Ten Lies of Feminism

  • Welcome to Christian Forums, a Christian Forum that recognizes that all Christians are a work in progress.

    You will need to register to be able to join in fellowship with Christians all over the world.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon and God Bless!

Living Martyr

New Member
Mar 11, 2007
7
0
0
35
Ten Lies of Feminism Written by Sue Bohlin This essay examines the ten lies of feminism that Dr. Toni Grant suggests in her book Being a Woman.{1} At its inception, the feminist movement, accompanied by the sexual revolution, made a series of enticing, exciting promises to women. These promises sounded good, so good that many women deserted their men and their children or rejected the entire notion of marriage and family, in pursuit of "themselves" and a career. These pursuits, which emphasized self-sufficiency and individualism, were supposed to enhance a woman's quality of life and improve her options, as well as her relations with men. Now, a decade or so later, women have had to face the fact that, in many ways, feminism and liberation made promises that could not be delivered.{2} Lie #1: Women Can Have It All The first lie is that women can have it all. We were fed an illusion that women, being the superior sex, have an inexhaustible supply of physical and emotional energy that enable us to juggle a career, family, friendships and volunteer service. Proponents of feminism declared that not only can women do what men do, but we ought to do what men do. Since men can't do what women can do--have babies--this put a double burden on women. It wasn't enough that women were already exhausted from the never-ending tasks of child-rearing and homemaking; we were told that women needed to be in the work force as well, contributing to the family financially. Scripture presents a different picture for men and women. The Bible appears to make a distinction between each gender's primary energies. The commands to women are generally in the realm of our relationships, which is consistent with the way God made women to be primarily relational, being naturally sensitive to others and usually valuing people above things. Scripture never forbids women to be gainfully employed; in fact, the virtuous woman of Proverbs 31 is engaged in several part-time business ventures, in real estate and manufacturing. Nonetheless, it is the excellent care of her husband, her children, her home and her community that inspires the praise she is due. Titus 2 instructs older women to mentor younger women, and teach them to care for their husbands and children and homemaking responsibilities. The God-given strengths of a woman were given to bring glory to God through her womanly differences. Lie #2: Men and Women are Fundamentally the Same Apart from some minor biological differences, feminism strongly suggested that males and females are fundamentally the same. Culture, it announced, was responsible for turning human blank slates into truck-wielding boys and doll-toting girls. This lie has been very effective at changing the culture. My husband Ray and I offer a seminar at Probe's Mind Games conferences called "Guys Are From Mars, Girls Are From Venus," where we go over the major differences between the sexes. Men, for instance, tend to be more goal-oriented and competitive, where women are more relational and cooperative. Men are active; women are verbal. This is intuitively obvious to the adults in our audience, but it is often new news to high school and college students. We find adults nodding with smiles of recognition, some of them nudging each other in the ribs. In the younger members of the audience, though, we see "the lights come on" in their eyes as they are exposed to something that is obvious and they probably already knew was true, but feminism's worldview had been feeding them a lie. They have been so immersed in this cultural myth that they had accepted it without question. One young man came up to me after a session and said he totally disagreed with me, that there are no real differences between males and females. I asked him if he treated his guy friends the same way he treated his girl friends, and he said, "Of course!" I asked, "And this doesn't cause you any problems?" He said no. With a smile, I suggested he come talk to me in ten years after he'd had a chance to experience real life! The truth is that God created significant differences between males and females. We can see evidence of this in the fact that Scripture gives different commands for husbands and wives, which are rooted in the differing needs and divinely-appointed roles of men and women. Lie #3: Desirability is Enhanced by Achievement The third lie of feminism is that the more a woman achieves, the more attractive and desirable she becomes to men. The importance of achievement to a man's sense of self--an element of masculinity that is, we believe, God-given--was projected onto women. Feminism declared that achieving something, making