Christianity, is it sexist?

[MariaG]

This was brought up in another thread and I felt it was more appropriate to discuss it elsewhere.

The question is, Is Christianity sexist? Is there a difference between Catholic and Protestant? Differences within different denominations?

This was sparked from this post by Nancie Lew #168

Since this thread is about feminism give me a few good reasons why any woman would want to be a Christian? I read the Bible once and it is so blatantly sexist. Christianity just doesn’t appeal to me. There just has to be a better religion. I think I will look into Wicca. Wicca seems more woman friendly

And this one by dessert post # 175

Yes please Maria start one on Christianity or Catholic Christianity is it sexist. But where would you put it let us know. thanks warning may get loud! Dessert

So people, anyone care to tell a non-Christian (Nancie Lew, not dessert ) why they should become Christian since they percieve it to be sexist?

God Bless,
Maria

 

[pumpkinbeast]

You’d have to convince them that it wasn’t sexist… I don’t know what else to suggest. Christianity, and the Catholic Church in particular, up holds the dignity of each person by recognizing the differences, created by God, between the genders, and what atributes they can bring to this world. Putting Ephesians 5 in it’s full context would be a good idea… also, Christopher West’s Woman: God’s Masterpiece is supposed to be excelent, I haven’t listened to it yet.

 

[lak611]

This was brought up in another thread and I felt it was more appropriate to discuss it elsewhere.

The question is, Is Christianity sexist? Is there a difference between Catholic and Protestant? Differences within different denominations?

This was sparked from this post by Nancie Lew #168

And this one by dessert post # 175

So people, anyone care to tell a non-Christian why they should become Christian since they percieve it to be sexist?

God Bless,
Maria

From the Douay-Rheims Version, "(Gal 3:26) For you are all the children of God, by faith in Christ Jesus.

(Gal 3:27) For as many of you as have been baptized in Christ have put on Christ.

(Gal 3:28) There is neither Jew nor Greek: there is neither bond nor free: there is neither male nor female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.

(Gal 3:29) And if you be Christ’s, then are you the seed of Abraham, heirs according to the promise."

So, therefore, based on those verses, Christianity is not sexist.

 

[mercygate]

I would say: Yeah! Ain’t it GREAT! Then add that you probably are thinking of “sexist” in different terms from theirs.

 

[Julianna]

The Bible was written in back in the day when women were kept in the background…they were mere property. If you read the New Testament very carefully, you will notice how many women Jesus ministered to and welcomed. How he treated women, his mother, Mary Magdelene, his cousins…who were the first to see that Jesus had risen…“WOMEN”. At the wedding feast of Cana…didn’t someone come to Mary and ask her advice about the wine running out? Why didn’t they ask a man? She referred the person to Jesus.

Mary is my role model. She was a tough cookie. She went through things in her life that I could never measure up to. That is why she was chosen. I can’t imagine myself pregnant at 15 or 17, leaving my mother and dad, traveling on a donkey in the desert, in the middle of the night, with a perfect stranger, knowing that people were after me trying to kill me, for whatever reason. Then to get to the town, in labor, only to find there wasn’t a place to be had, and to end up in a stable giving birth. That woman had guts. And 30 years later to stand at the foot of the cross and watch her boy die.

The Bible, sexist? Not from what I have read. The women of the Bible were very gutsy. Especially Mary.

 

[Nancie_Lew]

When I read the Old Testament most of the stories deal with war and the problems that men have in their lives. Why aren’t there stories that relate to women? How about a story about a woman who is abused by her husband or a young girl who is sexually abused by her father and where God intervenes to help them.

 

[Nancie_Lew]

Why doesn’t God speak to women like he does to men like Abraham, Moses ,etc? Even with the Virgin Mary God didn’t directly speak to her… he sent an angel. Are we not good enough to speak to?

 

[deb1]

When I read the Old Testament most of the stories deal with war and the problems that men have in their lives. Why aren’t there stories that relate to women? How about a story about a woman who is abused by her husband or a young girl who is sexually abused by her father and where God intervenes to help them.

I am constantly surprised by the strength of the women in the Old Testament. Even the bad girls are shockingly strong.

Esther, Ruth, Sarah etc.

What about Abigail? She was married to a drunken husband who almost got his entire family killed. Because of her own common sense and quick thinking she was able to prevent war from breaking out between her family and the future king David. Later, he married her.

Esther…how much more strength can you get? She is seperated from her family and does not have a choice but to marry the king. Yet, despite this, she manages to save the entire Jewish People with her courage.

Ruth. What a beautiful story. What mother-in-law wouldn’t want a DIL like this? Ruth left her family and culture to care for her MIL in a foreign land.

