by Dr. Ali Shehata
The Historical Position of Women in Religious Tradition
Having briefly examined the attitudes of ancient civilizations and modern secular society towards women, we shall now turn our attention separately to a more detailed review of the perspectives particular to the religions of Judaism and Christianity. Since the scriptures of these two religions shape the lives of a great many people today in the world, and due also to their many shared beliefs with Islam, they demand a more in-depth review so as to best understand and appreciate the Islamic position concerning women. It is important to remember that attitudes regarding women and their rights have changed dramatically in Judeo-Christian societies over the past several centuries due to secularization of those societies. Therefore, this review will examine only the scriptures and the cited opinions of authoritative figures in each of these two religions, since they are still considered the word of God by a large number of their respective followers. Lastly, important conclusions will be made regarding the relationship of the cultural attitudes predominant throughout much of Judeo-Christian history in comparison to the actual Biblical practice of the Prophets.
The Predominantly Negative View of Women in the Judeo-Christian Texts
To have a proper understanding of the Judeo-Christian scriptural perceptions of women, one must first look to the premise that is used to define the qualities and roles of women. This premise is the Biblical story of the creation of Adam and Eve, and the sin associated with their eating of the forbidden apple. From it stems both the predominantly negative view of women in general, and the theologically significant concept of original sin.
In Genesis 2:4 to 3:24, the creation of Adam and Eve is detailed along with their sin. God had instructed both Adam and Eve not to eat from the forbidden tree in the Garden of Eden. Yet, it was Satan, in the form of a serpent, who then persuaded Eve to eat from the tree, and in turn, she convinced Adam to eat along with her. When asked by God regarding what he had done, Adam replied,
The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree and I ate it. [NIV, Genesis 3:12]
As a result, God then said to Eve:
I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you. [NIV, Genesis 3:16]
* Throughout this book, all attempts have been made to present information in a fair way by including the context and intended meaning behind quoted passages whenever possible. The context of this particular passage in Genesis is accompanied by the following commentary from the well respected and authoritative Christian commentary of Matthew Henry (d1714). For Genesis 3:16-17, he writes: “The woman, for her sin, is condemned to a state of sorrow, and of subjection; proper punishments of that sin, in which she had sought to gratify the desire of her eye, and of the flesh, and her pride. Sin brought sorrow into the world; that made the world a vale of tears. No wonder our sorrows are multiplied, when our sins are so. He shall rule over thee, is but God's command, Wives, be subject to your own husbands. If man had not sinned, he would always have ruled with wisdom and love; if the woman had not sinned, she would always have obeyed with humility and meekness. Adam laid the blame on his wife; but though it was her fault to persuade him to eat the forbidden fruit, it was his fault to hearken to her. Thus men's frivolous pleas will, in the day of God's judgment, be turned against them ….” (Henry, M. (1997). Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the whole Bible. Nashville: T. Nelson.)
To Adam, God also said:
Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree.... Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life... [NIV, Genesis 3:17]
Thus, in the Bible, the portrayal of Eve as a temptress endures as a lasting legacy shaping much of Judeo-Christian attitudes towards women from that point onwards. This regrettable legacy is the belief that Eve, as the mother of all women, passed on her guilt, deceitful nature, and punishment down to her daughters—the women of all mankind. Evidence of this belief is apparent in the Old Testament where it states:
I find more bitter than death the woman who is a snare, whose heart is a trap and whose hands are chains. The man who pleases God will escape her, but the sinner she will ensnare....while I was still searching, but not finding, I found one upright man among a thousand, but not one upright woman among them all. [NIV, Ecclesiastes 7:26-28]
* Solomon, in his search into the nature and reason of things, had been miserably deluded. But he here speaks with godly sorrow. He alone who constantly aims to please God, can expect to escape; the careless sinner probably will fall to rise no more. He now discovered more than ever the evil of the great sin of which he had been guilty, the loving of many strange women, 1 Kings 11:1. A woman thoroughly upright and godly, he had not found. How was he likely to find such a one among those he had collected? If any of them had been well disposed, their situation would tend to render them all nearly of the same character. He here warns others against the sins into which he had been betrayed. Many a godly man can with thankfulness acknowledge that he has found a prudent, virtuous woman in the wife of his bosom; but those men who have gone in Solomon's track, cannot expect to find one. (Henry, 1997).
