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SxyTidBit · 12-26-2001, 03:09 PM

Ok Ok
I am no scholar of the word or anything but when I am confused about something (really confused) I use it to guide me (otherwise I pretty much do whatever the heck I want - I'm terribly ashamed).
But my question is, why do women (God Fearing Women) think we/they should be treated as equal as men when throughout the Bible we clearly aren't. I mean do most of us even know who Rose is? Apparently she's somebody cause I think there is a book in the Bible called Rose (I think). Now what about Esther, how much do we know about her? Not to mention why the dickens didn't Jesus hand select a woman to be one of his followers? Didn't Adam have his own mind? Why is it Eve's fault his silly butt ate of the fruit of knowledege? Ok so God's a man right? And why weren't we created from scratch? Why were we created "off" of Adam's crusty rib? Not only that weren't we created to entertain Adam? Does the Bible not say that Adam got bored and God put him in a deep sleep, took one of his ribs and created woman?

So many questions and so litle answers. Pastors look at me like I'm crazy, Priests close the little window at the confessionals, and let's not even start with the Rabbi.

So please somebody tell me soemthing.

big_buick · 12-26-2001, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Pastors look at me like I'm crazy, Priests close the little window at the confessionals, and let's not even start with the Rabbi.

you made my day with that paragraph, no offence intended..

about the rest i dont know the answers. god doesnt exactly say respect your sister(not that i know) but he does say respect your mother or else! good luck in your search and welcome to the board..

Timbob505 · 12-26-2001, 03:32 PM

Well, I will start by saying that Biblically Speaking, everyone should be treated with respect by a man, or by anyone else for that matter. I don't know enough to fully comment on the "treated equal as men" part. However, Esther saved her people from extinction when she told the king about an unfair and biased law against her and her people. In her time, a woman could be thrown in prison or worse for entering the King's court without an invitation, even though she was the queen.

I don't recal a Rose in the Bible...maybe you'll have to give me a clue as to who you are referring to.

Women were not regared as equal in society in ancient times. They had virtually no rights and were not allowed to speak in the Synagouges and they couldn't even enter the Temple. Women would not have been able to preach anywhere, but they were vital to Jesus' ministry because they provided care and support for those in the ministry. Mary Magdalene allowed her home to be used, Martha and Mary provided a place for Jesus to stay, and women were the most loyal to Jesus at the time of the Crucifixtion, when Jesus's diciples fled in fear of persecution.

I wish I had time to further discuss this with you, but I have to go. I hope others will post with their thoughts / takes on the issues you have wish to discuss. I'll try and post back tomorrow with more of what I think.

God Bless

Timbob

vass0922 · 12-26-2001, 03:50 PM

From my point of view bible or not all should be treated equal until they have proven that they are not worthy of such respect ( I can think of a few people currently)

I know you said biblically speaking, but it was written by man a long time ago during a period of time as mentioned previously where women were not regarded as highly as they should have been. I personally like to think that I put my wife up on a pedestal to show her off and I have enormous respect for her. Doesn't matter what any book says or who will go against me that is something I feel and I don't think that anybody should disrespect a woman just because some book says so.

Just IMO

scottsaxman · 12-26-2001, 03:58 PM

Well, let me start by saying that I am not a minister or anything, but a Christian who is perhaps more well informed than some. At any rate, the story of creation is felt by some to the a literal description of how things got started (even though no one but God was there to see it happen). Genesis was written by Moses, but I'll leave it up to you to say if it's literal, or figurative. It isn't critical to being a 'good' christian. I'm not saying it wasn't inspired by God, or a bad book, just that there are several ways of looking at it. If you are more comfortable believing that this is just a good story who's main purpose is to let people know that God created everything, then so be it.

So, on to 'original sin.' Eve is said to have been tempted first, and ate the fruit, then gave it to Adam, who ate it also. The point here is that both were tempted, and both sinned. Eve didn't force Adam to eat, it was his choice, and he sinned by eating the fruit. You are right to question Eve's guilt here! Adam made his own decisions, and suffered because of his own guilt.

Women in ancient times were generally not treated as equals, but that is not to say they were not important. Women owned all the land, and several held positions of importance and power. In the book of Judges, Deborah is one of the leaders, one of the successful judges. Many men were judges, and many of them did little in their position of judge. Some did more harm than good. I think the book you were referring to was Ruth, not Rose. Several major denominations have come out saying that women cannot hold positions of pastor or minister, but I feel that they are mis-interpreting what the Bible has to say. Women in biblical times were not viewed by society as equals to men, but that reflects poorly on ancient society, not on women. Today, women are (more or less) viewed as equals. In this case, today's society is much better than ancient society. The Bible in my interpretation never claimed women were of lesser importance than men, only society did that.

On a related point, many people have questioned what Jesus did during his youth. He isn't on record as having done much until he started his preaching at the age of about 30. This was another society thing - people were not viewed as being adults until about that age. Would he have come out sooner, he would not have been listened to by others in the same way as he was later.

Realize that people spend their entire lives and careers learning about the Bible, historical society, and proper interpretation of the original languages used in the Bible. It is complex!! Just don't give up. There are answers to your questions, and (hopefully) people out there who would love to talk to you about their own faith. There will be those whose opinions will differ from yours, and that's OK. Just listen to them, gather facts, do some research, soul searching, and thinking, then make your own decisions.

I think a more appropriate question would be "why SHOULDN'T women receive equal treatment?" Then, those who feel women aren't equal will be forced to give their reasons, and you will be able to try to find responses to their assertions, and perhaps make them think twice about their beliefs.

12-26-2001, 06:24 PM

Quote:

Biblically speaking, Should woman expect to be treated with respect by man?

If there's a passage in the Bible that says women shouldn't be treated with respect, I have not seen it. God did not create men and women equally, that much is obvious, but that has nothing to do with whether one deserves more "respect" than the other.

[Biblically speaking] It's obvious that God intended men and women to have different roles in life, and those roles are not interchangeable. [/Biblically speaking]