#christian feminism

[cath-lic]

the funniest thing about harrison butker’s speech is seeing every christian i follow come out of the woodwork and absolutely own this dude for not knowing shit about the bible or women

[progressofthepilgrim]

How many times are we gonna see casual hatred for and dehumanization of women like this expressed by men with a cross emoji in their name or "Christ is King" in their bio, before we acknowledge that religious men have a very real problem and the ones who are not radicalized by misogyny are doing nothing to stop it?

[lasangeline]

Hot take: Christianity and radical feminism are compatible. ''Christian radical feminism'' is not an oxymoron.

“How ? Numerous passages in the bible clearly prescribe patriarchy, like Ephesians 5 !”

Firstly, compiling passages from the Bible to take a stance on a certain issue is a wrong approach. We need a model of interpretation (hermeneutics) based on its fundamental, guiding principles to understand these passages' meaning.

So while it's true that the Bible contains patterns of male supremacist prescriptions, Christian patriarchy was not intended as a permanent and universal rule but as a temporary cultural accommodation to facilitate the spread of the gospel (God's priority) and avoid scandal and repression of Christianity in societies that tolerated only patriarchy:

Source

Radical feminism can therefore be used as a tool to reinterpret and reform the Christian faith to align it with the principle of anti-male supremacy. However an important distinction should be made: "Christian radical feminism" is not the same as "radical feminist Christianity". The former, as the words sequence suggests, begins with Christianity and then incorporates radfem ideas to transform church structures and teachings, while the latter takes radical feminism as its starting point and uses Christian beliefs and symbols to primarily promote radical feminism.

To resume what Christian radical feminism is: it's a perspective within Christianity that recognizes and critiques the male supremacist structures within both society and the church. It seeks to eradicate male dominance in all contexts, advocating for the liberation of women based on a Christian framework.

[fierysword]

We need a multi-dimensional God. We need not only the assurance that a powerful God is in charge, but we also need a nurturing God when we are hurting. We need a rock of ages, but we also need a wind that blows where it will. We can pray “God, our Father” and sing “Dear Lord and Father of Mankind” when it is balanced with “God, our Mother” and “The Care the Eagle Gives Her Young.” It’s the “both-and” rather than the “either-or” that will enrich us, that will help us to expand our sensibilities to the mystery of God and to create an inclusive community on earth.

BLESS SOPHIA: Worship, Ritual and Litany of the Re-Imagining Community

[beautyinsteadofashes]

If they're are other Christians around in Fandom on Tumblr I'd love to chat about how you navigate it e.g. idolatry and sexuality.

[animentality]

[lambofthelost]

I wish my version of the bible included more about Anna the prophet because honestly her story is important and should be shared more to self proclaimed Christian men who see women as being less than or incapable of independence. I don't think they realize that the whole "women came from the rib of man so women submit to men" is a law regarding married women as Adam and Eve were wed with laws that unfortunately had to surround her choice of sin when he should have protected her. They were equal, but her choice was a risk that Adam, who didn't sin first, should have helped prevent. I don't think they realize that when it says "man is the image of God and woman is the image of man" it's referring to the order in which a married couple behaves. I'm worried women are being scared away from God because of the way humans are communicating bible passages.

Anna was an elderly prophet who was married for 7 years until her husband passed and she remained a widow until her eighties. She completely devoted herself to the Lord after her loss. She spent all of her days sitting in a temple, never leaving it, fasting and praying. Anna foretold the birth of Christ and once he was born, she finally left her reclusive state and communicated with the world around her.

It seems that information about her is fewer and farther between, sort of like a minor character/side character that more than likely didn't have enough documentation because of her reclusive state. It's easy to assume she was devoting herself full time to communication with the Lord but it's also important to note that prophets of the Lord were usually...well... Tragically tortured, deemed insane, unal!ved and held hostage. She successfully stayed remote until she felt it was safe to communicate that she had predicted correctly. She is extremely important, there is mystery surrounding her life and choices and her example is useful and inspiring. She actually survived, made conscious decisions regarding her ability to prophesy for the Lord and showed immense and loyal devotion while recognizing the blessings the Lord bestowed upon her.

