Friday 26 September 2008

Subjugation


Why would any woman ever want to be a Xian? This is literally a mystery to me. The Bible is misogynistic - women are the property of men according to god's law. Women must subjugate themselves to men, women must be silent, it is woman's fault that humans fell, childbirth is a curse upon women, etc. It boggles my mind why anyone would want to subject themselves to this sort of treatment/harassment.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation has a good write-up of the treatment of women in the Bible including a list of several verses that spell out how women are demeaned by Xianity. I suggest that all Xian women read it.

10 comments:

Robert Madewell said...

Or why would any woman want to be Islamic?

Fundamental Christians do still treat women as second class citizens. A chain of Southern Baptist book stores recently removed a christian magazine from its shelves because the magazine had an article about women pastors. The Southern Baptist Convention does not allow women to be deacons or pastors. As a matter of fact, a popular website that makes sermon audio files available will not post any sermons from a woman minister. The bible itself says that women should never speak in church. If they have a question they must wait to ask thier husbands when they get home. (1 Corinthians 14:34-35)

Asylum Seeker said...

Why would these women want to submit themselves to an obviously patriarchal, misogynistic, and oppressive worldview? Easy. Same reason why a racial minority and homosexual. Fear, brainwashing, and a touch of masochism.

GCT said...

Robert,
Yeah, good point about Islam. Have you read "Infidel"?

Asylum,
I thought about talking about minorities and homosexuals in the OP, but decided against it. It's a good point though.

Karla said...

The Bible is the most liberating to women than any religious text and gives great freedom and value to women. Men are called to love their wives like Christ loves the church giving themselves up for her needs. Women are in important roles in Biblical history. Women are even in leadership roles, contrary to some churches doctrines. Women are not asked to be silent in church because their voice isn't valuable but in that society women were uneducated and while Christianity was liberating them to become educated it took time and they couldn't be shouting their questions out during a meeting for it wasn't orderly. That is the only reason for that verse. Anything else takes it out of context.

I am a woman and have been a Christian since I was a little girl and it is the most wonderful thing. My husband treats me with great love and values me equally as called by Scripture to do.

Asylum Seeker said...

karla: "The Bible is the most liberating to women than any religious text"

Setting the bar high, are we?

Also, loving someone isn't the same as treating them as an equal (hence, the title of the post: "subjugation"). As for your interpretation of the context for the "women should shut up in church" passage: if it was just about preventing uneducated morons from asking questions, why didn't it just say that? No need to specify a gender, just say "please hold all questions until the end".

I am sorry...you are just giving your religion the benefit of the doubt. I can understand that. But, the thing is, Christianity wasn't always as accepting as the heavily modernized version you see today. Hell, there are several fragments of it that are still obviously sexist (female Catholic priests, anyone?). You can try to sugar coat all you like, but it still the product of an ancient patriarchy that was the justification of modern patriarchy until fairly recently.

GCT said...

"The Bible is the most liberating to women than any religious text and gives great freedom and value to women."

Asylum was being nice. It's not much good to say that Xianity is the least sexist, which isn't actually true anyway.

"Men are called to love their wives like Christ loves the church giving themselves up for her needs."

And women are specifically called to obey and subjugate.

"Women are even in leadership roles, contrary to some churches doctrines."

Exactly, contrary to doctrines.

"My husband treats me with great love and values me equally as called by Scripture to do."

Then I submit that he is not following scripture because scripture specifically says different. I'm sure he does love you, though, and maybe he does treat you as an equal. It is because we have a better moral understanding than the writers of the Bible about women's rights. So, if god did write the Bible, we can see that god's morals are less then our own.

Anonymous said...

"Men are called to love their wives like Christ loves the church"

Oh? You mean like christ beating the shit out of us when we don't do what he wants.

fatblue said...

"I am a woman and have been a Christian since I was a little girl and it is the most wonderful thing. My husband treats me with great love and values me equally as called by Scripture to do."

How do you know that its so wonderful if you've never tried anything else? Have you ever tried being a slut? That's a wonderful thing too and it'll give you wet bed sheets. I'll bet 'ya christianity has never done that for you.

symbiontmusic said...

Jesus fatblue......LOL.

Karla,
Can you show us in the bible, exactly what versus you are speaking of in regards to:

"My husband treats me with great love and values me equally as called by Scripture to do."

Leisha Camden said...

It will yet be the proud boast of women that they never contributed a line to the Bible.
George W. Foote

>:-)