What about the woman who defends Israel by driving a stake through a sleeping man’s temple!!!(Can’t remember her name)

The bible is full of tough women.

 

[Nancie_Lew]

All of the women heroines in the Bible are beautiful. Does God ever choose ugly women? Women in society are constantly told they have no value unless they are good looking. When I read the Bible its all about Esther, Sarah, Bathsheba etc and how gorgeous they are. Than theres poor Leah and how she was rejected by Jacob. Rebecca was the beautiful one. Why not choose Leah?

How about a story about a king that falls in love with an ugly woman because of her beautiful character. The Bibles always stressing character in women.

 

[lak611]

What about the woman who defends Israel by driving a stake through a sleeping man’s temple!!!(Can’t remember her name)

Her name was Jael. From the Book of Judges: Jdg 4:17 But Sisera fled away on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite.
Jdg 4:18 And Jael came out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Turn aside, my lord; turn aside to me; do not be afraid.” So he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug.
Jdg 4:19 And he said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.” So she opened a skin of milk and gave him a drink and covered him.
Jdg 4:20 And he said to her, “Stand at the opening of the tent, and if any man comes and asks you, ‘Is anyone here?’ say, ‘No.’”
Jdg 4:21 But Jael the wife of Heber took a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand. Then she went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple until it went down into the ground while he was lying fast asleep from weariness. So he died.
Jdg 4:22 And behold, as Barak was pursuing Sisera, Jael went out to meet him and said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking.” So he went in to her tent, and there lay Sisera dead, with the tent peg in his temple.
Jdg 4:23 So on that day God subdued Jabin the king of Canaan before the people of Israel.
Jdg 4:24 And the hand of the people of Israel pressed harder and harder against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they destroyed Jabin king of Canaan. (ESV)

 

[deb1]

Why doesn’t God speak to women like he does to men like Abraham, Moses ,etc? Even with the Virgin Mary God didn’t directly speak to her… he sent an angel. Are we not good enough to speak to?

How much more direct can you get then carrying GOD in your womb? Remember it was a woman who fed our Lord at her breast, not a man.

There are moments when I feel God’s presence so strongly that I cry. How much more intense was the experience for Mary when the Holy Spirit came upon her and she became pregnant?

 

[Nancie_Lew]

Ruth. What a beautiful story. What mother-in-law wouldn’t want a DIL like this? Ruth left her family and culture to care for her MIL in a foreign land.

That’s great… but why is it that Gods way of helping a woman is to always give her a husband? Can’t a woman be single and God prosper her? There are no examples of rich women in the Bible. You have the poor, godly, widow with the son who was starving. Granted God did send a prophet to feed her but most of the godly men in the Bible were rich because God blessed them.

 

[deb1]

All of the women heroines in the Bible are beautiful. Does God ever choose ugly women? Women in society are constantly told they have no value unless they are good looking. When I read the Bible its all about Esther, Sarah, Bathsheba etc and how gorgeous they are. Than theres poor Leah and how she was rejected by Jacob. Rebecca was the beautiful one. Why not choose Leah?

How about a story about a king that falls in love with an ugly woman because of her beautiful character. The Bibles always stressing character in women.

The bible does not mention whether Mary was beautiful or not.

Bathsheba’s beauty got her hubby killed.

Esther’s beauty was necessary to save the Jewish people.

The bible neither condemns nor condones Jacob’s treatment of his wives. But his favoritism leads to his sons jealousy of Joseph and Joseph’s imprisonment. So, it doesn’t sound positive.

Jael, the woman who drove a stake through a man’s temple, is not mentioned as being pretty either.

 

[deb1]

Her name was Jael. From the Book of Judges: Jdg 4:17 But Sisera fled away on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite.
Jdg 4:18 And Jael came out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Turn aside, my lord; turn aside to me; do not be afraid.” So he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug.
Jdg 4:19 And he said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.” So she opened a skin of milk and gave him a drink and covered him.
Jdg 4:20 And he said to her, “Stand at the opening of the tent, and if any man comes and asks you, ‘Is anyone here?’ say, ‘No.’”
Jdg 4:21 But Jael the wife of Heber took a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand. Then she went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple until it went down into the ground while he was lying fast asleep from weariness. So he died.
Jdg 4:22 And behold, as Barak was pursuing Sisera, Jael went out to meet him and said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking.” So he went in to her tent, and there lay Sisera dead, with the tent peg in his temple.
Jdg 4:23 So on that day God subdued Jabin the king of Canaan before the people of Israel.
Jdg 4:24 And the hand of the people of Israel pressed harder and harder against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they destroyed Jabin king of Canaan. (ESV)

Thank you so much Lak!

