Sunday night I planned on skipping church. I had a lot of homework due that night and rushing it (after a great weekend of hanging out) just didn’t seem appealing. About an hour before church was to start, I received a text from my boyfriend that read: “go to church tonight- you will love it.†Knowing that my boyfriend knows me, I knew the service must have something to do with women in the bible.
I have this deep sense of urgency when it comes to women. Injustice against them makes me boil. I once had a professor that said something to the effect of “consider what great works have been lost due to the oppression of women.†My rants on this however, will have to remain for another day.
The service was enrapturing and heart wrenching all at once. It was indeed dedicated to the story of women. To open up, speaker Trent Sheppard read quotes from influential men such as Plato and Aristotle in which is was clear they viewed women as inferior. Some laughed, hopefully out of discomfort. I could only cry.
This sense of inferiority is one that unfortunately still permeates the minds of many women, whether they are conscious of it or not. Women still find their significance, their self-worth in relation to the views of men in their lives. This is tragic.
The message presented on Sunday was one of hope. Sheppard gave clear evidence that biblically men and women are equal. He showed that Jesus turned the notion that women are inferior on its head. He called for repentance on the part of individuals who viewed otherwise. Both men and women rose from their seats and went forward to confess their views, to turn from this idea that women are less than men.
My point is two-fold. Firstly, whether or not one believes the bible to be the word of God, there is certainly speculation that it promotes the idea that women are inferior. This is a lie. Secondly, for both women and men struggling with identity, there is hope. I would encourage you to seek out literature with regard to this subject. Realize you have a voice that can bring about equality and encourage a strong sense of self-worth, inevitably resulting in healthier relationships between men and women and in turn a stronger society.
“There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.â€
Galatians 3:28
To listen to the podcast of the lecture I have spoken of, follow: Trent Sheppard
