| PLOWRIGHT WORLD Women and Christianity Section |
| Women in Christianity - the Question: Western history seems to show that many lessons of the professed majority faith had not taken too great a hold on the hearts and minds of its people. Sometimes the only defense seems to be, first, to note that the actions recorded were not in accordance with the teachings, and second, to ask whether the situation would have been worse without the background of faith. If that seems meagre fare, remember we are told in Jeremiah 17:9, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked," and Jesus warns, "wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many that go in by it." (Matthew 7:13) That being noted, what can we say about the teachings of Christ and their effect on the philosophy and practise of women's place in society? At the moment I can only refer to other, professional sources and links, but have included on this page some quotes to give immediate indication of the thinking. |
| http://www.gospelcom.net/ivpress/groothuis/ WhatAboutMale.htm Nevertheless, the Bible uses feminine imagery when it speaks of God as giving birth to Israel (Deuteronomy 32:18) and the Christian (James 1:18 NIV or NKJ). Jesus said he longed to gather rebellious Israel to himself as a mother hen gathers her chicks (Matthew 23:37-39). These kinds of metaphors reveal that although God is not a sexual being, he possesses all the qualities that we appreciate in both men and women, because God is the giver of every good and perfect gift (James 1:17). Second, Jesus did not set up a male-dominated religious system in which women would be permanently subjugated. He surprised his followers by teaching theology to women in private and in public (John 4:7-27; 11:21-27, Luke 10:38-42) at a time when women were excluded from such affairs. Although he esteemed the family, Jesus stipulated that a woman's principal purpose in life is not reducible to motherhood and domestic work but is found in knowing and following God's will (Luke 10:38-42; 11:27-28). Jesus also appeared to Mary after his resurrection and appointed her as a witness to his world-changing event--in a time when the witness of a woman was not respected (John 20:17-18; Matthew 28:5-10). |
| http://www.washington.edu/alumni/ columns/dec98/martyrs2.html He also points out that there was a dramatic shift in the ratio of men to women among early Christians. In the pagan world, because of the widespread practice among pagans of abortion and female infanticide, there were far more men than women. In the city of Rome, Stark says, the ratio was 131 men to 100 women. Because Christianity opposed abortion and infanticide, that ratio dramatically changed. This altered fertility patterns and meant higher birthrates for Christians. Marriage was held in low esteem by pagan Roman men. As the birth rate of the Roman empire plummeted, that of Christians rose. And because there was a surplus of Christian women compared to large numbers of pagan men, the men would often convert after marriage to Christian women. |