Mysteries hidden from eternal ages have been made manifest to God’s people by Scripture’s use of magnificent types, stories, and parables. Through the “manifold wisdom of God” prophecy, poetry and history have been enriched with deeper hues and more intricate texture by the symbolic motifs woven into the fabric of common language. Deep spiritual lessons may be taught that reach the heart, not just the mind. Truths made mysterious to us by our fallen natures may suddenly open to our understanding when an intriguing figure is presented.

For instance, the Old Testament presents the sanctuary and its services as a type of the plan of redemption. The panorama of salvation is laid out from the inception of sin till the great consummation and final atonement. This magnificent parable was acted out in the lives of the Jewish people for centuries.  It intended to teach them about the nature of sin, acquaint them with the character of God and prepare them to receive the Messiah as a personal Savior.

In God’s created works and the duties of everyday life may also be found lessons which teach deep spiritual truths.  Jesus Himself used these principles when he taught in parables. He opened to the listeners lessons which His own hands had imparted at creation. “The wisdom of God alone can unfold the mysteries of the plan of salvation.” Christian Education p 79.

Symbols are meant to change our perception of the seemingly mundane by creating associations between the physical world and spiritual world, the seen making clear the unseen.  Symbols speak even when we are unaware. Symbols are meant to teach continual lessons.

There are questions which men have pondered for ages which seem veiled in mystery.  The nature of God, the nature of man, the purpose of life, and the reasons for suffering are only a few.  The reason for gender as it relates to the image of God for me is a mystery.  Yet it appears that Scripture speaks of a mystery unfolded in three stages which reveal certain aspects of the nature of Christ and His eternal purpose for mankind.  This has shed light on the reasons God created gender.

We begin with I Timothy 3:16,

“And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh”  

 The Incarnation of the Son of God, the act of laying aside His divinity and taking upon Himself human flesh, reveals to us the mystery of godliness. What does it mean to be like God?  The answer begins with the Incarnation. The profound, even breathtaking revelation of an eternal selfless love had only begun when God laid aside His magnificent robe of divinity to assume the humble garb of humanity.  (The Incarnation itself is a great mystery, but that we cannot even begin touch.)

 We then read of another mystery,                

“According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord” . . .  “Even the  mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: . . . which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:” Ephesians 3:11, Colossian 1:26, 27

“But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.” 1 Corinthians 1:30   “Therefore if any man [be] in Christ, [he is] a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17

 ‘Christ in you’ means the transformation of man into a new creature.  ‘Christ in us’ is the only hope we have of ever experiencing the glory of being made new.  Encapsulated in these words we find yet another mystery. Scripture reveals that long, long ago there existed a time before the entrance of sin into the world, an eternity past when all was peace, beauty and perfection.  Yet these words also allude that from eternity it was known that there would someday come a time when man would need transformation, recreation, and redemption.  There would be a need of grace – a mysterious concept for created beings to understand. This redeeming love could only be accomplished through Christ, the incarnate God, God with us.

Eternity itself is a difficult concept to grasp, but it is wonderful to contemplate that our need of His grace has been in the heart of God from eternal ages.  He would provide Himself, and in so doing give us wisdom, righteousness and sanctification.  Scripture teaches that the Incarnation had been purposed for our redemption from eternal ages. These words speak of an eternal purpose in Christ though hidden for ages but would now be made manifest to the saints, His redeemed ones. 

And the final mystery . . .

“. . . and they two shall be one flesh.  This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.”  Ephesian 5:31,32

 Then we are told in Matthew 22:2,

“The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son.” 

We know that “they two shall be one flesh” is synonymous with marriage – the union of lives for the purpose of revealing the love of God.  The kingdom of heaven, salvation, redemption is marriage to the Son of the King.

The mystery hidden from eternal ages began with the mystery of the Incarnation – that the Majesty of heaven would lay aside His splendor and become one flesh with humanity was a marvel to the onlooking universe.  Christ would become incarnate, but to what purpose?  That another mystery might take place, the union of the human with the divine, Christ in us – the transformation and recreation of the soul of man into the image of God.   These new creatures, transformed into image of God, form His body, His church.  The creation of His church triumphant will culminate in the final mystery when “they two shall be one flesh” – the union of Christ and His church, the final atonement, the marriage of the Lamb to His bride for eternal ages.  (1)

 Incredible.

The mystery of the incarnation was purposed from eternal ages to reveal the mystery of redemption, that an aspect of the glory of God which had been hidden might be revealed.

