Walter Russell Mead, here:
Jesus is unique, and women are free and equal in God’s sight. That is what we should take away from this [virgin birth] story.
Christianity, like many world religions, has often been less than fair in its treatment of women. But at the heart of historical Christianity, there has always been the idea that Christmas is a feminist holiday, a feast that celebrates the choice of an autonomous woman. As Christianity has risen to become the largest and most widespread religion in the world, women are coming into their own. It cannot be otherwise.
God didn’t send Jesus into the world because He was satisfied with the status quo. God sent Him here because things needed to change—and right at the top of the list of the things God wanted to change was the position of women. The change didn’t happen overnight, and even today we haven’t seen the full consequences of giving half the world its rightful due; but from the day that Mary answered Gabriel, a new force has been at work in the world. The rise of women to new freedom and new dignity, which is one of the primary developments of our time, is the blossoming of a tree that was planted a very long time ago.
His truth is marching on.
