tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7971820842270330168.post2563591007345441900..comments2024-01-20T16:28:46.327-08:00Comments on Wordgazer's Words: Why I'm a Jesus FeministKristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08252374623355509404noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7971820842270330168.post-71969681559664494252013-12-10T22:44:51.018-08:002013-12-10T22:44:51.018-08:00I really appreciate everyone's encouraging com...I really appreciate everyone's encouraging comments-- so glad you liked it! You are an inspiration.<br /><br />I just loved your post and <br />I appreciate the other quotes as well! india2australiahttp://india2australia.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7971820842270330168.post-51831522541125252032013-11-16T07:58:15.218-08:002013-11-16T07:58:15.218-08:00I would just like to say, in response to Janet, th...I would just like to say, in response to Janet, that I'm also a member of Christians for Biblical Equality and I'm proud to call myself a feminist. I know many others in CBE who feel the same. If you look at the resources available from the CBE bookstore you'll find several which connect the origins of feminism with 19th century evangelicalism. I agree with Kristen that we need to uphold "full human worth of women" and all human beings as created in God's image and that the word feminist needs to be "be reclaimed, not jettisoned." And thanks, Kristen, for a great blog post! I'm looking forward to reading Jesus Feminist too!Caroline Schleier Cutlernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7971820842270330168.post-34392899571749035532013-11-14T06:17:31.445-08:002013-11-14T06:17:31.445-08:00Hi Kristen! I jumped over here from my blog, brian...Hi Kristen! I jumped over here from my blog, brianameade.com. I love your take on Jesus Feminist. I can really relate to this: "Maybe instead of one leading and one following, a man and a woman could go where God sent them together, by mutual agreement, hand in hand."<br />This is how my husband and I try to walk...hand-in-hand :)Brianahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15512785660048037991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7971820842270330168.post-36719211015549382622013-11-11T19:42:17.524-08:002013-11-11T19:42:17.524-08:00I really appreciate everyone's encouraging com...I really appreciate everyone's encouraging comments-- especially Sarah Bessey's; so glad you liked it! You're an inspiration!<br /><br />Kurk, I just loved your post "Jesus was not a Christian." Love how you showed how constantly He turned everyone's expectations upside down! I appreciate the other quotes as well!Kristenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08252374623355509404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7971820842270330168.post-51666393507414257332013-11-11T12:29:15.936-08:002013-11-11T12:29:15.936-08:00"By a feminist is meant a person who is in fa..."By a feminist is meant a person who is in favor of, and who promotes, the equality of women with men, a person who advocates and practices treating women primarily as human persons (as men are so treated) and willingly contravenes social customs in so acting." - Leonard Swidler, author of <i>Jesus Was a Feminist: What the Gospels Reveal about His Revolutionary Perspective</i><br /><br />"Of course, Jesus was not part of the modern political movement we call feminism, but he did challenge the patriarchy of his day and embraced women as full members of his new community. Thus, Jesus opened the door for the modern feminist movement." -- Adam Ericksen, blogging "Top 4 Reasons Jesus Is My Favorite Feminist" at sojo.net.<br /><br />" Jesus was not a Christian<br /><br />And he’s much more radically feminist than most Christians today." -- J. K. Gayle, blogging "Jesus was not a Christian," at http://speakeristic.blogspot.com/2008/03/jesus-was-not-christian.html<br /><br />"Simply put, feminism is a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression. This was a definition of feminism I offered in <i>Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center</i> more than 10 years ago [in 1985]. It was my hope that at that time that it would become a common definition everyone would use. I liked this definition because it did not imply that men were the enemy. By naming sexism as the problem it went directly to the heart of the matter. Practically, it is a definition which implies that all sexist thinking and action is the problem, whether those who perpetuate it are female or male, child or adult. It is also broad enough to include an understanding of systemic institutionalized sexism. As a definition it is open-ended. To understand feminism it implies one has to necessarily understand sexism." --bell hooks, author, in her book, <i>Feminism is For Everyone: Passionate Politics</i>J. K. Gaylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07600312868663460988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7971820842270330168.post-80844348582372493522013-11-11T07:33:31.185-08:002013-11-11T07:33:31.185-08:00I love this! This was my favorite line: "A w...I love this! This was my favorite line: "A way that looked at the new creation and the kingdom of God as things both now and not yet-- culminations of the gospel which will one day finally end all injustice and inequity." <br /><br />May it be so.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7971820842270330168.post-27206363008656000072013-11-10T14:41:18.183-08:002013-11-10T14:41:18.183-08:00"For the Bible tells me so" - loved that..."For the Bible tells me so" - loved that! So good, thank you for this!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06733672952303258726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7971820842270330168.post-42676489761907530462013-11-10T10:46:57.443-08:002013-11-10T10:46:57.443-08:00Kristen, I resonate totally with what you've s...Kristen, I resonate totally with what you've said here. I must be a similar age to you because my mum did similar things (not cocktails, cause we lived in Australia, but a beer) and Vietnam war was raging, etc... and Helen Reddy was singing, 'I am Woman, hear me roar in numbers too big to ignore'<br /><br />That was my first thought that things could be different... and then I too, became a Christian, and if I thought I was smothered before... gosh... just wait to see how the Church could help you see your lessness. <br /><br />I'd love to blog but am not up and running yet with that, but I love the whole Jesus Feminist focus we have right now and am very blessed by writing such as yours. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7971820842270330168.post-62155361721062265772013-11-10T10:03:40.139-08:002013-11-10T10:03:40.139-08:00Keri-- Thanks!
