 Peter 3:1, Ephesians 5:22-24).
• Women are meant to follow, not lead (1 Timothy 2:12).
• The Bible’s use of “sons” of God and other male-centred words is enough proof (John 1:12).

For Feminism

• When God made Adam and Eve, He blessed them both (Genesis 1:26-28).
• The first preachers of the Gospel were women (Matthew 28:1-8).
• Jesus pronounced judgment on men who sought to take advantage of women (Luke 7:36 -50, John 4:7-9 and 27).
• Jesus collectively calls the church as a woman by calling it His bride (Ephesians 5:25).

Feminism as viewed from the Gospel

Simply put, the good news of the Gospel is that through one person, Jesus, we all –men and women included –have access to God’s love and to a glorious future with the Almighty.

The Gospel never distinguishes people according to race, age, citizenship, and social status, let alone by their genitalia (Galatians 3:28). In God’s eyes we are all one and equally loved. The sexes are different, yes, but are equally valued.

As much as a man wishes to, he will never be able to give birth to a child. A clear distinction between genders is explored in Genesis with their different roles of tilling and helping (Genesis 2:5 and 18), but both aiming at the same thing after all, which is love and caretaking a harmonious relationship.

Jesus who is the ultimate master often behaved like the ultimate slave. He led by serving, because He loved, and submitted under God, because He was loved.

Likewise, Man who is called to “lead” is called to service and not to tyranny (Colossians 3:19) and Woman who is called to “submit” is called to service and not to endurance (Colossians 3:18). Therefore roles which seemed clearly distinguished, are no longer in a love relationship (Ephesians 5:21-33). Today, where males are no longer the sole breadwinners of most households, gender differences should not disqualify a man nor a woman to “lead” and “submit” simultaneously (Ephesians 5:21).

It was God’s delight to make both male and female, to make them operate in teamwork rather than competition. Like it is pleasing to God to see people, with different abilities and capacities, different in education and background, different in opinions and viewpoints … just different people coming together in unity (Psalms 133:1). Because “different” does not necessarily rhyme with “better”.

Therefore complementarity is important in our world. The smallest piece of a puzzle, if absent, leaves that puzzle incomplete. So God works through the greatest and least of us to raise us all upwards (Proverbs 27:17).

The quest for power which overtook Lucifer is perhaps the same fuelling gender inequality issues today, whether men overtaking women or women overtaking men. There is more than enough room and opportunity for all of us to perform to our highest potential and live out the purpose and plans God created us for. Pride, ego, insecurities, and selfishness are what cause some to put down others creating animosity between gender and between people as a whole. This was definitely not God’s intent for the world.

From there it is inadequate to say that God is for or against Feminism, simply because God is for everybody, even for the people we hate (1 Samuel 16:7). Any other gospel, news, or theory which praises one person or a set of people over others, is noise and is not from God.

Reconciling Feminism and Christianity

While the Hebrew Bible is often cited to justify patriarchy and misogyny, a great deal of it actually centres on the reforming unjust systems (See Leviticus). Furthermore, historically, Feminism was a Christian movement started in the early 1900s (A list of authors is found at the end for further reading).

The right to be treated like a human being defines Feminism –as defined earlier –and Christianity alike (John 8:1-11). They both have similar goals:

• They both ask us to put less emphasis on the world of flesh and our bodily vessels and more on treating each person with respect and value without regard to their status in human society.
• They both ask men to stop trying to conform to a masculine model of aggression, dominion, and sexual conquest and find true strength in being patient and caring.
• They both ask women to take responsibility for the world around them and not just focus on keeping their families happy.
• They both ask that we continually examine how we treat the disadvantaged in our communities. Not to aim at uplifting the greatest among us but how much we can help those struggling.
• They both have a history of discouraging a culture of excessive drinking and the mindsets that go with it.
• Both acknowledge the powerful emotions tied to sex and insist on safeguards against sexual exploitation, therefore reject the attitude that sex is meaningless fun (In Christianity, this is the formal institution of marriage, and in Feminism, it is the requirement of sober and explicit consent).

In Summary

Some Christian cultures have seen the rise of Feminism as a threat to the stability of marriage and family, undermining the model of men as household heads. Those Christian cultures have reinforced and protected domestic abuse, hindered female education and career development, and tolerate male promiscuity while focusing zealously on regulating female behaviour associated with sex and obsessing only over female virginity.

Some Feminist cultures have seen Christianity as an organised unjust and unfair system of patriarchy. Those Feminist cultures have devalued marriage, its meaning and importance, devalued sexual faithfulness by enhancing female promiscuity, devalued male leadership in its Christian context and devalued the sacredness of the woman’s body.

Both sides have focused more on areas of conflict than areas of agreement. Leading to increasing conflicts that are now exposed during political debates and campaigns dividing a great nation like the United States of America for example, into two.

But with an egalitarian worldview, regardless of gender, one can be both feminist and Christian because not discriminating against people the way God made them is beautiful, whether you call it Feminism or Christianity.

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You may find more literature on Feminism the Christian way below:

Works:

Two Feminists Annotate The Bible

The Hebrew Bible: Feminist and Intersectional Perspectives by Gale Yee

Womanist Midrash by Wil Gafney

Jesus Feminist: An Invitation To Revisit The Bible’s View Of Women by Sarah Bassey

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Cheers!