I
used to belong to a Facebook group called “Christians for Biblical
Equality”, which is an extension of a larger organization with the
same name. After several months of participating in discussions and
reading the articles people posted, I made the decision to leave CBE.
If
you didn't know me, you might assume I made that decision because
I've become ultra-conservative and I don't believe women should ever
have any leadership roles in the church. That couldn't be any
further from the truth. I didn't leave the group because I don't
believe in equality. I left the group because I believe in equality
wholeheartedly, and I did not find true equality in CBE.
If
you tell someone they have to dress immodestly and show their hair
because “this isn't the 50's”, you are not promoting equality.
Whether you realize it or not, you are promoting the lies of our
male-dominated, hyper-sexualized society. If you tell a woman that
they cannot stay home or make the decision to work part-time in the
interest of balancing work and life, you are not promoting feminism
or liberation. If anything, you are promoting the opposite. Forcing
all women into the workplace is just as oppressive as forcing all of
them to stay home.
Another
reason I left the group was because a lot of people in the group had
extremely anti-Semitic attitudes. I found this out when I mentioned
that Jewish teachings on modesty and head covering carry more merit
for me than Christian teachings. I could not believe the ridiculous stereotypes that some Christians believe about Jews and Judaism. Without Judaism, there would be no
Christianity, so my patience for anti-Semitism within the church/Christian
subculture is nonexistent.
If
you're reading this and you're a Christian who believes in equality,
do yourself (and everyone else) a huge favor: Leave the CBE group if
you're in it, and do some soul searching and some research and learn
about true equality. It will change your life!
