Submit. Silent. Weaker. Shameful. Wincing at the biblical passages containing these words, many feminists reject Christianity as anti-woman. Early American feminist Elizabeth Cady Stanton called the Bible and the church "the greatest stumbling blocks in the way of women's emancipation."

Could a loving God, who supposedly "shows no partiality" (Acts 10:34), really look on half of His human creation as inferior? Or have scriptures been taken out of context to create a false understanding of how God views women?

The truth is that the Bible describes the role of women as one of great honor and worth. The prophetess Miriam, the judge Deborah, Abraham's wife Sarah, Rahab and many leading women of the New Testament Church serve as examples of faith, virtue and courage.

From the beginning, Genesis 2:18 tells us that Eve was made as a helper to Adam. Here, the Hebrew word for "helper" doesn't mean a slave or a helper to any and every man. Interestingly, this word is also used to describe the help that God gave to His servants. In no way does it denote inferiority.

Jesus' example

In a society where man-made social conventions kept men and women separate, Jesus Christ was often chided for talking to women. The Bible records His conversations with the Samaritan woman at the well, sisters Mary and Martha, and others.

But Jesus was not a revolutionary, overturning harsh Old Testament restrictions. As a Jewish man, He just interacted with women the way they were intended to be treated—with respect, as He treated everyone else.

Marriage

Ephesians 5:22-24 tells wives to submit themselves to their husbands as the head of their marriage. The Greek word the apostle Paul used in verse 22 describes submission as voluntarily accepting the authority of another and choosing to submit to that authority.

Again, there is no indication of inferiority. Paul uses the same Greek word in verse 21 to describe how all Christians are to treat one another. Women who voluntarily accept this role within marriage follow in the footsteps of Sarah and other "holy women" who trusted in God (1 Peter 3:1-6).

Ephesians 5 also gives us insight into God's original intentions for men and women. God explained these roles in terms of a family, as men and women were originally intended to marry for life and have a family. These roles are patterned after those that Jesus Christ (the Head) and the Church (the Bride) fulfill now and in God's Kingdom.

Though women are not to preach during church services (1 Corinthians 14:34-35), they can help their husbands teach others privately (Acts 18:26). They can also mentor younger women (Titus 2:3-4), and pass their knowledge on to their children (2 Timothy 1:5).

The same in Christ

Galatians 3:28 reveals that neither gender has a preferred place above the other in God's family: "There are neither Jews nor Greeks, slaves nor free people, males nor females. You are all the same in Christ Jesus" (God's Word). And even though we are males and females now, with distinct roles, we share the same awesome destiny. VT