[samanthatrans999]

This is how I go to work now. cute panties 👙,tank tops and womens shapewear, under pathetic male cloths.

[audreyrose7]

I think about this all the time.

[ffcrazy15]

There's this way of doing female-ness in Christianity that I call "pastel flower journal Christianity." I've got nothing against pastel flower journals per se, but for some reason people believe it's the end all and be all of female spirituality, and I think it's a real disservice towards young Christian women.

One of these days I'd like to start a prayer-and-reading group or something for young women, but there would be no floral themes or over-focus on how "God thinks you're beautiful even if the world doesn't" (a true statement, but it's wayyyyy too often the focus in women's spiritual reading). Instead we would be reading:

Seneca's Letters from a Stoic

Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning

Sheed's A Map of Life

Portions of Pieper's book on leisure

Kreeft's Three Philosophies of Life

Guardini's The Lord (or something similar)

Therese's Story of a Soul

and some select portions of the Nicomachean Ethics.

(Also they're all getting the porn talk. I don't know why we give the porn talk to young men but not young women. There's this idea that women don't use porn and they only need the talk about "guarding their heart." Bullshit. There's porn on the YA shelves of Barnes and Nobles and before that there were bodice rippers. Young women need the porn talk too.)

Every young woman needs to be getting a basic grounding in virtue ethics, logic, natural law, scholastic philosophy and Biblical hermeneutics if they're going to get by in today's spiritual landscape. Enough faffery and emotionalism in young women's spiritual education! Give them real food to chew on, not pasty sentimentalism!

[progressofthepilgrim]

I'm a huge fan of CBE International and I seriously love that they give women a voice in the Church. So you can imagine how disappointed I was to see them speak poorly of two films that have had huge impact on my formative years and influenced my love of storytelling and the animated medium in general. I couldn't resist emailing the writer to explain what I thought she got wrong, and I'll post it here if anyone is curious.

I greatly admire this blog and all the good it's done. I get excited to read every new Thread and just discovered the blog by Kelly. However, I was sorely disappointed to read the article about Desiring God's writer Greg Morse and Kelly's response to it. I politely suggest that Kelly gets as much wrong about the heroines from Sleeping Beauty and Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs as Desiring God did about Captain Marvel.

Aurora LITERALLY has a magical voice. She is not voiceless [as the article states]. It was one of her magical gifts at birth and what connects her initially to the prince who ends up helping to save the kingdom along with the fairies. Having little screentime is an odd reason to dismiss her as a character (Jasmine and Elsa barely have more minutes on screen in Aladdin and Frozen, by the way, and nobody is condemning them as "voiceless"). The writer also seems to have never actually seen the film considering the three good fairies are the heroes- the film starts with them offering their gifts to the baby, continues with them figuring out a way to protect their foster daughter, and ends with them helping Prince Phillip (as remarkable a man as could be found in animation who both risks his life to save Aurora and shows kindness and consideration for her when she sings earlier on).

Phillip is not the main character. If anything, HE is the voiceless one. Once "Once Upon a Dream" ends he literally talks no more; he exists for the women of the film, not the other way around. The point of the film is that true love can defeat any evil, and we don't only see this in Phillip's selfless actions, but in the fairies' entire story. They are driven by their love for their adopted daughter, and go to great lengths to protect her. They grieve having to let her return to the castle. The entire film is inherently female-driven, much more so than almost any animated film that came after it, making it quite ahead of its time. I respectfully have to say that I find ignoring this aspect of it to be grossly inappropriate for a feminist writer. Pop culture matters. Representation matters.

