hope is the thing with feathers

I read this really interesting post today called “Ask a Feminist.” It comes from Rachel Held Evan’s blog and she regulary (maybe once a week?) features different people for the series. People have been featured for posts like “Ask a Gay Christian,” “Ask a Pagan,” “Ask a Catholic,” “Ask a Pacifist,” etc. Anyway, I found this very insightful and enlightening for anyone out there scared of the word/title “feminist.”

Here are my three favorite quotes:

“As for responding as a Christian or as a feminist, I personally don’t see a distinction between the categories. I’m a liberal leaning Christian feminist, so for me, the question of whether or not I respond as a Christian or a feminist is moot – I respond as a person whose passion for equality is informed by my Christian faith, and who believes that I do not possess the right to dictate the choices of others simply because I may believe something contrary to what they believe”

“When Jesus first appeared, he appeared to two women, during a time when female testimony was illegitimate, and he asked them to testify to his return. That’s huge – the biggest news in the universe, and two women, whose word was not considered trustworthy, were instructed to carry the news. That, to me, is the most important vision of equality that Christians can have – that is the affirmation that women are equals, that we are valued in the eyes of Christ, that we are necessary to the Gospel story. And that is the lens through which I interpret everything else, as that is the eschatological tale I believe God is weaving.”

“The oppressed are not voiceless – they’re just not being listened to.”