Sexism and Christianity

Philosophy Forums Religion and Spirituality
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Disclosure: This is not a flaming thread.

I have a friend who is going for her major in philosophy. One day, she started talking to me about the obvious sexism evident in Christianity. I had to be convinced, as having been a devout Christian in the previous years, but after her argument and reflection, it seemed that the validity in her arguments were present.

Listening to the argument about it between her and my mormon friend was entertaining, to say the least. There are several scriptures which most certainly imply women are the weaker vessel, that women shouldn’t have as many privelages as men, etc. Of course, physically I recognize the difference between sexes, but I don’t think women should be restricted to the roles mentioned in the Bible.

Sexism seems obvious, looking back throughout Christian history. Women could not give speeches or sermons in the church, or hold high places in the church. One could argue that these passages were simply misenterpreted, and now many sects are allowing more responsibility with women, which I support. But many still don’t give women equal privelages, despite abundant knowledge of intellectual equality.

And perhaps that doesn’t bother most. Perhaps most find it acceptable that women aren’t given these equal positions in most religions or the church. What bothers me even more than this is the fact that Jesus, the supposed son of God, the lord and savior for billions, never experienced love. A woman’s love.

To many, the thought is repulsive. If it wasn’t, people wouldn’t be up and arms about The Da Vinci Code. One could certainly argue that God’s love is greater than any love a woman could provide, or that a woman, to Jesus, was just another “temptation of the flesh,” just as alcohol or tobacco, but I don’t see the reasoning behind casting such a negative light on it at all. Why are women considered temptations? If the “yoke” of marriage between a man and a woman is so sacred, and is blessed by God, why couldn’t the “greatest man who ever lived,” experience this gift of God, this beauty which ignites souls worldwide, and adds so much beauty to our existence?

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I resent the Da Vinci Code because it's bullshit, not because I'm sexist.  Other than that, good post. There's a few different meanings for sexism, and a few different solutions. I'd have to say that the Bible is sexist from certain, popular understandings of the term, but not sexist from others.

First and foremost, would you say that the goal of gender equality is to make women more like men?

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Yeah, but I think it is worth placing each tradition within the time it was created in.

Even Buddha had to be convinced to allow female follower and one of the requirements for being a Buddha is a penis. And let’s not get started on Confucius and his issues with women. The idea of male/female equality is a very new one. Even when viewed as reciprocal halves, seperate-but-equal the women will still be associated with yin-nature. Dark, hidden, yielding.

Like any tradition dating back several thousand years (because Christianity has a lot of OT baggage as well, Christian morality doesn’t start with Jesus after all) there are parts that need a face-lift.

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No, I would say the goal of gender equality is to discard the ignorant belief that women are not as intellectually, rationally, or emotionally capable as man. Physically, they are not. As xunzian said, equal, but different.

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d0rkyd00d

Can you explain what you mean when you say 'equal' or 'capable'? I have to say I'm not sure where I weigh in on this.  Doesn't it make you at least a little suspicious that men and women are 'equal' in all these ways that can never ever be fairly measured like 'emotional capability', and yet when it comes to things that [i]can[/i] be measured like who runs faster or lifts more, we can't help but acknowledge the difference?
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The only tests that we have, as I understand, are IQ and EQ tests, and i’m sure they are various and bountiful. I have seen many studies that show the different kinds of brain matter involved in our development (it appears white matter is the key factor in women’s IQ, grey matter in men), but it appears that we are much closer in terms of equality intellectually and emotionally than we are physically.

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I still don’t know what you mean by equality- especially emotional equality.

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Meaning men are not more suitable to hold positions of power in society compared to women.

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Religion is just a tool of control, more the better that it marginalizes half the population right off the bat. That thins the competition.

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Mmm. I would agree with that in a general way. I would say though, that women might be more suited to certain positions of power, and men to others, and I would also say that men and women will tend to bring different approaches when they are in the same positions.

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Christianity is not sexist. In fact, a medieval views on christianity are. When God told Eve of the curse she got, he was just explaining what was happening. Not condemning her to it. The man got most of the blame, because he blamed the woman. But his curse condemned the planet, and thus the woman got cursed with it. Thus down through the ages the woman was subservient to the man not because of her idiocy, which she had none, but because she was seduced(perhaps translated, hypnotized) by Satan.

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I was using seperate-but-equal in the perjorative . . .

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Too late now, Jim Crow!