Dr. Mimi Haddad speaks at Campbellsville Universitys

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Dr. Mimi Haddad speaks at chapel at Campbellsville University. (Campbellsville University Photo by Rachel DeCoursey)

CAMPBELLSVILLE, KY (09/12/2015)(readMedia)-- Dr. Mimi Haddad, president of Christians for Biblical Equality, spoke about prejudice and equality on the campus of Campbellsville University at chapel and at a Kentucky Heartland Institute for Public Policy event Sept. 2 and 1, respectively.

"If you have ever experienced the sting of prejudice, you know how gratifying it is to break the silence," Haddad said.

Haddad spoke on the injustices of gender inequality. Gender inequality is defined as the treating of women and man unfairly or unequally.

"How many times have we made assumptions about people?" Haddad asked. Haddad discussed how assumptions affect our views.

"Too often we allow our assumptions to change our view of the Apostle Paul," Haddad said. " The truth is that Apostle Paul was one of the greatest advocates of women in the ancient world."

"Jesus also continually broke social and gender barriers," Haddad said.

Haddad described Jesus' treatment of women as a whole. Unlike most Rabbis, or teachers, in the ancient world who would not engage women in daylight, Haddad described Jesus treating women as real human beings.

"Jesus broke social and religious taboos related to gender, and he consistently challenged the cultural devaluation of women's bodies, such as when he healed a hemorrhaging woman in public," Haddad said.

"Jesus prepared women and outsiders as disciples," Haddad said.

Women were then, as Haddad described, equal to males.

"Thus, in the New Covenant, baptism replaces circumcision to become the outer expression of our union with Christ, and baptism was open to any person, male or female, Jew or Greek, slave or free," Haddad said.

Haddad said the true identity of us all is the same -- "to serve the living God."

Haddad explained the importance of looking past gender in church leadership.

"Not only is leadership service, but it is about character," Haddad said. "We should be looking for people not based on gender, but on spiritual gifts."

Campbellsville University is a widely acclaimed Kentucky-based Christian university with more than 3,500 students offering 63 undergraduate options, 17 master's degrees, five postgraduate areas and eight pre-professional programs.

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