This has been discussed many times before, but a Catholic friend brought up the subject of female clergy again last night - and I was ornery enough to quote a few Bible verses back to her. I will probably have to buy her a bottle of wine this afternoon and go over to apologize. (ha!) She was more than a little flustered by the verses, and went back to "well, the Bible is just a guide - it's not literal - things were very different back then". (We agreed on that point.)
But in my nerdy fashion, I created a collection of verses when I got home. I thought that I would share my musings. I will hide most of these verses, so you won't be assaulted by a wall of text. But the one verse I REALLY hate is in 1st Timothy. It actually says that a woman is "saved through childbirth". My friend and I are both single and will never have children. She's a devout Catholic, so she's not a fan of Timothy either.
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The Old Testament is riddled with verses that declare women to have less value than the average goat. She was made for the use of males, anyway they wanted, and that's mostly because the serpent tricked her into eating an apple in the Garden of Eden. All evil was the fault of women. (Of course, we now know that the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve never existed, so there was no "original sin" and no "fall of man".)
Genesis 3:16
To the woman He said, "I will greatly multiply Your pain in childbirth, In pain you will bring forth children; Yet your desire will be for your husband, And he will rule over you."
People will tell you that things are different now, and the Christian Bible is really the NEW Testament, after Jesus. But the New Testament is also full of misogyny and is the source for much of the subjugation of women in the last 2000 years.
1 Timothy 2:8 -
8 Therefore I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands, without anger or dissension. 9 Likewise, I want the women to adorn themselves with respectable apparel, with modesty, and with self-control, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, 10 but with good deeds, as is proper for women who profess to worship God. 11 A woman must learn in quietness and full submissiveness. 12 I do not permit a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man; she is to remain quiet. 13 For Adam was formed first, and then Eve. 14 And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman who was deceived and fell into transgression. 15 Women, however, will be saved through childbearing, if they continue in faith, love, and holiness, with self-control.
People dismiss the god of the Old Testament, even though Jesus said clearly that Yahweh and the law were unchanging. So if this is the same god, why couldn't he have told them that women were equal and not animals to be raped and abused and murdered? He could convince men to cut off part of their penises, but you don’t think that he could have convinced them women were worthy of respect?
Women will be saved by obeying their husband, being a silent housekeeper and a sex slave and a breeder. Go be silent and have babies, that’s how women can redeem themselves. (1 Timothy 2:9-15)
Gospel Apologists jump through the usual hoops and tie their gray matter into pretzels trying to put the proper spin on this blatant misogyny. One of the most common responses one finds is "Rather than abandoning their intended roles by demanding teaching and authoritative positions in the church, women will find true fulfillment through childbearing." These responses were clearly written by preachers who were wanking off to a Playboy centerfold whilst telling the image that "god made you for me me me me and I can do anything I want to you thank you god".
Seriously, how can any female be a xtian or a muslim? It's incomprehensible. Stockholm Syndrome?
But in my nerdy fashion, I created a collection of verses when I got home. I thought that I would share my musings. I will hide most of these verses, so you won't be assaulted by a wall of text. But the one verse I REALLY hate is in 1st Timothy. It actually says that a woman is "saved through childbirth". My friend and I are both single and will never have children. She's a devout Catholic, so she's not a fan of Timothy either.
=======
The Old Testament is riddled with verses that declare women to have less value than the average goat. She was made for the use of males, anyway they wanted, and that's mostly because the serpent tricked her into eating an apple in the Garden of Eden. All evil was the fault of women. (Of course, we now know that the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve never existed, so there was no "original sin" and no "fall of man".)
Genesis 3:16
To the woman He said, "I will greatly multiply Your pain in childbirth, In pain you will bring forth children; Yet your desire will be for your husband, And he will rule over you."
People will tell you that things are different now, and the Christian Bible is really the NEW Testament, after Jesus. But the New Testament is also full of misogyny and is the source for much of the subjugation of women in the last 2000 years.
1 Timothy 2:8 -
8 Therefore I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands, without anger or dissension. 9 Likewise, I want the women to adorn themselves with respectable apparel, with modesty, and with self-control, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, 10 but with good deeds, as is proper for women who profess to worship God. 11 A woman must learn in quietness and full submissiveness. 12 I do not permit a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man; she is to remain quiet. 13 For Adam was formed first, and then Eve. 14 And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman who was deceived and fell into transgression. 15 Women, however, will be saved through childbearing, if they continue in faith, love, and holiness, with self-control.
People dismiss the god of the Old Testament, even though Jesus said clearly that Yahweh and the law were unchanging. So if this is the same god, why couldn't he have told them that women were equal and not animals to be raped and abused and murdered? He could convince men to cut off part of their penises, but you don’t think that he could have convinced them women were worthy of respect?
Women will be saved by obeying their husband, being a silent housekeeper and a sex slave and a breeder. Go be silent and have babies, that’s how women can redeem themselves. (1 Timothy 2:9-15)
Gospel Apologists jump through the usual hoops and tie their gray matter into pretzels trying to put the proper spin on this blatant misogyny. One of the most common responses one finds is "Rather than abandoning their intended roles by demanding teaching and authoritative positions in the church, women will find true fulfillment through childbearing." These responses were clearly written by preachers who were wanking off to a Playboy centerfold whilst telling the image that "god made you for me me me me and I can do anything I want to you thank you god".
Seriously, how can any female be a xtian or a muslim? It's incomprehensible. Stockholm Syndrome?
"The family that prays together...is brainwashing their children."- Albert Einstein