So we have

                 The Incarnation

                 The Redemption of the Church

                  The Marriage of the Lamb to the Church – the Final Atonement  –  Mankind Eternally one with God

 Breathtaking in its scope is the revelation of the love of God.

“He brings the human into union with the divine, that He may communicate to the world the mysteries of incarnate love.” Counsels to the Church, p 59 

 We understand human love to some degree, but what is the quality of an “incarnate love”?  

“Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love [is] strong as death; jealousy [is] cruel as the grave: the coals thereof [are] coals of fire, [which hath a] most vehement flame.  Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if [a] man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned.”  Song of Solomon 8:4-7

 God’s love for His people is as strong as death, jealous, sealed in His heart with all the strength of His mighty arm, impassioned by a most vehement flame, can never be quenched and is of such value that all earthly possessions are contemptuous by comparison.

Yet we have learned that, “He brings the human into union with the divine, that He may communicate to the world the mysteries of incarnate love.”  How will this mystery be revealed to the world?

“Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it  that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies.  He that loveth his wife loveth himself.  For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:  For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.  For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.  This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife [see] that she reverence [her] husband.” Ephesians 5:25-33

Marriage was a gift from the Creator to mankind in every age. The marriage relationship was intended to make known the tender eternal love of Christ for His church.  Marriage was to “reveal to the world the mysteries of incarnate love” – the husband a symbol of Christ and the wife a symbol of the church. The world desperately needs a symbol of incarnate love, that symbol is found in marriage.

From the days of eternity the Godhead intended that the mystery of the profound love of God for all created beings was to be revealed by the incarnation of Christ.  God anticipated and provided One who would eventually need to give His life for a lost world.  This quality of love had been hidden from eternal ages because it was not needed by the unfallen worlds; the gift of self-sacrificing love was not necessary for sinless beings.  But it was to be revealed in Christ by His incarnation.

Christ, a blending of the human and the divine, was sent to be the Savior of His bride, the church.   He left His family in heaven to be joined to His wife that they might become one flesh.  He must become one flesh with her hence we have the incarnation. She would become bone of His bones and flesh of His flesh. (2)

“Divinity needed humanity; for it required both the divine and the human to bring salvation to the world. Divinity needed humanity, that humanity might afford a channel of communication between God and man.”–The Desire of Ages, p. 296. The Father sent His Son into the world to save the world and the Son submitted, for even heaven was not a place to be desired while we were lost.  What love, what incredible love! 

In order to understand the mysterious love which the Godhead would bestow on the human race, the marriage relationship was created.  Godly love was to be revealed by the human couple exhibiting a similar quality of love, devotion, reverence and submission.   In order to understand, to fully grasp this mystery, the relationship of husband and wife must remain sacred and immutable.  For the love between a husband and wife was intended to be an acted parable in the lives of every human being born into this world, and as such would give continual glimpses of the love of Christ for humanity and the relationship we are to have to Him.

Could it be that the loss of this quality of love in marriage has obscured our ability to understand the gospel?  Homes destitute of the quality of incarnate love make the concepts of heart surrender difficult to grasp and incline us rely on an intellectual assent in spiritual things.  But we may reveal the mystery of incarnate love in our homes.  By the union of the human and the divine we may have continual demonstrations of sacrificial love and reverential surrender.  The heart is a synergistic fusion of mind and emotions.  By thousands of nuanced acts of love that are revealed in marriage we may reach the hearts of our loved ones and affect the inmost life for eternity.

I conclude with an observation of C S Lewis.

“One of the ends for which sex was created was to symbolize to us the hidden things of God.   One of the functions of human marriage is to express the nature of the union between Christ  and the Church. We have no authority to take the living and semitive figures which God has painted on the canvas of our nature and shift them about as if they were mere geometrical figures. … With the Church … we are dealing with male and female not merely as facts of nature but as the live and awful shadows of realities utterly beyond our control and largely beyond our direct knowledge.” (3) 

The family and the church are forever intertwined by the symbols of Christ.  Gender finds an exalted purpose in the revelation of the love of Christ to the world.

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References

1)      The meaning of atonement is “at – one – ment”.

