women

According to a recent survey, an increased percentage of young women have left their churches and identify as religiously unaffiliated.

Escaping the nunnery to follow Christ led to a life full of service alongside one of the most seminal figures in Christianity.

Often in the quest towards marriage and finding “the one,” something happens. It’s easy to overlook things that may not seem that big of a deal while dating, but these things could be destructive patterns once married. But love doesn’t have to be blind. There’s no reason to settle for unhealthy or harmful relationships, simply to pursue being married.

We all have sin issues that we deal with on a daily basis. We’ve all made mistakes that we often wish we could do-over. We all need the grace and freedom that only Christ Himself can offer. But our marriages are healthier when we recognize red flags in our dating relationships, instead of choosing not to see problems at all.

God cares about the decisions we make. He cares about who we marry. And we can trust He will give guidance, and help us see some red flags to be aware of along the way.

On Monday, President Joe Biden signed an executive order promoting women’s health research in light of Women’s History Month.

"Almost 30% of Gen Z women identify as LGBTQ+, most as bisexual," a senior editor at Gallup, told NBC News. "That’s where a lot of the growth seems to be happening."

When we take the whole Bible, the entire narrative, we begin to realize that every verse has a context that must be understood.

In our post-Christian society, it is hard enough to be a Christian and live out the gospel. It is especially difficult when those Christians are also thrust into the spotlight to achieve fame and celebrity status. Whether we are listening to their music or watching their TV shows, we are helping them continue to spread the gospel message when we support their programming. This helps God to be glorified and gives them a platform to promote good moral programs that deliver laughs and clearly communicate God in all His glory.

Jesus said, "in this life you will have trouble. But take heart, I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). Although it is hard to live out beliefs that promote the Bible, which is seen as an outdated, archaic relic, these women prove it is possible to work in Hollywood without compromising their beliefs. God honors those who live out their beliefs despite persecution or ridicule. Here are six female celebrities who have chosen to follow Christ:

Purity culture, an influential wave rooting a woman’s worth in her sexual history, peaked in the 1990s to the early 2000s and remains prevalent today. Despite purity culture teaching being biblical or rooted in love for the Lord, there are many ulterior motives. Sadly, there are many Christians who endorse purity culture, and it has caused many people to suffer for it.

There are many podcasts, social media accounts, and books rooted in purity culture, targeting Christian women. The media has promoted purity culture and its teachings for many years, causing young Christian women, once again, to believe their worth is tied to their virginity or the desire to be “pure.” As one can imagine, this can cause many women, both believers and nonbelievers, to question their worth as individuals.

The influence of purity culture leads women further away from Jesus. He offers grace, mercy, and love. Individuals promoting purity culture push judgments on individuals that are not warranted. Unfortunately, many Christians would prefer to extend judgment rather than mercy. As followers of Jesus, this is not acceptable. We are supposed to be the hands and feet of Jesus—not unrighteous judges.

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Much has been said and written about the Barbie movie. If anything, the amount of hand-wringing over the movie’s virtues and vices is, at least, a testimony to its power as a thought-provoking cultural phenomenon. At the risk of being reductionistic, Barbie is about seeing that which has been unseen or even ignored. Particularly, Barbie is about getting society, especially men, to see what women go through and that women are more valuable than just “the fairer sex.” To give us this sight, Barbie gives us Barbieland, a world in which the Barbie dolls run everything and that the Ken dolls are powerless, oafish, eye candy. Seeing men in such positions is a powerful—and far from subtle— rhetorical device that makes men so uncomfortable that they finally see women and what they go through.

Might I offer a cultural juxtaposition to show that there is a subtler, perhaps even more powerful story that can get us to truly see women?  The cultures of Jesus’ time—whether Greco-Roman or Judean—were far more misogynistic than ours. Women barely had standing in courts of law, were not afforded educations, nor considered even close to men in physical or mental abilities. They were seldom heard from and rarely seen for their true value. Women were background figures at best.

Theologian and author John Piper recently asserted that women shouldn't hold leadership positions in parachurch organizations.