God is a feminist. Those two words, God and feminist, do not usually go together. Most people think of liberal or atheist, not God, when they think of feminism. Anti-feminists often associate the movement with hating men, wild protests, or even (my personal favorite) angry lesbians. These stereotypes are not true of all feminists but neither are the stereotypes about God. God has been linked with conservative, repressive and anti-women viewpoints. Some might think the Bible says females should be submissive and quiet. But God is a feminist.
The definition of feminism according to Dictonary.com is “the doctrine advocating social, political, and all other rights of women equal to those of men.” Different interpretations have misconstrued the Bible for many to think that women should not have the same fundamental rights as men. Women have been suffering throughout history due to this misinterpretation. One Bible verse proves that God thinks both genders are equal:
“There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:2.
God doesn’t see race. God doesn’t see social class. God doesn’t see gender. The Bible talks about what Jesus did for women during his time on earth. He fought for women, loved and respected them at a time when they were considered property and had no human rights. For example, in chapter four of the book of John, Jesus talked to a woman who was sitting by a well. Besides being a female she was also of a different religion and a prostitute. Jesus spoke to her with respect and dignity while his disciples watched in surprise. Mary Magdalene, another prostitute, was a close follower of Jesus. When Jesus rose from the dead, he appeared first to Mary instead of to a man. Jesus saved another woman from being stoned to death. She had committed adultery which was against the law for women, but not for men, at the time. He did not condemn her for committing a sin (a sin the Bible says both females and males should not commit). Instead he forgave her, protected her and showed her kindness.
Modern America is clearly different than two thousand years ago. In the U.S. there are no laws that punish women for committing adultery. Females can own property and vote. But there is still a lot of climbing to do before we reach the top of the mountain. God gave people emotions; he doesn’t want men to bottle them up to appear more masculine. The shortest verse in the Bible, John 11:35, shows Jesus revealing his emotions when his friend died. The verse is "Jesus wept." God would want women to be paid the same as men for doing the same work, stating in the Bible that people should pay whom they owe. The Scripture repeatedly condemns rape and sexual assault against both sexes.
Not everyone reading this is a Christian. This wasn’t written to convert anyone, rather to help people understand that God cares about women. He might even call himself a feminist.
