It is hard to imagine that religion, the word of god, would ever mislead anyone to believe that men and women are not created equal. But that’s how the story goes. The bible gives us many examples of how women are inferior to men. The first is the story of creation. The first book of the bible, genesis. Eve is created after Adam. She came later because she was meant to serve him and to be his inferior. One writer also believes that woman’s secondary status is do to Eve’s role of temtress in the fall of humanity. (Oh yeah, I’m sure you already knew that. But, isn’t it Eve’s, aka. women’s, fault that we do not live for eternity?) Women can not “celebrate Eucharist, pray in pblic, dance sacred dances, hear confesion, make sacrifices, baptize, enter the holy of holies, read sacred scriptures aloud in public, preach, or teach men.” (Shaw 667)
A famliy member of a family member (don’t you love how these stories go) believed all of this. Women were supposed to be submissive to their husbands because the bible said so. She was the victim of forced sex and verbal abuse. She believe this was acceptable because the bible said that is what she was around for. She cleaned the house and did the laundry. She was so stressed out for the first 15 years of their marriage that if she did get pregnant, it ended in a miscarriage. She left him once. He said he would change. She went back. Things didn’t change at first. Eventually she did get pregnant and they now have a beautiful baby boy. Things have changed and their marriage is on the mends. Some how a baby changed the world for them and helped her husband realize what his wife’s purpose was. It was so many things but not to be his toy at his beck and call.