Snow White is a more active heroine, too. This is a teenage girl who's never known love, only neglect and abuse. She still manages to refrain from succumbing to the same level of bitterness and resentment that so obviously drives Queen Grimhilde. She is forced to flee through the terrifying forest to make a new life for herself, which she happily does until she's able to be safe with the prince. But let's back up. After a frightening night in the woods, she finds comfort with the animals, scolds herself for making a fuss, and picks herself right back up. She finds a cottage that she believes houses orphans, and decides to clean up the place and cook a hot meal for the poor "children" in exchange for shelter. She's proactively trying to make a place for herself when she has every reason to sit, cry, and feel sorry for herself. When she realized it's actually the dwarfs' home, she quickly offers her skills as a former scullery maid so as to not just take free shelter because Snow White is a hardworking person with a good heart who doesn't believe in taking without giving. Even though as princess of the land, she could easily invoke her royal status to demand protection and a roof. She works hard to be useful and makes herself a new family, showing that family comes in many forms and your abusers do not define you. The dwarfs stop the Queen because Snow White has earned their loyalty and love, the same way she's earned it from the Prince and the animals. Snow White is a good person who inspires goodness in others; it's why the huntsman cannot bear to kill her and puts his own life on the line by letting her go. This says volumes about Snow as a person and a role model.

The Prince has very little to do with her.

By the way, ignoring that women can hurt other women is NOT helping the cause. Women regularly suffer from internalized misogyny, as Snow White's mother clearly did. Cinderella's stepmother abused her too. Women hurt women sometimes. It's a fact. Walt did not have some evil misogynistic agenda either, this is just what happens in the fairy tales these films are based on.

Women should be allowed to come in all forms. It is deeply misogynistic to strip away women's worth and dismiss them as role models simply because they don't carry weapons. I'm curious how Kelly just feel about Biblical women like Esther, Ruth, Rahab, and both Mary's, since they're ordinary women who never fight. Ruth especially reminds me of the old Disney Princesses, who went through trials with dignity and inner strength, allowing themselves to feel sorrow or anger at times but never letting it break them down into something they're not.

I do not write this to offend or even condemn. These films have a special place with me, and as someone who relates to the women in these films both in personality and as a fellow abuse survivor, it pains me to see these iconic women brushed off as anti feminist, especially from a Christian writer I deeply admire. I would ask that you consider that Aurora and Snow can't read your blog and have their feelings hurt, but real women just like them can. Is it feminist to uphold only a certain type of womanhood? I don't believe so. It's why I abandoned my Complementarian beliefs. I think putting down traditionally feminine women is one side of the coin, and putting down warrior women is on the other. We don't need to pit women against each other.

[sinful-skeptic]

Another fine case of “practice what you preach.” It’s not the woman’s fault that you lack self control.

[fierysword]

Source: Swallow's Nest: A Feminine Reading of the Psalms by Marchiene Rienstra

1 When I call, answer me, O God of my integrity! Deliver me from my distress! Have mercy on me and hear my prayer. 2 O men, how long will you try to destroy my dignity? How long will you assault me with lust and continue to live a lie? 3 Know that God protects Her daughters! She hears when I call out for help! 4 Stop sinning, and repent with fear and trembling. Consult the depths of your own hearts in sacred silence. 5 Offer to God the sacrifices of integrity and respect for all. 6 Many women say, "Who can do us any good?" Let the light of Your face shine upon us, O God. 7 You fill my heart with a joy that is greater than the pleasure of those stuffed with the best food and drink. 8 In peace I will lie down and sleep. For in You, Shaddai, I dwell in safety.

Possible uses of this psalm:

Alleviate insomnia (read along with a short prayer before bed)

Justice in court cases (read psalm several times by a blue candle and John the Conqueror Incense the night before a court appearance)

Restful and peaceful sleep

Change luck from bad to good

Prayer of praise and gratitude (v6-7)

Prayer for protection (v3,8)

Request blessings (v6-7)

1-2 are sourced from Power of the Psalms by Anna Riva, 3-4 from My New Everyday Prayer Book by Brother ADA

[hadesoftheladies]

christian men will say shit like "my rib :)" to their wives and christian women will be like "tehee, uwu" as if they aren't descended from a lineage of creators on this planet which the god of their pathetic religion is cosplaying because men still can't fucking handle the fact that they aren't the creators of life

[oasisr]

yes i am a prude, and hypersexuality is ruining friendships, relationships and society as a whole.

[agendercryptidlev]

TERFs and various transphobes are scapegoating trans men and testosterone, even though the shooter was not trans. In fact she seems to have been one of their own someone who self ID'd as a radical feminist and wanted to kill all men. Absolutely disgusting behavior.