Speaking Freedom
Most of you are probably tired of hearing me talk about studying religion. I know, I blog about it a lot. And no, Belmont's School of Religion does not sponsor me for it, although that would be nice...but this post is only slightly related to being a religion major, so hang in there.
I used to think liberation/feminist theology was a little useless in my world. (Bad, I know. Sorry, SOR professors.) Not that it isn't good to talk about injustices and inequalities in society, but I just don't see them as severe in my culture. I generally don't feel looked down upon for being female, and I'm not an ethnic minority. I am not excluded from conversations in the academic world, or refused any education or job I want. As far as school goes, I don't feel like my experiences or ideas of God are excluded or anything.
But I've recently revisited feminist theology for a couple reasons. One, I've realized that the business world is still surprisingly misogynistic in some areas, and I had a couple personal experiences of it. Two, I had a conversation with Inna.
She's the pastor's wife in Russia, and she has the biggest servant's heart. But she experiences a culture of subversion unlike any we see in modern America. When she tells me about her struggles as a woman in a male-dominated part of the world, it is not enough for me to encourage her to go read her Bible where Paul talks about submitting to your husband. It is not enough for me to tell her she can show God's servant heart by willingly living in submission to men. It is not enough for me to insist she is doing her job as a Proverbs 31 woman.
"You know what that woman does?" she asked me. "She sits at home and works all day." Is that all that God wants for women?
Of course not.
And I'm not saying that submission and obedience and service don't have their place, because they absolutely do. Jesus revealed that to us very clearly. The Proverbs 31 woman is certainly an ideal in many ways. And for me, for us in middle class America, those things probably need to be emphasized. But for the women and minorities who have been forced for so long into an unjust submission to men and the majority? Isn't there a larger message of freedom and autonomy and justice God wants to give them?
I think God's heart is for the empowerment of women, and their full inclusion into the life of the society and of the church. Just because I already feel included doesn't mean the fight is over. There are women around the world who are marginalized, and for whom the simple affirmation of their "Proverbs 31-ness" is not an appropriate response. My heart hurts for these people, because they have an immensely important voice in Christianity, and we might be missing out on it. My heart hurts for them because their relationship with God is even hindered by conventional Christian tradition which tells them an incomplete story about their role as women. If the Church cannot speak freedom to those who are oppressed, I would argue it has lost its authenticity as a group of people who answer to Christ...who preached salvation for all.
As an anecdote to keep myself from being too serious: In honor of my new revisitation of liberation theology, I decided to try to hang curtains in my apartment without immediate help from a strong, drill-capable man. I figured out the drill, picked out a drill bit, and climbed up on a chair feeling very powerful. Fast forward 90 seconds. I have thrown the drill bit across the room, succeeded only in drilling two wrong-sized holes in the wall, and started whining to myself. Once I got over my anger (a couple days later), I asked my dad for help. Whelp. Humility is obviously not my strong suit...
I used to think liberation/feminist theology was a little useless in my world. (Bad, I know. Sorry, SOR professors.) Not that it isn't good to talk about injustices and inequalities in society, but I just don't see them as severe in my culture. I generally don't feel looked down upon for being female, and I'm not an ethnic minority. I am not excluded from conversations in the academic world, or refused any education or job I want. As far as school goes, I don't feel like my experiences or ideas of God are excluded or anything.
But I've recently revisited feminist theology for a couple reasons. One, I've realized that the business world is still surprisingly misogynistic in some areas, and I had a couple personal experiences of it. Two, I had a conversation with Inna.
She's the pastor's wife in Russia, and she has the biggest servant's heart. But she experiences a culture of subversion unlike any we see in modern America. When she tells me about her struggles as a woman in a male-dominated part of the world, it is not enough for me to encourage her to go read her Bible where Paul talks about submitting to your husband. It is not enough for me to tell her she can show God's servant heart by willingly living in submission to men. It is not enough for me to insist she is doing her job as a Proverbs 31 woman.
"You know what that woman does?" she asked me. "She sits at home and works all day." Is that all that God wants for women?
Of course not.
And I'm not saying that submission and obedience and service don't have their place, because they absolutely do. Jesus revealed that to us very clearly. The Proverbs 31 woman is certainly an ideal in many ways. And for me, for us in middle class America, those things probably need to be emphasized. But for the women and minorities who have been forced for so long into an unjust submission to men and the majority? Isn't there a larger message of freedom and autonomy and justice God wants to give them?
I think God's heart is for the empowerment of women, and their full inclusion into the life of the society and of the church. Just because I already feel included doesn't mean the fight is over. There are women around the world who are marginalized, and for whom the simple affirmation of their "Proverbs 31-ness" is not an appropriate response. My heart hurts for these people, because they have an immensely important voice in Christianity, and we might be missing out on it. My heart hurts for them because their relationship with God is even hindered by conventional Christian tradition which tells them an incomplete story about their role as women. If the Church cannot speak freedom to those who are oppressed, I would argue it has lost its authenticity as a group of people who answer to Christ...who preached salvation for all.
As an anecdote to keep myself from being too serious: In honor of my new revisitation of liberation theology, I decided to try to hang curtains in my apartment without immediate help from a strong, drill-capable man. I figured out the drill, picked out a drill bit, and climbed up on a chair feeling very powerful. Fast forward 90 seconds. I have thrown the drill bit across the room, succeeded only in drilling two wrong-sized holes in the wall, and started whining to myself. Once I got over my anger (a couple days later), I asked my dad for help. Whelp. Humility is obviously not my strong suit...
Precious girl. Your heart for others is refreshing to watch. And your struggle to be so independent. Well, you know God made us for Him first and for each other second. Learning how that all works is our lot in life. Just don't forget that in our weakness, He is strong in our life. It's not always so important to be the most respected and the most powerful in the room. Finding out where God gifted us to be will make us feel more loved and respected than any other. Yes, be proud of being a woman. But be more proud of being chosen and what He is doing in you, for you, and through you.
ReplyDeleteSomehow I don't think that all made sense, especially with all the big words you wrote up there. But I feel that's what I was supposed to say.
Did I tell you I love you today?
Love, Mom