Submissive and Evil Women of The Holy Bible :: Holy Bible Essays

The Submissive and Evil Women of the Bible The Bible and the church have been the greatest stumbling blocks in theway of womans emancipation. A famous nineteenth century feminist named Elizabeth Cady Stanton voiced thisabout her struggle for womens freedom. Women, considered a lower class than themen, wanted this subjugation changed. Part of the reason for the subjugation ofwomen is that the Bible could be interpreted in many different ways to suit theneeds of the interpreter. These interpretations of the Bible are in partresponsible for the belief that women are of a lower class than men. The reasonthis belief is present in our society is that approximately 85% of Americans areJudeo-Christian. We see examples of these beliefs when we look at the church,the daily lives of women, and the media. feel at 1 Timothy 211-12, we seewhy our religious society could interpret the Bible this wayLet a woman catch out in silence with all submission, and do not permit a woman toteach or to hav e authority over a man, further to be in silence. We must look at the historical context of the race. Writtenapproximately 2000 years ago, many parts of the Bible seem outdated. The passageportrays a time when women were property and were trained to be weak andfragile. This stopped only about 30 years ago. Before this time, society taughtwomen from birth to be submissive to men. What does this mean to us today? Itmeans that although American Society is no longer training women to besubmissive, the problem is still present in our belief system. Many churches donot believe that women should be part of the clergy. This is because theyinterpret parts of the Bible, such as 1 Timothy 211-12, as saying that only menshould preach. In 1848, women made a retaliation to these sentiments. At theSeneca Falls convention, women (including Elizabeth Cady Stanton) signed aDeclaration of Sentiments. In the declaration it states He allows her in church, as well as state, but a subordinate position, claiming apostolic authority for her exclusion from the ministry, and, with some exceptions, from any public participation in the affairs of the church (Declaration 1) The people that these women fought against, including other women,believe that it is the duty of a woman to be quiet and submissive. I haveexperienced this anti-freedom dogma ontogeny up in the Church of Christ community.I experience this dogma when I talk with my grandmother, a woman who lives by