The status of women in the Bible
and in early Christianity
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Quotations:
"As regards the individual nature, woman is
defective and misbegotten, for the active power of the male seed tends to the production
of a perfect likeness in the masculine sex; while the production of a woman comes from
defect in the active power...." Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica,Q92, art. 1,
Reply Obj. 1.
"And a man will choose...any wickedness, but the wickedness
of a woman...Sin began with a woman and thanks to her we all
must die" Ecclesiasticus, 25:18, 19 & 33. 1
"And I find more bitter than death the woman, whose heart is
snares and nets, and her hands as bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape
from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her." Ecclesiastes 7:26,
from the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament)
Ecclesiasticus (a.k.a. the Book of Sirach) is part of the
Apocrypha. It is considered part of the official canon of the Bible by the
Roman Catholic Church.
The Veritorium has a list of Bible verses pertaining to women at:
http://www.zoomnet.net/~sjackson/
Call to Action, a Roman Catholic group, has an essay titled "Women in the
Bible and the Lectionary" at: http://www.cta-usa.org/
"Christians for Biblical Equality" promotes the concept that the Bible
calls for gender equality. See: http://www.cbeinternational.org
Books on
the the status of women in ancient times:
You can order books dealing with the status of women in ancient times, from "amazon.com,"
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Elaine Fantham, et. al., "Women in the
Classical World," Oxford University Press, New York NY (1994). "Written
by leading experts in the fields of ancient history and art history, women's studies, and
Greek and Roman literature, the book's chronological arrangement allows the changing roles
of women to unfold over a thousand year period, beginning in the eighth century B.C.E."
This book deals only with women in ancient Greece and Rome.