(Originally Posted On Opulence in the Divine)

( I linked bible verses so the post will not be bogged down. The NIV translation is used since it is the best in-between for word-for-word and thought for thought readability!)

Being a Christian is great, but hard! And being a Christian woman is even harder. There are certain bible verses, certain men, and certain ideologies that seem to create a wedge between womanhood and the religion. I want to try to close the wedge. Showing that the will of God for woman is divine and transcendent!

Let us Begin!

1.             Let Paul tell it; we are the problem!

By the time Paul wrote First Timothy, he was an aging man. He wrote these letters to in fact, Timothy! And up and coming preacher who Paul left instructions to so gospels can carry on! In Timothy 2:1-15, Instructions for Worship, Paul lays out the expectations for church. Now verses 1-7 I can get behind. Jesus died for us, the church is a place for knowledge, God is great, I can get behind all that. Now verses 8-10 is when things get iffy. He mentions how men, not man, men, should praise without rage or dispute. Okay that’s fair, church should be peaceful. But then he says how woman should dress modestly, decently, no fancy hairstyles, shiny jewelry or expensive clothes. Damn okay Paul. While I do agree with dressing modestly is proper for church. Having a good hairstyle nice jewelry, and expensive clothes is not a problem, as long as you’re there to only appease God. Paul is trying to say church is not a vanity show. It isn’t, but where is the smoke for men? Now I’m a woman in the present day. So, in I think coming in a tank top and Nike shorts with Adidas slides isn’t really modest or decent. And a man coming in a full Gucci suit, Rolex, and Gucci socks to match is along the same lines as a vanity show. We should not judge, but we should be fair. And yes, yes, it could be common sense that it goes both ways. But why go out the way to mention woman only and not mention men either?

Now, verses 11-15, oh boy. I’m not so much concerned with the woman should be quite thing, (believe me though I have issue with it). But with the whole “Adam came first, but Eve sinned first thing.” Now Paul, let’s be for real here . Yes, Eve came from Adam. But without God, both of them would not be here. And yes, Eve ate the fruit first, but Adam ate it right along with her when offered (Genesis 3:6-7). No protest, no concern, nothing! And, get this, Adam was the first one made and heard God’s warning about the tree first (Genesis 15-17)! Just saying!

We have to be honest when it comes to the Bible, men wrote it. Paul was a man. He was a great preacher no doubt. A lot of his teachings present the words of God and Jesus’ in the best way possible. With that being said, he had an opinion, just like we have ours. It is important to form your own understandings of the book, something I always say!

2.           Stop listening to unworthy men!

Ladies, please stop listing to unworthy men talk about submission, Most of those chicken heads do not even know what submission means Submission is a very funny word, especially in the Bible. Let’s analyze Ephesians 5:21-33, Instructions for Christian Households. It holds that infamous line. Now, submission isn’t only for relationships. All around are verses on submitting to God. The verse I like the most is Job 22:21. This verse is the meaning of submission perfectly. As with God, submitting to him brings peace, protection, guidance, and happiness, and love! Now, if us as women are supposed to submit to men like the Lord, then we should be getting all the prosperity that comes with it! Any man who thinks a woman should be treated like a second-class citizen is unworthy. As God said in Genesis 2:24, being one flesh means equal parts combined. Woman and men bring different traits to a relationship and that’s what makes it beautiful!

Listening to worthy men is important. For they know the truth. Those men don’t command submission with their spirit, but with their Spirit. They are men of God and passion. Your womanhood will shine a light on those people. It is also important to know ready Ephesians 5:21-33 in whole. Paul gets some points back from me here!

3.           Women in the Word!

The Bible was written by men and is very male-centered. I won’t say for men though because there are actually important female figures scattered around.

The most famous is Mary, she is the mother of Jesus after all! In Catholic beliefs, she is the most important saint, above the apostles even. You have Eve, probably in second place. She is the mother of all. You have Rachel and Hannah, who stand for patience in God. Deborah, the only female judge who stood for leadership. Esther, who is a Queen in fact, who stands for courage. There are quite a few others in fact. Most named woman in the bible were held with high regard. I feel though, Mary and Eve are only what most people know. Other women are not as talked about in ministries and bible studies.

Now, we can’t talk about woman in the bible without mentioning Jezebel. Well, to summarize, she is not in a high regard. She became Queen of Israel, persuaded her husband the king to worship a false god, and had many citizens and prophets killed. Well, her karma would be that she throw out a window and be eaten by dogs. Go read Kings 1 and 2 (pretty much the books telling the tales of Israel’s downfall after David). Ever heard of the “Jezebel spirit” but didn’t know what it meant? Well, there it is. Now she was no saint, certainly not. But her story represents the many stories of how the devil can take many forms; as a human, animal, or thing! Jezebel stands for the modern wicked woman stereotype. Tempting, vain, power-hungry, and vicious. A lot of people use her as an insult, without knowing the full context. Many people use it to attack a woman’s beauty, sexuality, and intelligence. Without mentioning the thousands of people, she had murdered, which (I hope) no woman has committed and is far worse.

4.           Christianity and Feminism? Oh my!

Is it even possible to be Christian and a feminist? Well, yes! Stated in part one, God made woman the same way he made man. In part two, I said stop listening to unworthy men speak on the Bible, let your womanhood shine a light through darkness. In part there, I mentioned female biblical figures who stand for virtuous traits (minus Jezebel). Lasty, God maybe mentioned as a He. But He definitely created and inspired womanhood and femininity. Grace, empathy, nurture, radiance, intuition; just to name a few traits. And to minimize and disrespect womanhood, is minimizing and disrespecting Him. Go forth and be proud that you are a woman because God made you perfect. Nobody can take that away from you!

Thank you for reading!