DrJim

Ezekiel 23 is one of the most misogynist texts of the lot. There the "sins" of Samaria and Jerusalem are likened to two women who "play the whore" with foreign men. The text dotes on the image of the metaphorical women being fondled etc. Of course, the due punishment of the women/cities is total annhilation. What is really weird about this is that at the end of the chapter, the metaphor of cities as women is reversed. The divine anger at the cities is turned into a justification for violence against real women accused of sexual indescretion. The writer(s) have started to take their own metaphors literally. Now not only does Ezek 23:47-48 demand stoning such women but also:
"The assembly shall stone them and with their swaords they shall cut them down; they shall kill their sons and their daughters, and burn up their houses. Thus will I put an end to lewdness in teh land, so that all women may take warning and not commit lewdness as you have done."

A pornographic obsession and the displacement of guilt seem to be pretty tightly interwoven in this chapter (and see Ezek. 16, too). I forget who it was, but there was someone who did some writing on what she called "pornoprophetics". It may have been Cheryl Exum at the U of Sheffield, but I could be mistaken (I doubt any of it would be online, though). Passages like this really scream out for a very sharp ideological / gender criticism.

Adora

The only one I can really think of is Judith, but it's an Apocrypha. It still rocks though. However, due to this rocking, it's left out of a lot.

Toto

"pornoprophetics" gets 21 hits on Google, but mostly to bibliographies. There's an excerpt from Athalya Brenner here, and an article here.

12Rods

"ruth, naomi, esther, mary(mother and magdilin), reba.....we (the Church) are referred to as the Bride of Christ...perfectly proving women are not held in low respect nor the men held in high....For God so loved the whole wide world."

this was all thrown in my face after bringing up the argument of sexism in the babble. i said saying "bride" in those days was just as good as saying slave, what are some other attacks of this garbage?

Gawen

Even the Wikings threw a female onto the longboat pyre so the dead guy would have something to pork in the afterlife. Sorry for being rather rude about it, but I feel the same way. It just pisseth me off.
I work with a retired Baptist minister. He told me when he married his wife (second wife, if you believe that. Seems the first ran off and you'll shortly see why) she decided to sleep in one day. Well, ole Jesse didn't like that much so he took a belt to her backside and made her get up and make his breakfast.

And she has remained two steps behind him ever since.

Rymmie1981

Ruth: see above.

Naomi: Enabler of Ruth.

Esther: see above.

Mary, the Mother of Junior: At the marriage at Cana, Jeebus talks to her like she's a piece of crap. "Woman, what have I to do thee?" He talks to her like that quite a few other times.

Mary Magdalene: She's a whore who can only find worth through the mercy of a man. Her scene with the alabaster box where she washes his feet with her tears and dries them with hair shows that she is still less than a slave and he is worth more than year's wages.

Reba: I like some of her songs, but I'm not much of a country music fan.

And as for the Bride of Christ come back, give them this scripture:

Eph. 5:22-24

Adora

Mother/Whore thing is basically all they are anyway. The woman is only worth something if she is attached to the man, of she is not, she is a fallen woman. Ruth couldn't live by herself, she had to become attached to Boab before she is worth anything in the society again (and can stop being a gleaner, something equal to the Dalits in India). Same thing with Naomi, relying on male family contacts. Mary is a constructed figure, and possibly the most de-humanized woman in the entire Bible. Magdeline is the only one that comes close, but she is only redeemed as a woman through the "Lord" and her man, "Jesus". Esther and Reba I've forgotten, but I'll get back to you.

The Ten commandments lists a woman as a man's property somewhere between his house and his cattle. And of course, everyone's favourite sexophobic/misogynistic psycho, Paul. But yeah, Skeptics Annoted Bible has this wonderful page listing them all here. So try that out for some comebacks.

12Rods

for argument sake.

