I was raised in the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), so I understand the restrictions against women within that denomination. In my mid-twenties, I began attending a denomination that had no problem with women as church leaders and pastors. So, I enjoyed the freedom of growing in my gifts and callings within a local church setting.
Showing posts with label Biblical Equality. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Biblical Equality. Show all posts
Senior Pastor at Church: The Little Woman at Home
Jocelyn's work lives at the intersection of faith, justice, history, and human dignity. She's a bridge builder between worlds, challenging institutional failures and people to stop, think, ... and act
Why women were exempted from attending the mandatory Feasts in Jerusalem
Luke 2:1-7 [emphasis on verse :7], gives a perfect illustration as to why women were exempted from the requirement for all Hebrew males to attend the three mandatory Feasts of the LORD in Jerusalem each year--regardless of how far away they lived.
In Luke chapter two, we read that Caesar Augustus commanded every person [regardless of sex or age] in all the world [meaning those under his jurisdiction, i.e., the Roman Empire] to be taxed. Because of this command, at nine-months pregnant, the mother of Jesus was required to make an arduous journey to the town of her birth and deliver her baby, the Messiah, the Savior of the world, in an unsanitary stable, surrounded by livestock.
In the TORAH, we read that only Hebrew males are commanded to attend three of the seven annual Feasts of the Lord. The male-only requisite had nothing to do with male superiority but rather with protection of mothers, newborns, infants, toddlers, and children.
At feast-time in Israel, at any given time, how many expectant or newly-delivered mothers would have been in the midst of or on the verge of delivery or going through required purification periods after giving birth? How many mothers would have been caring for newborns, sick infants or children?
Can anyone imagine the mother and infant mortality rate if these women had been required to make a seven-day [not counting travel-time] thrice-yearly pilgrimage to Jerusalem?
Yahweh is more merciful to his people than any earthly government. And fallen human nature tends to turn the kindness and mercies of God into excuses to build sinful and harmful hierarchies.
In the beginning Elohim created male and female and commanded his entire human creation to dominate the earth (manage the earth's resources) together. There was never a command to dominate one another. The unscriptural paradigm of male domination of God's female creation is entirely a result of sin. If the topic of God and Women interests you, join the conversation HERE.
Jocelyn's work lives at the intersection of faith, justice, history, and human dignity. She's a bridge builder between worlds, challenging institutional failures and people to stop, think, ... and act
Jesus -Vs-Translator Bias
Jesus, friend of women, did not miss an opportunity to elevate the status of women, while at the same time illustrating the fallacy of gender-based-role-religion.
In Matthew 16:15-18 and Matthew 7:24, using as examples Peter, the Ek-klesia (the Out-Called Body of Christ), and obedience to the Written and Revealed WORD OF GOD, he obliterates all notions the apostles may have harbored of male headship.
In Matthew 16:15-18, Jesus asked his disciples, "...whom say you that I am And Simon Peter answered and said you are the Christ the Son of The Living God And answering Jesus said Blessed are you Simon son [of] Jona for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you but my Father which is in Heaven And I say also to you That you are Petros [1] but upon this "THE" Petra [2] I shall build [my home] [3] the Ek-klesia and the gates of hades shall not prevail against it (see Matthew 7:24).
[1] Jesus called Peter a petros (Strong's G4074), which is the same as G4075, meaning a proper masculine noun for a piece of a stone, a piece of a rock, or a man's name.
[2] Jesus called his Ek-klesia, "THE" Petra [Strong’s G4073]. The "THE" is present in the Greek but inexplicably left untranslated by scholars. Petra is a feminine noun meaning a massive living rock: th πέτρα THE pétra.
According to James Strong, pétra is the feminine counterpart of the masculine name petros. Strong claims that petra [4073], the massive living stone, is the same as petros [G4074 and G4075] a piece of rock. But this is not true, and he had to know this.
The feminine noun Petra (G4073-the massive living stone upon which the Body of Christ is built) is not the feminine counterpart of the masculine noun petros (G4074-the piece of rock). James Strong allowed his prejudice in favor of gender-role-religion to influence many of his definitions, and this is one of them.