a mark in the world, was the only measure of success that merited the respect of others. Women who believed this myth found themselves competing with men. Now, competition is appropriate in the business and professional world, but it's disastrous in relationships. Men do respect and admire accomplished women, just as they do men, but personal relationships operate under a different set of standards. Men most appreciate a woman's unique feminine attributes: love, sensitivity, her abilities to relate. Women have been shocked to discover that their hard-won accomplishments haven't resulted in great relationships with men. Sometimes, being overeducated hampers a woman's ability to relate to men. Men's egos are notoriously fragile, and they are by nature competitive. It's threatening to many men when a woman achieves more, or accomplishes more, or knows more than they do. Feminism didn't warn women of the double standard in relationships: that achievement can and does reap benefits in our careers, but be a stumbling block in our relationships. The question naturally arises, then, Is it bad for a woman to have a higher degree of education than the man in a relationship? Is it troublesome when a woman is smarter than the man? Should a woman "dumb down" in order to get or keep her man? In the words of the apostle Paul, "May it never be!" A woman living up to the potential of her God-given gifts brings glory to God; it would be an insult to our gracious God to pretend those gifts aren't there. The answer is for women to understand that many men feel threatened and insecure about this area of potential competition, and maintain an attitude of humility and sensitivity about one's strengths; as Romans exhorts us, "Honor[ing] one another above yourselves" (12:10). Not surprisingly, God already knew about the disparity between the sexes on the issue of achievement. Throughout the Bible, men are called to trust God as they achieve whatever God has called them to do. It's important for men to experience personal significance by making a mark on the world. But God calls women to trust Him in a different area: in our relationships. A woman's value is usually not in providing history-changing leadership and making great, bold moves, but in loving and supporting those around us, changing the world by touching hearts. Once in a while, a woman does make her mark on a national or global scale: consider the biblical judge Deborah, Golda Meir, Margaret Thatcher, and Indira Ghandi. But women like these are the exception, not the rule. And we don't have to feel guilty for not being "exceptional." Lie #4: The Myth of One's "Unrealized Potential" Lie number four says that all of us--but especially women--have tremendous potential that simply must be realized. To feminism's way of thinking, just being average isn't acceptable: you must be great. This causes two problems. First, women are deceived into thinking they are one of the elite, the few, the special. Reality, though, is that most women are ordinary, one of the many. All of us are uniquely gifted by God, but few women are given visible, high- profile leadership roles, which tend to be the only ones that feminism deems valuable. We run into trouble when we're operating under a set of beliefs that don't coincide with reality! Consequently, many women are operating under unrealistically high expectations of themselves. When life doesn't deliver on their hopes, whether they be making class valedictorian, beauty pageant winner, company president, or neurosurgeon, women are set up for major disappointment. Just being a cog in the wheel of your own small world isn't enough. This brings us to the second problem. A lot of women beat themselves up for not accomplishing greatness. Instead of investing their life's energies in doing well those things they can do, they grieve what and who they are not. Just being good, or being good at what they do, isn't enough if they're not the best. Romans 12:3 tells us, "Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought." Rather than worrying about our unrealized potential for some sort of nebulous greatness, we ought to be concerned about being faithful and obedient in the things God has given us to do, trusting Him for the ultimate results. And we ought to not worry about being ordinary as if there were some stigma to it. Scripture says that God is pleased to use ordinary people, because that's how He gets the most glory. (See 1 Corinthians 1:26-31.) There is honor in being an ordinary person in the hand of an extraordinary God. Lie #5: Sexual Sameness The fifth lie of feminism is that men and women are the same sexually. This lie comes to us courtesy of the same evil source that brought us the lies of the sexual revolution. The truth is that women can't separate sex from love as easily as men can. For women, sex needs to be an expression of love and commitment. Without these qualities, sex is demeaning, nothing more than hormones going crazy. The cost of