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Women at the Crossroads: A Path Beyond Feminism and Traditionalism
Kari Torjesen Malcolm offers readers a satisfying alternative to both traditional and feminist models of what a women should be.
215 pages, Paperback
First published June 28, 1982
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January 25, 2023
A MISSIONARY LOOKS AT THESE ISSUES
Kari Torjesen Malcolm (1925-2014) was born in China in 1925, the daughter of Norwegian missionaries. She married a pastor, and from 1959-1974, they were missionaries in the Philippines.
She wrote in the Introduction to this 1982 book, “To me that crossroads has become symbolic of the choices available to Christian women today. I can look back to a time when I thought there were only two choices open to us---the road marked ‘Tradition’ and the one named ‘Rebellion.’ These choices spawned two popular movements, each with its slogans: ‘A women’s place is in the home’ or ‘A woman’s place is in the House and the Senate.’ Both groups look to certain roles to give women their identity. But what about the deeper problems of self-worth that every human being faces?” (Pg. 12)
She continues, “So why, the feminists ask, shouldn’t women also enjoy God’s favor and be justified by their favor? With the aid of science to reduce the distinctions between male and female to their basic minimum, women all over the world have set out to prove that given the same training and conditioning, men and women are usually able to do the same work. In this effort, the married woman has two hurdles to overcome: gracefully leaving her home to go to work and tactfully entering the job market to complete with me, She often feels like an actor in the great drama of life. As a woman, she perceives herself as a victim of an unjust system. The bad guys are the men who have propagated the system throughout the ages. Since she is married;… she must start at home to announce her rights as a woman.” (Pg. 13)
She adds, “This traditionalism and the secular feminism of recent years are the two roads familiar to most women. But I see Christ offering us a third way---the way of love---as he calls us to walk straight ahead with him up the mountain. It’s a different path, but it is the answer to the dilemma the modern woman faces. My purpose here is to look at that answer and proclaim the good news that a woman finds her identity in her love relationship with Jesus Christ.” (Pg. 16)
She reports, “when I read ‘The Feminine Mystique’… Betty Friedan describes how the feminine mystique was in full bloom right after World War II. While I realize that Betty Friedan’s name turns on red lights for many evangelicals, I wonder if we can listen to her as we might listen to a weather forecaster whose views of God would be unacceptable to us.” (Pg. 25)
She argues, “There may have even been a female apostle. ‘Junian’ is referred to in Romans 16:7… ‘Junian,’ which is the accusative form for either the feminine, Junia, or the masculine, Junias… Chrysostom … assumed that ‘Junian’ referred to a woman And because of his proximity to her in time, his assumption must be considered… Chrysostom’s praise becomes even more believable when we see how unlikely it would be for him to refer to a woman as an apostle if he were not convinced she deserved that title…” (Pg. 69)
She observes, “[A] part of the Genesis story that has been used against women is the statement given to the woman that the man ‘will rule over you’ (Gen 3:16). Helmut Thielicke points out that man’s rule over woman ‘is not an imperative order of creation but rather the element of disorder that disturbs the original peace of creation.’ It is a PREDICTION, not a PRESCRIPTION. Yet some contemporary works… quote Genesis 3:16 as God’s first commandment to women.” (Pg. 82-83)
She recounts, “Phoebe Palmer is among that cloud of women witnesses who had a first-love relationship with Jesus Christ… Mrs. Palmer traveled up and down the East Coast and into Canada preaching… she was a major focus in the holiness revival which spread across the country. But she was not without opposition, and many churches closed their do0ors to her because she was a woman preacher… Even before Phoebe Palmer spoke out, Charles Finney had been encouraging come to pray and testify in public.” (Pg. 120-121)
She laments, “Squeezed into the sex-crazy world’s mold, Christian young people rush into marriage.