Simon's name, petros [G4074], means a little stone—a piece of a rock. It is the same word as petros [G4075], which also means a little stone—a piece of a rock. The two words, G4074 and G4075 are one and the same word. They are identical...separated only by the whim of James Strong.
Strong does this more than once. He does it with the word 'āḏām (pronounced, in Hebrew, as audawm). 'āḏām is the name God bestowed on all mortals at the time of their creation, "...male and female created he them and called their name 'āḏām (Genesis 5:2)."
Petros and 'āḏām are just two examples of the same Greek word being given two different Strong's reference numbers when one would have served better.
James Strong erroneously defined the word petra (G4073) as the female counterpart of the word petros [G4074 and G4075]. Strong and other scholars know full well this is not the case. In Matthew 7:24, Jesus used the feminine petra (G4073)], when commanding believers to build their homes on THE Petra [on "THE" Rock] instead of building on sand.
Using gender specific words within the context of Matthew 16:18 and Matthew 7:24, Jesus illustrates the difference between the masculine petros [a piece of a stone] and the feminine "THE" Petra ["THE" massive living rock].
In their fierce struggle in defense of gender-role-religion, traditional scholars wrestle with the feminine word petra being preeminent over [and much stronger than] the masculine word petros. Using both the Body of Christ (the Ek-klesia) and the man, Peter, Jesus' illustration obliterates the fallacy of gender-based-male-headship-role-religion.
The MASSIVE living--feminine--petra is much stronger than, and has preeminence over, the smaller pieces of the rock, the [male] petros.
This writer is not attempting to assert gender authority here, just making a point.
[3] The phrase Jesus used “I shall build” comes from the Greek compound word, oiko-domEsO/oiko-domeō, which means homebuilder in the physical, spiritual, and emotional senses.
When reading these words, the English word, "domestic," as in "home" comes to mind.
The English word, domestic, descends directly from the Latin word domesticus but is very similar (in both sound and meaning) to the Greek words domeso or domeō. Latin was the original language of the ancient Romans. They adopted Greek culture and language later, so it would be ludicrous to claim there is no linguistic connection between words that come from cultures that blended and used words so similar as domestic, domeso, domeo, and domesticus.
In the Ek-klesia, Jesus is building a domestic home for himself.
The Greek word he used, oiko, means “house or home.” The domeo/domeso part means to [physically and domestically] build houses or homes by building the dwelling itself and by edifying and building up those who live within the dwelling.
The Ek-klesia is the home that Christ is domestically building for himself. In my Father's House are many mansions. The building materials he uses are love and the living stones of each believer, who he instructs to build their homes upon the massive, living, and feminine...petra.
The strong, preeminent, and feminine petra is the revealed WORD OF GOD –Matthew 7:24 and 16:18.
Traditional-role-religionists deliberately obscure [where they can] the meanings of biblical words that expose the unscriptural paradigm of male headship.
The Bible is a treasure-trove of eye-opening subtleties and sub-text, if we will but make the effort to search them out.
If God intended his male creation to be preeminent over his female creation, then, despite the androcentricity of the Greek language, why did Jesus choose gender-specific language favoring the feminine in that particular discourse with Peter?
Why did our Creator allow the language itself to subordinate the masculine little piece of a rock [petros] to the massive rock, the living and preeminent [but God forbid--feminine], petra?
Jocelyn's work lives at the intersection of faith, justice, history, and human dignity. She's a bridge builder between worlds, challenging institutional failures and people to stop, think, ... and act
Quick Link Resource Guide for Advocates of Biblical Equality of the Sexes
God is moving among his young people and raising up advocates for biblical equality of the sexes.
Many of us who have been advocating for biblical equality of the sexes, are getting up in age. I am approaching my 67th birthday and have been advocating for almost 2 decades.
