Jesus didn't regard women as inferior but there are captions all through the Bible that do regard women as property of men, fathers, husbands,brothers.etc. with absoulutly no rights at all. No rights to even our own bodies and hearts. If a man wanted to have sex with us we were not permitted to stop them. Rape was perfectly exceptable. Jesus did not teach this, but it is all through the bible.
2006-06-25 02:21:00 · 24 answers · asked by debbie_joan 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Please help me to understand.
2006-06-25 02:21:19 · update #1
http://www.religioustolerance.org/ofe_bibl.htm
2006-06-25 06:00:40 · update #2
Injustices described in the Old Testament do not mean that they were CONDONED by God, merely reported on. The intent in the O.T. was not to make women "property", but for men to watch over and protect them. MEN added to the scripture a set of traditions, which some of God's servants even allowed (though they shouldn't have) which inferred that women could be treated as property.
When Jesus came, part of His purpose was to correct the errors that the traditions of men had inflicted on the Law of the Old Testament. Jesus' teachings as recorded in the Gospels regarding marriage, lust, adultery, murder, and hypocracy of tradition did just that. Peter's epistles add even more clarity, yet even today there are those who would twist these writings to construe men's absolute authority over women.
Bottom line -- God made us Spiritually and morally equal. God instructs men (who in some cases have superior physical abilities) to watch over, protect, learn from, and to love and give honor to women (specificly their wives). God instructs women to receive protection and instruction from and give respect to men (specificly their husbands). God had to give men more instruction because we tend to be more 'brutish'.
I answered a similar question a couple of days ago. This link should take you there.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=ApvfOYIVaaL9mpwEFZNms6Dsy6IX?qid=20060619175818AAemwTx
My answer to this question will give some scriptural clarity.
EDIT: Regarding the link you posted above - You are not getting proper teaching. First, some of the materials are only being interpreted to you. Read them for yourself. Secondly, some of them are taken out of context; for example, the passage regarding a soldier taking a prisoner to wife - this entire section of scripture is about purification, not marriage. IF THEY TOGETHER choose to marry, she must be 'purified'. I would suggest that you check out { http://blueletterbible.org } where you can read each of these scriptures in context, and if you want, can read commentaries by traditional Christians. Additionally, a chain referenced Bible can help give overview by linking together related topics for a clearer picture (such as marriage and the purification processes for a Hebrew to take a non-Hebrew spouse).
2006-06-25 02:52:57 · answer #1 · answered by claypigeon 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I'm not sure I would go as far as saying rape was acceptable... The Bible does teach that women are property though.
One theory is that the people who put together the Bible were male - they themselves were threatened by women, and left out parts of the Bible that regarded women as equals. For instance some of the Gnostic gospels have women in higher positions.
There are a lot of theories regarding your question actually! It's a good question - I would tell you to do some research - start with the Gnostic gospels or even with some articles written by scholars in the religion field - you'll find this is a widely debated topic.
2006-06-25 09:37:57 · answer #2 · answered by D S 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Having read the Bible many times, I can not think of a single time when the Bible supports a rape. It it forbidden numerous times in script. It fact, anyone convicted of rape was to be stoned to death.
It even goes so far as to say that if a man has relations with a woman outside of town, where no one what be able to tell whether she resisted and screamed, that the man was to be found guilty because she had no possibility of providing a witness in her defense. The assumption under Bible law was guilty since he could not prove innocence. That does not sound like women had to take it. (Deut 22:25-27)
There are cases of rape mentioned in theBible, such as when one of David's son raped a half sister in 2 Samuel 13. Just because the Bible tells you an event happened, does not mean the Bible is saying the event was right. Those incidents are strongly condemned and listed as evil and wicked. That son was killed by his older brother for committing the rape.
I have no clue who ever told you that the Bible permitted rape. They were wrong. May I respectfully suggest that you read it sometime for yourself to see what it does teach.
2006-06-25 09:41:55 · answer #3 · answered by dewcoons 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Don't be too upset. Women just got the right to vote in the United States a few years ago. If Jesus respect you-so does the Bible. The two can not be separated. We do not understand everything in the Bible. What you bring up is one of them. You don't lose faith, God will show you anything you want to know when you get to heaven, don't fret the small stuff. There are tons of problems in the world. Don't allow any thing or anyone to distract you from you walk with the Lord.