 

[deb1]

That’s great… but why is it that Gods way of helping a woman is to always give her a husband? Can’t a woman be single and God prosper her? There are no examples of rich women in the Bible. You have the poor, godly, widow with the son who was starving. Granted God did send a prophet to feed her but most of the godly men in the Bible were rich because God blessed them.

God assisted a poor starving widow through the prophet Elijah by providing her with food and bringing her son back from the dead. She wasn’t given a hubby, so I would think that she would be an example of a woman prospering without a hubby. I don’t remember Elijah being rich but dependent on God.

Some people were rich in the bible but not all the prophets were. In fact it seems that most prophets were not rich.

 

[pumpkinbeast]

All of the women heroines in the Bible are beautiful. Does God ever choose ugly women? Women in society are constantly told they have no value unless they are good looking. When I read the Bible its all about Esther, Sarah, Bathsheba etc and how gorgeous they are. Than theres poor Leah and how she was rejected by Jacob. Rebecca was the beautiful one. Why not choose Leah?

How about a story about a king that falls in love with an ugly woman because of her beautiful character. The Bibles always stressing character in women.

My boyfriend always tells me I’m beautiful, mainly because of my character. The standards of physical beauty in each society change with time, but the beauty the good character and a soul that loves God will transcend time and space, and can cover any blemmish or scar. Perhaps the biblical writters were refering to this sort of beauty?

 

[Nancie_Lew]

Bathsheba’s beauty got her hubby killed.

God sent a prophet to David concerning the murder of Uriah . What did the prophet say to David? Only that David had many sheep and Uriah few. David wasn’t really condemned by God for his adultery it was because he stole another mans property. The issue here is property. Women are chattel otherwise God would have told David he was sinning by having more than one wife. Also… Bathsheba was probably forced into adultery and marriage.

 

[deb1]

God sent a prophet to David concerning the murder of Uriah . What did the prophet say to David? Only that David had many sheep and Uriah few. David wasn’t really condemned by God for his adultery it was because he stole another mans property. The issue here is property. Women are chattel otherwise God would have told David he was sinning by having more than one wife. Also… Bathsheba was probably forced into adultery and marriage.

We don’t know if Bathsheba was forced into adultery or not.

I never got that Uriah’s story was about property. My take-and this is my opinion so I might be completely wrong-was that the prophet told the King about a man who had one little lamb that he adored. The man, of course, stood for Uriah and the lamb was his wife. Another man had a huge flock of sheep-David- and he coveted the other man’s beloved lamb. Maybe I am wrong but it always sounded like Uriah must have really loved his wife very much.

Even if the prophet was referring to women as property we must remember that this might have been how David viewed his harem. That doesn’t mean that God condones such a view. But in order to make David both understand the magnitude of his crime and pronounce his own punishment, perhaps the story had to be told in such a manner.

The bible is pretty honest in saying that David was not always the most perfect person.

Part of David’s future troubles with his sons came from the king’s own weakness in handling the rape of one of his step daughters by his son. All this played into David temporarily loosing his throne.

.

 

[darc]

That’s great… but why is it that Gods way of helping a woman is to always give her a husband? Can’t a woman be single and God prosper her? There are no examples of rich women in the Bible. You have the poor, godly, widow with the son who was starving. Granted God did send a prophet to feed her but most of the godly men in the Bible were rich because God blessed them.

Did you ever consider that perhaps the examples given in the Bible are how God wishes women to be? I mean, God did create Eve as a companion(spouse) to Adam.

 

[dwc]

Christianity, the faith, is not sexist. Christ, the source and founder of Christianity, is not sexist. Have His male followers through the years been sexist … absolutely yes, some in accordance with the culture of the times, and others even today because they feel their importance as males is somehow diminished by women who don’t fit** their** view of how a proper Christian woman should live.

Does the Catholic church bear some vestiges of sexism, which I define as believing women are inherently somehow less worthy than man? I dunno. Some people always want to make this conversation about women priests. I don’t think the fact that women can’t be priests is evidence of sexism. I think JP ll and now Benedict have tried to explain that although women aren’t and never will be or can be priests, they still have something valuable to offer the church, and have played an important role in the church. So, I think our Holy Fathers are not sexist. Their statements, however, make some Catholic men extremely uncomfortable. I’ve seen it numerous times on these forums.

This leads me to believe that while our Popes and perhaps many bishops and priests are not sexist, and the teachings of the church are not sexist, the laity still struggles with this. So, if you define the church in the broad sense of the church meaning all the faithful, I have to say, yes, there is still sexism among some ranks of the church, but it is in conflict with the teachings of the church and our Popes.