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Regarding family, love and marriage, sometimes I think about and wonder what the most important one is. In particular, whenever I read the Bible (New Testament) I can't help but feel that Jesus seemed not to care about whether his disciples as well as people who came to him were married or had typical, normal families. He just seemed to have loved and liberated those people from bondages such as diseases, hunger, disputes and social stigmatization. The same goes for the apostle Paul. It appears that not only Jesus but also Paul never thought much about various types of families, and that they never looked down on people who seemed to have diverted from social norms and conventions.
According to Galatians 3:26-28, Paul asserted that "you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ, and that there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." This sounds like a grand Magna Carta or a statement of liberation and freedom of all people in Jesus Christ.
To apply this verse to our current society, it would read as follows: When you belong to God, having faith in Jesus Christ, God does not care whether you are a Korean or African, rich and free or poor and a slave, you get married or stay single, are straight or not. I believe that this is the case, as Jesus' father, God was usually dubbed God of orphans and widows in the Old Testament. Do these sound too revolutionary? Maybe they would to some conservative folks.
In addition, what caught my attention with respect to these issues were verses from Acts 16:11-15. They describe incidents and conversations between the apostle Paul and a woman named Lydia. Lydia was depicted as a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira and a worshiper of God. At that time of around A.D. 50, when the color of clothes signified social classes, purple cloth meant high class and nobility. Thus, I can speculate that Lydia was associating and dealing with high-class people like kings or blue bloods. On top of that, to my surprise, dealer meant her occupation. In the 1st century, in Israel and nearby regions around the Mediterranean Sea, women were not allowed to have occupations, as they were a kind of possession of men. Thus, Lydia's story was very much outstanding and eye-opening. Moreover, she was said to invite Paul, opening her home to Paul and his associates.
In this jaw-dropping story, Lydia played an active, subjective role. She appeared to take the lead. As a result, she as well as members of her household were baptized. What was striking to me also in this depiction was the fact that the writer of the Bible never mentioned what kind of family Lydia had, namely, whether Lydia was married or single or a widow, or who the members of her family were. What mattered the most to the writer of the Bible, who was actually none other than Paul himself or his close associates, was the fact that Jesus' good news of love and liberation was sent, and received by the people in the leading city of Philippi, a Roman colony through that remarkable woman Lydia. That is to say that the gospel was spread to a gentile world, a Roman colony so that more people could live happier, freer lives.
Social conventions and norms change. In a sense, they are all products of culture and history. In other words, they are neither infallible nor invincible. The same goes for theology as well as feminist theology. Feminist theology has drastically changed ever since it began in the late 19th century. There is not only a right and perfect feminist theology. I hope that feminist theology as well as social norms regarding family could be open to and keep up with reality so that more and more people can live happier, freer lives in Jesus Christ.
Dr. Lee Nan-hee studied English in college and theology at Hanshin University.
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