Late last summer I was preparing to give a talk. One subject I researched was misogyny, or the hatred of women—its theological and cultural roots—and I wanted to take my prayers deeper. But in the course of looking up misogyny in the dictionary, I glanced at related words, and came upon a word that was new to me—misoneism, or an intolerance for innovation and change.
I got to thinking that, actually, "misogyny" and "misoneism" share something more than the prefix miso. Both these terms depict states of mind that are intertwined in concept and practice. To hate women is to deny divine wholeness. Without innate womanliness, a man or woman is virtually half-dead to the God-given spirituality which, when cultivated in heart and mind, transforms lives and improves the human species.
Spiritually sourced womanliness balances courage with compassion. It tempers intellect with common sense and common humanity. It supports a more ego-free leadership that grows from humility.
