Carolyn Custis James: Women and men who are pro-life in every sense of...

Joy isn't grounded in our circumstances; it is grounded in the unchanging character of God.

Carolyn Custis James

unchanging joy character

The moment the word 'why' crosses your lips, you are doing theology.

Carolyn Custis James

lips moments crosses

I have to ask myself how I can possibly expect to know Jesus as he would want to be known if my life remains unscathed by trouble and grief. How can I hope to grasp anything of God's heart for this broken planet if I never weep because its brokenness touches me and breaks my heart? How can I reflect his image if I never share in his sufferings? And how will any of us ever learn to treasure his hesed and grace if we never experience phases where these blessings seem absent?

Carolyn Custis James

grief heart jesus

In the beginning no power differential existed between male and female. God empowered both with full rights and responsibility to rule outward over all creation, not over each other. As we know all too well, the fall changed everything, precipitating male rule over women and also the rule of some men over other men, a.k.a., patriarchy. Within patriarchy, women no longer derive their value from their Creator, but from men - father, husband, and sons. Within patriarchy, a woman's value is gauged by counting her sons.

Carolyn Custis James

husband father fall

First and foremost, God is the true hero of the story. No matter how captivating the other characters may be, our top priority is to discover what the Bible reveals about God.

Carolyn Custis James

priorities hero character

Officially, the New Testament church at an early stage took seriously their responsibility for widows who lacked family or other resources. The office of deacon was instituted initially to address this pressing need.

Carolyn Custis James

office church responsibility

The ezer is a warrior, and this has far-reaching implications for women, not only in marriage, but in every relationship, season, and walk of life.

Carolyn Custis James

reaching warrior walks

The Bible doesn't speak of "women's rights" in the social-political language we're used to hearing today. Still, that doesn't mean the Bible is silent on the subject.

Carolyn Custis James

language today mean

Talking Taboo is a groundbreaking book. This chorus of bold female voices is presenting the church with an opportunity to engage real but all too frequently avoided or unseen issues impacting countless Christian women today. Their candid essays cover a wide spectrum of perspectives. Readers will resonate with some and be shocked by others. Talking Taboo took courage to write. Reading taboo takes courage too. So buckle up and brace yourself for an eye-opening but vitally important read!

Carolyn Custis James

real christian book

Faith may want answers, but somehow it is able to survive without them.

Carolyn Custis James

answers want may

From the beginning, God designed a world in which his image bearers - male and female together - were his A-Team for getting things done in the world. It was more than "wouldn't it be nice if men and women could get along better." God knew this was the way his world would work best and we would flourish as he intends. Men and women - together - in an alliance that received God's explicit blessing.

Carolyn Custis James

nice blessing men

There is a golden opportunity here for Christian men to assume a national leadership role by engaging in conversation with women.

Carolyn Custis James

christian opportunity men

The overwhelming female protest to the presidential election perhaps is an accurate indicator of how essential it is to understand women, the issues they face, and the need to address women's rights, not just nationally, but globally.

Carolyn Custis James

presidential election female

My book in a nutshell is about the deleterious effects of patriarchy down through the ages for women and for men and how the Bible dismantles this fallen social system. I'm completely persuaded that patriarchy is not the Bible's message, but that it runs counter to God's vision for humanity. It produces tension and disunity between men and women that run contrary to God's vision for his world.

Carolyn Custis James

running men book

The months of political campaigning have given us vivid reminders that women's rights are under constant assault all over the globe. Tragically even the church has some self-examination to do, where often women are perceived as a threat or viewed as temptresses.

Carolyn Custis James

threat political church

In 1855, a former American slave remarked: "Tisn't he who has stood and looked on, that can tell you what slavery is - tis he who has endured."I think the same holds true for women's rights. The incredulity in the question, "What rights don't women have presently that they are marching about?" reflects a troubling disconnect that comes from power and privilege.

Carolyn Custis James

slavery slave thinking

Our society and especially those who suffer injustice need to feel the impact of our commitment to justice and our advocacy for the vulnerable.

Carolyn Custis James

suffering justice commitment

The biblical assertion that women are created in God's image and Boaz's advocacy for Ruth and Naomi necessarily mean women, then and now, have inherent God-given rights. This surely means the church should be at the forefront of advocating for women's rights - not merely political and legal rights, but as in the case of Boaz moving beyond the letter of the law to exceed how any culture regards women.

Carolyn Custis James

biblical mean moving

The strongest statement ever made about women's rights appears on page one of the Bible. God's first words about his daughters established an indestructible foundation for women's rights because God anchored those rights in himself. By creating his daughters along with his sons in his image and likeness, God elevated every human being to the highest possible rank. Which means any mistreatment - verbal, emotional, or physical - of any woman or girl amounts to defacement of God himself, for she bears his image.

Carolyn Custis James

daughter girl mean

Women's rights is an important and challenging question for us to be asking. It focuses attention on a global issue that in the wake of the 2016 presidential election reached a fever pitch and flooded city streets with pink-hatted protestors. The stakes are enormously high for women, but also for the church.

Carolyn Custis James

presidential important challenges

Women and men who are pro-life in every sense of the word marched side-by-side with pro-choice women because they care about so many common issues. We are already joined in common-cause to end sex-trafficking, pornography, discrimination, bullying, and a host of other issues.