“Meaning of the Word Atonement” http://emp.byui.edu/satterfieldb/quotes/Atonement%20Page/Meaning%20of%20the%20Word%20Atonement.html

James E. Talmage

Through the atonement accomplished by Jesus Christ–a redeeming service, vicariously         rendered in behalf of mankind, all of whom have become estranged from God by the effects   of sin both inherited and individually incurred–the way is opened for a reconciliation whereby  man may come again into communion with God, and be made fit to dwell anew and forever in the presence of his Eternal Father. This basal thought is admirably implied in our English word, “atonement,” which, as  its syllables attest, is at-one-ment, “denoting reconciliation, or the bringing into agreement of those who have been estranged.” (Jesus the  Christ, p.23)

Boyd K. Packer

Atonement is really three words: At-one-ment, meaning to set at one, one with God; to reconcile, to conciliate, to expiate. (“Atonement, Agency, Accountability,” Ensign, May 1988, p. 69)

Russell M. Nelson

… let us now ponder the deep meaning of the word atonement. In the English language, the    components are at-one-ment, suggesting that a person is at one with another. Other languages [such as Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, and German] employ words that connote either expiation or reconciliation. Expiation means “to atone for.” Reconciliation comes from Latin roots re, meaning “again”; con,meaning “with”; and sella, meaning “seat.” Reconciliation, therefore, literally means “to sit again with.”

Rich meaning is found in study of the word atonement in the Semitic languages of Old   Testament times. In Hebrew, the basic word for atonement is kaphar, a verb that means “to   cover” or “to forgive.” [We might even surmise that if an individual qualifies for the blessings of the Atonement (through obedience to the principles and ordinances of the gospel), Jesus will “cover” our past transgressions from the Father.] Closely related is the Aramaic and Arabic word  kafat, meaning “a close embrace”—no doubt related to the Egyptian ritual embrace.

I weep for joy when I contemplate the significance of it all. To be redeemed is to be atoned –   received in the close embrace of God with an expression not only of His forgiveness, but of our oneness of heart and mind. What a privilege!  (“The Atonement,” Ensign, Nov. 1996, p. 34)

2) “For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.”  Ephesians 5:30

Please note that we, the church, are of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones, not the other  way around. Even though in a technical sense Christ incarnate came after the church was      created, it is Christ who is the great source of life for the church. The church only came into    being because of Christ.   Perhaps this gives new meaning to the phrase “Ye must be born     again”.  Just musing here, but this is quite interesting.  The church, Christ’s Bride, is flesh of His flesh.  Just as Adam’s bride came out of Adam and was of his flesh, so the Church comes out of Christ and is of His flesh.  It could also give some indication why Eve was created from the flesh of Adam.  They were a type of the Christ and the church, since Christ was to become the second Adam.  Christ as the second Adam stands at the head of the human race. )

3)  “Priestesses in the Church?” by C. S. Lewis.   http://www.episcopalnet.org/TRACTS/priestesses.html

 

 

 

 

 

“Those who feel called out to join the movement in favor of woman’s rights and the so-called dress reform might as well sever all connection with the third angel’s message”.  This statement taken from Testimonies for the Church, volume 1, page 421 may be criticized by some as being extreme and shortsighted.  To say that one must sever all connection with the people of God if joined to the movement for women’s rights seems to ignore the important accomplishments of that movement.  Because of feminism women now have the right to vote, to own property, to obtain an education to be able to support themselves.  Isn’t that worth something?

However we may view the statement from another vantage point.  Just as we reject wine though it contains water and grapes which have beneficial properties, so may we reject feminism though it contains elements that have benefited our culture.  The intoxicating elements of both merit the warnings of inspiration.  As we may fully enjoy water and grapes without any damage to the mind, so may we appreciate the reforms that have benefited women, yet fully recognize that the elements saturating the movement on a whole are dark.  With the penetrating vision of prophetic insight the Lord has warned us away from this movement because of purposes that were yet unseen, unrecognized, undeveloped. The warnings are even more valid for our times than when first given.

Often while writing I am myself overcome at the depths of feminism’s effect on us a people. Dazed and silenced – sometimes staring mutely into the walls I realize that this was me. There is a darkness that is incomprehensible in this movement.  It transcends culture and goes beyond gender.

This will be a difficult read.

So subtlety have the webs been woven that humanity has been taken unawares. Those liberating promises were supported by reason and seemed to offer hope to women.  Yet as they have developed over the past several decades this vision has faded.  It is becoming more obvious that this was merely a deception meant to take us down to the deepest pits of hades.  I have been there in that place of dismal darkness propagated as freedom.  But by the grace of God we can help each other to awaken.

We begin by awakening.

