Christianity and a Social Revolution for Women

“Earth has nothing more tender than a woman’s heart when it is the abode of piety.”  Martin Luther

  If you say something loud enough and often enough, people will accept it as true. A cultural myth continually made against the Bible, the Church and Christianity is that they are all anti-female and even oppressive to women. It’s the false notion that Jesus and the Bible endorse misogyny. Or, worse, God hates women. It’s not true. History clearly demonstrates Jesus and biblical Christianity revolutionized the role of women in society. 

  Because too often we are ignorant of history, we’re unaware of how horrible life was for many groups prior to Christ’s coming. Jesus’ coming changed everything. Do you want to know what the status of women would be today if Jesus had not come? You don’t need to go back in time, you just need to go across the world. Look at the status of women in most present-day Islamic countries and it will give you a snapshot of what it was like to be a woman before the Incarnation.

  In large segments of our world, women are treated little better than livestock. They are denied most rights. When they go out in public, they must be veiled, and often chaperoned. In many countries, women are not allowed to even drive a car.

  As noted psychoanalyst, Dr. Joan Lachkar, states: “In this ever changing world of multiculturalism, we are continually faced with contrasting dynamics. What is considered abuse in our country is considered ‘normal’ in another. You cannot beat your wife. That is considered abuse in the West and you would get arrested for domestic violence, but in Islamic societies wife beating is permitted when they are disobedient!” Not only does a man have the right to beat his wife, he can desert her, all with the full support of the Quran.

  It’s because of Christianity those of us in Western Civilization value equality for all. Most people do not realize women were among the disciples and traveled with Jesus throughout His ministry. Luke 8:1-3: “Soon afterward [Jesus] went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with Him, and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's household manager, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their means.”

  These verses continue a common theme in the New Testament – women whose lives are revolutionized by Jesus. Some had previously been demonized. They’re now filled with gratitude and love, giving of themselves for the cause of Christ. Throughout His ministry, it was women who faithfully followed Jesus to the end from the Cross to the tomb. In a culture that dehumanized women, Jesus gave them significance.

  Our Lord loved women and treated them with great respect and dignity. The remainder of the New Testament’s teaching on women further developed His perspective. The value of women permeating the New Testament isn’t found in Greco-Roman culture or cultures of other societies. Even in Israel, prior to Christ’s coming Jewish women were barred from public speaking or from reading the Torah out loud. Synagogue worship was segregated with women never allowed to be heard.

  Jesus literally revolutionized the role of women in society, overthrowing centuries of Jewish law and custom. He consistently treated women and men as equals. He violated numerous Old Testament regulations which specified gender inequality and refused to follow the behavioral rules established by the three main Jewish religious groups of the day: the Essenes, Pharisees and Sadducees. For example…

  Jesus talked to foreign women. John 4:7-30 describes His conversation with a Samaritan woman. She was doubly ritually unclean since she was both a foreigner and a woman. Men weren’t allowed to talk to women, except within their own families. Jesus also helped a Canaanite woman in Matthew 15:22-28. Although He described non-Jews as “dogs,” He was willing to talk to her and cured her daughter of demon-possession.

  Jesus taught women students. Jewish tradition didn’t allow women to be educated. Rabbi Eliezer wrote in the 1^st century, “Rather should the words of the Torah be burned than entrusted to a woman…Whoever teaches his daughter the Torah is like one who teaches her obscenity.” Jesus overthrew centuries of tradition. In Luke 10:38-42 we find Him teaching Mary, the sister of Martha.

  Jesus accepted women into His inner circle. Luke 8:1-3 describes the inner circle of Jesus' followers, 12 male disciples and an unspecified number female supporters. It appears that about half of His closest followers were women.

  Mostly women were present at Jesus’ execution. Matthew 27:55-56 and Mark 15:40-41 describe many women who followed Jesus from Galilee and were present at His crucifixion. The men had fled from the scene. Only His disciple John stayed with Him to the end.

  Jesus appeared first to women after His resurrection. Matthew 28:9-10 describes how Mary Magdalene and “the other Mary” were the first followers to meet Him after His resurrection.

  Jesus equalized the place of women in marriage. The biblical view of husbands and wives as equal partners brought about dramatic change in marriage. Christian women started marrying later and married men of their own choosing. It eroded the ancient practice of men marrying child brides against their will. Today a Western woman isn’t forced to marry someone she does not want, nor can she legally be married off as a child bride, though the practice continues where Christianity has little or no presence. 

  As a result of Jesus Christ’s coming and His teachings, women in much of the world today, particularly in the West, enjoy more privileges and rights than at any other time in human history. It takes only a cursory trip to an Arab nation or the 3^rd World to see how little freedom women have in cultures where Christianity has little or no presence. Jesus Christ and the birth of Christianity is the best thing that has ever happened to women.

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