by Robin Gericke, Managing Editor
Due to current events, feminists have taken the spotlight of the media and nation’s attention. However, as a Christian woman who believes in the sanctity of life, marriage and the Gospel, I cannot align myself with the radical feminist movement often represented in the media today.
The Women’s March in D.C. played an important part in defining modern radical feminism. By rejecting pro-life groups from the march, it was made clear that modern day popular feminism is a pro-choice movement.
“In 2017, support for abortion has become so central and non-negotiable to today’s feminism and progressivism that some women’s groups aren’t allowed to officially join a women’s march that’s supposed to be for all women,” Mary Eberstadt wrote in TIME. Because of the right to life that I believe all women, both grown and unborn, have, I am not a feminist. In fact, I find it ironic that a movement that fights the objectification of women’s bodies objectifies the life of unborn children.
The feminist movement fights to get rid of gender roles, but I believe that these roles are set not just by society but by God. God made men and women physically different and for distinct roles. Genesis 2:18 says, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” Therefore, although male and female have equality in their standing before God (Galatians 3:28), they are distinct from each other. These distinct roles are so valued by God in marriage that He uses them as an example of His relationship with the church (Ephesians 5:25). What Christian would say that God and His people fulfill the same purpose? When some feminists fight for the same roles for men and women in a relationship, they are perverting the image of God-created marriage and therefore the relationship between God and the church.
Feminists are fighting to get rid of these distinctions, but what does that require? One of the most obvious differences between men and women is the fact that women can get pregnant. If you are fighting for the same treatment of men and women, be a proponent of abortion, because if men don’t get maternity leave, you shouldn’t either. This extreme example shows that equality does not mean sameness, and I would suggest all Christian women consider what they are fighting for when they call themselves feminists.
Perhaps it is time that we acknowledge the modern feminist movement does not align with the beliefs and values we hold as Christian women. I believe that radical feminism is, at its core, anti-Gospel. I believe in equal respect for men and women, but I cannot join a movement that perverts the Gospel I live by. Feminism says that women are independent and don’t need a man. This directly contradicts the Gospel, which says that we are all weak and reliant upon the Son of Man – Jesus Christ.