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Hashtag about Christian women unleashes torrent of emotions

(RNS) A popular hashtag shows the divide between men and women in some churches.
Hashtag about Christian women unleashes torrent of emotions
Social media apps on a phone. Photo by Jason Howie/Creative Commons
Kimberly Winston

(RNS) What a Christian author started on a whim rapidly turned into a whirlwind.

Sarah Bessey, author of “Jesus Feminist: An Invitation to Review the Bible’s View of Women,” created a Twitter hashtag on Tuesday (April 18) called #ThingsOnlyChristianWomenHear. She kicked it off with a couple things that have been addressed to her.

https://twitter.com/sarahbessey/status/854522842121068544


https://twitter.com/sarahbessey/status/854523872212729856

Maybe it was a publicity stunt to drive up sales of her book, or garner more Twitter followers. Certainly, it released a flood of pent-up frustrations from women.

 

https://twitter.com/Nose_Boop1/status/854783584678408192

Men shared things too (when they weren’t trolling the hashtag).

Another had a message for his brothers in Christ:

https://twitter.com/BarnabasPiper/status/854719471038193664

By Wednesday morning, Bessey took to her Facebook page to reflect on the outpouring (she did not immediately respond to a reporter’s call).

“This hashtag is pulling back the curtain on the everyday lived experiences of women within the Church,” she wrote. She gave thanks that the men in her life encourage her, but then added, “we still need to speak about freedom and expose the lies and amplify the voices of women who have too often been silenced.”

 

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