The question is this: is the Bible sexist? Is Christianity sexist? Is it biased towards men, not women? I believe the answer to these questions, and others like it, is emphatically, “No.” The Christian movement has been the single greatest cause, for human rights generally, and for women specifically in history.
Many people think the Bible is sexist, with things like submission, women not being permitted to teach, and husbands ruling over their wives being a point of debate for decades. What do you think? Is the Bible in fact patriarchal and misogynistic? Is God a feminist? Weigh in.
Check out this article on Crosswalk that shares 8 reasons why the Bible is not sexist:
The most rediculous article yet. The. Bible is incredibly sexist, Christianity before and after the life of Christ was and is a place of patriarchy and mysogeny -and it was never condemned.
Christ treated women well during his brief life but that ended rather quickly as the early church developed.
The problem with the article, it seems to me, is that the contents don’t mesh with the title. It really doesn’t address “the Bible” per se. Certainly, Judaism was a thoroughly patriarchal society - this was was simply taken for granted. And this is reflected in some of the NT materials - this can’t be denied. To the extent the gospels are an accurate portrayal of the historical Jesus, he had a radically different view - which is mostly what the article seems to be saying. As with many things relating to the Bible, the best argument is often simply that biblical morality, particularly OT morality, is “a lot better” than what prevailed in the pagan societies.
The article mentions infanticide. If you want to be staggered, read how the Romans, Greeks and many other ancient cultures viewed infanticide - i.e., absolutely no big deal, and not just if the baby was an unwanted girl. There were literally garbage heaps of babies. The Jews were unique in being firmly opposed to abortion and infanticide and the early Christians were famous for rescuing babies even if there was no hope of living more than a few hours. (Off the topic, but I find it fascinating that when Roe v. Wade came down it was praised as a reasonable solution by many Christians, including prominent Southern Baptist leaders. The Religious Right and the Abortion Myth - POLITICO
Agreed, the Bible is most certainly sexist with cultural misogyny strewn throughout and very obvious bias toward men, not women - but it is the responsibility of believers in Christ to exemplify His life and teachings which strongly contrast the misogyny in the early church and some churches today.
I believe this article, “How Did Jesus Treat Women in the Bible”, does a great job of outlining how Jesus desires believers and the church today to treat women. I especially appreciate this quote at the end: “A version of Christianity that does not include the work and voices of women is not in line with the example set by Christ.”
None of us live in a Mediterranean/Middle Eastern culture that existed 2,000 years or more. Our society and cultural structure are completely different than they were when the last of the Bible “books” were written, so the social mores of the time no longer apply.
Galatians 3:28 describes the timeless body of Christ perfectly: " There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female —for all of you are one in Christ Jesus."
Except Paul also said, “Let your women keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak; but they are to be submissive, as the law also says. And if they want to learn something, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is shameful for women to speak in church.” 1 Corinthians 14:34-35. (Galatians is widely regarded as the earliest Pauline epistle, with 1 Corinthians about five years later - perhaps Paul was just having a bad day.) We won’t “blame” him for the even more extreme sentiments in 1 Timothy because scholars agree it was written long after Paul’s death - but that author apparently didn’t get the message about equality either. From what I gather listening to 21st century Christian talk radio, I’d have to say an awful lot of 21st century Christian leaders still haven’t gotten it.
I really appreciate this article. TY for writing it. I’ve heard many falsely claim the exact opposite & had no idea how to respond, except point at Christ’s teachings. This list really helps!
