My Response to 'A Woman's Place in Christianity' #1

A few weeks ago, (sorry, life's been busy), I posted a link and my reactions to an atheist's view of Christian womanhood, based on Christian history. And while I don't believe that all of these quotes are wrong -- when they are not taken out of context and used to communicate a false image of godly womanhood -- some of them do represent a misunderstanding of scripture and God's call for women (at least in this context ... I'm not sure where these quotes were taken from ... if you have any background knowledge about this information please feel free to share). I know that this happens all the time, and when people use information out of context or information other than scripture and God-honoring references that point back to scripture to summarize 'Christianity's view of women,' you're always going to find a negative and untrue picture. So, in effort to point this argument back to scripture and "redeem" this negative view of Christianity, I am going to attempt to communicate the biblical truth that these quotes miss, even though the author and original commentators of this article will never read it. (The article was written back in 2005.)

(The quotes that were referenced in A Woman's Place in Christianity are italicized.)

Here's 1 of 10 (this may take some time):

Clement of Alexandria (150?-215?): "Every woman should be filled with shame by the thought that she is a woman." This is NOT true!

1. Women were created by God and in His image: Genesis 1:27 says, "... God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." Thus, regardless of cultural influence, no woman should feel ashamed for being what God created her to be because 1) God created her, and 2) He created her in His own image, so there is NOTHING for her to be ashamed about! As I've mentioned in previous posts, since God created male and female in his image, each being represents the male and female qualities of God, and without woman, we wouldn't be able to experience that side of God!
2. God said that ALL that He created was GOOD: In Genesis 1:31, on the evening of the sixth day, "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good." This refers to 'woman' too and thus God sees woman as something good, not something of shame.
3. God praises women: Proverbs 31:29-30 says, "'Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.' Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." This account is far from shameful, the psalmist says that there are many noble women, but the woman in this passage surpasses them all -- not because of her outward beauty but because of her fear of the Lord -- and for that she is to be praised NOT put to shame!
4. Women are of great worth to God: You may remember from 1 Peter 3:4 that we should have "unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit" and it is through that demeanor and heart that Peter says women are of "great worth in God's sight." This is by no means a conditional sort of love, but if we obey God and do as He calls us to do, God can use us in incredible ways and that's of great worth for Him and His kingdom.