“The Feminine Mystique” by Betty Freidan in 1963 is largely attributed with promoting what is termed the second wave of the feminist movement, the focus of which encouraged women to leave home for personal fulfillment.  A best seller from the outset – it startled the publishers by selling 3 million copies in the first 6 months.

 From Wikipedia’s article on ‘Second Wave Feminism’ we read, “In 1963 Betty Freidan, influenced by The Second Sex, wrote the bestselling book The Feminine Mystique in which she explicitly objected to the mainstream media image of women, stating that placing women at home limited their possibilities, and wasted talent and potential. The perfect nuclear family depicted and strongly marketed at the time, she wrote, did not reflect happiness and was rather degrading for women. This book is widely credited with having begun second-wave feminism.“ (1)

 Several modern books attribute the encouragement and enticement of women to leave their children to enter the workforce as one of the most significant contributors to the state of affairs we are presently experiencing.  (2)   The removal of the mother from the home left vacant a vitally important bulwark against immorality.  ‘Latch-key’ children were created who had very sparse parental nurturing.  Instead, many were left at home alone to be nurtured by various forms of digital media which have become more debased with each successive version.  A morally amorphous generation has been created, “without natural affection” (3) (4).  We are all stunned by the seeming ease with which some children can take machine guns and calmly murder complete strangers with terrible accuracy.  Gay and lesbianism has saturated our culture, and ‘coming out’ has become quite vogue.  The debauchery that exists today must surely rival that of Sodom.  Empty, immoral and without chart or compass this generation is ripe for the satanic mysticism of spiritual formation and the Emergent church.

 But you may ask, “Can we place all this at the feet of women?”  Certainly not.  I would never want to covey the thought that all the blame falls on women.  The causes of our demise as a culture are complex and multifaceted, and both men and women have profound failures to acknowledge.  We also must realize that our world is spiraling toward the end of time, so there are also circumstances that are far beyond our control such as famine, war and economic crises.  The cultural quagmire we experience has been orchestrated in reality, not by feminists, but by the prince of darkness.

 Yet we must also begin to recognize that a march has been stealing upon us for well over a century.  Many of us have been totally unaware of its malign intent.   I know that I did not understand the far reaching and baleful implications of feminism until just recently.   My hope with these blogs is to cause us all to begin think about how we have all been personally affected by the forces that have created so much suffering in our world.  As women I hope that we will especially take time to rethink our place in the world and seek the Lord for mercy..for grace..for hope – if we have been led down paths which end we know not where.

He has given me hope and peace, great peace.  It is possible to find the way back home.

References

1)      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second-wave_feminism

2)      Here’s a list of some of the fascinating books which discuss in part the impact of mothers leaving home to work:

1. Home-Alone America –The Hidden Toll of Day Care, Behavioral Drugs, and other Parent Substitutes by Mary Eberstadt;
2. What Our Mothers Didn’t Tell Us-Why Happiness Eludes the Modern Woman by Danielle Crittenden;
3. Seven Myths of Working Mothers-Why Children and (Most) Careers Just Don’t Mix by Suzanne Venker;
4. Feminist Fantasies by Phyllis Schlafly

3)      See 2 Timothy 3:1-3 and Romans 1:22-32.

4)      This is an expert of an article which discusses how long a young child may be left alone at home.  But are they really asking the right question?

Child Home Alone Laws in California  by Caitlin Donnelly, Demand Media

http://everydaylife.globalpost.com/child-home-alone-laws-california-3166.html

“One third of United States’ school-aged children are home alone for some part of the week, according to U.S. census data cited by the NYU Child Study Center. The number of “latch-key kids” continues to rise as the strain of the economy forces parents to work long hours and the cost of childcare skyrockets. With no state law guiding them, this predicament leaves many California parents questioning what the appropriate age is to leave their kids home alone.”

 

Many might be surprised to learn that the feminist movement actually has deep roots in Spiritualism. A fascinating book has been written recently with a telling title, “Radical Spirits – Spiritualism and Women’s Rights in Nineteenth-Century America” by Ann Braude.  Quoting extensively from her book will give us a window into the America that gave birth to the feminist movement.

