Christian Feminism. From the World of from God?

 Many conservative Christians believe that feminism is anti-Christian and has its origins in radical secular social reform movements.

Some radical feminists around the world aggressively promote abortion and gay marriage.

But who were the real pioneers of the movement that paved the way for women's equality?

250 years ago, John Wesley started adult Bible classes. Many of the groups were led by women.

The first college in North America where men and women studied together was founded by the famous revivalist preacher Charles Finney. At Finney's college, men and women, black and white, studied in the same classes.

In North America, Charles Finney and DL Moody trained women preachers. In England, William Booth promoted women preachers and women in leadership.

A. B. Simpson, the founder of the Christian Missionary Alliance (CMA), included women at all levels of his leadership.

Sadly, the organisations founded by Moody and others later reversed the policy of promoting women.

In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, there were many Christian missionaries in China. There were twice as many women as men.

Women were only allowed to proselytise among women. So Chinese Christian women became the majority. Now, despite communist persecution, there are more than 50,000 house churches. More than 75% of the pastors and leaders are women.

The equality of women does not come from the world, but from God.

There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

What does 'no difference' mean? Of course mothers are women and fathers are men.

But women and men should have equal authority in marriage, in the family, in the church, in politics, in society, in the office, in Christian leadership and in all areas of ministry.

Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Eph 5:21 NIV

you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 1 Pet 2:5 NIV

All believers are a priesthood. That includes men and women, ordained and lay members.

So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” Gen 1:27–28 NIV

Men and women are both in the image of God, called to exercise the same authority.