The status of women in the Bib
The status of women has changed drastically throughout the span of time. In the Bible, beginning in the Old Testament with Adam and Eve, women were viewed as inferior to men. Throughout the Old Testament, women were also looked at as sexual predators and as property. Many things in the Christian world changed after the coming of the Messiah. The status of women was no exception. Jesus' treatment of women was revolutionary as he viewed men and women as equals in the Kingdom of God. After the crucifixion of Jesus, there were some who followed in Jesus' revolutionary new ways of treating women. But there were also many who were set in there ways and refused to acknowledge it.In the Old Testament, Adam and Eve are the initial examples of the differences between men and women. The Bible calls Eve the "helper" made for Adam, implying the inferior role of Eve. Women's inferiority to men is also shown in the Old Testament through their marriage practices. First, Hebrew men practiced Polygamy. Even worse was the instances in which men would not only have multiple wives, but also additional sexual partners that were of even lower status that their wives. Also, women were required to remain virgins until marriage, but men were
Because of this law, women were not only separated socially, but also spiritually, for they had their separate women court as previously described. Divorce in the Old Testament was acceptable, but only if initiated by the husband. This punishment also applied for a woman who cheated on her husband. In the Old Testament there was a major lack of concern and compassion for widows, but Jesus repeated the importance of supporting widows throughout his ministry. Discrimination in the workplace is a perfect example. After Jesus' crucifixion, the world was preach the gospel and along with it Jesus' revolutionary treatment of women. For example, as previously mentioned, Old Testament women were stoned if caught committing adultery, but in the gospel of John when an adulterous women was brought to Jesus for judgment, Jesus proclaimed, "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. Yet again, Jesus challenges the Jewish laws that say it is ritually impure for a man to speak to a women who is not his wife or child. The status of women in today's church is a whole different story though. As to be expected, the people of the day had a hard time grasping and accepting some of these concepts. Jesus defies these laws in many occasions during his ministry. Many of the ideas and teachings of Jesus were radical and revolutionary.
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