Why should one worship a God that discriminates or hate women?

Question

Even in the Holy Bible itself it's full of God's commands that degrade and shame women. Such as, if a woman gets divorced and marries another guy she is automatically an adulterer. Well what if the woman married a very abusive man that treats her like a slave and dirt, makes her sleep on the ground, ect and abuses her physically emotionally sexually or one of those, Will God still look down on her as an adulterer of she decides to leave him for her own safety?

It also says in the bible that women should cover their heads, and be silent in church. Well is God gonna condemn women if they decide to be a pastor and a public speaker glorifying His name?

It also says in the old testament that women who are raped should marry the rapist. Is that God's command? Or somewhere it says keep the women and children for raping and slavery.

Wouldn't it be better to be an animal instead of a woman? Look at meerkats, the male is attentive to his mate the dominant female.
Thoughts?

I am only asking such questions so I can develop viewpoints so when someone asks me this I know how and what to say. Also is it better to worship a discriminating God or go to hell?

Is this God discriminating. Be specific in your views.

Answer 1

Well, let us separate the argument you have. First is that God is discriminating. However, do not think this word means prejudiced. It originally means to make a distinction or a prefrence for or against a person or thing. The only ones God truly prefers are the poor.
However, let us review some scripture. In numerous refrences to the conduct of the Jewish people there is the passage that reminds all men and women to do justice towards and care for the Widow (only women are widows, right?) and the Orphans. An unjust God would never teach a people to do this.
Let us talk of the divorce issue in the Bible. If you read in Matthew 19.3-9. It was Moses who allowed divorce and not God. Jesus reaffirms God's will for women and men in marriage. He reminds the Pharisees that man and woman are made one flesh in marriage and what God has joined, let no one separate.
Now under Mosaic law a man can write a decree of divorce to put away his wife. Yet, there must have been an abuse of this law if it comes to Jesus' attention. Therefore, He states in favor of justice for all, "And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for unchastity, and marries another commits adultery." Some understanding of the word "unchastity" is needed here. The word is not correctly translated, but the sense of the word means one can divorce if the marriage is incestuous. One cannot divorce if either spouse was unfaithful to the other. This is also a statement that presupposes that if a woman divorces her husband she commits adultery. Jesus in this instance is just stating the other side of the same coin for the Pharisees and that men are as accountable as women.
Now when it comes to women covering their heads and being silent in church, then it is a comment of the time and not for today exactly. It is mentioned 1 Corinthians 14.33. Scholars take this verse to be an editorial insertion. It has been debated as to its true meaning, but one can speculate that maybe there was a problem of conduct within the liturgy and needed to be addressed. And this could be all it means.
As far as a woman in an abusive marriage, the Catholic Church teaches that the woman has the right (for her and her children's safety and serenity) to leave the husband/father. If there can be no reconciliation between husband/father and wife/mother and children, then an annulment is sought. The Church always encourages and helps women find shelter and safety. And so, if God is unjust and looks down on women, then would any of this teaching and opportunity exist for women?
As far as the Old Testament teaching of a rapist marrying the woman they raped, you must understand something else about it. The punishment is that the man always has his victim before him. Everytime he sees her he remembers what he did and how she feels about it. She is not punished in this, but becomes the means of his punishment! Also, in these cases the man usually repented and learned from her how to truly love and respect the woman he injured as a wife and not an object. Obviously, this was the outcome of such a custom since it was mentionted and practiced in the Old Testament. If it did not work out this way then it would not have become a custom and law. Yet, did God command this. In a way, but it was expressed and commented on by our human understanding of His 10 Commandments.
I don't think it says in the Bible that men should "keep the women and children for raping and slavery." If so, let me know where.
Also, Jewish men respected women greatly. There is a Jewish prayer that men pray, which I also pray, that goes like this, "I thank you God for not making me a woman." This is not chauvanistic or prejudiced. The meaning of the prayer is that men are thankful for not being made a woman because men know they cannot survive what women go through and remain good and faithful. They (men) know they are too weak to live as one. This prayer is really a high compliment for a woman.
And in conclusion if all this is discerned within scriptures and tradition that women were respected and protected, then God who inspires such laws, customs, and traditions is just and does not look down on women.
And since I am a Catholic priest who took the time to answer, then neither do I or the Catholic Church look down on women, since we follow the God who loves and protects them. In fact, if the Catholic Church did not repsect women, then why is it we call the Catholic Church "Mother Church", and we have Mother Mary as our example of how to respond to Christ and His gospel. So, God (who is with His Church) obviously loves and respects women.
May the Lord bless and keep you. May He let the light of His face shine upon you.
God's and your beast of burden
Fr. john