‘You can’t live without sex’ is the premise. The church accepts this and adds, ‘Christians can only have sex in marriage.’ Therefore the young Christian concludes, ‘I’d better hurry up and find a mate.” (Pg. 148)
She notes, “There is no hint of inequality between the sexes in Genesis 2. The man is told to leave rather and mother and leave to his wife. The term used for ‘leave’ means ‘to abandon’ or ‘forsake,’ and ‘cleave’ means ‘to cling to.’” (Pg. 156)
She points out that in Ephesians 5:23-30, “Paul states that the husband is the ‘head’ of the wife. The word translated ‘head’ is ‘kephale’ in the Greek text. This word can also mean ‘source,’ and [one can] make a strong case for translating it that way. Thus, Paul can be understood to be saying that husbands are the SOURCE of their wives, just as Christ is the SOURCE of the church.” (Pg.. 164-165)
She recalls, “When I returned from missionary work in the Philippines, I found that a focus of many sermons was the need to return to heterosexual relationships within the family. A common American assumption was that a strong father would counteract homosexual tendencies in his children. Thus, the father had taken a place of prominence within the family unit. Naturally, I agreed with the emphasis on the sanctity of the marriage union, but I was mystified by statements such as. ‘I’ve been so blessed since I recognized my husband as the head of the house.’ I often expected to hear an account of the blessings of Christ’s lordship in the speaker’s life and home, but I was disappointed. Finally, I started asking, ‘What’s happened to Jesus around here?’ It looked as if men had displaced Jesus Christ in the lives of women.” (Pg. 169)\
She concludes, “As we open our hearts in worship in our diving Lover, the doors for our new ministry as women will also open. What a great sage to be a woman! And in the age to come, we will discover that the wise women of the eleventh hour ‘will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like that starts forever and ever.’” (Pg. 204)
Though forty years old, this book will still interest many Christians studying ‘gender’ questions.
Kari Torjesen Malcolm (1925-2014) was born in China in 1925, the daughter of Norwegian missionaries. She married a pastor, and from 1959-1974, they were missionaries in the Philippines.
She wrote in the Introduction to this 1982 book, “To me that crossroads has become symbolic of the choices available to Christian women today. I can look back to a time when I thought there were only two choices open to us---the road marked ‘Tradition’ and the one named ‘Rebellion.’ These choices spawned two popular movements, each with its slogans: ‘A women’s place is in the home’ or ‘A woman’s place is in the House and the Senate.’ Both groups look to certain roles to give women their identity. But what about the deeper problems of self-worth that every human being faces?” (Pg. 12)
She continues, “So why, the feminists ask, shouldn’t women also enjoy God’s favor and be justified by their favor? With the aid of science to reduce the distinctions between male and female to their basic minimum, women all over the world have set out to prove that given the same training and conditioning, men and women are usually able to do the same work. In this effort, the married woman has two hurdles to overcome: gracefully leaving her home to go to work and tactfully entering the job market to complete with me, She often feels like an actor in the great drama of life. As a woman, she perceives herself as a victim of an unjust system. The bad guys are the men who have propagated the system throughout the ages. Since she is married;… she must start at home to announce her rights as a woman.” (Pg. 13)
She adds, “This traditionalism and the secular feminism of recent years are the two roads familiar to most women. But I see Christ offering us a third way---the way of love---as he calls us to walk straight ahead with him up the mountain. It’s a different path, but it is the answer to the dilemma the modern woman faces. My purpose here is to look at that answer and proclaim the good news that a woman finds her identity in her love relationship with Jesus Christ.” (Pg. 16)
She reports, “when I read ‘The Feminine Mystique’… Betty Friedan describes how the feminine mystique was in full bloom right after World War II. While I realize that Betty Friedan’s name turns on red lights for many evangelicals, I wonder if we can listen to her as we might listen to a weather forecaster whose views of God would be unacceptable to us.” (Pg. 25)
She argues, “There may have even been a female apostle. ‘Junian’ is referred to in Romans 16:7… ‘Junian,’ which is the accusative form for either the feminine, Junia, or the masculine, Junias… Chrysostom … assumed that ‘Junian’ referred to a woman And because of his proximity to her in time, his assumption must be considered… Chrysostom’s praise becomes even more believable when we see how unlikely it would be for him to refer to a woman as an apostle if he were not convinced she deserved that title…” (Pg. 69)
She observes, “[A] part of the Genesis story that has been used against women is the statement given to the woman that the man ‘will rule over you’ (Gen 3:16). Helmut Thielicke points out that man’s rule over woman ‘is not an imperative order of creation but rather the element of disorder that disturbs the original peace of creation.’ It is a PREDICTION, not a PRESCRIPTION. Yet some contemporary works… quote Genesis 3:16 as God’s first commandment to women.” (Pg. 82-83)
She recounts, “Phoebe Palmer is among that cloud of women witnesses who had a first-love relationship with Jesus Christ… Mrs. Palmer traveled up and down the East Coast and into Canada preaching… she was a major focus in the holiness revival which spread across the country. But she was not without opposition, and many churches closed their do0ors to her because she was a woman preacher… Even before Phoebe Palmer spoke out, Charles Finney had been encouraging come to pray and testify in public.” (Pg. 120-121)
She laments, “Squeezed into the sex-crazy world’s mold, Christian young people rush into marriage.
