Tuesday, December 3, 2019

jesus the feminist ppr Essays - Human Behavior, Culture, Gender

Jesus was a Feminist Introduction to Christianity Rels 100 Prof. Dr. Pepper Trinity Western University April 5, 2018 Sarah Dunn 552806 Patriarchal society has plagued our society for centuries, women have been expected to conform to societal expectations and mold to gender roles. The notion of patriarchy is defined as a state or stage of social development characterized by the supremacy of the father in the clan or family in both domestic and religious functions, the legal dependence of the wife, or wives, and children, and the reckoning of descent and inheritance in the male line.' The notion of male dominance has become universal, but there are those that advocate for feminism. Within the Bible, during the gospels, Jesus empowers women and treats them as an equal. Jesus fights for the rights of women, He has come to solidify their importance in God's plan. In short, Jesus is a feminist who rejects patriarchal teachings and practices; "Jesus Christ assures the women that God does not wish for her to suffer." The word does not subject women to marginalization or sexism, but the word empowers them to the grace of God and the eternal goodness of God. Essentially this paper will be exploring God's radical notion that women are people too.' To begin, the idea of patriarchy has existed throughout history for control. The first signs of patriarchy were associated with the ancient humans of the Neolithic Era, which occurred during 10,200 BCE to 4,500-2,000 BCE. These people had divided duties to the genders: the men were hunters, and the women were gathers, this created a culture of gender roles as well as a culture of masculinity and feminine qualities. Furthermore, patriarchy is a social constructionist theory which presents the narrative that gender roles were created by individuals that are within a society who chose to identify with a particular structure; thus, the dominance of men in social systems. Additionally, in first century Israel, women were considered second-class citizens, akin to slaves. In fact, Scholars note that marriage was a contract between two men, the contract did not require consent from the woman; which represents the inequality between the genders and the substantial impact that Jesus had on them. It is clear that Jesus has come to reiterate the teaching of God, he has come to teach scripture, fulfill it, and die for us; but Jesus always treats women equally and refuses to abide by the patriarchal guidelines. Furthermore, the fact that they are mentioned as avid followers of Jesus is unusual because men of this time would not allow them near scripture nor be a part of the New Testament. Moreover, The Bible was supposedly written for men, about men, and by men, which means that the biblical text does not include a lot about the lives or importance of women but that does not mean that women were not important. Although the religious leaders of the time did not allow women near scripture, that is not to say that scripture was not for women; this notion becomes clear when Jesus teaches women and encourages them to have faith. Therefore, patriarchy did not halt as Christianity progressed, rather patriarchy existed during this time from societal constructionism. In opposition to popular belief, Christianity saw women as an equal and the scripture shows that God created them as an equal, and they should be treated as such. During the time of ancient Israel and first-century Roman empire, biblical revelation allowed the limitation of patriarchal practices in various ways; it opened a new chapter for women and held men accountable for the equality and treatment of women everywhere. One of the laws that Moses recieved from God was to honor the father and mother which showed children that their parents were on the same level and should be treated equally; it also held men accountable to care for their wives. In Genesis 1:26, God said, "Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." This biblical verse represents that God created men and women in

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