Thoughts on women...

What is the first thing that springs to mind when you think of the word 'modesty'? Who is required to be modest and why? It is likely that you first thought of women dressing in a way that does not draw attention to their body. A moderate western conservatism would be avoiding low fronted tops or short skirts and the extreme versions of this of course being women in burkhas, required to cover every part of their body apart from their eyes, which must be lowered. I cannot comment with any authority on the religious imperative on Muslim women to wear the burkha other than to say that the spectrum to which modesty is adopted in Islam suggests that there is much in there about culture and regional adoption rather than simply a religious edict. But what about Christians? What about modesty and clothing in the Christian faith? First lets go to the Bible and see what there is to say. 1 Tim 2:9-10 Likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and...

The story of the Hebrew midwives is an extraordinary tale of courage and faith. Shiprah and Puah lived at a time when increasing hardship was being imposed on the Hebrews. They were flourishing despite the culture of slavery they had found themselves under. However, they had come to Egypt in a time of hardship. God had never intended them to stay and things were becoming increasingly uncomfortable for them. The time was approaching for them to move on. The labour pangs were starting and God had granted the midwives a front row seat to the birthing process.  In the eyes of the Egytians, the Hebrews had become too numerous and too strong. The people of Joseph, and the Hebrew God who had saved them in time of famine, were now considered a threat. The famines were long forgotten and they feared a coup. The midwives were ordered by the Pharaoh to kill all of the male babies at birth. The fact that he spoke to them directly suggests that midwives were considered a respected group of peop...

A trip down the hall of fame of incredible women in the Bible, you don't have to go too far before seeing Deborah's name. Deborah was a prophet and judge in Israel and curated a time of both success in war and 40 years of peace. The judges era was a bit of an unsettled, cyclical time for the Israelites, who seemed to bounce from one end of the spectrum of being close to God, to apostacy at the other, experiencing hardship and begging for forgiveness. Deborah had her work cut out as one of the eleven judges of those times. Judges makes for interesting reading - if you are looking for drama, then look no further than this text. There seems to be no question in the book of the relevancy of her rule - she was likely to have been a local tribal leader and she spoke with authority in her decision making as Judge and in her discussions with Barak, the General in the army of Israel. As a prophet , it was considered that she spoke with wisdom and as a direct line from God. The people of...

You know those moments in life when you feel like you're seeing for the first time? I'm having one of those moments. I've been staring at Ephesians 5 verses 22-24 (for many years actually), seeing only verses 22 and 24 and kind of ignoring Jesus sat right in the middle of them.  It's ok though. In the great words of Oprah Winfrey "Do the best you can, then when you know better, do better" and for me this speaks about an acknowledgement that we must keep looking forward, with an awareness that the next 'known' better knowledge is just round the corner. God has a plan and a purpose for our lives and the progress within it (Jeremiah 29:11) which should spur us on to discover what that is with joyful expectation. John 16:12-13 tells us that the Holy Spirit will move on us when we are ready to receive new truths, not before, and this is hugely reassuring. Of course this doesn't mean that we should be passive, just that we should know that there are seas...

Speaking with a friend this week I am reminded of the value of sisterhood in Christ. We talked about Jesus. We talked about his interactions with women. We lifted our spirits together by reminding one another of His goodness.  Jesus was unfailingly kind and approachable with women and in fact all people from oppressed groups. He was completely counter-culture in his approach. He protected women by elevating their status to that of men by reminding them of their humanity - "Who will cast the first stone?". He didn't shy away from difficult conversations - the woman at the well got more than she bargained for that day and though he quietly admonished her and helped her to see her sin, she went away refreshed, repentant and joyful! Full of a desire to tell others, one of the first evangelists you might say. He didn't need to leave specific instructions on how to treat women because He lived it. The more often I read Jesus, the more I fall in love with Him. I just need to...

Recently our church had a sermon series on 1 John and it was simply superb. To literally bathe in the goodness of God and the miracle of salvation was wonderful. So it wasn't a surprise to me when one day I was trying to work through issues of women and my sense that I am not meant to let this go... or am I... that I felt a nudge from God to go back to 1 John. So I did and again felt that wonderful assurity of love. As I finished the book I couldn't help wondering how was that meant to help my dilemma and the nudge continued. Keep reading! So I did. Here it is for you in full below (It's short and sweet, just like my short post here!). My first thought, and this is symptomatic perhaps of my upbringing in a faith which actively avoids the mention of women in any sort of leadership, is that 'elect lady' is 'the church' and not an individual woman. Why am I reading this Lord? Look again! I looked again at 1 John and 3 John. Their introductions and language were...

I am going to start this post in the same way as most narrators about the subject of complementarianism. It is worth saying straight away that there is much about this view that I am in agreement with.   I believe, and see that there are differences between the sexes to be treasured.  However  I would say that I am egalitarian in that I believe there to be equal authority between the sexes, both in secular and spiritual life. I see both of these demonstrated in the Bible and don't believe them to be mutually exclusive. I am, as ever very mindful of the fact that I am not a complete work. I like the picture of a piece of sea-glass on a beach - various waves and seasons make their mark.  In the Bible, God establishes things in pairs.  Sun and moon, l ight and dark, e arth and water. These things exist in relationship to one another. It is reasonable to say that each needs the other to fully flourish and be distinguishable in and of itself. He then made man and wom...