im atheist but ive read the bible and noticed that the bible seems to be very sexist if were all so inportant in gods eyes why are the women left out ???
2007-07-16 08:17:13 · 34 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
The Bible was written a very long time ago and in that time women where not that important
2007-07-16 08:20:42 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 1⤋
It is sexist, there isn't a doubt about that. As a sort of answer, the reason that the Bible is sexist is the times. You might have heard this a bunch of times, but those times were very patriarchal. There are a few parts of the Bible that do deal with women. For instance: Luke's version of Mary's life while pregnant. Or the book of Ruth.
Another thing, is that the Bible is to inspire, it isn't supposed to tell us what we should do in our lives. So, we can't live only with the book of Revelations thinking all our lives of only the doom in which we are going to face. The Bible was also written by humans, which means they might have left out a lot of stuff that God might have wanted in there.
At the meeting of Nicea (I think that is what it is), the leaders of the church wrote the Nicene creed for one. But I believe they also decided the books that were going to be put into the Bible. If you have ever read a Gnostic Gospel pretty much devoting 30 or so chapters to Mary, the mother of God. But they didn't put it into the Bible we now have.
This probably didn't help much. But I do hope it helped some.
2007-07-16 08:28:45 · answer #2 · answered by Sam H 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't know what you are reading....But Jesus is pretty clear about men and women are equal. If the bible was so sexist, there wouldn't be any mention of women in the bible...Mary, mother of Jesus. Holy spirit did not come onto a man, but a woman. Mary Magdalene, the first to see resurrected Jesus.
Jesus commands men to respect women...render to them what they deserve.....He even forbids men to look at women with lust!! (Do you think that is sexist?)
You probably have read the Old Testment...written long time before Jesus or just speculating what you heard...it talks to mankind...and not just men...afterall Man was made from dust, and woman was made from man..Wow what a privilege.
2007-07-16 08:32:31 · answer #3 · answered by MrPlankton 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
God created Men and Women with different roles. If you really study the bible and investigate what it says and what Christians believe, you will find that it is not sexist.
Women and men have different roles in society (according to the Bible), neither is more or less important, they are just different.
Our society has been mostly run by men and therefore the roles of a woman have been deemed less important and less valuable, so in that man-made context anything that instructs women to follow those roles which have been downgraded by men, would seem sexist.
Its not anymore sexist to tell a woman to stay home and raise her kids than it is to tell a man he has to go out and earn a living. the difference is that our society values money more than children so it looks like the woman has been assigned a lesser role (by human standards, but its not less important by God's standards)
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2007-07-16 08:25:15 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
As already pointed out it was written in a different time and culture... it is reflective of reality as it was at the time (its only fair... our understanding of reality is different from people living thousands of years past). It has only been a few decades that women have gained the freedoms they enjoy today... I would venture to say that we are still not at equality but have some more acceptance/learning to do as a society/culture. A key point worth mentioning is that Jesus was particularly "forward thinking"... he is recorded to have broken the social molds repeatedly interacting with and reaching out to not just women but the beggers and the sick... all of whom were second class citizens by societies standards at the time. If anything, God's desire to treat us each with respect is amazing... it falls inline with the "progressive self-revelation" he has provided us with in the OT testament. Basically, always pushing us to be better then where we are now... but not overwhelming us with the final state otherwise most would never even try.
2007-07-16 08:28:20 · answer #5 · answered by DoorWay 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the Bible is not sexist. What you need to know is that the Bible was giving to mankind as a whole for the purpose of leading all people regardless of sex, race, or color to know the one and only true God, whose name is Jehovah, written at Psalm 83: 18. He has done all things with order to promote peace. Jehovah is the almighty true sovereign then comes Jesus Christ, the means by which all mankind may be saved, if they follow God's standards. After that comes man, then woman, then children then all other creations. A man may not mistreat his wife, children, or animals in his care because his prayers to God will be hindered to the point God might not even listen to them. A wife should respect her husband and care for her household. The children are to be obedient to parents in order to gain life.
2007-07-16 08:48:31 · answer #6 · answered by 55andalive 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In part, I believe it goes back to Eve in the Garden of Eden. In Biblical times, that was the way of the world. But really, women aren't left out...there are many good and respected women in the Bible, and God cares for women just as much as men, as demonstrated in many parts of the Bible.
2007-07-16 08:30:48 · answer #7 · answered by cj_justme 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think you have to look at the context in which is was written. It was a very male centered society. However, there are wonderful examples of great women throughout the Bible.
Check out http://www.womeninthebible.net/ Not all the women listed are good, btw, but this is a good place to start.
2007-07-16 08:23:47 · answer #8 · answered by mommyofmegaboo 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
What specifically makes you think that the Bible is sexist? Yes, the women play smaller roles, but that doesn't make them less important. Jesus Himself went against His culture and spoke to an immoral woman of a hated race, and even revealed to her He was the Messiah. Women were the first witnesses to the resurrection of Christ in a day when the testimony of women was worthless.
2007-07-16 08:23:09 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Women were mainly left out because it was written by men and was seen that men should be the ones who provide for the family and lead communities and talk with God. Women were seen as property to men but were also seen as humans that were needed to be repsected enough so that the marriage would last and they would have children.
2007-07-16 08:32:51 · answer #10 · answered by Benotafraid 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Try thinking about it. In ancient patriarchal societies, women do not do much other than raise children and cook food.
What do you want them to say about women?
Until the industrial revolution and woman's rights movement, woman have not done that much in patriarchical socieities.
The Bible is a very ancient book...you can't judge history by today's standards.
Read some history. Look at how much resistance woman's lib or equal rights literature got in this century...it was unthinkable back then.
~ Eric Putkonen
2007-07-16 08:25:43 · answer #11 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