Friday, September 24, 2010
Christian Feminism - Oxymoron?
I am planning on leading discussion at my Bible Study on Sunday, and the above is the title of my talk. I don't want to give anything away beforehand, so I'll come back on Monday and give more of my own opinion, but what do YOU think? Are those terms mutually exclusive, or can someone claim both labels?
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It depends (as usual) on the individual interpretation of what "Christian" means. There are plenty of people who pick and choose what they want to believe/follow from the Bible. If they choose to ignore all of the misogynistic garbage in the Bible... they might be able to claim both. But then again, my personal definition of what a Christian should be... is vastly different than what most Christians are.
ReplyDeleteSo this comment is coming from an outsider, as a Jewish Feminist. But the way I see it you can look at any religion in two ways. There is the social organization and then there is the spiritual connection to God. I think that in any form of spiritual form of religion there is room for feminism, it is the societies where there are prejudiced against women/feminism.
ReplyDeleteEcholage - define "spiritual" form of religion, if you wouldn't mind. Because plenty of people feel they have a spiritual connection to God... but in my opinion, that's totally separate from a "religion." And furthermore, if someone is calling themselves a Christian (or Buddhist, or Jew, or whatever,) - wouldn't it make sense that they're subscribing to the teachings / laws / covenants / rules of that religion? If they aren't... how can they claim to be a part of said religion?
ReplyDeleteDon't know much about Christianity but feminism is my bag, baby!
ReplyDeleteWhomever is claiming an identity as a Christian feminist needs to very carefully situate and contextualize their faith. Christianity's blatantly sexist and homophobic traditions, to say nothing of its historical ties to colonialism and racism, certainly runs counter to feminist goals. On the other hand, I can see someone using their identity as a feminist to push back on these things and pull Christianity into a more explicit arena of social justice. Still, one runs the risk of diluting feminism by aligning it with such a problematic institution. In my mind, feminism is the antidote to Christianity, not its bedfellow-- feminism a way to ennervate people, vs religion as an 'opiate of the masses'.
Excited to see the rest of your thoughts. Hope the recs were helpful!
I've never been fond of the idea of organized religion, but I still call myself a Christian, even though I often cringe at what the word Christian has come to mean to many people. When I say "I am a Christian," I am saying I am a follower of Christ. NOT the organized church. PEOPLE have taken Jesus' teaching and mucked it all up (and mixed it up with politics). I would urge anyone who hasn't to read the gospel (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) and see what Jesus was really saying. Jesus preached a way to live. Love the Lord your God and love you're neighbor as yourself. I don't know a lot about feminism, but I don't see why they would need to be mutually exclusive.
ReplyDeleteMark just posted the perfect example of what I was referring to earlier. His outlook is the more modern Christian's outlook. It's a very laid back, liberal Christianity. That's great. It's non-judgmental, accepting and loving.
ReplyDeleteHowever, it's totally different than the Christianity I read about in the Bible. And that Christianity... cannot coexist with feminism. If there's a way around the blatant misogyny in the Bible (or anything else for that matter, as Kate mentioned the homophobia, not to mention genocide) that's just going to come back down to picking and choosing what you decide to follow, and what you don't.
~J
Beth, thanks so much for your comments. We have looked into donor milk and you are right - it is expensive. Not to say that formula's not. Anyways, I appreciate your thoughts so much and we will contact you if we decide to go that route, but for now we feel most comfortable supplementing with formula. It's been awhile, hope to see you soon. Maybe you can stop over one day to meet Logan - we'll be around.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with Jenn: "my personal definition of what a Christian should be... is vastly different than what most Christians are."
ReplyDeleteBeing gay, I feel stings from this religion all the time. But, I do also feel love and acceptance from other Christians in my life who accept and appreciate who I am, not who I love.
I'm sorry Beth, but I can't comment much on the feminist portion of this. But Jenn (as usual) inspired me to comment.