I know nothing about comics. I know nothing about DC versus Marvel. I have, maybe, seen half of the fifty super hero movies that have come out within the last ten years. Probably closer to five, but who’s counting? So maybe the new Wonder Woman movie broke all the rules or maybe everything I was blown away by is common knowledge – I wouldn’t know. All I do know is this: I loved it.
I loved the diversity I saw within the first five minutes. I loved the diversity I saw throughout the rest of the movie. I loved the clever one liners. I loved the subtle and not so subtle references to the ways men do things and the way Wonder Woman crashed right through those walls (literally and figuratively). I especially loved getting to see a woman save the day, seeing a woman in the leading role of an action movie, seeing a caring, compassionate, intelligent and gorgeous woman kick ass.
I loved a whole lot, but didn’t like everything, because – it’s a movie. It’s not perfect. It’s not going to solve all our problems or handle every single thing perfectly. But, goodness, I loved it.
via Nerdist
At one point in the film, Wonder Woman is in a room full of higher up officials who are 1. Flabbergasted a woman is in their midst and 2. Refusing to take her seriously. They have intel from the enemy no one can understand and she casually mentions she can read it. They all quickly dismiss her until one man speaks up. “If she can read it, shouldn’t we hear what she has to say?”*
I froze in the theater.
It’s so simple. It’s so obvious.
Shouldn’t we hear what she has to say??
If she can read it…
If she can understand it…
If she can offer us some insight / back story / context that we wouldn’t otherwise have…
If she has something to share…
Shouldn’t we hear what she has to say?
It seems so clear. It seems so ridiculous to believe otherwise. If women can read and understand the word of God, if they can hear and respond to Him, shouldn’t we hear what they have to say? And yes, I know I’m inviting hoards of men to come at me with their 1 Timothy 2 pitchforks and 1 Corinthians 14 torches. I’m not going there today because it’s, frankly, not a useful discussion. I have no interest in Bible verse paintball.
What am I interested in? It’s 2017. We can understand that female scientists bring discoveries to the table we wouldn’t otherwise have. We acknowledge female authors create works of art that wouldn’t otherwise be in existence. We see female politicians facilitate change we aren’t otherwise seeing. If we can’t fathom a female pastor having any kind of truth to offer, what the hell is our problem?
You don’t have the monopoly on truth and neither do I. Can’t we admire the four gospels for being written by four different people to four different audiences from four different points of view?? How beautiful is it that they saw different parts of Jesus’ personality. How wonderful that they describe the very same event in different ways. How intriguing that different details stood out to each one. If they saw it, shouldn’t we hear what they have to say?
I have learned so much more about faith from interacting with people of different cultures, life stages, and beliefs in the recent three years of my life than the twelve years I spent in private Christian education. (Which, to be clear, I learned a lot in.) I have learned more about Jesus by talking to people who disagree with me than in any small group of like minded individuals. I have learned the most not from the self proclaimed experts and the modern day pharisees, but those who seek out truth above all – those that humbly ask more than they answer, who serve the actual needs rather than applause, who see Jesus everywhere and in everyone.
I want people who look differently than me, think differently than me, and live in a world different than mine to show me the God they know. I want them to share how He has changed their life. I want to hear what they hear from Him. This applies to old, young, rich, poor, educated, layman, male and female. If they know Him, shouldn’t we hear what they have to say??
[*This is paraphrased and I wish I had the exact wording because DANG, it was so good. I quite literally debated pulling out my phone mid movie to write it down, but didn’t want to be that girl in the theater on her phone…]
I think the problem here is a great misunderstanding of what preaching is. IF preaching was a matter of getting peoples perspectives and opinions, and if preaching was to hear a diverse spectrum of peoples wisdom then yes by all means get as many people in the pulpit as possible. Men, women, different cultures, different ages, get older people in the pulpit, get children in the pulpit, perhaps get Muslims and Jehovahs witnesses in the pulpit too.
Of course the obvious problem is that is not what Biblical preaching is. The point of preaching is not to proclaim myself, my perspective, my opinions, and my experiences. Of course, some of those things leak out while Im in the pulpit but that is NOT the PURPOSE. As the Apostle Paul instructed in 2 Timothy 4:2, the point of preaching is to proclaim Gods Word. In every season, in every circumstance, the Christian preacher is tasked with setting ASIDE his own opinion and preferences and instead proclaim what it is that God says in His Word, the bible.
I relish, cause I discovered just what I was looking for.
You have ended my 4 day long hunt! God Bless you man.
Have a great day. Bye
Saying you don’t want to have a “bible verse paintball” fight is basically welcoming in blasphemy. If you’re going to ignore scripture for current cultural norms and what YOU personally (a sinful fallen human being, just like myself) believe, then you’re ignoring God’s word and elevating your own word and will above his. Think on that. Just because it’s 2017, we should throw out scripture? How much do you value God’s word?
I’m a woman, and I’m right there with those men slinging the Bible verses at you, because that’s God’s infallible word.
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