women

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.

On Tuesday, the Vatican released a working document on the results of a two-year consultation process that included a canvassing of Roman Catholics. The document revealed that many Catholics are urging the denomination's leaders better include LGBTQ+ people in the church and promote women into more significant roles.

February 6 marked the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation. The World Health Organization estimates more than 200 million women and girls across the globe have been subjected to this violent practice which forcibly cuts or mutilates a woman’s sexual organs as a so-called “rite of passage.” Not only is FGM a gross violation of the human rights and dignity of these girls, most of whom either do not consent to it or are not old enough to understand what’s being done to them, but it’s also incredibly dangerous.

Diverse people groups practice FGM, including, unfortunately, a few remote tribes who identify as Christian. However, far more Christians have fought the practice than committed it, including missionaries, Christian aid organizations, and many local African Christian communities. These Christians are motivated by a biblical view of humanity, that includes the inherent dignity of women and children. Nevertheless, a common accusation is that Christianity is an oppressively patriarchal religion that either subjugates women or, at least, devalues them. This accusation is almost exclusively Western and modern. The first Christians were actually criticized for teaching that women were equal in value to men, and accused of being “incestuous” for referring to fellow believers as “brothers and sisters.”

When Rachel Wilson was 8, she saw her mother's boyfriend abuse her. It was that experience that inspired her to launch Girl Talk International, a ministry from Kingdom Vision Life Center in Greensboro, North Carolina, that offers support to women facing domestic violence.

Throughout the past decade, millions of women have left the church despite considering themselves Christians.

Last fall, cultural observer and former BuzzFeed writer Anne Helen Petersen published an e-book about the difficulties of motherhood during the pandemic. Based on interviews with 1,000 women, her conclusions were telegraphed in the title: The Moms Are Not Alright. I think most parents would agree that parenting during a pandemic is, well, not ideal.

However, according to scholars Brad Wilcox and Wendy Wang in a recent article in The Atlantic, married mothers fared quite well during the pandemic, including indicating a greater degree of happiness than their single counterparts. 

Our culture has long struggled with the realities of sexual difference, or “gender.” While first- and second-wave feminism generally asserted that women were equal in value to men, transgenderism now asserts that women are interchangeable with men. Notice the underlying assumption:  in order for men and women to have equal value, they have to be the same thing. Yielding to this fallacy has been a disaster, not just for the concept of gender, but also for the concept of human dignity. It’s as if many think there’s not enough of it to go around.

Some 700 Southern Baptist pastors have written an open letter to the Southern Baptist Convention asking for an amendment to the Convention’s constitution that would prohibit women from serving “as a pastor of any kind.”

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: