To What Extent Is the Ot of Any Use When Discussing the Role of Women Today? (35) You Must Use Biblical Examples and Trible Amongst Other Sources
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- Date Submitted: 03/07/2016 04:36 AM
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Undeniably, the role of women at the time that the Old Testament was being written was vastly different to the role of women in today’s society. There are countless examples of women being portrayed as either seductresses or maternal figures, almost always being subordinate to men and this contradicts the correct role which women today should hold, a role of equality and freedom. However, despite the obvious patriarchal rule of the Old Testament, there are texts within it which are extremely useful in discussing the role of women today, as some passages seem to have extreme tension with the patriarchal views of the time and the historical record of women’s oppression is certainly useful when looking at modern day feminism.
Firstly, the ‘golden thread’ argument provides a reliable reason for the teachings of the Old Testament to be of use to us today when discussing the role of women. This argument states that throughout the Old Testament there is a consistent theme which runs throughout. This theme is of liberation; a 'prophetic-liberating tradition' which can be found in stories like the Exodus in which God sided with the oppressed and liberated them. This theme represents the authentic word of God, which is encapsulated within the bible, other aspects of the Bible are not the word of God, but of human beings trying to interpret Gods word, and as a result being subject to human errors and social conditioning. An example of this is in, in Corinthians 1 where it is written “the head of every man is Christ and the head of every woman is the man”. This is a clear example of sexism and oppression of women, however, this teaching is not the authentic word of God, it is, along with many other passages in the Old Testament, a law written by men who were subject to the social normalities of the time. Elizabeth Cady Stanton would argue that it is perfectly legitimate to reject the degrading teachings found in the Bible whilst upholding other examples as beneficial....
Firstly, the ‘golden thread’ argument provides a reliable reason for the teachings of the Old Testament to be of use to us today when discussing the role of women. This argument states that throughout the Old Testament there is a consistent theme which runs throughout. This theme is of liberation; a 'prophetic-liberating tradition' which can be found in stories like the Exodus in which God sided with the oppressed and liberated them. This theme represents the authentic word of God, which is encapsulated within the bible, other aspects of the Bible are not the word of God, but of human beings trying to interpret Gods word, and as a result being subject to human errors and social conditioning. An example of this is in, in Corinthians 1 where it is written “the head of every man is Christ and the head of every woman is the man”. This is a clear example of sexism and oppression of women, however, this teaching is not the authentic word of God, it is, along with many other passages in the Old Testament, a law written by men who were subject to the social normalities of the time. Elizabeth Cady Stanton would argue that it is perfectly legitimate to reject the degrading teachings found in the Bible whilst upholding other examples as beneficial....