* To bring the solemnity of the hour before our sisters especially, we have arranged to present in this section of our journal a series of reviews on Christian women who have made definite contributions to God's cause in various crises of the church. These will be slanted toward Adventism. Leaders of women's groups will want to keep these on file.
IN READING the New Testament we immediately become aware that feminine strength helped to shape the character of the early Christian church. Not ignoring the fact that twelve men had been called to lead out as its apostles, and that Christ Himself was called "the Son of man," the gospel message speedily emancipated womanhood. Though her domain previously had been confined to the home, world developments early pushed Christianity to use women in community service. We read of the deeds of Dorcas who became an example of practical Christianity. The church found her services indispensable, and we note that the apostle Peter performed a miracle to restore her to life. There is significance to the emphasis in the faith chapter of the Hebrews Epistle, which states: "Women received their dead raised to life." Women were then closely connected with the heralding of the resurrection message, and applying this fact in the spiritual sense, womanhood has long exerted her influence in witnessing for the new life produced by the gospel.
We must go back to the Old Testament, however, to see from King Solomon's inspired eulogy of the virtuous woman a picture of noble womanhood (Proverbs 31). It is not difficult to find her equal in any generation, especially where Christianity has had its influence. The wise man declares that while her husband was "known in the gates," his noble wife was occupying a place of honor "among the elders." She had the characteristics of a businesswoman; she could lend a hand in commerce and industry as well as venture to buy a home for the family. Her creativeness seems not to be confined to motherhood; she indicated artistic skills in various household crafts, such as spinning and weaving, sewing and embroidering, cooking and managing the domestics. Diligence and thrift honored the family's status, for "her candle goeth not out by night." Her husband and children call her blessed, while the home presents a picture of tranquillity instead of delinquency. No, Solomon's portrayal of a noble woman is not that of a china doll; rather "strength and honour are her clothing."
When studying the mystics of the medieval church we discover that some who were later canonized to sainthood came far short of Solomon's pen sketches of godly womanhood. Often their zeal for the church's institutions was tainted with superstition and bigotry. More glory was given to frail humanity than to God. How contrary to the Bible account of Mary, the mother of Jesus, whose submission to God's will was expressed in the Magnificat: "My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit .hath rejoiced in God my Saviour." Again referring to the wise man's idealism of feminine glory, he climaxes his eulogy by declaring: "Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own work praise her" (Prov. 31:30, 31).
Leadership Among Church Women
We have observed great women leading out in the church program. We were privileged at times to become better acquainted with them, and found these talented, godly women to be modest and humble. Another observation revealed that some younger women entering church activity made others conscious of their own concern—that of competing with their associates of the opposite sex. It appeared that they worked hard to throw a halo around their special endeavor. Rivalry and competition were not begun in our generation, nor are these impressions restricted to non-Adventist women.
It requires special grace for the church-employed woman to refrain from peevishness when her often laborious efforts receive little if any mention on the part of her brethren. While it seems regrettable that this should be so, our reference to this rare coincidence is in the hope that such a trend will not become entrenched in Adventism. A woman is more powerful in her ministry behind the scenes than on the rostrum, but that fact would not rule her out of public appearances. It is commonly accepted, however, that she has greater charm in the role of less conspicuous activity; and this provides protection from the arrows of her competitors—of either sex. Few women or men carry comfortably the garb of authority.
Woman's Service in These Times
Recently we rejoiced when a contemporary journalist objectively reviewed the life of Ellen G. White. Although our beloved pioneer leader has at times been misunderstood by the Protestant ministry and its writers, the author of a 428-page work, Great Women of the Christian Faith * devoted much space to pay tribute to the excellencies of Ellen G. White's character and leadership in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The biographer, Edith Deen, is a prominent author and lecturer. Four years ago she wrote an inspiring book, All the Women of the Bible. For more than twenty-five years she was woman's editor and columnist of a Fort Worth newspaper, and has traveled widely. She has frequently appeared on radio and TV broadcasts. Her own library of two thousand volumes on women's role in history is outstanding. Without a rigid background of denominational affiliation she selected her subjects with the conviction that through their devotion to God, women can inspire lives today. Among the 123 women listed, Ellen G. White's service to the Adventist Church is dealt with in a kind, honest, factual, and inspirational way. Mrs. Deen allows for individuality, divine guidance, and sincerity, where some writers in Christian groups suppress truth and ridicule with harsh judgment. She is a big-thinking woman!
After reading the particular chapter on Ellen G. White we were impressed that Adventist women must rise to the occasion of a stronger witnessing to the faith. The hour is late, for life's curtain will soon drop on the drama of the ages. Can it be that there is still "too much fiddling while Rome burns"? Or is there a playing on the beach while the tides of sin and destiny are rushing in upon us? Are we glamourizing our meager progress while earth's millions must be Christianized? Would we suggest that too many of our sisterhood are worldly instead of godly? Perhaps some who represent the leadership of Adventism have failed to catch, or have lost, the urgency of our times. Are we preparing now for the fast-approaching experience—to "contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints"?
* Great Women of the Christian Faith, Edith Deen (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1959), pp. 428, $4.95.
