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about 2000 old ages ago, many parts of the Bible seem outdated.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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