Neighborhood Ministries

Few people realize that the women’s liberation movement began as a movement of women in the church. Though Southern white churches generally supported slavery, many churches in the North strongly condemned it. The women heard about the poor treatment of slaves in the South through churches in the South that did not agree with slavery. The women had learned to raise money and organize through the church mission societies that raised funds to support missionaries and used that knowledge and the church communication networks to spread information about slavery. Though some preachers opposed slavery and preached against it, much of the work and the fund raising was done by the women’s societies in the church. Through their efforts, they learned that they needed the right to vote in order to pressure Congress to oppose slavery. The women’s liberation movement soon spread beyond slavery and the right to vote. Women soon took up the cause of temperance and other issues threatening women, families, and society, including getting greater protections for women in industry. Though the issues quickly spread beyond the church, the women of the church were instrumental in getting greater protections and opportunities for women and families. The modern feminist movement has become self-centered, seeking their own agenda, with no thought to its effect on other women. The liberal push has centered on getting free from the burden of having children. They have demonized motherhood and sought to abolish it, in spite of the fact that many women still desire having kids and a family. Liberal promoters have portrayed motherhood as a threat to women because they say it prevents them from getting and holding prestigious jobs, yet many women have still risen to highly prestigious jobs while raising a family. Many modern feminists look down on women who choose to stay home and raise their kids and portray motherhood as a degrading occupation, in spite of the fact that the family is instrumental in raising children. Many also portray marriage as enslavement of women and feel a woman should not limit herself to one man. Their efforts have done much to break down the institution of marriage and deprive women of the benefits of marriage. Liberal promoters have promoted abortion as a way of enabling women to have sex freely without having to worry about having children. In their zeal to get rid of unwanted children, they have taken no thought about the women and girls who have faced unwanted pregnancies as a result of their promotion of free sex or the physical and emotional suffering they have endured due to their abortions. They have also not taken any thought to the millions of babies that have been aborted. The liberal churches have been caught up in the liberal philosophies and many support abortion. However many Bible-centered churches continue to fight to protect women and girls from exploitation by those who profit from abortion (see the section on “Where Are The Children” in “The Servant’s Heart”-Lulu Press).