on feminism…

Seated in a wooden desk in a dark room, we analyzed Renaissance masterpieces in Art History 350. Voluptuous women, passionate men, and biblical themes frozen in painted time depicted exaggerated themes of times long ago. Sucked into the the narrative of art, worlds ages removed came alive as my favorite professor explained iconography, spacial planes, and contrapposto.

She taught melodically and her voice lured in students much like a siren lures sailors. I wanted so desperately to please her and prove that I too loved what she loved.

When questions were asked, I was the first to answer. When readings were assigned, I didn’t sigh like the Philistines in the room. No, not me. I was ready to win her affection and garnish the crown of laurel much like the Roman-Greco athletes won in the art I copiously studied.

Each time she flashed a biblical art piece from her outdated slide projector onto the screen, I would be the one to explain the context. She knew I had a biblical upbringing because I could provide a wide context for the piece, so she let me casually discuss each work for a brief Biblical minute.

But one day in the dark room as we analyzed slides, she said something I’d never heard. And that is by huge problem with Paul the Apostle and Christianity, she said in a posh and educated New England accent. Jesus was a feminist, but Paul, oh no, he was misogynistic.

I didn’t know what misogynistic meant, so I remained quiet as she delivered a passionate Feminist sermon on the Biblical oppression of women. I left class confused, intrigued, unnerved, and questioning everything I had been taught in Sunday school.

During her office hours, I sheepishly asked her to explain what she meant in class. For the next two hours she and another female professor from the Art History department gave me a crash course in Feminism and the Bible. With each raised arm and unshaven armpit they brazenly bashed the New Testament and I—well, I sat there and listened.

I share this memory with you because we all have dealt with the topic of Feminism… and if you’re anything like me, I’m sure you were intrigued or unnerved. I won’t share the aftermath of this experience quite yet. I want to hear from YOU. Dialogue freely yet respectfully. Above all, let our filter be a Biblical one.

• Whether you’re a female or male, churched or unchurched, what are your thoughts on Feminism, neo-Feminism, or biblical Feminism?
• If you’re a man, in what ways do you like or dislike what the Feminist movement of the 1960s brought about?
• I’m researching some history and your insights are greatly appreciated

Tags: church, feminism, modern christianity

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