I'm not trying to offend anyone on here about their religion. I was just wondering what you guys thought.
In my opinion, it has mixed messages. In some parts of the Bible, it says that men are more superior to women. But then there are other parts that say that both men and women are equal.
Alright, I feel the need to just quickly step in with my thoughts.
The Bible is not sexist. It just gives women and men a different role to play in life, and no role is less important than the other. You've got to keep in mind what time period the Bible was written in. Men were superior in Jewish culture, so the Bible was written to cater to their want for leadership. But that doesn't mean women were left out. You've got to read the fine print.
For example, the first person to see the resurrected Christ was a woman (John 20:15-18). The first European convert was a woman (Acts 16:14). The only followers of Jesus to stand with Him in his crucifixion were women. There were woman in the upper room and anointed with the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost (Acts 1:14, 2:1-4). Jesus was born to an earthly mother, but not an earthly father (Matt. 1:18, etc.). Only a woman understood Christ's upcoming death (Mark 14:8).
"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:28)
You know, a lot of the controversy over this whole thing I think roots back to the fact that Eve was created from Adam. In return, women now give birth to all humans. But considering how close the early Jews still were to when their ancestors were in Eden, I don't think that mentality had quite left their mind--men subconciously believed that they were superior to women because women had been "created for them." Just remember that God didn't write the Bible though; He impressioned to the writers what should be written, but it was man who put it into words.
Times have changed, that's obvious. Especially for us living in modern countries. Some women have stepped up and out of the house to get into the world. Just the same, some men have stepped down and /into/ the house, out of the world. To each his own. The Bible would be a lot different than it is if it was written by the people of this time period. But the fact is... the core of it would never change. Don't just read Ephesians 5:22, "Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord." Read on to Ephesians 5:25, "Husbands, loves your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her." Even onto Ephesians 5:28,29, "So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church."
A lot of the problem centers around marriage. Husbands and wives having to learn to balance each others needs and wants. The thing is... in general, a man seeks recognization and approval, therefore a wife should submit to him and admire his achievements to make him happy. But just the same, a general woman seeks merely love and emotional security, and therefore a husband should provide her with his love to make her happy. Please note the word "general." As I said, times have changed, and sometimes it's the other way around. In fact, sometimes marriage just isn't right for someone. And there's nothing wrong with that, just so long as 1 Corinthians 7:9 is kept in mind, "But if they do not have self-control, let them marry; for it is better to marry than to burn with passion."
Well, that's all I have to say. I will now take my leave before this explodes into an argument I do not wish to be apart of.
Well, I havn't read the bible through myself so what right do I have to decide whether or not it's sexist?
Obviously Rye has made several good points, the bible is quite old, as times change, it can be read differently. Also, there are cases of the bible being edited, such as in the case of slavery, because it's unnaceptable today. I see the bible not as a rule book, but as a code of morals for each person to decipher for his or herself. If one is sexist, and believes in sexism, you could probably take something written in the bible and read it that way, just like in most any book. No language is perfect, therefor no one person could ever judge exactly what is meant in the bible.
I am an agnostic - meanning I don't have a faith, and I don't have a steady agreement with athiest ideals. I'm not concerned with religion, I just try to be the best person I can be by my own morals. If god exists, that's that, if not, well I obviously won't be around to care. ^__~
And besides, if you don't believe in their god, you shouldn't be too concerned, it's not going to hurt them or you in the end. It is simply a thought, it is not the bible that creates sexism, homophobia, etc, it is the person themself, and their own personal biases.
So before you can answer "YES" to this question, you need to have read the bible and coincidered the factors of personal bias - or at least have researched key points in the bible that relate to this subject.