‘You can’t live without sex’ is the premise. The church accepts this and adds, ‘Christians can only have sex in marriage.’ Therefore the young Christian concludes, ‘I’d better hurry up and find a mate.” (Pg. 148)
She notes, “There is no hint of inequality between the sexes in Genesis 2. The man is told to leave rather and mother and leave to his wife. The term used for ‘leave’ means ‘to abandon’ or ‘forsake,’ and ‘cleave’ means ‘to cling to.’” (Pg. 156)
She points out that in Ephesians 5:23-30, “Paul states that the husband is the ‘head’ of the wife. The word translated ‘head’ is ‘kephale’ in the Greek text. This word can also mean ‘source,’ and [one can] make a strong case for translating it that way. Thus, Paul can be understood to be saying that husbands are the SOURCE of their wives, just as Christ is the SOURCE of the church.” (Pg.. 164-165)
She recalls, “When I returned from missionary work in the Philippines, I found that a focus of many sermons was the need to return to heterosexual relationships within the family. A common American assumption was that a strong father would counteract homosexual tendencies in his children. Thus, the father had taken a place of prominence within the family unit. Naturally, I agreed with the emphasis on the sanctity of the marriage union, but I was mystified by statements such as. ‘I’ve been so blessed since I recognized my husband as the head of the house.’ I often expected to hear an account of the blessings of Christ’s lordship in the speaker’s life and home, but I was disappointed. Finally, I started asking, ‘What’s happened to Jesus around here?’ It looked as if men had displaced Jesus Christ in the lives of women.” (Pg. 169)\
She concludes, “As we open our hearts in worship in our diving Lover, the doors for our new ministry as women will also open. What a great sage to be a woman! And in the age to come, we will discover that the wise women of the eleventh hour ‘will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like that starts forever and ever.’” (Pg. 204)
Though forty years old, this book will still interest many Christians studying ‘gender’ questions.
April 21, 2025
I started this book pretty skeptical of the topic she was working through, but after completing it, I have to agree that it does a pretty good job summarizing what I believe the Bible says about women.
Several times she made assumptions about things in Scriptures that aren't given, so I was hesitant about that, however, she hammers home that women need to fall more in love with Christ first and everything else second and listen to his promptings.
If you are interested in this debate, this book does a good job explaining it.
Several times she made assumptions about things in Scriptures that aren't given, so I was hesitant about that, however, she hammers home that women need to fall more in love with Christ first and everything else second and listen to his promptings.
If you are interested in this debate, this book does a good job explaining it.
September 8, 2022
A personal story as well as a look at Biblical womanhood that goes beyond gender roles and expectations. Definitely a lot to think about.
December 3, 2014
Another excellent book on women in leadership and ministry that attempts to create a path beyond Feminism and Traditionalism based on Scripture. Considering the fact that the book was written in 1982, it is still up-tp-date and a worthwhile resource.
October 5, 2014
Read it many years ago, but this book was very helpful and insightful regarding the role of women in church and society. Written by an evangelical was born in China and served as a misisonary.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews