Feminism

I know a lot of you out there may be interested in learning a little bit more about Feminism and the effects it had on the perception of a woman's role in the home, church and society. This movement is indeed fascinating to me. I had the privilege of learning a lot about it from my professor, Mary Kassian at Southwestern Seminary (Fort Worth, Texas). She read 1000 books on feminism (then she and her husband had a book burning) and compiled a book entitled, The Feminist Gospel. Well, she has just published another book entitled, The Feminist Mistake, which is a revision of the Feminist Gospel.

As you probably already know, the first wave of modern Feminist thought occurred in America in 1963, as journalist Betty Friedan wrote a book entitled, The Feminist Mystique. She used vocabulary for the common, American woman to understand and question her identity and roles. Kassian talks about this movement as well as the beginning of Feminism which emerged in the 1790's in this book. If you are a guy or gal interested in an informative overview of this movement, then I highly suggest this read.

New Resource for Women

Broadman and Holman have just published a Women's Evangelical Commentary of the New Testament. The main editors are Dorothy Patterson and Rhonda Kelley. Most of the contributors are close friends of mine that I had the privilege of studying with while taking classes under Mrs. Patterson. You should definitely order this excellent commentary! If you are a guy, I recommend you purchasing it for someone eager to know God's Word more as a woman. Also, I highly recommend The Woman's Study Bible published by Thomas Nelson (NKJV). It is going out of print so you will probably have to purchase it online. It's main editor was also Mrs. Patterson. Just thought some of you may be interested...Blessings as you DIG DEEP!

Ezer...?

Probably some of you are wondering what in the world "Radical Ezer" means. "Ezer" is the Hebrew word for "Helper" in the Old Testament. Genesis 2:18 records, "Then the LORD God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make a helper fit for him." God first created woman to be a "helper" to man. "Helper" may seem like a demeaning term but there is a lot more to be discovered when the true meaning is derived from this Hebrew word. If you think about it, a helper is someone who is necessary in order for a task to be achieved effectively. This role has nothing to do with equality but everything to do with function. God created both male and female equal yet different. This is evident in the specific roles He gave to Adam and Eve in Genesis 1-2.

I think the concept of women being "helpers" is a hard one to grasp in the 21st century. Women lay prey to voices from the media and society proclaiming, "women's power," "goddess," and "I can do anything, I want to do."

I've had the opportunity to meet some amazing young girls this semester at the university I teach in who are "Radical Ezers." These young women are engaging in becoming women of influence and purpose that are going to change the world as they continue to surrender their lives over to God. This blogspot is dedicated to them and is for them. I know God has great plans in store for all of us who surrender all to Him...let's be a RADICAL EZER 4 Him!