“The only religious sect in the world …that has recognized the equality of woman is the Spiritualists, claimed the History of Woman Suffrage, edited by…Susan B. Anthony.  Written in the 1880’s….it described a religious group whose beliefs and practices committed it to fostering female leadership. ‘They have always assumed that woman may be a medium of communication from heaven to earth,’ the History observed, ‘that the spirits of the universe may breathe through her lips.’”pp2-3

 

 “Like the woman’s rights movement, Spiritualism dated its inception to 1848 in upstate New York.  The two movements intertwined continually as they spread throughout the country.  Not all feminists were Spiritualists, but all Spiritualists advocated woman’s rights, and women were in fact equal to men within Spiritualist practice, polity and ideology.” p3

 

  “At these events, women’s rights were not presented as just another reform.  Rather, Spiritualists believed, as one advocate put it, that ‘woman’s freedom was the world’s redemption’. As investigation of the manifestations swept the nation, Spiritualism became a major-if not the major-vehicle for the spread of woman’s rights ideas in mid-century America.” p57

 Why would Satan be so interested in promoting feminism?  What does he have to gain?  We know that Spiritualism has far broader meanings than attempts to contact the dead.  The scope was actually voiced by the serpent to Eve in the Garden of Eden recorded in Genesis 3:4-5.

3:4          And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

3:5          For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

‘Ye shall not surely die’ encompasses the attempts to reach the dead and refutes any penalty for sin.  ‘Ye shall be as gods’ encompasses the more sophisticated manifestations of Spiritualism.   It promotes the philosophy that desire is the highest law; god is within and only needs discovery and development, human potential is continually evolving to higher and more enlightened states. (1)  This is the form of Spiritualism we see most ardently promoted in our time.  The Joel Olsteins and Opray Winfreys of the world are its modern evangelists.

Through these dual deceptions one will be lead to an entirely new religion unknown to the Bible.  The need of a Savior, salvation, faith, grace, judgment and heaven are meaningless and may be discarded by its adherents.

However, one might note that these phenomenon are actually a fulfillment of Bible prophecy as revealed in the book of Revelation.  Bible prophecy predicts that one of the major goals of the beast of Revelation 11 was the destruction of the Bible and its influence in the world. (2)

Revelation 11:7-12 describes a time in history when a “beast from the bottomless pit” would arise to destroy the influence of the “two witnesses”.  Though a thorough explanation of these prophecies is beyond the scope of this venue, but further study is certainly encouraged.  From the book The Great Controversy (GC) please take the time to read the chapter entitled “The Bible and the French Revolution”.  In GC pages 268-269 we understand that under the influence of this “beast” the Bible was banned during the period of the French Revolution which occurred from 1793 to 1797.  This revolutionary movement was characterized by atheism, licentiousness, and interestingly enough the worship of the Goddess of Reason.  Though the actual time-frame of the Bible ban was only 3 ½ years, the effects of this movement have reached far beyond the 18^th century and find a disturbing resonance in our own tumultuous times.  The philosophies of atheism, licentiousness and the worship of godless reason have nearly compassed the entire world.  But more startling is the fact that these are the very principles of the modern feminism.

In the book Education (Ed) we are warned that scenes similar to those of French Revolution will again be enacted, not merely nationally but on a worldwide scale.  Ed 228, “At the same time anarchy is seeking to sweep away all law, not only divine, but human …. the world-wide dissemination of the same teachings that led to the French Revolution–all are tending to involve the whole world in a struggle similar to that which convulsed France.”

This fearful period in earth’s history would also be characterized by Spiritualism.  A ‘stately’ leader would emerge to speed our entire world on a fast train into eternal darkness.  In the book Early Writing (EW) pages 86-89, Supplement, #4, ‘Spirit Manifestations’ we may read an excerpt which elucidates the times in which we live.

“I saw the rapidity with which this delusion (Spiritualism) was spreading. (3) A train of cars was shown me, going with the speed of lightning. The angel bade me look carefully. I fixed my eyes upon the train. It seemed that the whole world was on board, that there could not be one left. Said the angel, “They are binding in bundles ready to burn.” Then he showed me the conductor, who appeared like a stately, fair person, whom all the passengers looked up to and reverenced. I was perplexed and asked my attending angel who it was. He said, “It is Satan. He is the conductor in the form of an angel of light. He has taken the world captive. They are given over to strong delusions, to believe a lie, that they may be damned. This agent, the next highest in order to him, is the engineer, and other of his agents are employed in different offices as he may need them, and they are all going with lightning speed to perdition.”  (EW88)

 

“It is fondly supposed that heathen superstitions have disappeared before the civilization of the twentieth century. But the word of God and the stern testimony of facts declare that sorcery is practiced in this age as verily as in the days of the old-time magicians. The ancient system of magic is, in reality, the same as what is now known as modern spiritualism.” AA 289

We know that Spiritualism is not just another religion, but will be the primary means of uniting the world before the final events. By the means of a “threefold union” Spiritualism along with other powers will be used by Satan to bring people under his absolute control. (4)

So again this leads me to wonder – ‘What did the Spiritualism of the 1800s have to gain by promoting feminism?  Why would Satan be so interested in promoting the feminist movement?’  Answering that question is one of the purposes of this blog and I hope to develop the answer as we progress.