Janet-- this is nice, but I'm ...Keri-- Thanks!<br /><br />Janet-- this is nice, but I'm not Sarah. Her blog is at the link I posted at the beginning of my post. I suggest you repost this on her blog. I wrote what I did out of solidarity with her, and the term "Jesus feminist" is hers, not mine.<br /><br />Personally, though, I think the word "feminism" needs to be separated from these negativities that have attached themselves to it. Christian feminism is not secular feminism, any more than Christian humanism is secular humanism. I'm proud to call myself a Christian humanist in the tradition of Erasmus, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and Dorothy Sayers. Just because secular humanism rejects God doesn't make the term "humanism" wrong to use by Christians who believe in the dignity and worth of the individual, made in the image of God. And just because some feminists vilify men doesn't mean Christian feminists can't use the word "feminist" to mean they believe in the full human worth of women. That's how I see it. I think the words should be reclaimed, not jettisoned. Why should the world think Christianity is anti-feminist? Or anti-humanist? Is that a good representation of Christ to the world? <br /><br />But you are free to disagree, and I embrace you as a sister in Christ and a coworker for the liberation of Christian women. :) <br /><br />Kristenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08252374623355509404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7971820842270330168.post-16755118714197065432013-11-10T09:23:21.478-08:002013-11-10T09:23:21.478-08:00Thank you Kristen. Your words are a bracing and wo...Thank you Kristen. Your words are a bracing and wonderful - I feel encouraged and grateful for women like you! - KerriAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7971820842270330168.post-33092177783486061702013-11-10T07:42:44.529-08:002013-11-10T07:42:44.529-08:00Dear Sarah, sister in Christ,
I bought your book, ...Dear Sarah, sister in Christ,<br />I bought your book, but I must tell you I can't agree with your label "Jesus Feminist".<br />I have been a Christian 17 years, and before that an unbeliever and a feminist. I also was born in 1963 and grew up with similar teachings.<br />When I got saved, I only need to call myself Christian, because being Christian is about reconciliation and equality for the new humanity in Christ Jesus. Equality for women is included. So, we don't need to call ourselves other labels. But we do need to educate everyone on what Christianity really teaches about the people of God, male and female, Jew and Gentile, Free and Slave.<br />Feminism is not a word that can be inclusive within the church body. That is because there is such a spectrum of what that word means. As a Feminism and unbeliever, to me it involved an us versus them mentality. Men were the enemy and women were the victims.<br />Now as a Christian, I see both women and men as victims of false teaching about women and men. So, there is no longer an us versus them mentality. That doesn't exist within Christianity.<br />I belong to Christians for Biblical Equality and both men and women within the organization are working diligently to bring the truth about women in the Scriptures to the church and surrounding culture. Men and women working together. This is not usually the approach in feminism, especially today. It really has evolved into something different than our early women in Christ sisters who as suffragettes fought for what was our right as part of God's family. <br />So, actually Christianity came first and out of it came a version of feminism. But that version doesn't exist anymore - because we just call it being Christian now. <br />I bought your book to support you sister in Christ, and because the concepts you teach are correct.<br />But I really wish you would re-release your book under another title. <br />Sincerely, your sister in Christ,<br />JanetJanetnoreply@blogger.com