Do Women Need Theology? [NEW SERIES]
Anyone else find the word "theology" intimidating? Please, speak up if you do. I can't be the only one, right?
Yes, I know, I write about what I learn from the Bible all the time and I lead a Christian online magazine where we talk about God and the Bible, but if anyone brings theology or theological concepts into the conversation, I panic. It feels way out of my depth. I've even debated going to seminary just to avoid having that feeling.
So, when one of our staff writers asked if we can bring more theology-type topics into the Tirzah editorial schedule, I was both excited and terrified. But the more I prayed on it, the more I knew she was right. Although our content is all based in Scripture and is edifying, to fully grow into mature women of faith, we need to go deeper.
Because more than just providing you with encouraging articles daily and devotional Bible studies, we want to equip you with the tools and knowledge to study God's Word on your own so that your faith is rooted in a personal relationship with the Lord, not from secondhand knowledge. We can't just focus on surface-level topics that are light reads and encouraging, but rarely push us to open our Bibles and to ask the hard questions as we evaluate our spiritual growth and mature in our understanding and knowledge of God. We need theology.
Theology is the study of the nature of God and religious belief.
The word "theology" comes from two Greek words, theos ("God") and logos ("word"). So, it is literally the study of God's word to know more of God. It is learning to think God's thoughts; to see the world, ourselves and others as He sees it all; it is becoming more like Him through a deeper knowledge of and growing devotion to Him. Because if we don't know the Truth, we'll easily fall for false doctrine. As the saying goes, if you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything.
When Paul wrote to Timothy's church in Ephesus, he called out the false teaching happening in the church. The group most impacted by this? Women.
For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. -2 Timothy 3:6-7
Ephesus was a busy urban Greco-Roman port with a population of approximately 250,000. This was a wealthy city, housing the Temple of Artemis (also known as the Temple of Diana). As such, the city would often host religious festivals, banquets and other events in the goddess's honor (along with other Greek and Roman gods and goddesses).
Most women in Ephesus were educated, as Roman and Greek culture valued education. Although women didn't pursue higher education, many of them did receive private tutoring, including in literature and philosophy. Women also often held a lot of political influence, either through marriage or as wealthy patrons. Similar to our culture today, the culture of that day also embraced religious diversity, celebrated moral freedom, and encouraged tolerance and inclusion.
“A woman needs just as much theology as a man. A woman grows in Christ just like a man through knowledge of the Word of God, through prayer, through the grace of God. ”
In many ways, the women back then have a lot in common with the women of our generation. We are always learning, but have little spiritual growth to show for it, because what we learn is not the Truth... at best, it is usually secondhand, watered down Truth.
If you compare how often you study the Bible (without secondhand commentaries or Bible studies) to how much time you spend consuming/ reading/viewing other content... if you've never read the Bible from beginning to end, then where does your theology even come from? What is your foundation?
Women’s ministry is big business today. The talking circuit, conferences and book sales have become an industry of its own. These women say they’re doing it for God’s glory, so we accept what they teach as gospel.
Y'all, ours is a generation raised almost entirely on social media and influencers. So many girls and women today only know a handful of Bible verses, solely because they've seen them out of context on social media graphics, and their religious beliefs are shaped primarily by online Christian influencers and worship music.
That was me for years. I took other people's words as truth, because I didn’t know His Truth. I’ve always been a big reader but, the last few years, as I’ve spent more time in Bible study, God has been opening my eyes to how empty and shallow the teaching of many of the speakers and authors today is (and how false some teachings are). That’s why personal Bible study and time spent in His presence is vital - it will help you filter our false doctrine and distinguish anointed teaching from just another charismatic, well spoken, beloved by the world modern teacher.
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. -1 John 4:1
Don’t follow the crowd. Follow Jesus. Don’t follow popular culture. Follow the narrow way. Don’t follow lukewarm Christianity that embraces the world. Follow the Holy Spirit that sets a standard of holiness. Build a Scriptural foundation in the Truth instead of blindly stepping on to someone else’s platform. Get to know God personally through His word instead of relying on secondhand knowledge. Most of all, in growing in your knowledge of Him, you will grow to love Him more deeply and personally than what you could have ever imagined.
The other day, I stumbled across this clip on Instagram and y'all listen to it. In the words of Paul Washer, "Men get together and have a conference on the trinity or on justification. Women get together and the only thing they teach them is when the world gives you lemons make lemonade. Women don't need that. Women need theology...One of the greatest unreached people groups in the world are women. But we need women who know [the Bible] and they can be mightily used by God in the mission field."
Our generation of women needs theology. For ourselves; to influence our workplaces and how we live; to bring the Word to the nations; to plant seeds of Truth; and to raise up the next generation in our homes and our churches. We cannot do that if we do not have sound theology rooted in Scripture.
So as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. -Colossians 1:10
So, that is why we're adding Theology ThursdayS to our editorial lineup. Every Thursday, God willing, we'll feature a theology lesson of sorts.
We've brainstormed a few ideas of what type of content we'd like to share with you, including Greek and Hebrew word study, commonly asked theology questions, helpful theology resources, the history of how the Bible came about, searching the Scriptures for some of life's hard questions and issues facing young women today, and whatever else God puts on the hearts of our writers.
Are there any theology-related topics or questions you'd like to see featured in this weekly column? Leave a comment below or send us an email to tirzahmag[at]gmail.com!
We're in this together - we'll figure things out as we go and grow in the Word together. Please pray for us as we try to make these topics accessible to you where you are and relevant to your current season of life!
Will you help us spread the word by sharing one of the graphics from this post + this article with your friends and social network?
We’d love the chance to invite more young women to go deeper in the Word and to grow in their theology through this new series!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Yelena is the founder and editor in chief Tirzah. Yelena works as an attorney in tax and in her spare time, she is working on her first book for unmarried twenty-something women in extended waiting seasons and running Tirzah. She has a passion for pointing young women to Christ, and enjoys reading, writing, traveling, and spending time with her family.