Margaret Fell: A Woman with an "Agenda"

 In honor of Women's History Month, The following is an excerpt from my book, Woman this is WAR! Gender, Slavery and the Evangelical Caste System:

Margaret Fell

Margaret Fell lived in the Seventeenth Century, and is credited with being the first feminist. Her cause? The right of women to preach the Gospel.

Co-founder of the Society of Friends, the Quakers, and called the Mother of Quakerism [1] Fell is credited with being the first woman to publicly advocate for the right of women to participate in the public arena and to be involved in the leadership of the church. 

In 1666, she became the first woman to publish a fully developed treatise on the right of women to speak publicly.[2] Her argument was compelling and based entirely on scripture. There is no record that, during the course of pursuing her “agenda” of helping to establish the Society of Friends, and the equal rights for women promoted within that society, that Fell ever abandoned her faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, or forsook her family to embrace an immoral lifestyle. Fell’s husband, Judge Thomas Fell, trusted her entirely with the running of their estate while he traveled extensively in the course of carrying out his duties. 

The Society of Friends acknowledged the practical equality of all people from their inception. Although it took them a while to learn how to implement the concept, they did finally succeed, and as a result, many “Friends,” both men and women, became involved in the early movements for women’s rights.

The first national Woman’s Rights Conference was organized primarily by women who had already gained experience in public speaking, administration, and organizational skills through their activities in Quaker meetings. As the first woman to speak publicly in the United States was not permitted to do so until 1836, the providence of God is evident in preparing Quaker women for public speaking and in providing them with opportunities to gain the organizational experience needed for furthering the causes of abolition and women’s rights. 

 The first American “Woman’s Rights” Conference held at Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848, was a largely Christian event. It was held at a Methodist Church. Most of the organizers were Quakers, and the majority of attendees were professing Christians.

Margaret Fell advocated not only for freedom of conscience in worship and religious matters, for which she was imprisoned on more than one occasion, but also for the right of women to preach the gospel, teach the Bible, and participate in the affairs of the church on an equal basis with men. No one who reads her writings can doubt her high esteem for God and his Word, the Bible.

Jesus said, “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.” What are the fruits of Margaret Fell’s labors? Following Fell’s example in the seventeenth century, history records that in the centuries to come, the voices of “Friends” are heard speaking out against societal injustice and were instrumental in effecting many changes that to this day benefit children, women, and men.

According to Angelina Grimke, an abolitionist and member of The Society of Friends herself, the very first Quaker voice raised against slavery was the voice of an American woman who lived during the 1700’s. Because of her outspoken stance against slavery--before it was acceptable or popular to do so--that courageous woman was excommunicated from her Quaker fellowship, but stood her ground until her death.[3] She made such an impact, that after her death, the Quakers never excommunicated another Friend for speaking out against slavery... but rather for owning slaves.

Such is the legacy of Godly women who dared to stand against false religious tradition and corrupt public opinion.

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[1] The Society of Friends is known more commonly as the Quakers

[2] Women's Speaking Justified, Proved and Allowed of by the Scriptures, All Such as Speak by the Spirit and Power of the Lord Jesus And How Women Were the First That Preached the Tidings of the Resurrection of Jesus, and Were Sent by Christ's Own Command Before He Ascended to the Father (John 20:17), by Margaret Fell, 1666

[3] “They know that the first Quaker who bore a faithful testimony against the sin of slavery was cut off from religious fellowship with that society. That Quaker was a woman.” Angelina Emily Grimke, An Appeal to the Christian Women of the South, 1836

  ... ......   This book traces history of women’s rights, much further back than usual, to the very first feminists…who were Christians—godly women, who brought the issue of women's rights to the forefront as they struggled to alleviate the suffering of others, and found they were hindered in doing so for no other reason than the fact of their sex. This work provides valuable historical insight into Christian initiatives in the movements for women’s rights, that are rarely included in Christian literature.

