; and many there are who
are throwing aside the mirror and coming out where the real things are.
The world needs the work and help of the women, and the women must
work, if the race will survive.

CHAPTER VIII

WOMEN AND THE CHURCH

HEART TO HEART TALK WITH THE WOMEN OF THE
CHURCH BY THE GOVERNING BODIES

Go, labor on, good sister Anne,
Abundant may thy labors be;
To magnify thy brother man
Is all the Lord requires of thee!

Go, raise the mortgage, year by year,
And joyously thy way pursue,
And when you get the title clear,
We'll move a vote of thanks to you!

Go, labor on, the night draws nigh;
Go, build us churches--as you can.
The times are hard, but chicken-pie
Will do the trick. Oh, rustle, Anne!

Go, labor on, good sister Sue,
To home and church your life devote;
But never, never ask to vote,
Or we'll be very cross with you!

May no rebellion cloud your mind,
But joyous let your race be run.
The conference is good and kind
And knows God's will for every one!

In dealing with the relation of women to the church, let me begin
properly with a text in Genesis which says: "God created man in his
_own _image ... male and female created he _them_." That is to say, He
created male man and female man. Further on in the story of the
creation it says: "He gave _them_ dominion, etc."

It would seem from this, that men and women got away to a fair start.
There was no inequality to begin with. God gave _them_ dominion over
everything; there were no favors, no special privileges. Whatever
inequality has crept in since, has come without God's sanction. It is
well to exonerate God from all blame in the matter, for He has been
often accused of starting women off with a handicap. The inequality
has arisen from men's superior physical strength, which became more
pronounced as civilization advanced, and which is only noticeable in
the human family. Among all animals, with the possible exception of
cattle, the female is quite as large and as well endowed as the male.
It is easy for bigger and stronger people to arrogate to themselves a
general superiority. Christ came to rebuke the belief that brute
strength is the dominant force in life.

It is no wonder that the teachings of Christ make a special appeal to
women, for Christ was a true democrat. He made no discrimination
between men and women. They were all human beings to Him, wit