Judeo-Christian
Anti-Women Views
The anti-woman views expressed in
these Bible verses are still at the core
of fundamentalist Christian beliefs.
In case you think that the Bible quotes referenced in the link above are no longer accepted by fundamentalist Christians, consider this quote from the Rev. Pat Robertson, one of today's most influential Christian fundamentalist evangelists:
The Feminist agenda is not about equal rights for women. It is about a socialist, anti-family political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism, and become lesbians.
And just recently The Southern Baptist Convention,
the nation's largest Protestant decision-making body added to its core teachings
that a woman must be subject to her husband in all things. Plus, a woman is
not to have authority over a man-a concept that could even now reap havoc in the
workplace.
In marriage and family life this is termed "headship, with the husband's views prevailing, no matter how ill-informed.
More examples of the strong anti-woman currents
in fundamentalist Christianity can be found
here.
|
These views saw women as not educatable, not intelligent enough to vote, to own property, or to enter a profession (except possibly for prostitution, which at one time was apparently excused by the Catholic Church as being a "necessary evil"). |
The Judeo-Christian tradition allowed for
multiple wives and refused to allow allow for divorce, no matter how abusive the
husband. It should
come as no surprise that even those who staunchly maintain that every word of the
Bible is inspired by God and is to be taken literally prefer not to quote the linked
passages above.
Any attempt to "explain them away" based on a rationale of earlier times and conditions simply opens the door to "picking and choosing" what to believe from the scriptures and what to discard, which is what more modern religious thinkers do anyway.
Even so, the impact of these strong anti-woman, anti-sex scriptures remains.
But it's not only women that are affected.
Just yesterday (06/01/2005), we heard from a Nevada man who, as a result of his ultra-conservative Christian upbringing, has struggled all of his adult life to overcome debilitating sexual problems.
The vast majority of people learn (in varies degrees) to adjust,
cope, ignore, or abandon these deleterious views. Even so, the effects remain
and they can take a significant toll.
