why the “christian” qualifier?

In another online conversation I had recently, the question came up of why we need “christian” feminism, why can’t we just be “feminism”?

This was part of my reply and I wanted to post this also to provide a forum for discussion of this. Feel free to add to my explanation or challenge me on it or completely disagree :)

I would say that “christian feminism” is a label for an approach to feminism within the christian sphere, I’m not sure I would say that “christian feminist” as a label for a person is really used. We all call ourselves feminists…and we happen to be christians.

christian feminism as a label for a conversation is a way for christians to talk about a kind of feminism that is very aware and respectful of Scripture, holding the Bible in high authority and a valid and adequate guide toward a feminist response to issues of gender and sexuality in culture. So yes, this is different from feminism in other spheres but not exclusive in any way.

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Jesus And Women

Most Christians admit that Jesus welcomed both men and women as his disciples. However, many do not realize what a radical move this was in Jesus’ day. Disciples are not mere students, who just acquire knowledge for the sake of private learning, but are more like apprentices, in that disciples are expected to learn “the skills” of the teacher/rabbi and then when the time comes, they are to go and do the same. To have women disciples was a purposefully revolutionary and liberating signal, especially since during this time, women were not considered worthy enough to learn anything of importance, let alone the things of God.

Women were not to be taught anything of a spiritual nature. They were forbidden from learning the Law, could not enter certain parts of the temple, and were separated from the men during synagogue to talk amongst themselves. They were not suppose to speak to men in public. Even husbands were looked down upon for addressing their wives in public. Jewish law forbade women to testify in court because their testimony was considered “untrustworthy.”

The popular Rabbi Eliezer, who lived in first century Palestine, wrote: “Rather should the words of the Torah be burned than entrusted to a woman…Whoever teaches his daughter [the Torah] is like one who teaches her obscenity.” Another notorious 1st century Rabbi, Jesus Ben Sirach, wrote “He who acquires a wife gets his best position.” This attitude saturated Jewish law, tradition, and custom (and unfortunately, most the church for centuries) because of the belief that Eve was to blame for the fall, thus all women were inferior, hopelessly immoral, and deceitful. The whole “equal, but different” theology did not come about until the 1970s!

Here are some other “pearls of wisdom” from other leading Jewish rabbis on the subject of women from around the time of Jesus:

“Any iniquity is small compared to a woman’s iniquity…. From a woman sin had its beginning, and because of her we all die” (Sirach 25:19, 24;).

“Better is the wickedness of a man than a woman who does good; it is woman who brings shame and disgrace” (Sirach 42:14).

 

“The woman is inferior to the man in every way” (Josephus, Against Apion 2:201).

“A hundred women are no better than two men” (Talmud, Ber. 45b)

“A man is required to say the following three blessings every day: ‘Blessed are you who have not made me a heathen, who have not made me a woman, who has not made me illiterate” (bMen. 43b; Ber. 7.18).

“There is no wisdom in woman except with the spindle” (bYom. 66b).

So, it is within this hostile context that Jesus embraces women as his disciples, not just to learn, but to learn along side men and to eventually preach and teach others. DURING, the famous Sermon on The Mount, while explaining the “upside-down” kingdom of God, He tells the crowd (made up of both men and women) that whoever keeps His Commands and teaches them to others will be called great in the kingdom of Heaven.

“Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”–Jesus,

Matt. 5:19

 

 

Notice Jesus does not make the distinction between men teaching anyone and everyone and women only teaching other women and children. Men and women are given the same standard, the same privilege, and the same responsibility. Jesus entrusts His words to masses, encouraging that they be kept and taught to others. Again, because of the modern world we live in, we miss the radical elements of Jesus’ loaded words. To tell a crowd of men and women (many with reputation issues) to teach anything, let alone spiritual things, is unheard of in 1 Century Judea, a taboo and despicable offense to the “religious leaders” of the day. The Law was solely entrusted to the religious leaders, who then filtered down what they wished to the people.

Jesus also gives the Great Commission to the Eleven, who are to make disciples, equipping all people and nations to do the same.

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”–Jesus, Matt. 28:18-20

Again, to make “disciples” of all nations, with no distinction of male and female, implies that the new disciples will also be expected to pass the torch: teaching, preaching, baptizing, and training new disciples to do the same. All believers are called to the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:17-20).

 

Woman At The Well: First Evangelist?