Ellen White warned women to stay away from the woman’s movement because of its connection with spiritualism and its distortion of women’s roles. (5)  Solemn words for us to consider today as well.

References

1)      See Acts of the Apostles p. 474. “By spiritualism, multitudes are taught to believe that desire is the highest law, that license is liberty, and that man is accountable only to himself.”

2)      As I understand it the period of time spoken of in Revelation 11:7-12 is also described in Revelation 11:9-11 as time period of the sixth head of the scarlet colored beast.

3)      The explanatory word “Spiritualism” in italics is mine, but is referenced by the preceding paragraphs if you read the entire section entitled ‘Spirit Manifestations’ from EW 85-89 .

4)      See The Great Controversy pg 588.   “Through the two great errors, the immortality of the soul and Sunday sacredness, Satan will bring the people under his deceptions. While the former lays the foundation of Spiritualism, the latter creates a bond of sympathy with Rome. The Protestants of the United States will be foremost in stretching their hands across the gulf to grasp the hand of Spiritualism; they will reach over the abyss to clasp hands with the Roman power; and under the influence of this threefold union, this country will follow in the steps of Rome in trampling on the rights of conscience.”

5)      See Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1 p 421. “Those who feel called out to join the movement in favor of woman’s rights and the so-called dress reform might as well sever all connection with the third angel’s message. The spirit which attends the one cannot be in harmony with the other. The Scriptures are plain upon the relations and rights of men and women.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Has feminism changed?  We don’t hear the rhetoric that I posted in the “No Longer in Sheep’s Garb” blog very much anymore.  Why is that?

Go back and look at the dates of those awful quotations from influential feminists.  They were made in the late 20th century – 1970s, 1980s and such….a long time ago.

Why don’t we hear much of that kind of talk anymore?  I think it’s because “It’s a done deal” – at least in the west.  We are a thoroughly feminized nation from the economy, the family and even down to the church.  Feminists have pretty much achieved their goals in the western world and are now seeking to make them international.  On September 20, 2014, a conference was conducted at the United Nations to promote international feminism and equal rights.  The goal is to engage men and boys in the promotion of feminism. The keynote speaker was an actress from a Harry Potter movie – Emma Watson.  She has been selected by the United Nations to be the Goodwill UNWoman ambassador for a new UN initiative called HeForShe.  Emma Watson launched the campaign with an emotional speech called by Vanity Fair magazine “a game changer”.  Though this accolade has been disputed by others she certainly has been given an important platform from which to launch the campaign.

She made reference to the “man-hating” image of feminists and sought to soften and update the image of feminism.   Here are a few excerpts from her speech,

“I was appointed as Goodwill Ambassador for UN Women six months ago. And, the more I spoke about feminism, the more I realized that fighting for women’s rights has too often become synonymous with man-hating. If there is one thing I know for certain, it is that this has to stop.”

 

“For the record, feminism by definition is the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities. It is the theory of political, economic and social equality of the sexes.”

 

“Both men and women should feel free to be sensitive. Both men and women should feel free to be strong. It is time that we all perceive gender on a spectrum, instead of two sets of opposing ideals. If we stop defining each other by what we are not, and start defining ourselves by who we are, we can all be freer, and this is what HeForShe is about. It’s about freedom.”

Gender on a spectrum??   Hmmm….sounds like gender androgyny to me.   Appeals to freedom are appealing to the carnal heart.  Naturally we all want to do what feels good to us and just be free to follow our own hearts.  But the Lord has a better plan.  We must learn to rely on God’s Word to guide our thoughts and impulses.  This requires tremendous trust in Him.  We must come the place of complete and absolute surrender to His will because we love Him more than we love ourselves.  The Lord must be allowed to give us our definition of gender and our roles. We do not have the freedom to create our own.

Feminism is putting on a new dress, but the spirit is the same as it has always been.  Don’t be taken by the pretty lady speaking pretty words.

 

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References

Link to HeForShe speech: http://www.upworthy.com/her-voice-might-tremble-but-emma-watsons-message-is-strong-and-clear