In another part of the Hebrew literature found in the Catholic Bible we read:
From the woman came the beginning of sin, and by her we all die. [Douay-Rheims Bible, Ecclesiasticus 25:33]
Another often overlooked passage of the Old Testament sets the value of women as between 50% and 66% the value of men depending on their age:
The Lord said to Moses, "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'If anyone makes a special vow to dedicate persons to the Lord by giving equivalent values, set the value of a male between the ages of twenty and sixty at fifty shekels of silver, according to the sanctuary shekel; and if it is a female, set her value at thirty shekels. If it is 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. If it is 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. If it is a person sixty years old or more, set the value of a male at fifteen shekels and of a female at ten shekels.[NIV, Leviticus 27:1-7]
Zeal for the service of God disposed the Israelites, on some occasions, to dedicate themselves or their children to the service of the Lord, in his house for life. Some persons who thus dedicated themselves might be employed as assistants; in general they were to be redeemed for a value. (Henry, 1997)
In the New Testament, the trend of representing the woman as inferior continues in the writings of Paul.
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. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner.[NIV, 1 Timothy 2:11-14]
According to St. Paul, women are not allowed to be public teachers in the church; for teaching is an office of authority. But good women may and ought to teach their children at home the principles of true religion. Also, women must not think themselves excused from learning what is necessary to salvation, though they must not usurp authority. As woman was last in the creation, which is one reason for her subjection, so she was first in the transgression. But there is a word of comfort; that those who continue in sobriety, shall be saved in childbearing, or with childbearing, by the Messiah, who was born of a woman. And the especial sorrow to which the female sex is subject, should cause men to exercise their authority with much gentleness, tenderness, and affection. (Henry, 1997)
Also from the New Testament,
Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.[Ephesians 5:22-24]
The duty of wives is, submission to their husbands in the Lord, which includes honouring and obeying them, from a principle of love to them. The duty of husbands is to love their wives. The love of Christ to the church is an example, which is sincere, pure, and constant, notwithstanding her failures. (Henry, 1997)
Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them. [NIV, Colossians 3: 18-19]
The epistles most taken up in displaying the glory of the Divine grace, and magnifying the Lord Jesus, are the most particular in pressing the duties of the Christian life. We must never separate the privileges and duties of the gospel. Submission is the duty of wives. But it is submission, not to a severe lord or stern tyrant, but to her own husband, who is engaged to affectionate duty. And husbands must love their wives with tender and faithful affection. (Henry, 1997)
Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God. [Titus 2:3-5]
As regards the opinions and writings of the Judeo-Christian theologians and clergy leaders, the interpretation of the above verses becomes clear first in the Jewish writings. According to Jewish Rabbis, there are nine curses and death inflicted on women due to the Fall. In fact, there exist at least three such listings of curses ascribed to women with the following, taken from the exegesis text—Chapters of Rabbi Eliezer, being only one such list. In it, he states:
To the woman He gave nine curses and death: the burden of the blood of menstruation and the blood of virginity; the burden of pregnancy; the burden of childbirth; the burden of bringing up the children; her head is covered as one in mourning; she pierces her ear like a permanent slave or slave girl who serves her master; she is not to be believed as a witness; and after everything—death.
Friedlander, G. (1965). Pirkei De Rabbi Eliezer translated and annotated with introduction and indices. New York: Hermon Press, pg. 100.)
In the Talmud, Midrash Rabbah states:
The Sages say that four traits apply to women: They are greedy, eavesdroppers, lazy, and jealous.... Rabbi Yehoshua bar Nahmani adds: argumentative and talkative. Rabbi Levi adds: thieves and vagrants. (Bereishit Rabbah 45:5, Theodor Albeck ed., pp. 452-453.)
Written collection of Jewish oral traditions interpreting the Torah. Has two components: the Mishnah (200 CE), the actual written form of Judaism's Oral Law; and the Gemara (500 CE), primarily a commentary on the Mishnah. The terms Talmud and Gemara are sometimes used interchangeably.
Furthermore, in several places in the Talmud, women are considered untrustworthy as witnesses because they are of deficient moral fiber, being inherently lightheaded, “nashim daatan kalah” (e.g., Shab 33b and Kid 80b).
Additionally, Orthodox Jewish men are required to recite in their daily morning prayer:
Blessed be God King of the universe that Thou has not made me a woman (Shelo asani ishah).
Itshakov, I. (2015). Morning Blessings with Keriat Shemɑ Birkhot Hashahar Im Keriat Shema. Flushing, NY: Ben Israel Inc. Schlesinger, J. (1891). Five books of Moses. Ḥamishah ḥumshe Torah: ʻim ha-hafṭarot ṿe-seder ha-tefilot le-Shabtot ha-shanah. Boston, MA: Harvard University
Turning our attention next to the opinions of the early Church Fathers, it is clear that they continued to view women as inferior. The following passages paint a less than admirable picture of a very large portion of Christian history as it relates to women—from the formation of the Church until at least the 17th Century. Yet, it is necessary to review this history since Christians throughout time believe that their saints and scholars are inspired by the Holy Spirit, and hence, make a case that their statements are “the word of God”. It is hoped that a careful analysis of these words will cause people to reconsider their preconceived notions regarding what truly is the “word of God,” and allow them to look with more sincerity, and with less bias, at Islamic beliefs.