I started writing, Woman Submit! Christians & Domestic Violence, in 2005, and the Lord immediately began dealing with me about writing, Woman this is WAR! Gender Slavery and the Evangelical Caste System. He made it clear that if I only ran with the message of preventing domestic violence, without addressing the root cause, "other side of the coin" so to speak, which is complementarianism/male headship, that I would be running only half-dressed.
I am thrilled to see God raising up a veritable army of young advocates. This is a growing movement among young Christians. For that reason, in addition to my books, I put together a "Quick Link Resource Guide for Advocates of Biblical Equality," which consists of links to over 100 of my articles on the topic, all conveniently located on one webpage for quick reference.
I am 100% committed to supporting advocates of any age.
Please share the link https://lnkd.in/ek5wtsq9
Jocelyn's work lives at the intersection of faith, justice, history, and human dignity. She's a bridge builder between worlds, challenging institutional failures and people to stop, think, ... and act
1 Peter 3:7 Might Does Not Make Right
Likewise
you husbands ones making a home together with them in an understanding way
giving honor to the wife as to the [physically]weaker vessel [1]
and as being heirs together of the grace of life that your prayers be not
hindered [2]
[1] 1 Peter 3:7 Might does not make right
[2] 1 Peter 3:7 Though this verse speaks specifically to husbands, the prayers of anyone male or female, married or unmarried, will be hindered when we throw our strength around, oppressing those who are weaker than us.
Of note is the fact that most Christians have heard 1 Peter
3:1 quoted or preached on many times during their lives, with 1 Peter 3:7 occasionally thrown in as an after-thought. There is no doubt the priority of traditional-role-religion
and its more virulent offspring, complementarianism, has been to keep the
influence and autonomy of Christian women to a minimum.
If the topic of God and Women interests you, join the conversation HERE.
Jocelyn's work lives at the intersection of faith, justice, history, and human dignity. She's a bridge builder between worlds, challenging institutional failures and people to stop, think, ... and act
The Priesthood of Believers Makes Women Equal in Authority with Men
You also as living stones are built up a spiritual house an holy priesthood [1] to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ
1 Peter 2:5
[1] 1 Peter 2:5 calls the Church of the
Living God a Spiritual House and a Royal Priesthood. Every believer is part
of the Priesthood of Believers. With the exception of the gifts and callings, God does not separate his children into gender-based camps [the leader camp and the follower camp]. Jesus inducts every believer into
the Priesthood of Believers Revelation 1:6. These two verses, if they
stood alone [which they do not] disprove entirely the false patriarchal teachings
of complementarianism. God has called his women as well as his men to live
autonomous lives and to speak, preach, and lead authoritatively as HE wills.
... Woman this is WAR! Gender, Slavery & the Evangelical Caste System: Andersen, Jocelyn: 9780979429323: Amazon.com: Books
What
readers are saying:
"This
book is well written, well researched, and a real eye opener."
"Andersen
is a gifted writer, and the book was easy to read even as it covers thoughtful
and sometimes technical information. I am glad I read it. I’ve read a great
deal about women in the church and home, and it is easy to think there is
nothing new to be learned or considered – but this book has a unique approach
and covers aspects overlooked by others. Everything is well documented with
footnotes in case you have questions or want sources."
"The
author is not only a gifted writer but clearly well-studied and informed."
" I
was pleased that translation bias was covered in a chapter, an issue that needs
to be addressed, and one that I find quite hard to bring up with lay people or
everyday believers who lack knowledge about Bible translation. We can trust our
Bibles, but we also need to acknowledge that certain passages are difficult to
translate and bias can come into play."
"Andersen
tackles most of the primary the teachings of complementarianism with an
impressive exegesis"
If the topic of God and Women interests you, join the conversation HERE.
Author and speaker, Jocelyn Andersen, is an eclectic Christian writer. She is a Bible teacher who writes about many subjects including Bible prophecy and equality of the sexes. She is best known for her advocacy in domestic violence awareness. Her book, Woman Submit! Christians & Domestic Violence, has been a staple in the library of resources on that subject.
If the topic of God and Women interests you, join the conversation HERE.