sex is far greater for women than for men. Sex outside of a committed, loving relationship--I'm talking about marriage here--often results in unplanned pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, and profound heartbreak. Every time a woman gives her body away to a man, she gives a part of her heart as well. Sexual "freedom" has brought new degrees of heartache to millions of women. The lie of sexual equality has produced widespread promiscuity and epidemic disease. No wonder so many women are struggling with self-esteem! God's commands concerning sex take into account the fact that men and women are not the same sexually or any other way. He tells us to exercise self-control before marriage, saving all sexual expression for the constraints of a marriage relationship, and then to keep the marriage bed pure once we are married. When we follow these guidelines, we discover that God's laws provide protection for women: the security of a committed relationship, freedom from sexual health worries, and a stable environment for any children produced in the union. This high standard also protects men by providing a safe channel for their sexual energies. Both chaste single men, and faithful husbands, are kept safe from sexual diseases, unwanted pregnancies with women other than their wives, and the guilt of sexual sin. Lie #6: The Denial of Maternity Many women postponed marriage and childbearing to pursue their own personal development and career goals. This perspective denies the reality of a woman's reproductive system and the limitations of time. Childbearing is easier in a woman's 20s and 30s than in her 40s. Plus, there is a physical cost; science has borne out the liabilities that older women incur for themselves and their babies. Midlife women are more prone to have problems getting pregnant, staying pregnant, and then experiencing difficult deliveries. The risk of conceiving a child with Down's Syndrome is considerably higher in older mothers.{3} Fertility treatment doesn't work as well for women over 40.{4} There is also a spiritual dimension to denying maternity. When women refuse their God-ordained roles and responsibilities, they open themselves to spiritual deception and temptations. 1 Timothy 2:15 is an intriguing verse: "But women will be saved through childbearing." One compelling translation for this verse is, "Women will be kept safe through childbearing," where Paul uses the word for childbearing as a sort of shorthand for the woman's involvement in the domestic sphere--having her "focus on the family," so to speak.(5) When a married woman's priorities are marriage, family and the home, she is kept safe--protected--from the consequences of delaying motherhood and the temptations that beleaguer a woman trying to fill a man's role. For example, I know one married woman who chose to pursue a full-time career in commercial real estate, to the detriment of her family. She confessed that she found herself constantly battling the temptation to lust on two fronts: sexual lust for the men in her office and her clients, and lust for the recognition and material things that marked success in that field. Another friend chose her career over having any children at all, and discovered that like the men in her field, she could not separate her sense of self from her job, and it ultimately cost her her marriage and her life as she knew it. The problem isn't having a career: the problem is when a woman gets her priorities out of balance. Lie #7: To Be Feminine Is To Be Weak In the attempt to blur gender distinctions, feminists declared war on the concept of gender-related characteristics. The qualities that marked feminine women--softness, sweetness, kindness, the ability to relate well--were judged as silly, stupid and weak. Only what characterized men--characteristics like firmness, aggressiveness, competitiveness--were deemed valuable. But when women try to take on male qualities, the end result is a distortion that is neither feminine nor masculine. A woman is perceived as shrill, not spirited. What is expected and acceptable aggression in a man is perceived as unwelcome brashness in a woman. When women try to be tough, it is often taken as unpleasantness. Unfortunately, there really is a strong stereotype about "what women should be like" that merits being torn down. A lot of men are threatened by strong women with opinions and agendas of their own, and treat them with undeserved disrespect. But it is not true that traditionally masculine characteristics are the only ones that count. There really is a double standard operating, because the characteristics that constitute masculinity and femininity are separate and different, and they are not interchangeable. To be feminine is a special kind of strength. It's a different, appealing kind of power that allows a woman to influence her world in a way quite distinct from the way a man influences the world. It pleased the Lord to create woman to complement man, not to compete