#0142 Misogynist Jesus, The Anti-Woman Bible, and Other Fairy-tales - Further. Every. Day.

https://theologyforwomen.org/2013/05/some-things-you-should-know-about-women-and-the-old-testament.html

https://www.foxnews.com/world/taliban-vows-publicly-stone-women-death-direct-message-western-democracies

Is There Misogyny in the Bible? (Got Questions.org)

A misogynist is a person who hates or looks down on women. The term misogyny generally refers to attitudes and behaviors that degrade, insult, or abuse women on the basis of their gender. Examples of misogyny would be treating women as morally or intellectually inferior to men, allowing for female abuse, or referring to women using hateful or abusive language. Critics of Christianity sometimes claim there is misogyny in the Bible, but such claims are contradicted by both the Scriptures and history.

Unfortunately, those seeking to expose misogyny in the Bible often use the same misguided approach as those seeking to justify misogyny with the Bible. That is, they tear single verses from their immediate context, force modern cultural conventions onto ancient cultures, and neglect the overall message being put forward. Worse, they ignore the profoundly positive effect biblical Christianity has had for women worldwide.

A simple consideration of context eliminates most claims of misogyny in the Bible. A perfect example of this is Ephesians 5:22–24, which says wives are to submit to their husbands “as to the Lord.” Critics and misogynists alike prefer to cite those words—out of context—to support the claim that the Bible teaches women are to be subjugated to men. However, the very next words command husbands to love their wives “just as Christ loved the church” (Ephesians 5:25) and to love them “as their own bodies,” providing and caring for them just as Christ does for His church (Ephesians 5:28–30). Considering that Christ acted as a servant to His disciples (John 13:5) and commanded us to do the same (John 13:13–16)—even sacrificing His life for their sake (John 15:12–14)—it’s impossible to justify a misogynist interpretation of Ephesians 5.

Misogyny is diametrically opposed to the teaching of the Bible. According to Scripture, all people are absolutely equal in the eyes of God regardless of gender, race, and ability (Galatians 3:28). Further, women were treated as valued and respected persons both by Christ and the early church. Jesus rescued a guilty woman from her accusers (John 8:9–11), was referred to as “teacher” by Mary and Martha (John 11:28), and openly taught the woman at the well (John 4:9–10), in defiance of social pressures. The early church not only attracted women followers (Acts 8:12; 17:12), but many of them were instrumental in the proclamation of the gospel (Philippians 4:3).

In many ways, the Bible countered the truly misogynistic treatment of women in ancient times, and the effects of this radical worldview are reflected in history. Those criticizing the Bible for its attitude toward women should consider the status of women in the pagan cultures of the Old Testament, New Testament, and early church eras. Even in our modern era, one has only to contrast the status of women living in nations with a Christian heritage to those living in nations without it. Likewise, one should consider the horrific misogyny of industries such as pornography and the sex trade, both of which exist in direct opposition to biblical commands.

As with many other social issues, biblical Christianity lays a foundation leading inescapably to ideas such as value, equality, and freedom for women. Ethics rooted in a Christian worldview have resulted in levels of female equality and opportunity that non-Christian cultures have either never offered or have only considered under pressure from cultures with a Christian background.

It’s also important to note the difference between misogyny described and misogyny endorsed. Books of history may detail the horrors of the Holocaust and the black plague, but we don’t see this as the publisher’s approval of Hitler or epidemic disease. There are certainly descriptions of misogyny in the Bible, but those acts are condemned. One example is the rape and murder of the concubine in Judges 19:25–29, an act so appalling that it sparked a civil war. Critics of the Bible eagerly point to such incidents without mentioning that the act in question is described and decried, not encouraged.

Likewise, questions about misogyny in the Bible need to be separated from whether or not men have attempted to hijack Scripture to justify their prejudice. Men have also, at times, attempted to bolster misogyny using science, history, and even national laws, even when such interpretations are ridiculous. Neither the Israelites, Jesus, nor the early Christian church exhibited misogyny, and the Bible’s ethical framework leaves no room for it. In this way, the Bible cannot be blamed for misogyny or used to justify it. If anything, the need to tear Scripture from its context and twist its meaning shows the opposite: in order to claim misogyny in the Bible, one has to divorce passages from the rest of the text and from Christianity itself.