2006-06-25 09:31:26 · answer #4 · answered by Terrence J 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If someone reads the Bible closely, they will see that the only people in the scriptures who regard women as inferior are the nonbelievers. Abraham, Issac, Jacob, Moses, and so on took great care of the women who they bore children to. They often refer to women as life givers who should help raise children while the man works for his family. This tradition still goes on to this day. Nowhere in the scriptures does it say women must be forced to have sex with their partner. Some people only think this because women weren't given as big a role as men where in the bible. But who knows this for sure? There could be lost or long forgotten passages that are no longer part of the bible that women have more important roles in. No one knows for sure.
2006-06-25 10:00:03 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Dear one,
I feel your pain. But you are mistaken in your premise. The bible does not regard women as inferior. It is true that there are many incidents of injustice towards women recorded in OT history. However the fact that they are recorded does not mean that they are condoned. And there is teaching in the new testament that has been twisted and used by some to justify oppression and abuse. But these are distortions made by men interested only in their own ends and not in what pleases the Lord.
The teaching of the scripture is that women are of equal value and importance to God. He is not a respecter of persons and women like men are image bearers of the Divine. What is misunderstood and often causes offense is that we are intended to have complementary roles. Our culture has been trying to convince us that men and women are interchangeable. They are not, this is obvious to all who have the courage to question cultural norms. Families work best when there is order in the home and clear lines of authority. This does not make the man the boss, but in following Jesus' example it makes him the cheif servant. Man has authority from God to serve others. This not often practiced but it is the intent of the teaching on the differences in men and women's roles.
2006-06-25 10:56:40 · answer #6 · answered by enoch 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Understand the cultural mores of the times in which the scriptures were written. They are reflected in the writings particularly of Paul, who had no direct contact with Jesus or his egalitarian teachings.
With regard to rape, you are correct. One such instance is when Tamar is raped by her brother who receives no punishment. It is SHE who is disgraced. In many places soldiers were told to vanquish villages, kill everyone but the virgins and take them for themselves. The bible also requires that if a man rapes a virgin he must marry her and not be allowed to divorce her. Believe it or not, this was actually seen as a protection for the woman. It is an atrocity, since no woman should be forced to marry her violator.
2006-06-25 09:54:28 · answer #7 · answered by Susan M 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It isn't that women were treated by being raped, that would damage the property. Men protect their possesions with great fervor, and a woman was the greatest possession a man could attain. I believe that still true today. If more men 'felt' that a woman belonged to him, he would protect her with great care to see that she is healthy, happy, provided for, and given great wealth to wear to expose the man's pride of ownership.
In the old testament, you will see many wars and tactical moves by the Jews. The Jewish people were constantly trying to increase in numbers. For a woman to 'wait to be in the mood' was non sence and would cause further complications for the goal. Women however you think were raped, were not, they were just not IN THE MOOD, but hardly the idea of raped.
Jesus expanded on this to say that "...a husband should love his wife as he loves his own body." This is a strong indicator that men should not harm their wife, but also have sex with her daily. I don't think it is a burden, I think it is the Lord telling men that women have high sex drives!
2006-06-25 09:34:14 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
it's simple: the bible was written by MEN. All the bible's prophets are males. it was a perfect opportunity for them to spread their doctrine and instigate a society which treated women as inferior, exploitable objects through something extremely powerful: religion. the notions indirectly promoted by the Bible were maintained all the way to the 21st century so imagine how well they spread (and enforced) their word. Also, you cannot know with certainty what Jesus taught because once again the portrayal of him and the records of his preaching were written by MEN. for all you know, Jesus could have been Mexican and sexist. But those who conducted the writing of the Bible took care to present him as what we see him today. It's all to do with the power of words, in my opinion
2006-06-25 09:30:56 · answer #9 · answered by Lien21890 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
When God created Adam and Eve, He made Eve from Adam. A lot of ppl think that b/c women was made from men, we are inferior. But think about this......without us, who would bear the ppl of this earth. Men couldn't do it. We have a gift. We are Divine and beautiful. God had a plan for women when He made us. To reproduce and bear fruit to the earth. Men sought us as toys and felt that maybe b/c we didn't have penis they could boss us around and control are lives. Jesus did not teach this, but men created it and passed it down to each generation. That's why he died on the cross to forgive us of sins including that. But, b/c it was a way of life, they continued to do this. It still happens to day. But just know, on the Day of Judgment, justice will be served
2006-06-25 09:38:12 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