with him or be a more rounded copy of him. 1 Corinthians 11:7 says that man is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man. Femininity isn't weakness; it's the glorious, splendid crown on humanity. Lie #8: Doing is Better Than Being In his book Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus{6}, John Gray pointed out that men get their sense of self from achievement, and women get their sense of self from relationships. Feminism declared that the male orientation of what you do was the only one that mattered; who you are, and how important you are to the people in your world, didn't count for as much. This lie said that active is good, passive is bad. Traditional feminine behaviors of being passive and receptive were denounced as demeaning to women and ineffective in the world. Only being the initiator counted, not being the responder. "To listen, to be there, to receive the other with an open heart and mind--this has always been one of the most vital roles of woman. Most women do this quite naturally, but many have come to feel uneasy in this role. Instead, they work frantically on assertiveness, aggression, personal expression, and power, madly suppressing their feminine instincts of love and relatedness."{7} Women's roles in the family, the church, and the world are a combination of being a responder and an initiator. As a responder, a wife honors her husband through loving submission, and a woman serves the church through the exercise of her spiritual gifts. As an initiator and leader, a woman teaches her children and uses her abilities in the world, such as the woman of Proverbs 31. God's plan is for us to live a balanced life--sometimes active, sometimes passive; sometimes the initiator, sometimes the responder; at all times, submitting both who we are and what we do to the Lordship of Christ. Lie #9: The Myth of Self-Sufficiency The ninth lie is the myth of self-sufficiency. Remember the famous feminist slogan that appeared on everything from bumper stickers to t-shirts to notepads? "A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle." The message was clear: women don't need men, who are inferior anyway. The world would be a better place if women ran it: no wars, no greed, no power plays, just glorious cooperation and peace. The next step after "women don't need men" was logical: women don't need anybody. We can take care of ourselves. Helen Reddy's hit song "I Am Woman" became feminism's theme song, with the memorable chorus, "If I have to, I can do anything / I am strong / I am invincible / I am woman!" Of course, if women don't need anybody except themselves, they certainly don't need God. Particularly a masculine, patriarchal God who makes rules they don't like and insists that He alone is God. But the need to worship is deeply ingrained in us, so feminist thought gave rise to goddess worship. The goddess was just a female image to focus on; in actuality, goddess worship is worship of oneself.{8} The lie of self-sufficiency is the same lie that Satan has been deceiving us with since the Garden of Eden: What do you need God for? We grieve the Lord's heart when we believe this lie. Jeremiah 2:13 says, "My people have committed two sins: they have forsaken Me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water." God made us for Himself; believing the lie of self-sufficiency isn't only futile, it's a slap in God's face. Lie #10: Women Would Enjoy the Feminization of Men The tenth lie of feminism is that women would enjoy the feminization of men. Feminists believed that the only way to achieve equality of the sexes was to do away with role distinctions. Then they decided that that wasn't enough: society had to do away with gender distinctions, or at the very least blur the lines. Women embraced more masculine values, and men were encouraged to embrace more feminine characteristics. That was supposed to fix the problem. It didn't. As men tried to be "good guys" and accommodate feminists' demands, the culture saw a new type of man emerge: sensitive, nurturing, warmly compassionate, yielding. The only problem was that this "soft man" wasn't what women wanted. Women pushed men to be like women, and when they complied, nobody respected them. Women, it turns out, want to be the soft ones--and we want men to be strong and firm and courageous; we want a manly man. When men start taking on feminine characteristics, they're just wimpy and unmasculine, not pleasing themselves or the women who demanded the change. There is a good reason that books and movies with strong, masculine heroes continue to appeal to such a large audience. Both men and women respond to men who fulfill God's design for male leadership, protection, and strength. Underlying the women's liberation movement is an angry, unsubmissive attitude that is fueled by the lies of deception. It's good to know what the lies are, but it's also important to know what God's word says, so we can combat the lies with the power of His truth.
 