To receive an
announcement from Amazon whenever a new book is released by Jocelyn Andersen,
subscribe to Her Amazon author's
page.
To
Contact Jocelyn: Use
the contact form in the sidebar of her blog at www.jocelynandersen.com to leave comments on her books, to reach her with questions,
or to request for her to come and speak at your group.
Jocelyn's work lives at the intersection of faith, justice, history, and human dignity. She's a bridge builder between worlds, challenging institutional failures and people to stop, think, ... and act
Q & A with Jocelyn About Gender, Slavery, and the Evangelical Caste System
Can you elaborate on that statement? Yes. How can it be healthy and beneficial when Christian leaders call men wimps who love their families but have no desire to rule over their wives? How can it be healthy when prejudice against women is encouraged as Christians are taught that the underlying motive in the heart of every woman is to dominate men? This is taught by the Council for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood [CBMW] and is posted on their website.
Read the full Q & A HERE
If the topic of God and Women interests you, join the conversation HERE.
To receive an
announcement from Amazon whenever a new book is released by Jocelyn Andersen, subscribe
to Her Amazon author's
page.
To
Contact Jocelyn: Use
the contact form in the sidebar of her blog at www.jocelynandersen.com to leave comments on her books, to reach her with questions,
or to request for her to come and speak at your group.
Jocelyn's work lives at the intersection of faith, justice, history, and human dignity. She's a bridge builder between worlds, challenging institutional failures and people to stop, think, ... and act
Intersex People: Conundrum for Complementarianism
And they are born that way.
Fact: Intersex people have characteristics of both male and female and can be considered neither and both.
Fact: All people--intersex, female, and male--are created in the image of God, who is
neither female nor male, yet portrayed in scripture as both. Does that make
God intersex?
Some of my ideas have been called "quirky." I get that. I have been told I don't think like "normal" people. I get that too.
But ever since I stumbled onto information about intersex people and began to educate myself on the subject, the question simply will not go away, "How does intersex impact the male leadership paradigm of complementarianism?"
Complementarianism holds that men are created to lead and women are created follow and assist the men. In the case of intersex, what if a person physically appears as a women (is born with female characteristics), considers herself a woman, doesn't want to be anything but a woman, yet is chromatically male, and even though she was born with a vagina and develops breasts at puberty...a body scan reveals that instead of a uterus and ovaries, it turns out she has undescended testes instead.
What about the male who is chromatically female?
What a conundrum for complementarians and traditional-role-religionists. Is God's glorious hierarchical design for the sexes turned on its head by the existence of intersex?
The scriptures affirm that "In Christ," no one is either male or female, but we are all one. Does that make all Believers spiritually intersex?
Some of my ideas have been called "quirky." I get that. I have been told I don't think like "normal" people. I get that too.
"Jocelyn, will you ever be normal?"
"Uh, I don't think so"
But ever since I stumbled onto information about intersex people and began to educate myself on the subject, the question simply will not go away, "How does intersex impact the male leadership paradigm of complementarianism?"
Complementarianism holds that men are created to lead and women are created follow and assist the men. In the case of intersex, what if a person physically appears as a women (is born with female characteristics), considers herself a woman, doesn't want to be anything but a woman, yet is chromatically male, and even though she was born with a vagina and develops breasts at puberty...a body scan reveals that instead of a uterus and ovaries, it turns out she has undescended testes instead.
What about the male who is chromatically female?
 |
| What the conducter said to me when I had boarded the train with the wrong ticket! |
What a conundrum for complementarians and traditional-role-religionists. Is God's glorious hierarchical design for the sexes turned on its head by the existence of intersex?
Is it the genitalia that determine who's in charge, or is it the chromosomes?The Bible says, all people are made in God's image. I'm sure no human can fathom what the entirety of God's image would consist of. Does the image of God include the sexes? The texts of the Hebrew scriptures exclusively refer to the Holy Spirit as female. and in the Greek texts, the Holy Spirit is always referred to in the neutral, as neither female nor male.
The scriptures affirm that "In Christ," no one is either male or female, but we are all one. Does that make all Believers spiritually intersex?
