Struggling...

[1watchman]

Well, there are many souls in general with religious ideas and worldly solutions. Stay close to the Lord Jesus daily and study His "word of truth" in the Holy Bible --note the four Gospels, and the Epistles to learn God's mind!

 

[Will Joseph]

He promotes women having fewer rights, and that a husband has the right to command sex at any point whereas the woman is not allowed to.

I'm pretty sure that I read part of the bible informing that "the husband shall not withhold from the wife, nor shall the wife withhold from the husband" or something similar, so both individuals are equally responsible for sexually satisfying each other. It's not a one-sided thing.

Now some people think that some parts of the bible are sexist. But know that I've read parts of the bible that are not sexist. Also, there are many irreligious societies that are very sexist. Some societies promote fornication against a woman's will. Some societies promote masochism that hurt women. Some societies do not give any rights to women. And again, those societies are not Christian.

You can always read the bible for yourself and then see if you want to be a Christian or not. But it is not wise to oppose Christianity simply because other people think it's sexist.

 

[1watchman]

Basically true, Joseph! Reading the New Testament Epistles will show any real "born again" saints (as John 3:16) what is needed. -1 watchman

 

[James_Lai]

The blogger at biblicalgenderroles.com is wrong.

There's a lot I could say, but I'll start with this: Many ancient cultures were patriarchal, and we see this patriarchal background in some of the stories in the Bible. Nevertheless, even against this patriarchal background, we see affirmations of women throughout the Scriptures. Genesis 1 says that both men and women are in the image of God. The gospels show Jesus talking with women in ways that contrast with the culturally expected patriarchy; note, for example, the stories of Mary and Martha of Bethany, the woman at the well, and the description in Luke 8 of the group of women who travelled with him and provided for him. St Paul writes that, for Christians, "There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus."

Your concern about this issue isn't silly at all. Patriarchy is destructive to women, and it violates the rule that we should love our neighbors as ourselves.

The Bible does say many unfavourable things about women, clearly indicating them to be inferior, second class and in submission

 

[PloverWing]

The Bible does say many unfavourable things about women, clearly indicating them to be inferior, second class and in submission

The Bible says a mixture of things about women. Some reflect the attitudes of ancient cultures, and others reflect the command to love our neighbors as ourselves.

 

[James_Lai]

The Bible says a mixture of things about women. Some reflect the attitudes of ancient cultures, and others reflect the command to love our neighbors as ourselves.

Love them as long as they are kept in their place? After all, “Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner”…

1 Timothy 2:14

 

[Lost4words]

Hey all, I honestly don't know where else to turn. I came across a website called biblicalgenderroles.com wherein the blogger basically says men and women have equal value to God, but man is the image bearer of God, while woman only carries half the image of God man has. He even goes so far as to say a husband is not commanded to sexually satisfy his wife because the man wasn't made for the woman. He promotes women having fewer rights, and that a husband has the right to command sex at any point whereas the woman is not allowed to. He believes marriage is the ownership of the wife by the husband. Even the comments on his blogs are incredibly hurtful. Thing is... some of it actually makes a lot of sense if you take into consideration that a woman must submit "in everything" to her husband, as she would to Jesus. Yes, Jesus is supposed to have died for us... but he is still supposed to be God... and the church will never be God. Therefore, man and woman will never be equal. Right?

I'm really struggling hard with this, and this all may seen silly to some, but it's one of the biggest hold ups to me becoming a Christian. I cannot have a relationship with a God who views me as less than man.

I'm sorry if this is in the wrong spot, but this is really eating at me

Stop reading articles like the one that has given you wrong info.

God loves EVERYONE. Man and woman.

Some people misinterpret God's word.

We are all equal in the eyes of God. Please remember that. Stay away from websites etc that say otherwise. Please.

Pray to God. Talk to Him. Lay your concerns at his feet. Be confident that He truly loves and respects all humans. Man and woman.

God bless you.

 

[Chris35]

1 Corinthians 7:4

The wife's body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband's body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife. Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer.