Christina

New Member
Apr 10, 2006
10,885
101
0
15
I do agree with this post. Although I think it over looks one very important point. It takes men's part in this out of the equation I don't think feminism would have taken hold so much in our society if not for the failure of men to live up to their part in society. From government to the home. Men have continually called and treated women as second class citizens.Men seem to want to be honored without giving honor Men are told to honor their wives, (honor to be given to wives by husbands, 1Pe 3:7)In our society men are often caught up in honoring themselves their needs,wants, careers, their desires. It has become an all about me world on both sides of the equation there just isn't a movement with a name attached to it for men. The fact is I have seldom seen a wife/woman that was honored by her husband/man that did not honor him back double.On a government level our lawmakers don't pass laws to honor women/mothers or the home and family.And men have always been the majority lawmakers.When men don't live up to their part,the fabric of society begins to tear and breakdown it is a woman's instinct to fix it. Unfortunately because it was not intended by God to be this way Women being the weaker sex were forced to find strength in numbers so you have feminism. I'm not defending it just saying men are equally at fault that it came to be. So my point here is we have two wrongs the failure of both men and women that has broken down our society and taken us futher from the way God intended it to be.
 

Robinson Crusoe

New Member
Feb 15, 2010
53
2
0
The reality is, women never should have been given advanced education, higher paying jobs, positions of authority over men and the vote. The so called Civil Liberties of the 1960s are, a large move to be sure, but still advancing further along down the ugly path we had already set on, long before 1960.

Imagine the temptation to give women the vote, after Blacks had been loyal to Republicans for so many decades after Lincoln gave them the vote. Look at Black loyalty to Democrats today; bought and paid for with your country, by traitors to it! Blacks were a small minority; women were 50% of the population; with them you could be a dictator! Sure, you sell out your country, your race (the nations that make that up) and your posterity, but hey, you get to be the big cheese! Vanity Stinks!
 

Robinson Crusoe

New Member
Feb 15, 2010
53
2
0
Look at Mexicans today. The same thing is happening with that issue. Sell out the country to Mexicans, in order to buy their vote. I heard Democrats calling that, when we started with the Minutemen on The Border. It's a no brainer. Is it good for America? Heck no! But what do they care, it gets them votes; filthy traitors!

Of course, about a million people pour over the southern border each year, while about a million babies get mutilated by their murderous mothers each year! Huh, well I guess there's a connection there; duh! And what is Feminism all about: CHOICE. That's right, a women's right to choose what will happen inside her own body. Do I want to take that right away from her; sure I do. I don't want her murdering babies; I want her at home, making them and taking care of them. But what am I told: oh no, if we do that, women will just "mutilate" their kids at home, because they won't love them. Huh, wow, I didn't know women were so utterly incapable of loving children
laugh.gif



(and these people say I hate women; I think they are projecting!)




 

Samuel Pickens

New Member
Feb 10, 2010
87
6
0
USA
I wouldn't mind injecting something: the hoy paloy threaten civil war in 1788 so the founding fathers Confederacy govern was still weak and King George was sitting and looking so we sold out to a constitutional government. Immediately rights were taken, land stolen, Indians land stolen and herded up. And the Germans came in and Europeans and brought philolophy and instituted in 1820 propasitions that moved the government away from God and adopted, 'how can you know there is a God' What is right for some may not be right for others. What is God to some may not be God to others. How can you condemn................

When people wanted to go back to the founding fathers government (Confederacy) there was a majority that felt that way. But circumstances and the influx of immigrants and especially the potato famine got people off the boat and into a uniform and they didn't even know what they were fight for. The civil war was not fought over slavery. Slavery was worse in the north than in the south and it wasn't right in either place. It was not an issue at the time. Lincoln wanted to round up all blacks and ship them to Africa. How things get re-written is amazing.

We fight against powers and principalities and Satan is the Prince of power of the air. Look how the vain philosophies and smut and filth swap the planet in a flood and can carry around the world in a day's time.

Without a vision the people perish. Jesus Chris is Lord. The drawing power of God can bring the lost to Christ and it is Christians commission to preach the word to a lost and dying world. This creating things and philosophies and different way to get to God is of the devil. Have you heard Oprah become her own god spill out that drool of the anit-christ? Things are unfolding right before your eyes.

If you are lost or unsure come to Christ now before it's too late. Time is running out. Prepare ye the way of the Lord. What does that mean? Read it carefully. Christ is coming. I promise you Christ is coming.
 

Robinson Crusoe

New Member
Feb 15, 2010
53
2
0
I think one of the biggest lies of Feminism is that it satisfies women. Women find satisfaction in getting married and having kids; not by adultery, fornication, murder, college and career. Even Secular Psychology used to know (before it became an inconvenient truth), that women had a subconscious desire to have babies, that was deeply rooted in their minds during, what I think used to be called, "infancy." So, it looks like God ordered things this way, not just in law, but He actually wove His Law through our lives, wether we submit to it or not. It is ingenious really, because life has punishment for breaking God's Law, built right into it and, thankfully, He's woven in rewards, as well!