Genesis 1:27

So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them. (NIV Style)

The bible in the Old Testament Women are referred to as Helpers, which was translated from the Hebrew Word for Helper, Ezer. Two instances in Genesis Women are referred to as Helpers, or Ezer. the other 19 times, god is referred to as a Ezer. Thats pretty Godlike if you ask me. Even if you went as far as to bring up where God says that it is not good that man should be alone. So God made a woman as a "helper suitable for him." The literal Translation of "Suitable" (with Hebrew being the the tricky Language that it is) probably had dual meanings. Whent he KJV version was translated, Society at the time was sexist. Suitable probably means Opposite in that instance. Opposites do attract. Someone who is good with a home and someone who can earn money to keep that up. The only reason the Bible comes off as sexist is because Society is Sexist. The Bible is one of the Few Books that when reading it reflect the current times, not just the past.

Women in the Bible weren't always Mothers and homemakers. Granted the biological function of the Female (in humans at least) is to bear live Children. But Deborah was teh leader of Israel. Other women were involved in ridding Israel of her enemies and a couple (I don't know the number off the bad) were described as prophetesses. Other women were involved in teaching the word of god or even being deaconesses in the Early Church. Heck, even Esther helped save the Jews along with Mordecai to reveal the plot of Haman to have Xerxes execute the Jews.

The bible even describes the ideal wife. One who helps provide for the family, one who owns her own land (Unheard of until recently in the large scale of things.) one who works hard to provide for the family. as Hard if not harder than the male. (Proverbs 31:10-31)


Jesus treated women, not unfairly, but as equals. Customs of the time forbid so much talking to the opposite sex, yet Jesus Ministered to everyone.

Women are told to Submit to their Husbands. but Also to That Everyone is to submit Governmental Authorities, Church, Boss, and God. BUT, Everyone is also told to Submit to One another, thus saying Men should Submit to their Wives. The only reason it goes and says Women should submit to their husbands because Men were at the time considered the Head of the House. God is a god of Order, not a god of Chaos.

The Church can even be considered Female. All of gods people are referred to as the Daughters of Zion.

We are even referred to as the Bride of Christ In Revelations.
"Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready" (Rev 19:7)
And he said to me, "Write, 'Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.'" And he said to me, "These are true words of God." (Rev 19:9)
The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life. (Rev 22:17)

Even us guys are referred to as Females, as we are the Bride of Christ, but in Isaiah 54:5 it says "For your Maker is your husband-- the LORD Almighty is His name-- the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth." We are married to everything in this world that makes the Afterlife Possible.

And as for you saying Paul was sexist.. I think he said it Best in Galations

"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." (Galations 3:28 )

Adora

That doesn't mean it's not sexist. Daughter/Female/daughter of Zion= submissive to Father/male/god-lord. It's like Israel being called "God's Bride". She is a possession, a property of her lord, and she must submit to that God or face the consequences of her disobedience.

Metaphors for submission to not equality make.

Fr.Andrew

In the old days, when religion was bound up in physical things, women were equated with mother earth and accorded high honor. The connection had not yet been made between intercourse and pregnancy and so males were superfluous.
It is an anthropological given that the first deity worshipped was a goddess...not a god.
However, once the connection was made, mother earth began to appear accompanied by a male deity, usually involving the sky and its divine semen (rain) impregnating mother earth so as to produce life.
This was a common religious theme in practically every agricultural society. In Canaan, the worship of Baal, male counterpart of the female goddess Asherah, was the prevailing religion. In opposition was Yahweh...the single god of the Israelites...who created by speaking...no partner necessary...and, as Yahweh was the deity of a nomadic, patriarchal cultural, He was male. Women were created by Yahweh from man...and for man.
As the the nomadic Hebrews settled down in Canaan and took up agriculture, however, they were understandably drawn to the fertility-based religion of Baal...and backsliding became a constant irritant unto Yahweh and His prophets.
So, when the story was written down by the priests, maleness was valued and femaleness devalued. Not just devalued, but demonized.
We can see this from the first chapter of Genesis, when Yahweh created woman as “help meet� for man (Gen 3:22). She is then blamed for the fall of mankind into sin and relegated to the status of property (Gen 3:16). From that moment on, there is never a respite for women in the Judeao-Christian-Islamic tradition.