Galations 3:28
There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

 

[PloverWing]

Love them as long as they are kept in their place? After all, “Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner”…

1 Timothy 2:14

This passage is a difficult one to figure out, for several reasons, one of which is that the "women should be silent in church" interpretation conflicts with some other things that Paul writes and some things we see in Acts. I've seen multiple attempts to make sense of it. One possibility is that since Eve's lack of knowledge led to her susceptibility to deception and then sin (2:13-14), it is very important that women have the same opportunities for learning that men have, and that they take full advantage of those opportunities (2:11). (I am indebted to Gilbert Bilezikian for this reading of the passage.) Other readings are possible. And, yes, one possibility is that the author of I Timothy was too strongly influenced by the attitudes of the culture he lived in.

Keeping people "in their place" is not consistent with loving them as one's self.

 

[James_Lai]

This passage is a difficult one to figure out, for several reasons, one of which is that the "women should be silent in church" interpretation conflicts with some other things that Paul writes and some things we see in Acts. I've seen multiple attempts to make sense of it. One possibility is that since Eve's lack of knowledge led to her susceptibility to deception and then sin (2:13-14), it is very important that women have the same opportunities for learning that men have, and that they take full advantage of those opportunities (2:11). (I am indebted to Gilbert Bilezikian for this reading of the passage.) Other readings are possible. And, yes, one possibility is that the author of I Timothy was too strongly influenced by the attitudes of the culture he lived in.

Keeping people "in their place" is not consistent with loving them as one's self.

From the entirety of the Bible, both the OT and NT it seems women are second class to men. What shocked me was Deuteronomy 25:11-12, among other things. Again, both the OT and NT. The NT is of course not as drastic, but still regards women more sinful and less capable or worthy. Salvation through child bearing is quite an idea, too.

 

[PloverWing]

From the entirety of the Bible, both the OT and NT it seems women are second class to men. What shocked me was Deuteronomy 25:11-12, among other things. Again, both the OT and NT. The NT is of course not as drastic, but still regards women more sinful and less capable or worthy. Salvation through child bearing is quite an idea, too.

I agree that misogyny and sexism were present in the ancient cultures that surrounded the writing of the Bible, and that some of those attitudes seep through into the text in places.

I see in the NT a growing understanding that God's Kingdom encompasses wider and wider groups of people than had been previously recognized, including those who had previously been excluded in their societies. I see this especially in Jesus' stories and actions, in Luke/Acts and in some of Paul's letters. We see inclusion of Gentiles, of poor people, of children, of a eunuch, and, yes, of women. It's not perfectly carried out. The early church debated the inclusion of Gentiles for a long time. James in his letter still has to fuss at rich people for being snooty around poor people. And, as you have observed, there are oddly sexist bits that pop up in some of the epistles. Just as the OT Israelites kept resisting monotheism, going back to the veneration of other gods over and over, in the NT we see Christians not entirely embracing God's overturning of human hierarchies, going back over and over to "who is the greatest?". Still, the overturning of human hierarchies is there in the NT, even when it is imperfectly realized.

 

[1watchman]

The Bible does say many unfavourable things about women, clearly indicating them to be inferior, second class and in submission

That is reasoning beyond what the Bible shows, friend! It shows us how the woman caused the failure in the beginning by acting in the flesh: as in Genesis 2and 3 ; and must be in subject to the godly man (if he is). She has her godly place in service in the world, and it is very commendabe and a happy course. One needs to read the Gospels and the Epistles and learn how the Christian course really is.

 

[hedrick]

There's a spectrum of beliefs on this issue among Christians. But the view presented in the OP is beyond the edge even of the more traditional view. There certainly are Christians who think that men and women are suited for different roles. But they don't think it makes men or women more or less valuable or more or less in the image of God.

I go more in the other direction. The Bible represents several cultures, but all were in one way or another patriarchal. I think both Jesus and the first Christians resisted many aspects of that.

Jesus had female disciples, which would have been unusual, even though the Gospels don't include them in the 12. Paul seems to have recognized female church leaders, though in some sense he sees the husband as the head of a marriage.

The term "head" in English implies boss. Most commentators will tell you that it doesn't have that meaning in Paul. But it does suggest that the husband is in some way responsible to God for what goes on in it.

Today's culture is more egalitarian. Christian families have a variety of ways of distributing duties and responsibilities among the spouses.
I think that's proper.

 

[hedrick]

The Bible does say many unfavourable things about women, clearly indicating them to be inferior, second class and in submission

I think we have to admit that there are some places where this is true. But I also think the examples of Jesus and of Paul's churches suggest that this isn't the normative Christian position.