Firstly, it is important to remember that much of Christian theology developed under the shade of the 3rd Century Roman Empire, where the Romans and Hellenists viewed society as layered in superior and inferior forms of human being. In this setting, women were generally regarded as inferior to men by nature. This perception appears to have significantly influenced the opinions of the early Fathers of the Church who also considered women to be inferior.
Both nature and the law place the woman in a subordinate condition to the man. (St. Irenaeus, Fragment no 32.)
Bishop of Lugdunum in Gaul during the 2nd Century CE, which is now Lyon, France. His writings were influential in the early development of Christian theology, and he is established as a saint by both the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church; with both considering him a Father of the Church. He was also a disciple of Polycarp of Smyrna, considered by many to be a disciple of John the Evangelist. Schaff, P. (translator). (2012). The Sacred Writings of Saint Irenaeus. Altenmünster: Jazzybee Verlag
It is the natural order among people that women serve their husbands and children their parents, because the justice of this lies in (the principle that) the lesser serves the greater . . . This is the natural justice that the weaker brain serve the stronger. This therefore is the evident justice in the relationships between slaves and their masters, that they who excel in reason, excel in power. (St. Augustine, Questions on the Heptateuch, Book I, § 153.)
Aurelius Augustinus, Augustine of Hippo, very commonly known as Saint Augustine (354 – 430CE) is one of the most celebrated and central figures in the development of Western Christianity. In Roman Catholicism and the Anglican Communion, he is a saint and highly distinguished Doctor of the Church, in addition to his patronage of the Augustinian religious order. Many Protestants attribute the foundation of their Reformation teachings regarding salvation and grace to St. Augustine’s teachings.
What is the difference whether it is in a wife or a mother, it is still Eve the temptress that we must beware of in any woman. (St. Augustine) (n.a.). (1977). The Fathers of the Church: A New Translation Volume 32. Saint Augustine: Letters Volume V (204-270). Washington D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press.
Women must cover their heads because they are not the image of God . . . How can anyone maintain that woman is the likeness of God when she is demonstrably subject to the dominion of man and has no kind of authority? For she can neither teach, nor be a witness in a court, nor exercise citizenship, nor be a judge—then certainly not exercise dominion. (Ambrosiaster, On 1 Corinthians 14, 34.)
Berry, J. (2016). Why Historical Phenomena Instigates Resistance toFemale Clergy. Lulu.com. The name given to the author of a commentary on all the Epistles of St.Paul, with the exception of that to the Hebrews. It is usually published among the works of St. Ambrose (P.L., XVII, 45-508).
The Apostle wants women, who are manifestly inferior, to be without fault, in order that the Church of God be pure. (Ambrosiaster, On 1 Timothy 3,11.) Ambrosiaster on John 8:1-11. Retrieved from: http://textualcriticism.scienceontheweb.net/FATHERS/Ambrosiaster.html
In very truth, women are a feeble race, untrustworthy and of mediocre intelligence. Once again we see that the Devil knows how to make women spew forth ridiculous teachings, as he has just succeeded in doing in the case of Quintilla Maxima and Priscilla. (Epiphanius, Panarion 79, §1.) Tucker, R.A. and Liefeld, W.L. (1987). Daughters of the Church. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Church Father from the 4th century, known for his extensive pursuit of heresies wherever they could be found in the difficult era of the Christian Church immediately after the Council of Nicaea.
Almost 1000 years later, the 13th Century Catholic scholar and Doctor of the Church, St. Thomas Aquinas, considered by many Catholics to be the Church's greatest theologian, still viewed women in a narrow way:
As regards the individual nature, woman is defective and misbegotten, for the active force in the male seed tends to the production of a perfect likeness in the masculine sex; while the production of woman comes from a defect in the active force or from some material indisposition, or even from some external influence.
This quote comes from St. Thomas Aquinas' famed Summa Theologica (Part I, Question 92), but in reality is actually an excerpt from "On the Generation of Animals,"( Mantravadi, A. (2017, March 24). No Thank You, Aquinas: Women Are Not Misbegotten. Retrieved from: http://amymantravadi.com/2017/03/24/1594/) by the Greek philosopher Aristotle (384 BC – 322 BC). Here St. Thomas is making a scientific statement about the physical formation of females and he quotes Aristotle because he was the best scientific authority at the time.
