Gender Equality And Your Christian Faith/Home

When you say gender equality, feminism, misogyny, and those like terms, a lot of Christian women are worried. How do I balance being a Christian woman and wanting equality? First and foremost, gender equality in the society is not at odds with your faith in anyway. Demanding to be treated as equal to your coworker, or to the next guy walking into the bar is your human right. You deserve as much respect as the man. So now that's out of the way. The next most equivocal thing is gender equality in your home/marriage.

Aren't I supposed to submit to my husband?

Am I not the weaker sex?

Who am I really in Christ? Just a mere woman?

Am I even allowed to speak out loud?

I'm not going to answer these questions with my own wisdom or knowledge. I am certainly not going to tell anyone what to do, especially regarding their faith. What I will do however, is give you evidence from the scripture that you matter. I do have strong opinions about some of these things, but I need to tread carefully. Plus I am afraid of misleading anyone especially with regards to their spiritual life. I must say though, before proceeding, that although I am a feminist and strong advocate for gender quality, I don't wander into marriages. What you do in your marriage is your business. My only concern is the society generally, not marriages. So basically, I am saying do YOU. Would you rather kneel every morning to greet your husband? Then go ahead. Would you rather do all the chores at home and then go to your day job too? It's fine. Do you want to be a stay at home mom, while your husband brings home the bacon? You're valid. The only time I would ever wander into marriage in my gender equality quest is when it has to do with domestic abuse. Because physical, emotional or any other abuse puts your life (and your children's) in danger. But that's about it.

I am writing this post because there are women who legit think God considers us (women) inferior. They think if you are not doing everything I mentioned above, you're sinning or not being a good enough Christian. They think the onus is on the woman alone to sustain a good marriage. So I found evidence to prove them wrong. By the way, none of us is a good enough Christian anyway. Just thought to put that out there.

So what does the bible say?

Ephesians 5: 23-25:
...The husband provides leadership to his wife the way Christ does to his church, NOT by domineering but by CHERISHING. So just as the church submits to Christ as he exercises such leadership, wives should likewise submit to their husbands. Husbands go all out in your love for your wives, exactly as Christ did for the church—a love marked by giving, not getting... (MSG)

1Peter 3:7:
The same goes for you husbands: be good husbands to your wives. Honor them, delight in them. As women they lack some of your advantages. But in the new life of God's grace, you're EQUALS. Treat your wives, then, as equals so your prayers don't run aground. (MSG)

Where the MSG version says "...women they lack some of your advantages.", other versions, like NIV say " the weaker partner." I use a life application bible, which suggests that "weaker" does not imply moral or intellectual inferiority. Rather, it recognizes women's physical limitations. Apparently, women in Peters' day (as it is today too) were more vulnerable to attack, abuse, and financial disaster.

Galatians 3:28-29:

1 Corinthians 11:11:

We have to also understand that the bible, although very true and inspired by God, was written in a different time than we are now. Times when it was okay to have slaves. We have of course evolved (thank Jesus), and slavery isn't the only thing that is now absurd. Treating women like second class citizens; the notion that a woman can not be a leader whether in the church or elsewhere are also absurd. Now hold on. There were laws of the society, which of course depended and reflected the particular societies, and there are TENETS of God which are timeless [both of which can be found in the bible]. So don't bother coming here to justify any kind of sin based on my theory of evolution. Either way however, we are not saved by the law, or by obeying God's tenets; we are saved by his amazing grace. So pleasing God isn't meant to earn his approval or be righteous, it's a response to his love and a testament of our faith in him.

Let me conclude with a story found in Numbers 27. When Zelophehad died, only male sons were allowed to inherit properties of their fathers. Unfortunately for Zelophehad's children, they were all girls. So they went to Moses, Eleazer, the leaders, and the whole assembly to complain.

"Our father died in the wilderness...why should our father's name disappear from his clan because he had no son? Give us property among our father's relatives."

You know what Moses did? He took the case to God. Look pastors, preachers, or anybody else are just  mere representatives of God. In terms of your faith, GOD alone calls the shot. Moses took the case before God, and God agreed with the girls, telling Moses to certainly give them property as an inheritance. In my mind, those were pioneers of feminism. They didn't just accept the norm and then proceed to sulk in a corner. They took charge; and challenged the status quo. By taking charge, they would eventually not loose their possessions. So we can stay silent, cower, be subservient or we can choose to take what is rightly ours.



P.S: For a different perspective, this article tackles the same issue. Feel free to check it out.