In the case of intersex people, is
traditional-role-religion and complementarianism (the two are close but not synonymous) even possible? How could the
male reality of an intersex person exercise "headship" over the female
reality of that same person? How could the female reality of such an individual
submit to the male reality of herself?
Hmm...
To clarify, this article deals with biological intersex
people. It does not address
trans-humanism, transgenderism, nor LGBT issues but focuses solely on people who
were born with characteristics of both sexes --hence, they are not "trans" but biologically born with characteristics of both sexes, so can correctly and biologically lay claim to either sex or both.
Intersex people are born as such and should be honored for who and what they are.
Intersex people are born as such and should be honored for who and what they are.
These are a but a few observations and questions I have on this subject. I am open to outside offers to publish a full and more extensively researched article based on the question of how the biological and scientific reality of intersex people muddies the waters of complementarianism and traditional-role-religion even more than they already are.
If the topic of God and Women interests you, join the conversation HERE.
Jocelyn Andersen is the author of several books, including, Woman Submit! Christians & Domestic Violence, and, Woman this is WAR! Gender, Slavery, and the Evangelical Caste System.
Jocelyn's work lives at the intersection of faith, justice, history, and human dignity. She's a bridge builder between worlds, challenging institutional failures and people to stop, think, ... and act
Many Feminists are Pro-Family & Pro-Life
Equality is a good thing, and I am issuing a call to Bible-Believers who value equality, especially those who have media platforms, to refrain from equating anti-family and pro-death platforms with feminism, and to stop calling every anti-family, pro-abortion platform, "feminist" agendas.
Many feminists are pro-family and pro-life, politically conservative people, and do not deserved to be lumped in with groups that contradict their values.
Would it surprise you to know that the very first feminist was a Christian, and that most early feminists were Christians?
Feminism is simply defined as advocating for women full equality with men in all things.
That seems reasonable enough to the modern mind, but historically, the idea was bizarre, outlandish, and to many, utterly evil.
Most importantly, in understanding the extreme negativity attached to the word, it was a word originally defined by men who were violently opposed the very idea of equality of the sexes.
That seems reasonable enough to the modern mind, but historically, the idea was bizarre, outlandish, and to many, utterly evil.
Most importantly, in understanding the extreme negativity attached to the word, it was a word originally defined by men who were violently opposed the very idea of equality of the sexes.
Women did not write and publish dictionaries at the time, nor did they have any say in defining the language. So, naturally the word was coined and defined from the perspective of men who viewed equality and autonomy of the sexes as a cultish movement and social evil.
The oldest dictionary this writer owns is the 1931 Universities Webster Dictionary which does not contain the word feminist at all but does libel feminism as a "cult."
Regardless of its actual meaning, most people associate the word "cult" with that which is evil, oppressive, dangerous, and false. And that was the bias deliberately infused into the word feminism from the very beginning.
Think
about it. Definitions inform opinion, and dictionaries are likely referenced
by Christians even more than the Bible. Daniel Webster’s initial
libeling of feminism as a cult, was a propagandizing stroke of genius! It was thought
control, discrimination and bias at its finest.
And it worked.
One pro-family, 19th century, feminist claimed that had she known in advance of the fierce persecution she would endure because of her activism for the full equality of women with men, it is doubtful she would have begun her advocacy in the first place.
 |
| 1943 |
By 1943, in some dictionaries, the word feminism had been upgraded, somewhat, from a "cult" to a
"doctrine." And in 1955, the word "feminist" finally found its way into a dictionary. It was defined simply as:
"One who advocates feminism."
Is it any wonder Christians today, even if they support equality, are terrified of the words feminism and feminists? The propagandists have done their jobs well.
Is it any wonder Christians today, even if they support equality, are terrified of the words feminism and feminists? The propagandists have done their jobs well.
 |
| 1955 Feminism still called an equality cult |
In 1955, the publishers of Webster's Unabridged Dictionary continued their hateful narrative, discriminating against the very idea of equality of the sexes with their "cult" disinformation. (Webster's Complete Unabridged).