Answer 2

>>>Such as, if a woman gets divorced and marries another guy she is automatically an adulterer<<<

That rule also applies to guys -- even to guys who divorce a woman who physically and mentally abuses him. (Yes, this does happen. A lot.) So there's no need to feel that the ladies are being picked on here.

By the way, the Catholic Church DOES allow women to leave their husbands for their own safety, if need be.

Whether they can marry again depends on if there's grounds for annulment -- but you're absolutely wrong in implying that the Church forces women to stay with abusive husbands. (Or forces men to stay with abusive wives.)

>>>It also says in the old testament that women who are raped should marry the rapist. Is that God's command?<<<

No, because the New Testament has teachings which supercede this old law, and which demand that men refrain from raping women.

It's curious how you quote the Bible selectively -- using isolated quotes that build your argument while casting the Bible in a bad light, but ignoring other quotes which would do damage to your argument.

>>>Wouldn't it be better to be an animal instead of a woman?<<<

Now who's the one who's looking down on women here?

Answer 3

OK, you don't understand the things God said. If the husband is abusing his wife, that needs to be dealt with, and if necessary, divorce may be an option. But first, there should be an attempt to reconcile the marriage. Also, it isn't just the woman who would commit adultery by marrying someone else, the man would, too.

In regard to women being silent, when Paul said this, the church was starting out, so he may have told women to be silent just to avoid a problem, which, if you read the letters, there were many. Additionally, it may have been that the women were talking and not paying attention, and so were a distraction. Women are more social than men, so they may have simply been chatty, and Paul told them to be quiet.

God wouldn't ever condone rape. With regard to a woman marrying her rapist, it was a way to make sure she'd be taken care of. Women in that culture didn't have much of a means to take care of themselves, so they needed to get married. If they weren't a virgin, they wouldn't get married since men wanted a virgin, which would mean she didn't have any STDs, and would help stem the spread of any disease. By forcing the rapist to marry her, it insured that she would be taken care of.

They were allowed to take the virgins of a conquered nation bc it meant they wouldn't have the STDs that afflicted the nations they destroyed. It was actually God being merciful, rather than ordering that they kill everyone, they kept the virgins alive bc they had no chance to infect anyone with an STD.

If you have a proper understanding of the Bible and why God ordered certain things, you'll see that the Israelites were further along in women's rights than the nations they conquered or that surrounded them.

Answer 4

If I care to quote from my studies in Muslim Laws... Man and woman both can divorce(procedure differs), for men it is 'Talaq', for women it is 'Khula'(both Arabic words). As only one instance was quoted, so I do not quote other examples of 'equality' expressly stated with examples. About 4 wives as inequality, the relevent Verse of the Qur'an is being contested by Female Theologians of today as having been misinterpreted by 'men' under the conditioning of their era ? They have a point, which 'theological men students' of today are pondering about... Apparently, 4 marriages is a conditional provision in the case of female orphans, which at times like in Wars becomes a social issue. Far more women (some orphans) VS too few men.. The quatation from The Quran is 4:2 .** It has never been a Commandment to marry 4 wives ** just a permission under very explicit and strict conditions. The Book adds,"If the conditions are not met, keep only one(wife)." Sorry, if I have turned away from a Christian question.

