Through the Eyes of a Woman

  Why is feminism such an unpopular word? Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was warned against calling herself a feminist because, people said, feminists are unhappy women who cannot find a husband. So Chimamanda called herself a Happy Feminist. Then she was told that feminism did not fit into the African culture, so she called herself a Happy African Feminist. Then a good friend said that calling herself a feminist meant that she hated men. So Chimamanda decided to call herself a Happy African Feminist Who Does Not Hate Men. She continued to reply to this series of objections until she declared herself a Happy African Feminist, Who Does Not Hate Men and Who Likes to Wear Lip Gloss and High Heels for Herself and Not For Men. Feminists do not hate men although they are not happy about their treatment of women. Feminists want equal rights and justice for women. Christian feminists adopt a lot of these ideas, while also showing that this was God’s plan for women. Sexist Educ

  Some time ago a friend sent me the DVD of the Swiss movie: “Die göttliche Ordnung” – the Divine Order. In the accompanying card she wrote: “To Hannele, the committed women’s rights activist, who time and again gives me inputs to ponder on.” The movie is about how women in Switzerland finally were able to break out from the concept that women’s submission to their husbands was the Divine Order of things for society in general Women’s Vote Women had been denied the right to political participation by the legislative bodies consisting of men. As they were not going to give women the right to vote voluntarily, women had to demand and fight for their rights. Equal political powers meant that men had to give women a say in things and could no longer dominate the process. Giving away power was certainly painful. In Switzerland, one of the last European counties to give women the vote in 1971, the change still came about due to women’s activism, but most likely also because it was just emb

So what about Paul? Why do so many people consider Paul a misogynist? As women we tend to cringe when they hear his name, but should we really? Maybe we should study the bulk of Paul’s writings and not just a few verses that have been used for women’s subordination. Could it be that those verses have been interpreted in a way Paul never intended? The life of Paul is recorded in the New Testament and we can see how his encounter with Jesus on the way to Damascus changed him completely. He experienced a complete change of perspective that he would include in his testimony during the rest of his life. The strict follower of Jewish laws became a follower of Jesus. We see him working closely with Priscilla and Aquila not only in their tent-making business but also in proclaiming and teaching the gospel. In Philippi, his first converts were women he met at a women’s prayer meeting, who formed the first house church in Europe. This, to me, proves that Paul was by no way a misogynist. He follo

J esus’ early followers continued to follow in his footsteps, including women in their gatherings.  The Bible mentions female followers during Christ’s lifetime and the early church. None of the twelve disciples of Jesus was a woman, but he had a larger circle of followers who accompanied him from the beginning to the end. The women mentioned in Luke 8:1-3 were probably among these 70 followers, the wider circle of disciples. After Jesus' resurrection and ascension, the disciples shared fellowship with these women disciples: "They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers" (Acts 1:14). In his sermon at Pentecost, Peter quoted the prophet Joel: "And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days” (Joel 2:28+29