Comparing Women's Roles in Christianity and Islam Essay

Women played a diverse role during early Christianity. At some points during history they were celebrated for assisting in the spread of the religion and at other times they were silenced by society and their male counterparts. Disciples of both sexes traveled with Jesus to Galilee but it was the women followers that provided financial assistance along the way. Although many of his female followers left their homes and chores behind this was a right that Jesus felt women should have. In the book of Luke Jesus says of Mary sister of Martha, “Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her” (New International Version, Luke 10:42). Clearly Jesus felt that what women contributed to the spread of the Gospel was significant enough to

Professor of religious studies Karen Armstrong finds in the early Christian Church examples of hostility toward women and fear of their sexual power, which she contends led to the eventual exclusion of women from full participation in a male-dominated church.

The purpose of this essay is to examine the question of whether or not the Bible was intended to instruct equality between men and women, or if it was intended to instruct women's submission to man. Conventional Christians and evangelicals believe that the husband should have the leadership role in the household, women should not speak in church, wives should submit to their husbands, and other ideas that put women below men. Modern Christians and feministic Christians however, believe that the Bible intended to teach equality between man and woman. The belief is that the bible is not being interpreted correctly thus leaving people with the wrong ideas on how men and women should correspond with each other.

It is difficult to address the topic of women in the early church because culturally, Women were not accepted. Generally, it has not been acceptable for women to have a teaching role within the church. More conservative denominations may even limit that more. Aside from a general lack of woman’s rights throughout time within many cultures, Christians cite the idea that women cannot have positions of authority within the Church from passages like 1 Corinthians 14:34 where Paul says, “The women should keep silent in the

The Christian Bible is highly contradictory, not just to modern day Christian beliefs, but in and of itself. Today's society is of the belief that all people are created equal, and Christians submit that their god is of the same belief. Modern Christians believe that their god loves everyone, and that they are all equal. However, after Adam and Eve had eaten from the tree forbidden by god, this deity said to Eve "I will intensify the pangs of your childbearing; in pain shall you bring forth children. Yet your urge shall be for your husband, and he shall be your master." (Genesis 3:16). This tells us that, according to the Christian religion, women shall naturally be dominated by men. This kind of behavior is not conducive to a being who believes in inherent equality.

The Bible exalts women more than any other book ever written by mankind, for instance, there are more than 188 women mentioned in both the Old Testament and the New Testament (Klyman, 2014). However, majority of them have their names concealed. Among the women mentioned in the New Testament basically include prominent prophetesses, queens and leaders. Different roles of women in the bible, particularly the New Testament, are clearly outlined. Through the eyes of the current ideologies, the roles of women are primarily influenced by the cultural setting of the Old Testament as emphasized by Klyman (2014).

Women were given no political power. They were denied education. They would be viewed as only mothers & wives. They were forbidden to attain the same degree of education as men & had no voice, they were restricted & not allowed to act independently in any action. This was repeated till also the last century. The United States allowed women to vote in 1920 & allowed them to run for office, though there was a lot of stigma & opposition. As they believed that women were incapable to take care of themselves, let alone become representatives. Once again every religion supported this notion. In the bible it states in I Corinthians 11:8-9 “ For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; neither was man created for woman, but woman for man” & in I Timothy 2:11-14 it states “Let the women learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve.” Once again religion defends the oppression of groups of people. These verses were also used to justify that women were not equal to men. Once again this is not an attack on Christianity, for even the Buddha was remembered saying “But he predicted that allowing women into the Sangha would cause his teachings to survive only half as long - 500 years instead of a 1,000.” The reason why I use religion in discussing both topics is because religion has been the oldest & most powerful tool of oppression in history. All religions have justified sexism & racism. I have just simply discussed 2 out several groups of people & creatures the bible suppresses. So now think again before you quote the bible for justifying your actions. Just because it’s written in this ancient book doesn’t mean it’s true or justifiable, as do you really believe that a moral god will allow the oppression of his people by his own people.

Enfolded in the thought of monotheism, Christians believe in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit as all being God. However, this concept strictly falls in line with polytheism or the worshipping of other gods. In order to explain this contradiction, Christians must be able to fully articulate the essence of God and Him existing in three persons.

In conclusion, there are significant similarities and differences in the role of women in the Judaism, Catholicism and Islam religions. These roles include the position they hold in their religion, the ability to bear witness, the ability to own property and the perspective of each religion on vows as well as the major duties of a wife in a family. However, despite the differences, these religions belief that God is the creator of the universe and humanity.

Christianity and Islam both believe women are inferior to men. However, historically, women had more rights in Islam than in Christianity. Both religions have similarities along with its differences in how women were treated through the religion. Women had little to no rights by any means in both religions, one a little harsher than the other.

In the book titled, Feminism and Christianity, Caryn D. Riswold shares that Scholars have questioned what Jesus has said, and what Paul has written. I find it that neither one’s legacy can be limited and that neither should be perceived for minuscule verses in the Bible. The only way to decide if Jesus supports feminist theological positions, and if Paul supports the sexist theological position is by Biblical scholarship. To find my guidance on the questions, I brought to light, phenomenal Bible verses that will truly steer us to the answers. Furthermore, throughout the rest of this essay, you will pertain the knowledge of the issues this raises for modern Christians, and what the Bible has to share about dealing with men and women.

The church cannot simply disregard these changes as time goes on. Because of this, the church can either blindly conform to the modern day societal standards of women’s roles or thoughtfully reexamine the original perception of what the Bible says about the issue. Through this reexamination,

Discovering Biblical Equality goes through the wide range of thought in addressing Biblical equality. It focuses on the egalitarian and the complementarian view. The chapters are dedicated to what men and women have in common. Such articles as “The Changing Role of Women in Ministry”, “Equality With and Without Innocence, Teaching and Usurping Authority” speak to the complementary and egalitarian issues in the church.

Since development of the Church, Christians have had the belief of Monotheism and that there is One God. Christians also believe in the Holy Trinity, meaning God is the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, all equal and all powerful. To a newly developing Christian, learning about Monotheism and the Trinity can be confusing and hard to understand.

In fact, the discussion on the ordination of women in the church is a worldwide issue because there are many Protestant denominations as well as the Catholic Church which have excluded women from ordination. The opponents of the leadership demonstrated by women in the church have pointed out three representative texts in the Bible as their rationales: 1 Corinthians 11:2-16, 14-34-35, and 1 Timothy 2:8-15. In this regard, some advocates of women ordination accuse the objectors of sexual discrimination. However, the dissenters’ real problem is not just their way to understand gender but their biased way to interpret and apply the Bible to our context. Thus, as a defender of women ordination, I will articulate what the scripture truly speaks to us about this issue, counteract the opponents’ criticism based on reasoned analysis of the Bible, and