Contracted as a Maid: She Found Herself Enslaved

Photograph: Anwar Amro/AFP/Getty Images

She thought she was helping to lift her family out of poverty by traveling to another country as a contracted domestic worker. When she arrived, she found herself enslaved....

Women train and contract as domestic workers, only to arrive in the Middle East to find their passports immediately confiscated by “employers,” they are not fed enough, their movements are restricted, and they are often beaten, raped, and used as sex slaves.”

The image above is of Migrant domestic workers demonstrating in Beirut to protest against abuse, and ask for protection under the law.

Once in their host countries, these migrants are immediately required to surrender their passports to their employers. Thus, even before the worker steps foot in her host country, the systems of exploitation are already in place. Lacking documentation and in a foreign country, migrant domestic workers find themselves under the charge of their female employer — Romina Halabi

In Dubai and elsewhere, the suicide rate among contracted domestic workers is high. One African woman nearly escaped but her attempt was intercepted and foiled just outside the doors of her embassy. No one interfered, while the heart-wrenching scene was captured on video. Her employers chased her down, grabbed her, and forcefully shoved her [kicking and screaming] headfirst into their vehicle. She committed suicide almost immediately after that.

When another woman [from the Philippines] finally escaped her tormentors, it took her over two years to retrieve her passport, legally get out of her domestic worker contract, and get back home to her family.

Saudi Arabia is the largest recipient of migrant domestic labor, with the UAE close behind with over seventy-five percent of its population classified as migrant workers. Today, domestic workers primarily emigrate from Sri Lanka, Indonesia and the Philippines, choosing to leave their families and migrate for a number of economic and social reasons — Romina Halabi

Many companies that recruit domestic workers from the Philippines, Africa, and other countries, are merely fronts for human trafficking. Others know their recruiting efforts for domestic workers, often result in indentured servitude.

For many women, it is slavery, pure and simple.

Thank God for secret networks dedicated to saving abused and enslaved domestic workers in the Middle East. January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. Let’s add our voices to an international outcry to save women who, in good faith, leave their families believing they are contracting legitimate jobs that will give them all better lives.

I want to read, "Jesus, God of the Burning Bush: Eternal Father Beloved Son absolutely FREE and then receive free E-BOOKLETS from time to time along with Jocelyn's news & updates!"

The Blessing is not in Perfection

    David wrote about how to be blessed through obedience to the Law of the Lord, and then grievously violated that same Law. Yet he was still called a man after God's own heart.

   How could that be?

   One lesson to take from the life of David, is that he was human like the rest of us. And at times, his flesh won out against his spirit in some of the worst ways imaginable. But whenever YAHWEH ELOHIYM [the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob] was able to get his full attention, David was quick to confess his sins [the wrongness of his actions] and turn [repent] from them.
   We read first-hand testimonies of this in his songs, many of which were inspired and preserved by God in the Holy Scriptures.

   Sometimes, David failed to recognize his sin without some nudging from from God's people. Sometimes, he needed to be confronted before he would repent, but when he was confronted, his heart would break from the knowledge of  his own wickedness. 

   When that happened, God always forgave him and welcomed him back into his arms. 

  Although David lived under the law and participated in Temple worship, he understood that religious ceremony did not impress God, unless it was coupled with genuine faith. He wrote that a broken and contrite heart was what counted with God--not sacrifice and ceremony. It was for this, that God called David a man after his own heart.

   David was an in-person example [for both bad and good] to his son, Solomon, who later wrote of his own experiences with sin. Solomon credited his father’s example in his own return to the Lord when he wrote, “Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it.” 

   Along with most everyone else, Solomon was aware of his father's sins, which often became public knowledge. He was also witness to his father’s willingness to turn from those sins when confronted with them, and that too, became public knowledge through David's own actions when he would publicly proclaim, “I was wrong!”

   Solomon witnessed the consequences of his father’s sins. He was also witness to the great blessings and deliverance of God when David would bring his thoughts, his heart, and his life back into line with God’s ways and God’s Word. 

