Womans And The Bible Essay, Research Paper
Womans and The Bible
The Bible and the church have been the greatest stumbling blocks in the
manner of adult female & # 8217 ; s emancipation.
A celebrated nineteenth century women’s rightist named Elizabeth Cady Stanton voiced this
about her battle for adult females & # 8217 ; s freedom. Women, considered a lower category than the
work forces, wanted this subjection changed. Part of the ground for the subjection of
adult females is that the Bible could be interpreted in many different ways to accommodate the
demands of the translator. These readings of the Bible are in portion
responsible for the belief that adult females are of a lower category than work forces. The ground
this belief is present in our society is that about 85 % of Americans are
Judeo-christian. We see illustrations of these beliefs when we look at the church,
the day-to-day lives of adult females, and the media. Looking at 1 Timothy 2:11-12, we see
why our spiritual society could construe the Bible this manner:
Let a adult female learn in silence with all entry, and do non allow a adult female to
Teach or to hold authorization over a adult male, but to be in silence.
We must look at the historical context of the transition. Write
about 2000 old ages ago, many parts of the Bible seem outdated. The transition
portrays a clip when adult females were belongings and were? trained? to be weak and
fragile. This stopped merely about 30 old ages ago. Before this clip, society taught
adult females from birth to be submissive to work forces. What does this mean to us today? It
agencies that although American Society is no longer developing adult females to be
submissive, the job is still present in our belief system. Many churches do
non believe that adult females should be portion of the clergy. This is because they
interpret parts of the Bible, such as 1 Timothy 2:11-12, as stating that merely work forces
should prophesy. In 1848, adult females made a revenge to these sentiments. At the
Seneca Falls convention, adult females ( including Elizabeth Cady Stanton ) signed a
Declaration of Sentiments. In the declaration it states:
He allows her in church, every bit good as province, but a low-level place,
claiming apostolic authorization for her exclusion from the ministry,
and, with some exclusions, from any public engagement in the
personal businesss of the church ( Declaration 1 )
The people that these adult females fought against, including other adult females,
believe that it is the responsibility of a adult female to be quiet and submissive. I have
experienced this anti-freedom tenet turning up in the Church of Christ community.
I experience this tenet when I talk with my grandma, a adult female who lives by
the Word. My grandma states that I should? be a good miss and maintain my oral cavity
shut and clean. ? She says that if I am quiet and do non state my sentiments, people
will wish me better that manner. My grandma attempts to learn the same submissive
qualities that were taught to her when she was immature. We, as a society, besides see
this in media. In the November 5, 1996 dissemination of the situation comedy Cybil, the hereafter
stepmother of Cybil & # 8217 ; s girl was giving advice to the girl. The advice was
that adult females should allow work forces win statements. Cybil, enraged, made told her girl
that she did non hold to subject.
Along with the belief that adult females must be submissive and soundless, there is
besides the belief that adult females are the cause of work forces & # 8217 ; s ruin and therefore are
immorality. The last two poetries we look at talk about the narrative of the autumn of Adam
and Eve. In the narrative of Adam and Eve, God tells Adam and Eve that there is one
tree in the garden of which they must non eat. Deceived by the Satan, Eve chow
fruit from the tree and so persuades Adam to eat it. This act historically
shows the misrepresentation of adult male by adult female and has put adult females in a really bad visible radiation. I
Timothy 2:13-14 provinces:
For Adam was formed from Eve, and Adam was non deceived, but the adult female
being deceived, fell into evildoing.
Meant for a different clip, the basic belief that adult females are the cause of
work forces & # 8217 ; s ruin is disused. Some people say that this belief is non present in
our society. I have heard work forces say that the ground that they are? in the muss
they are in? is because of adult females & # 8217 ; s? folly. ? Many popular Hollywood films today
reflect these misogynous attitudes and utilize subjects that portray adult females as immorality
and lead oning. In these movies, adult females want nil else but to destruct work forces and
the order of society. One popular film called Eve of Destruction, portrays a
adult female named Eve as a mechanical tool of devastation that destroys anything that
gets in her way. The name Eve in this movie indicates a nexus to the Eve of the
Bible, connotating perfidy and misrepresentation and seen as a curse to adult male & # 8217 ; s being.
Not all the Bible portrays adult females as submissive and evil. Many still
believe that adult females must obey their hubbies and populate a life of subservience. If
people look to this reading of the Bible for counsel, adult females will stay
treated as inferior. I am non stating that we need to acquire rid of the Bible, I am
stating that we need to acquire rid of readings of the Bible that are
derogatory towards adult females ; like the belief that adult females are non equal.
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