Jesus’ encounter with the woman at the well is, in my opinion, one of the most remarkable, socially-unacceptable, counter-cultural instances told in scripture. As if being a woman during this period was not bad enough, to be a Samaritan woman was a double curse. Jews did not associate with Samaritans and would never share a drinking vessel with them, lest they, too, become unclean. Samaritans were considered “half-breeds” and were avoided at all costs.

Jesus meets the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well and asks her to give him a drink. She is stunned, informing him that she is a Samaritan woman and He is a Jew, so how could He ask her for a drink. Jesus then teaches her the lesson of living water, tells her about her five husbands, and finally reveals to her that a time is coming when people will be able to worship God in spirit and truth, only through the power of God’s spirit. (That’s quite a heavy conversation, one He had not even shared with the 12). When she proclaims that she knows there is a day when a Messiah will come, Jesus says, “I am He.” Again, this is more information than even the disciples are aware of at this point. She runs back to town and tells many of the men (plural, so probably men and women) about Jesus, confessing that He knew everything about her.

“From that city many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all the things that I have done” (John 4:39).

Mr. Davidson, from the Church of God, highlights some interesting facts about this famous encounter between Jesus and The Woman at the Well:

“The conversation with the woman at the well is the longest recorded discussion Jesus had with anyone—and she, a Gentile woman. Further, the lesson Jesus gave her about living water was just as profound as the lesson he gave Nicodemus—and the woman had a better response. Unlike Nicodemus, she was willing to be associated with Jesus. She told her neighbors about Jesus, and many of them believed in Jesus ‘because of the woman’s testimony.’”

The most fascinating part of this story is that while she ran back to town to tell others to come see the one who could be the long-awaited Messiah, Jesus is praising her work through a parable to his returning dumbfounded-disciples, who are marveling at the fact that Jesus would be talking to a Samaritan woman, apparently alone! Scandalous. This is surely not only a social violation, but a theological violation. Yet, the disciples were too chicken to ask aloud: “why would He be talking to this woman….”

So, Jesus schools them about the unlikely partnerships and co-working in The Great Upside Down Kingdom of God….

“Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest. Already he [original translation: "one"] who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.” So in this case the saying is true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ “I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored and you have entered into their labor.”

Jesus, The Ultimate Seed Sower, plants His Word into the woman’s heart, who in turn plants His Word in the hearts of others. This must have been a trying and puzzling lesson for the disciples, who previously wouldn’t even have made eye contact with a Samaritan, let alone work along side them, partnering up in the cause of God, to invite “half-breeds” to become followers of Jesus.

Isn’t the story of the woman at the well a reflection of what evangelism is really about? Churches that forbid or discourage women from preaching the gospel in the presence of men miss the entire point and essence of true evangelism. Preaching the Good News of Jesus should not be a means to gain or exercise authority/control over people. To portray it as such (since that IS the reason sited to bar women from becoming public evangelists), perverts the spirit in which evangelism should be acted out. Evangelism is about pointing people to JESUS. It’s about teaching people what the gospel is, what Jesus said and did, and to invite others to began their own faith journey. How sectors of the church can restrict women from preaching the good news of the gospel in the presence of men is just tragic to me. The Samaritan woman’s sense of urgency, as she runs back to town to tell anyone who will listen about the Messiah, says it all. Where’s that urgency today? Are we too busy squabbling over which gender can say and do what in the presence of which people and in which forums? Titles and positions of preacher, teacher, pastor, evangelist and so forth, should not be viewed as ways to get authority, but as an avenue to live out the authority and calling of the gospel for those gifted and equipped in each area.

Why do we split such flimsy hairs when it comes to women in ministry: woman can preach the gospel, but they cannot BE a preacher. Women can DO evangelism. but cannot BE an evangelist. Women can SHARE the gospel, but cannot TEACH the gospel.

Don’t we want to reach as many people as we can? Why do we make teaching the Gospel a matter of “authority over others” and “proper gender roles”? (Again, I am speaking to the more rigid branches of complementarianism).

The Woman at the Well did not hold an “official” position (so don’t misunderstand my intent), but as one of the first people EVER for Jesus to choose to reveal Himself as the Messiah and as the first person to spread the news of Jesus beyond the Jewish people, she sets an important example of the true heart of ministry.

I came across this three-minute creative, contemporary, beat-poet-ish video, portraying this story from the Samaritan woman’s perspective. I found it compelling: The Woman at The Well.