Answer 5

With all due respect; the Bible is a book of choices; the choice to obey a false god (man) or the true God. That is what the '2 or more witnesses' principle is about (Principle given to the Jews, and later to the Christians Matt 18:16). Along with 2 Tim. 3:16-17, the scriptural old testament is the law of Moses, not Genesis-Malachi. (Part of the choice given to people). I believe the asker may find Christianity offers freedom to women, more than many religions do..

Answer 6

It's amazing how many people will argue the bible doesn't state exactly what it does state! The bible does say a rapist must marry his victim. Imagine that! If you are a man and you see a woman that attracts you, all you have to do is rape her and you are guaranteed to be able (forced even) to marry her! Yes, virgins were considered the spoils of battles and the men could keep the virgins for themselves after battles. And yes, slavery was condoned and encouraged, with rules for slaves on how to act.

Answer 7

Jesus never discriminated against women. In fact, in a culture in which women were not even allowed to worship with the men, Jesus spoke openly with women as equals.
No, I do not believe God would condemn a woman who either pastored a church, or spoke publicly glorifying HIs name.
I am not sure why Paul said the things he did about women. It is possible that, in the seaport city of Corinth, the women may have needed an extra warning not to disrupt the services...remember that in his culture, men and women did not sit together as a rule, and it is possible that he wanted to keep these women from shouting questions at their husbands across the room. When counseling Timothy, it is also possible that Paul let his own feelings about women color his views. In any case, he did write that, in Jesus there is no male or female...in other words, no more sexual discrimination. He also wrote that husband and wife ought to submit to one another...and that a woman ought to submit to a husband who loves her as Christ loves the church...no major hardship there, I think.
A great many people have tried to use the Bible to discriminate against women, never realizing that the Bible deals with a different culture...and never thinking that Jesus treated women as equals...that is the thing we need to remember.
Jesus never discriminated against women.

Answer 8

I think your theology is a little off there. When God became man, he came into the world as a child. He was then obediant to his mother, Mary. That God was obediant to a woman, sort of makes your whole article about discriminating about women silly. God so perfectly redemend Mary that she was born without any sin or stain and is more honored than even the angels. I do not see how she whom all generations call blessed is not respected.

As far as the covering of the heads of women during Mass; far from being degrading, it is a sign of respect and honor towards them. The woman's body is a temple, and therefore she covers her head because she is holy.

In the Old Testament, you'll notice that the Holy of Holies is the most sacred part of the Temple. It is the place where God came to earth.

When Jesus came to earth, he came through Mary, and thus, Mary's womb was the holy of holies; the very resting place of God.

Each woman, by the nature and honor of simply being woman is a temple for both God and for their own physical children.

It is below the dignity of woman for her body to be exploited, but it should be reserved for the special bond and love that is within marriage. In that special union between man and woman, woman let's man into her Temple, and from that results new life. Woman is to be sumissive to Man and obediant to Him; for she is the body and he is the head. In the same way, CHristians are to be submissive and obediant to God, for they are His Body and He is their Head.

It is no more demaining and insulting to be a woman than it is to be a Christian; as Christians must submit in every way to the will of God, and more so even, than women to their husbands.

Further, it must be said that, given that God Himself submitted himself to a woman, one can hardly call Him -- He who made salvation dependant on a woman -- anti-woman.

Answer 9

How about some references here? My church does not allow women to be pastors, but they can be involved in almost any other way. The reasoning is that Jesus never took in women as disciples, but certainly had a lot who were followers, and the ones he traveled with certainly got to see and hear more than almost anyone else around.
There are plenty of other churches out there though to fit your beliefs, since there are a lot of people who don't like to take the Bible literally.

Answer 10

Look at 1 Timothy chapter 1, 2 or 3