Immediately after the passage in question, St. Thomas proceeds to discuss the creation of women from a theological angle. His theological conclusion though is different than that of Aristotle quoted earlier:
On the other hand, as regards human nature in general, woman is not misbegotten, but is included in nature's intention as directed to the work of generation. Now the general intention of nature depends on God, Who is the universal Author of nature. Therefore, in producing nature, God formed not only the male, but also the female.
What St. Thomas states here is in effect his theological rejection of Aristotle’s biological idea. For clarity, Aristotle’s theory was that all children are intended to be male, since the male was believed to represent perfection. If a female is born though, this would represent a defect in the process somewhere—thus women were nothing more than defective and infertile males, hence their description as “defective and misbegotten”. This Greco-Roman view of procreation, a scientific biological view, was dominant in Europe until the 18th century.
St. Thomas was among the first Christian authors to refute this concept, at least theologically, if not biologically, by stating that God’s plan included both men and women. Hence, women were therefore not defective males, but a precise part of God’s creation. Nonetheless, although his words represented a step forward for women, their role was still relegated to little more than, “the work of generation” (producing children). While presenting a slightly more positive view regarding women in that era, this still implies a narrow view of their role in 13th Century Europe and the Church.
Exemplifying this continued narrow view of women and their role in society, declarations from other Church theologians from the Middle Ages continued to endorse the inferiority of women.
Women cannot carry any public responsibility… Women cannot hold any civil office… Nature produced women for this purpose that they give birth to children… The man is the image of God…. The womb is the soil in which the seed grows…. (Johannes Teutonicus, Apparatus, passim) John the Teuton (1180 - 1252), among the first disciples of Saint Dominic and the fourth master general of the Dominican order. He occupies a significant position in the early history of the Dominican order. He was a Provincial in Hungary, and later a Bishop in Croatia. He traveled as an envoy of Pope Gregory IX to the Bulgarian Prince Asen II. He also credited with standardizing the Dominican liturgy.
It is fitting that woman does not possess the power of the keys because she is not made in the image of God, but only man who is the glory and image of God. That is why a woman must be subject to man and be as his slave, and not the other way about. (Antonius de Butrio, Commentaria, II, fol. 89r.) 14th century Italian jurist and law professor at Bologna. De Butrio penned numerous commentaries to the Decretals of Gregory IX and the Liber Sextus, which give a comprehensive glimpse into the existing practices of canon and civil law at that time.
Upon reading these statements, there are some people who proclaim that these were only minority opinions of some otherwise very noble and great leaders of the Church. Not withstanding the previous comment made concerning inspiration by the Holy Spirit, the following statements made from Decretum Graniati (The Law Book of Gratian, also known as Concordantia discordantium canonum), originally written in 1140 CE, clearly state that such theories regarding the inferiority of women were in fact Church teachings (canon) throughout the Middle Ages and well beyond.
* Johannes Gratian, considered by Catholics to be the true founder of the science of canon law, compiled Church laws (canons) from all available sources and called the collection Concordia Discordantium Canonum (the synchronizing of discordant canons). The collection became known as the Decretum Gratiani and is considered by Catholics to be the first truly scientific treatise on canon law (Catholic Encyclopedia). It was the primary textbook of canon law for over a century until it was absorbed into the Corpus Iuris Canonici as the first part of this collection of six legal texts. The Corpus Iuris Canonici was then the primary source of Canon Law in the Roman Catholic Church until Pentecost Sunday, May 27, 1917, when a revised Code of Canon Law was issued by then Pope Benedict XV.
