| Part of a series on
Christianity
and Gender |
| Theology |
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Female disciples of Jesus |
| 4 major positions |
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Christian Egalitarianism |
| Church and society |
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Christianity and homosexuality |
| Organizations |
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Christians for Biblical Equality |
| Theologians and authors |
| Feminist: Letha Dawson Scanzoni · Anne Eggebroten · Virginia Ramey Mollenkott Egalitarian: William J. Webb · Kenneth E. Hagin · Gordon Fee · Frank Stagg · Paul Jewett · Stanley Grenz · Roger Nicole Complementarian: Don Carson · John Frame · Wayne Grudem · Douglas Moo · Paige Patterson · Vern Poythress Patriarchal: Doug Phillips · R. C. Sproul, Jr. · Douglas Wilson |
There are 188 named [1] Women in the Bible, and many others that are left unnamed. Among these women are prominent queens, prophetesses, and leaders. Before and during Biblical times, the roles of women were almost always severely restricted. [2] Because biblical stories were written about important events, most of the people in the Bible, including women, usually have extreme personalities. The Bible rarely describes the average woman, "as if all the women in the ancient world had been saints, whores, or invisible."[3] This article considers some of the specific roles of women described in the Bible, along with some of the more apparent attitudes held about them.
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The Hebrew Bible (also called Tanakh in Judaism, Old Testament in Christianity and Taurat/Tawrah in Islam) is the basis for both Judaism and Christianity, and a cornerstone of Western culture. The views of women presented in the Hebrew Bible are complex and often ambivalent. Through its stories and its elaboration of statutes, the Hebrew Bible's views on women have helped shape gender roles and define the legal standing of women in the West for millennia. This influence has waned somewhat as Western culture has become progressively more secular, beginning at the Enlightenment.
The creation of Adam and Eve is narrated from somewhat different perspectives in Genesis 1:26-27 and Genesis 2:24. The Genesis 1 narration declares the purpose of God, antedating the creation of the sexes.[4] It has been called the "non-subordinating" view of woman.[5] God gave the human pair joint responsibility and "rulership" over his creation.
Eve's weakness has sometimes been blamed for causing Adam's fall, and thus for humanity's fall into original sin.[6] This claim was made during the Middle Ages and is disputed in John Milton's classic epic, Paradise Lost.
According to classicist Edith Hamilton, the Bible is the only book in the world up to our century which looks at women as human beings, no better and no worse than men. She writes that the Old Testament writers considered them just as impartially as they did men, free from prejudice and even from condescension.[7] However, it cannot be said that the society and culture of Old Testament times were consistently favorable to women.
The accounts of Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden[Gen 2-3] have been the subjects of considerable sociological and anthropological debate regarding the patriarchal family order, male dominance and female oppression. These debates have been used as a justification for the subordination of women and "for the rejection of Genesis as a source for male chauvinism."[8]
There is a male bias and a male priority generally present in both the private life and public life of women. However, it never becomes absolute.[5] In the Decalogue (Ten Commandments) of Exodus 20, aspects of both male priority and gender balance can be seen. In the tenth commandment, a wife is depicted in the examples not to be coveted: house, wife, male or female slave, ox or donkey, or 'anything that belongs to your neighbour.' (NIV) On the other hand, the fifth commandment does not make any distinction between honor to be shown to parents: "father and your mother." This is consistent with the mutual respect shown for both parents throughout the Old Testament.[5]
According to New Testament scholar Dr. Frank Stagg and classicist Evelyn Stagg, the synoptic Gospels of the canonical New Testament[9] contain a relatively high number of references to women. The Staggs find no recorded instance where Jesus disgraces, belittles, reproaches, or stereotypes a woman. These writers claim that examples of the manner of Jesus are instructive for inferring his attitudes toward women and show repeatedly how he liberated and affirmed women.[5]
The statements by and attitude of Paul of Tarsus concerning women is an important element in the theological debate about Christianity and women due to the fact that Paul was the first writer to give ecclesiastical directives about the role of women in the Church. However, there are arguments that some of these writings are post-Pauline interpolations.[10]
Submission to husband:
Women as weaker partner: