good feminism

 Today in the One Year Bible, we read something interesting in regards to feminism. We read this in Jeremiah 44:24-47:7. Our selection tonight begins with these words: "24 Then Jeremiah said to them all, including the women, “Listen to this message from the Lord, all you citizens of Judah who live in Egypt. 25 This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘You and your wives have said, “We will keep our promises to burn incense and pour out liquid offerings to the Queen of Heaven,” and you have proved by your actions that you meant it. So go ahead and carry out your promises and vows to her!’"

And then Jeremiah goes on to condemn the "queen of heaven" and the worship and sacrifices given to her. First, let's quickly distinguish this from Mary, the actual "Queen of Heaven." The pagan goddess that the people in Jeremiah were worshiping was mythical, pagan, and not real. They were putting this pagan goddess in place of God and worshiping her instead. All of this was wrong, of course, and Jeremiah made it clear.

As we pointed out last night, Mary isn't in a place of worship. She points us to Jesus, always. She tells us to worship Him, and tells us to do whatever He says. Even though she has been exalted to the place of Queen of Heaven, she is not a goddess and we do not worship her. 

When we contrast these two "queens", we see the same distinction that can be made between radical, unhealthy feminism and healthy, godly feminism. The latter is a good thing. It means that women are people (like the quote by Shear says above) and should be treated with dignity. They have rights like men, to vote and earn a good wage and be free of discrimination and bad treatment. This is the form of feminism we should all be working towards.

The former, radical unhealthy version wants to raise women above men. It wants to push men down and make women more powerful and dominant over men. It wants to pretend that there are no differences between men and women... that women can do whatever men can do, and (strangely enough) vice versa. Of course we know this is nonsense. Women can do many things men can't - bearing children, for example. Men can do things women can't - most of these things involve physical strength. Sure, there are women who are stronger than some men. But in general, men are stronger than women. And when we push women into the military, for example, and expect them to do the things men do... we're in for disastrous disappointment. 

God made men and women different, and wants us to be partners. He wants us to supplement each other's strengths and weakness. We were made to literally fit together. 

So let's learn from the lesson of the good Queen and the bad queen, and work toward healthy feminism while resisting the radical, unhealthy kind.

God, thanks for making women the glorious, wonderful people they are. Help them to find the healthy kind of lives that will bring them satisfaction and joy.