He must know that Ambrose does not call him “man” on account of his male gender, but by the strength of the soul; and he should realize that “woman” is not called so because of the gender of her body, but because of the weakness of her mind. Friedberg, E.A. (ed). (1879). Decretum Gratiani Causa 32, question 7, chapter 18. Corpus Juris Canonici; reprint Graz 1955; vol. 1. Retrieved from: https://geschichte.digitale-sammlungen.de/decretum-gratiani/online/angebot
Women are in servile submission, on account of which they must be subject to men in everything. (Decretum, chapter 11) Friedberg, E.A. (ed). (1879). Decretum Gratiani Causa 32, question 7, chapter 18. Corpus Juris Canonici; reprint Graz 1955; vol. 1. Retrieved from: https://geschichte.digitale-sammlungen.de/decretum-gratiani/online/angebot
Ambrosius says: “Women must cover their heads because they are not the image of God. They must do this as a sign of their subjection to authority and because sin came into the world through them. Their heads must be covered in church in order to honor the bishop. In like manner they have no authority to speak because the bishop is the embodiment of Christ. They must thus act before the bishop as before Christ, the judge, since the bishop is the representative of the Lord. Because of original sin they must show themselves submissive.” Friedberg, E.A. (ed). (1879). Decretum Gratiani Causa 32, question 7, chapter 18. Corpus Juris Canonici; reprint Graz 1955; vol. 1. Retrieved from: https://geschichte.digitale-sammlungen.de/decretum-gratiani/online/angebot
Even if a woman is learned and saintly, she still must not presume to baptize or to instruct men in a [congregational] assembly. As found in the Council of Carthage, “About baptizing by women we want you to know that those who presume to baptize bring themselves into no small danger. So we do not advise it, for it is dangerous, yes, even forbidden and godless. That is to say, if man is the head of woman and he is promoted to the priesthood, it militates against divine justice to disturb the arrangement of the Creator by degrading man from the preeminence granted to him to the lowest place. For woman is the body of man, has come from his rib and is placed in subjection to him, for which reason also she has been chosen to bear children. The Lord says, ‘He will rule over her.’ Man has lordship over the woman, since he is also her head. But if we have already forbidden women to preach, how would anyone want to permit them to enter the priesthood? It would be unnatural. For women to be priests is an error of heathen godlessness but not of Christ’s way. But if women are permitted to baptize, then Christ would surely have been baptized by his mother and not by John and he would have sent women with us to baptize also, when he sent us out to baptize.” Friedberg, E.A. (ed). (1879). Decretum Gratiani Causa 32, question 7, chapter 18. Corpus Juris Canonici; reprint Graz 1955; vol. 1. Retrieved from: https://geschichte.digitale-sammlungen.de/decretum-gratiani/online/angebot
Yet the reader should not think that these teachings were limited to the Catholic Church alone. In reality, this was a perspective and attitude that was shared by numerous branches and sects of Christianity, including that of the Protestant movement. In fact, in the 16th century, history records the words and actions of the often controversial Martin Luther, father of the Protestant Reformation—the movement for church renewal which signified a break from the Catholic Church. Although his theories revolutionized Christianity, his renewal unfortunately did not seem to promote any change in the predominant attitudes toward women.
If (women) become tired or even die, that does not matter. Let them die in childbirth, that's why they are there. (Works of Martin Luther, 20.84) Ellerbe, H. (1995).The Dark Side of Christian History. Melbourne, Australia: Morningstar Books.
The word and works of God is quite clear, that women were made either to be wives or prostitutes. (Works of Martin Luther, 12.94)
God created Adam master and lord of living creatures, but Eve spoilt all, when she persuaded him to set himself above God's will. 'This you women, with your tricks and artifices, that lead men into error. (The Bondage of the Will, 1527) Luther, M. (2018). The Collected Works of Martin Luther: Theological Writings, Sermons & Hymns: The Ninety-five Theses, The Bondage of the Will, The Catechism. Amazon.com
Taking all of this a step further, it becomes apparent that the Biblical Eve takes on a far greater theological significance. Her sin gave rise to the very central theme behind Christianity. Her one act of disobedience led to the central reason behind Jesus Christ’s mission and eventual sacrifice in Christian theology. Due to her sin, she caused Adam to fall out of grace, expelling them both from Heaven to Earth. As punishment, Earth itself became an accursed place of dwelling. All descendents were born in sin, due to the fact that their repentance was not accepted by God. And so, to purify all of humanity from this “original sin,” Jesus was believed to have been sacrificed on the cross. In essence, Eve is believed to be responsible for the fall of all of mankind.
Yet, before moving forward to the next section, an important point must be made after reviewing so many of these regrettable and derogatory opinions about women; they are nonetheless the statements of men and not supported in the actions of many of God’s Prophets. Many of these statements were made by otherwise devout men who, in most cases, appear to have been reflecting the predominant views of their own societies and cultures. Yet, when comparing their statements to the practice of Jesus for example, differences soon become apparent.
For example, although the canon of the Church prohibited women from teaching, Jesus himself had several female followers. Furthermore, only his women followers and his mother, plus the "beloved disciple" in the Gospel of John, whose identity is not recorded, stay with him during his crucifixion (Matthew 27 and John 19). It was also to women, especially Mary Magdalene, who Jesus appeared to first after what was believed to be his resurrection (Mark 16, Matthew 28, and John 20). Yet, although there seems to be some basis here for argument, the truth remains shrouded in the variance of scriptural texts and opinions held by esteemed members of both the Jewish and Christian authorities.
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