Sexism

MY BIBLE INTERPRETATION

Sexism

I am a proud feminist, and I hold this truth to be self-evident, that all women and men are created equal. So I oppose sexist Bible verses.


A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent. I Timothy 2:11-12
NIV
Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the LORD. Colossians 3:18
NIV
... the head of the woman is man... A man... is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man. For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. I Corinthians 11:3y, 7x,z-9
NIV
Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife... Ephesians 5:22-23x
NIV
With verses like these and many others, is there any doubt that Paul was sexist?

“... ‘If anyone makes a special vow to dedicate a person to the Lord by giving the equivalent value, set the value of a male between the ages of twenty and sixty at fifty shekels of silver... for a female, set her value at thirty shekels; for a person between the ages of five and twenty, set the value of a male at twenty shekels and of a female at ten shekels; for a person between one month and five years, set the value of a male at five shekels of silver and that of a female at three shekels of silver; for a person sixty years old or more, set the value of a male at fifteen shekels and of a female at ten shekels.’...” Leviticus 27:2z-3x,4-7
NIV
So the Old Testament, even the Torah, implies that men are more important than women.

Men have a status above women. Koran 2:228
KOR
Men have authority over women... Good women are obedient... As for those from whom you fear disobedience, admonish them, forsake them in beds apart, and beat them. Koran 4:34x,y,z
KOR
The Koran is quite clear about which sex is greater.

What about in the beginning?
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. Genesis 1:27
NIV
If we interpret the word "man" to mean "human", as it often does, then this verse conjoins "male" and "female" as equals. (Yes, "male" is listed first, but it's a limitation of our language that one must precede the other. It's not possible to express that two conjoined things are balanced.) Actually, I find it interesting that the Bible should go out of its way to say anything about women before describing the creation of the first woman in Genesis 2:2.


So, my conclusion is that God intended for men and women to be equal, because of the way they are presented as equals in Genesis 1:27. That was how it was supposed to be. That was how God wanted it. But then when Adam and Eve sinned, and God cursed the earth, sexism was one of the evils that resulted.


References

Notes