   Following the influence of his father, to the bad, Solomon found his own life mired-down in the muck of sin. He then demonstrated the powerful influence of his father’s example of public confession and repentance, when he wrote “He who hides his sin shall not prosper….” 

   David's life was not an example of perfection. Many of the facts of his life were not recorded because they were meant to be emulated--but rather, to be avoided. But his life [with all the ups and downs] is an awesome  example of  what happens when a believer welcomes the correction of a loving God--even the humiliating circumstance of  public correction, if that is what it takes. 

   David embraced correction and was grateful for it. We read about that, when he  wrote,"Blessed is the man whom you chasten O LORD and teach him out of your law That you may give him rest from the days of adversity..."

The Liberty Bride by MaryLu Tyndall

Woo Hoo! Look what I'm reading!!

I am racing into the finale and MaryLu is not disappointing me. My FULL review is coming....So, Click the link. The book is available for pre-order (both print and ebook are same price! ...For now).

 Seriously,  I am one of MaryLu Tyndall's BIGGEST fans. She's edgy gals. She's edgy....

Amazing story of wayward child and praying mother

This is a true story that should comfort the hearts of all praying parents.

In 2003 I owned a Weight Control Center. It was a licensed dealership. The Corporate Office made me an offer I couldn't refuse. Because of the location, they wanted my dealership for a corporate training center. So I struck a deal, sold it to them, and became a trainer for them.

My former center would continue to be a functioning weight control center, so they interviewed applicants to manage it and thought to promote my current manager, I'll call her, Karen, to a corporate position. They wanted my recommendation before doing so.

It would have been a nice promotion both in status and money for Karen. It would have launched a career for her.

She was a talented young woman, in her late twenties. She was a professing Christian who had confided to me that she did not live the life, but we had a comfortable and amiable working relationship. I considered her a friend and trusted her implicitly.

During the transition from licensed dealership to corporate training center, I was going through the files, making sure everything was in order for the new manager, and It became painfully clear that Karen had been taking advantage of the trust I had placed in her.

She had been managing my center during a period of violent [dv] abuse in my life. I was being stalked and had been largely in hiding for several months. I relied heavily on her to manage every aspect of the Center for me during my absences. Though I made random appearances at the office (usually several times weekly) to check the books, Karen handled everything else.

The books were in good shape, and new business was coming in regularly (she was very good at selling the programs and counseling clients). But It turned out, she had been using most her time at my center running her own independent travel agent business and had woefully neglected our client records (and anything else that I might not easily notice or that did not require her immediate attention.)

That was my life lesson in placing too much trust in managers. We are now coming to the part that should comfort the hearts of believing parents.

Corporate was awaiting my advisement as to whether Karen should be promoted or not, and I had been putting off giving my answer. I was aghast at what I had learned about her job performance and had reached a decision to recommend that Corporate terminate her employment rather than promote her, when the Spirit of the Lord interrupted my plans by emphatically commanding me to, "LEAVE HER ALONE! SHE HAS A RIGHTEOUS MOTHER."

Selfish as I am, my first thoughts were for my own children, and I responded as a parent to the God's command to, "LEAVE HER ALONE!" My immediate response was, "Lord, my children have a righteous mother too!"

I already knew the Bible promise that the righteous are blessed AND THEIR SEED (their children). But that day, the Spirit of the Lord took that understanding to a whole new level---He spoke directly to my heart and told me that He had Karen in his sights and was dealing with her in a special way, BECAUSE OF HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH HER MOTHER.

I know there are limits to our understanding of how God works and the various trials we go through in our lives often cry out for answers that we may never get, this side of Heaven. But, for good reason, our hope is always in HIM.

Parents do not stop being parents when our children are grown. We still fret and worry over them, just as we did when they were small. Sometimes even more so, because, now, they are no longer under our wing. We never stop praying for for the safety and well-being of our children.

I personally find great comfort in my experience with Karen and the knowledge that God had a wayward child's back, BECAUSE OF HER MOTHER'S FAITH. I pray God will comfort and strengthen all of our hearts as we, in faith, stand in the gap for our children.

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