Introduction to the Woman's Bible and Oppression

Throughout history men have been leading the battles, conquering worlds, discovering new lands, but behind every good man is a good woman! So, as I read this week, I learned an enormous amount of information about the diversity of the different roles women play according to where they might live or what era they grew up in. I will address the rights that women had, how they are viewed in society, the comparison between these women and the ones from the New Testament, the evidence to support my claim.

Throughout my selected text, Johnson focuses on the church along with the subsequent androcentric image of God, and how it impacts woman around the world. She explains that throughout history, with the help of the church’s patriarchal nature and society’s values as a whole, woman have been seen “as a ‘defective male’…that must live in obedience to her [male counterpart,]…[ and who are often also referred to as the] ‘second sex’” (Johnson 92). This

our society. I have heard men say that the reason that they are "in the mess

The Book Of Ruth plays an integral role in Christian women history and theology as it illustrates how patriarchal system lessens the worth of women. The narrative account of Ruth reveals how society, at that time, confines women in a patriarchal system that does not always value women. In spite of this, Ruth learns how to use the patriarchal world to her advantage and serves as a great role model for women today.

The church has ever opposed the progress of woman on the ground that her freedom would lead to immorality. We ask the church to have more confidence in women. We ask the opponents of this movement to reverse the methods of the church, which aims to keep women moral by keeping them in fear and in ignorance, and to inculcate into them a

Feminist Laura Mulvey asserts, “woman is traditionally a use-value for man… a commodity,” which, according to Hélène Cixous, censors the “relation of woman to her sexuality… [that] gives her access to her native strength” (262; 246). In Barbara Kingsolver’s The Poisonwood Bible, Rachel “is reduced to being the servant of the militant male” in her obedient childhood and unfaithful marriages where she appears “in a familiar state of dependency upon man” (Cixous 246; Mulvey 259). However, she embraces her role as an objectified woman to subvert the authoritative masculine dictation of her life. Rachel methodically uses her physical femininity to acquire ownership of her future, prideful empowerment in her sense of self, and independence from man’s provisions on her pursuit of liberation fueled by man’s inability to control his sexual desires.

An article expressing gender roles in correlation to religion communicates that “since women are seen as the objects of men’s desire, their actions unleash sinfulness among mankind {regarding Adam and Eve}” (“Gender Roles and Religion”). During its early years, Puritans preached a harsher and dictatorial religion, including the harsh treatment and inferiority of women. Puritan’s shaped and enforced a limited role for women in their communities, allowing men to fulfill political roles as ministers and community leaders. When a women tries to challenge her role in society, she is judged merely on the fact that she is subordinate to men as Anne Hutchinson was subsequently thrown out of the Puritan community for challenging a man’s authority. As the Puritans sought freedom in America, women played a significant role in society, but it is clear that they were not given the same rights and granted the same status as men.

These pamphlets are written to push woman’s suffrage juxtaposed to traditional roles women had filled during the times. The ways that women-authored and anonymous pamphlets written in defense of women aid in the argument against misogynist attitudes expressed by other writers are by countering the blows that have been place upon women since before the biblical era with explanations that women are not all evil, wasteful creatures that seek to destroy. By taking the perspectives of common people, they have effectively voices public opinions.

The number of feminist scholars critically assessing Biblical narrative has risen since the second feminist movement of the 1970s (Scholz 2014). A common theme of their scholarship has been to what extent the Bible may be seen to favour men. Some feminist scholars may not be able to legitimately assess the Bible and remain faithful to it because of such outdated views on women in a time when women’s equality is encouraged. I will firstly discuss the difficulties of being a feminist scholar and a Christian or Jew with particular reference to belonging to men, being of less value in society, and finally with a focus on key issues arising from

According to Henretta, Edwards & Self (2012), women issues became centerpiece when their role in the society gained prominence. This was rather catapult by the fact that at the time, women’s rights movement had become a massive force. Henretta, Edwards & Self infer that separate spheres, religious movement and abolitionism were impetus that energized advocacy for women’s rights. They argue that Christian evangelists or rather the Presbyterians pointed to the notion that all human beings, especially men and women occupy the same levels. Thus, this made women to be regarded as beings with recognizable roles.

Religion is powerful in that it controls followers’ behaviours and beliefs throughout their entire lives; it is a form of social control. Catholicism is one of the most widely known religions influencing more than 2 billion people around the world (Ross). Within Catholicism not everyone are seen as equals; men have greater privilege than women. The bible and church are from a male’s point of view (Christ 86) and passages within the bible are used to enforce a sexual hierarchy. In fact, the oppression of women begins with the first story in Genesis about creation, which portrays females as being inferior to men and even of an evil nature. This one passage is the main source of justification of oppression of woman in the church (Daly 13).

To understand these Reformation-era women and their roles in the protestant reformation it is necessary to understand women in the history of Christianity, therefore this paper will explore this history of women in the Reformation-era and the roles of women in the church and how they and their husbands impacted the lives views and roles during the reformation.

The Bible is controversial on the matter of gender equality. There are numerous contradictions about the status of women in Christian society. Historically, the most prominent interpretation has been rather negative toward women. The Christian Church, with principally male authority, emphasizes the idea that women are inferior to man. They focus on Eve’s sin leading to a punishment that “her husband will have authority over her.” (Drury, 34)

How are men supposed to treat woman? Well first what they’re not supposed to do is ridicule, debase, threaten, and abuse woman in their lives. These are not anyway to treat a woman. Men are supposed to love, cherish, and be kind to females of all ages. The best examples of how to treat a woman are in the Bible.

The rigidity of gender norms and gender roles is analogous to those in the New Testament and provides insight on how the society present in the story uses religion to present women as a monolith. Due to biblical expectations, women are constrained from making autonomous decisions, thus forcing them to follow a moral code. In the bible, women are groomed to become child bearers and “pure” wives (Titus 2:4-5), an idea shared in the book. This promotes them as having no sense of self-ownership, which objectifies them as characteristics, not humans with nuanced emotions nor ideals. An example of this is Purisima del Carmen. After she got married, Purisima’s teaching career ended quickly because of