The following list is of NINE things a woman couldn't do in 1971 – yes the date is correct, 1971.
In 1971 a woman could not:
1. Get a Credit Card in her own name – it wasn't until 1974 that a law forced credit card companies to issue cards to women without their husband's signature.
2. Be guaranteed that they wouldn't be unceremoniously fired for the offense of getting pregnant – that changed with the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of *1978*!
3. Serve on a jury - It varied by state (Utah deemed women fit for jury duty way back in 1879), but the main reason women were kept out of jury pools was that they were considered the center of the home, which was their primary responsibility as caregivers. They were also thought to be too fragile to hear the grisly details of crimes and too sympathetic by nature to be able to remain objective about those accused of offenses. In 1961, the Supreme Court unanimously upheld a Florida law that exempted women from serving on juries. It wasn't until 1973 that women could serve on juries in all 50 states.
4. Fight on the front lines – admitted into military academies in 1976 it wasn't until 2013 that the military ban on women in combat was lifted. Prior to 1973 women were only allowed in the military as nurses or support staff.
5. Get an Ivy League education - Yale and Princeton didn't accept female students until 1969. Harvard didn't admit women until 1977 (when it merged with the all-female Radcliffe College). Brown (which merged with women's college Pembroke), Dartmouth and Columbia did not offer admission to women until 1971, 1972 and 1981, respectively. Other case-specific instances allowed some women to take certain classes at Ivy League institutions (such as Barnard women taking classes at Columbia), but, by and large, women in the '60s who harbored Ivy League dreams had to put them on hold.
6. Take legal action against workplace sexual harassment. Indeed the first time a court recognized office sexual harassment as grounds for any legal action was in 1977!
7. Decide not to have sex if their husband wanted to – spousal rape wasn't criminalized in all 50 states until 1993. Read that again ... 1993.
8. Obtain health insurance at the same monetary rate as a man. Sex discrimination wasn't outlawed in health insurance until 2010 and today many, including sitting elected officials at the Federal level, feel women don't mind paying a little more. Again, that date was 2010.
9. The birth control pill: Issues like reproductive freedom and a woman's right to decide when and whether to have children were only just beginning to be openly discussed in the 1960s. In 1957, the FDA approved of the birth control pill but only for "severe menstrual distress." In 1960, the pill was approved for use as a contraceptive. Even so, the pill was illegal in some states and could be prescribed only to married women for purposes of family planning, and not all pharmacies stocked it. Some of those opposed said oral contraceptives were "immoral, promoted prostitution and were tantamount to abortion." It wasn't until several years later that birth control was approved for use by all women, regardless of marital status. In short, birth control meant a woman could complete her education, enter the work force and plan her own life.

Part One
We don’t have to look far to see that women have not been treated equally or fairly throughout History.
But……..Does the Bible promote women as one of lesser Value than a Man? Let take a deeper look as we stay Further Every day.

History of Women Suffrage:
The advancement of Women in Society:
*The right to Vote in State and Federal Elections
*The right for married women to own property and purchase property.
The 19th Amendment was ratified in 1920, officially giving women the right to vote for the first time in American history. (When the nation was founded only White, land-owning men were allowed to vote)
Individual States gave certain rights to women to purchase property and conduct Business.
By
Jone Johnson Lewis
Jone Johnson Lewis
Women's History Writer
• B.A., Mundelein College
• M.Div., Meadville/Lombard Theological School
Jone Johnson Lewis is a women's history writer who has been involved with the women's movement since the late 1960s. She is a former faculty member of the Humanist Institute.
LEARN ABOUT OUR EDITORIAL PROCESS
Updated on July 13, 2019

By 1900, every state had given married women substantial control over their property. But women still faced gender bias when it came to financial matters. It would take until the 1970s before women were able to get credit cards. Before then, a woman still needed her husband’s signature.
The struggle for women to be financially independent of their husbands extended well into the 20th century.
1970s before women were able to get credit cards. Before then, a woman still needed her husbands signature.