![Synthesizing Christianity and Feminism [The Women’s Issues Series]](https://phyliciamasonheimer.com/wp-content/uploads/lindsey-lamont-hUWINRMPvsc-unsplash-1080x675.jpg)
Jesus was a feminist… or was He? Within the church we see a sharp divide between Christians who call themselves feminist and those who go so far as to take the label “anti-feminist” – and everything in between. Feminism has morphed and changed with each of its four waves, with the mission developing as time goes on. The feminism of 2020 is not the same as the feminism of Susan Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
All Saints Day was first instituted in 735 AD by Pope Gregory IV, who moved the date from its previous observance in May to its new date of November 1st. This day was meant to celebrate the martyrs, and most likely emerged in the first few centuries after the Diocletian persecution of the church (which came before Constantine legalized Christianity in the 300s). The “saints” were (and are) believers in Christ and/or martyrs for the faith.
![Gender Roles in a Christian Marriage [The Women’s Issues Series]](https://phyliciamasonheimer.com/wp-content/uploads/samantha-gades-N1CZNuM_Fd8-unsplash-1080x675.jpg)
What does Genesis 3:16 mean – her desire is “for” her husband? What does 1 Timothy 2 intend, saying women must remain silent? How does this play out in marriage? This is the subject of this week’s episode of Verity podcast!
I asked for a small thing.
It wasn’t much, and I didn’t deserve it. But I asked all the same.
It was a short list, a prayer I prayed before Pilates each morning or while making toast in the afternoon. A breath prayer, you could call it: Please Lord, let it be cool weather after the baby is born.
![Ascetic Motherhood & Why Hard is Not More Holy [The Women’s Issues Series]](https://phyliciamasonheimer.com/wp-content/uploads/bethany-beck-82NHIKIvKNc-unsplash-1080x675.jpg)
While hard things do come with motherhood, and hard is not bad, neither are we permitted to make new laws out of personal choices. If we make personal motherhood choices that limit our freedom and result in more difficulty than the choices another mom makes, that is not a higher and holier road. It’s simply a freedom issue.