Keeping in mind that the word feminism was originally defined by men who opposed the very idea of equality of the sexes, it must be noted that the word has been deliberately biased, from the very beginning, with a hateful connotation that it did not in reality possess.
"THE FEMINISTS" narrative is pure propaganda that has been bought into, almost wholesale, even by those who support equality of the sexes.
It is time to stop perpetuating the lie (even unwittingly) that equality is evil.
An open and objective conversation about equality for women and men is impossible when the words "FEMINISM" and "FEMINISTS" (words that mean nothing more than advocacy for full equality and autonomy of men and women) are constantly used as a synonyms for every controversial agenda under the sun.
When speaking of the pro-abortion issue, I implore equality loving, pro-life, media commentators and reporters to call them for what they are, "pro-abortion or pro-death
supporters," and not, "THE FEMINISTS."
When speaking of transgender and gay marriage issues, I implore conservative, pro-family, advocates with public platforms to please call them for what they are, "transgender and gay marriage supporters," not "THE FEMINISTS."
The groups that are so often derided as "THE FEMINISTS" actually do little to nothing (beyond their narrow agendas) to advance women. So, it is unfair to those who truly advocate for equality and autonomy of the sexes to lump them in with those who are not true feminists at all, but simply hitchhikers and hijackers of a movement that began as a good thing and is at its most basic, still a good thing.
When speaking of transgender and gay marriage issues, I implore conservative, pro-family, advocates with public platforms to please call them for what they are, "transgender and gay marriage supporters," not "THE FEMINISTS."
The groups that are so often derided as "THE FEMINISTS" actually do little to nothing (beyond their narrow agendas) to advance women. So, it is unfair to those who truly advocate for equality and autonomy of the sexes to lump them in with those who are not true feminists at all, but simply hitchhikers and hijackers of a movement that began as a good thing and is at its most basic, still a good thing.
Equality is always a good thing
Bible-Believers, especially those of you who have pubic platforms and large followings as influencers, I implore you to please stop referring to those who care nothing for women, only their narrow agendas, as
"THE FEMINISTS."
It is tragic disservice to those of us who are followers of Christ, pro-life, pro-human, and pro-family, to lump us in with an anti-life and anti-family agenda.
Feminism is not evil. Equality is good.
All feminists are not evil. Equality is good
The practice of Christians (even by those who support equality) of defining pro-abortion and anti-family platforms as "FEMINIST agendas," perpetuates an utterly false narrative.
Equality of the sexes is not evil. Inequality of the sexes is evil. It is inequality of the sexes, that has been the cause of much human suffering throughout history up to the present time.
Inequality causes inexpressible human suffering
Feminism, in its purest definition, is the practice of those who advocate for full equality of men and women. A feminist, is one who supports the full equality of women and men and advocates for the practice of feminism.
What can possible be wrong with that?Equality is a good thing.Therefore feminism is a good thing.
And that is why it is wrong to label groups whose primary agenda is not equality and autonomy of the sexes, as feminist groups. Call them by whatever their primary agenda is. But please stop slandering pro-life and pro-family Christian advocates of equality by painting all feminists with an outdated, uneducated, and malignantly biased, broad brush.
Woman this is WAR! Gender Slavery and the Evangelical Caste System, (1st Edition) Is complementarianism a biblical doctrine, or a modern theological movement? As debate continues over women in ministry, male headship, biblical equality, and Christian patriarchy, Woman this is WAR!—offers a thoroughly documented examination of Scripture, church history, and the origins of today's gender teachings. Discover why readers call this a unique and eye-opening study that explores the Danvers Statement, Bible translation, the abolitionist movement, and the forgotten history behind the evangelical debate over women, leadership, marriage, and Christian liberty.
Subscribers on Substack get an exclusive preview of the 2nd Edition, with its new cover and title!
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Jocelyn's work lives at the intersection of faith, justice, history, and human dignity. She's a bridge builder between worlds, challenging institutional failures and people to stop, think, ... and act
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