Bible Study for Women

The Bible is, and always has been, a revolutionary book. It's like a cliff that resists the waves of cultural change. And there may not be a clearer demonstration of the immutable Word of the Bible than what it teaches about genuine femininity.

The Bible exalts women fairly, against the cultures that distort, debase and degrade. Many in our society promote the sexual and reproductive liberation of women against the supposedly oppressive and antiquated structure of the Bible. I have to ask: "In what way are women truly free? How does our culture honor them? "Of course, they can vote; They have the opportunity to compete in the market. But are they truly free? Are your dignity and honor intact?

I argue that women are more used and abused today than at any other time in history. Pornography has turned women into objects and victims of dirty and cowardly perverts, who look at them with greedy eyes. In the world, women are negotiated as animals for sexual slavery. In more "civilized" places, men routinely use women for sex without consequence or commitment, only to leave them pregnant, without love and without support. Abortion rights groups support and instigate the selfishness and irresponsibility of men and "liberate" women to murder their unborn children. Women are left alone, with emotional scars, financially destitute and guilty, ashamed and abandoned. Where is the freedom, dignity and honor in that?

Modern technological advances have allowed culture to centralize the degradation of women like never before; but the cultures of antiquity they were not any better. Women in pagan societies during the times of the Bible were treated very often with a little more dignity than animals. Some of the best-known Greek philosophers - considered the brightest minds of their era - taught that women were inferior creatures by nature. Even  in the Roman Empire (probably the pinnacle of pre-Christian civilization), women were usually considered as a simple property - personal property of their husbands or fathers, with a position only slightly better than house slaves. That was completely different from the Hebrew (and biblical) concept of marriage, seen as a joint inheritance and fatherhood, as a society where both the father and the mother should be revered and obeyed by their children (Leviticus 19: 3).

Pagan religions tended to encourage and encourage the degradation of women even more. Of course, Greek and Roman mythology had their goddesses (such as Diana and Aphrodite). But do not think that the worship of the goddesses gave women a higher position in society. On the contrary. Most of the temples dedicated to these deities were served by sacred prostitutes - priestesses who sold themselves for money, supposedly performing a religious sacrament. Both the mythology and practice of pagan religion have usually been too degrading for women. The male pagan deities were capricious and sometimes cruelly misogynist. Religious ceremonies were often shamelessly obscene, including erotic fertility rites, alcoholic orgies in the temple, perverse homosexual practices and, in extreme cases, even human sacrifice.

Contrast all that, old and contemporary, with the Bible. From beginning to end, the Bible exalts women. Indeed, it often seems to go out of the way to honor them, ennoble their roles in society and the family, recognize the importance of their influence, and exalt the virtues of women who were, in particular, pious examples.

From the first chapter of the Bible, we are taught that women, like men, bear the seal of God's own image (Genesis 1:27; 5: 1-2) - men and women were created equal. Women have prominent roles in many key biblical narratives. Husbands see their wives as revered companions and warm help. Not simply slaves or household furniture (Genesis 2:20, Proverbs 19:14, Ecclesiastes 9: 9). At Sinai, God commanded the children to honor both their father and mother (who was is a woman) (Exodus 20:12).

Of course, the Bible teaches the various divinely ordained roles for men and women - many of which are perfectly evident in the circumstances of creation itself. For example, women have a unique and vital role in the motherhood and upbringing of children. Women themselves also have a particular need for support and protection, because physically they are "more fragile vessels" (1 Peter 3: 7). Scripture establishes appropriate order in the family and in the church, assigning the responsibilities of leadership and protection in the homes to the spouses (Ephesians 5:23), and appointing the men of the church for the roles of teaching and leading ( 1 Timothy 2: 11-15).

In no case are women marginalized or relegated to the background (Galatians 3:28). On the contrary, the Scripture seems to set them apart for a special honor (1 Peter 3: 7). The spouses are commanded to love their wives sacrificially, as Christ loves the church - even, if necessary, at the cost of their own lives (Ephesians 5: 25-31). The Bible recognizes and celebrates the inestimable value of a virtuous woman (Proverbs 12: 4; 31:10; 1 Corinthians 11: 7).

Christianity, born in a world where Roman and Hebrew cultures intersected, elevated the status of women to an unprecedented level. The disciples of Jesus    included several women (Luke 8: 1-3), an unprecedented practice among the rabbis of their day. Not only that, but He encouraged his discipleship by showing the women as something more necessary than domestic service (Luke 10: 38-42). Indeed, the first record of Christ, the explicit disclosure of His own identity as the true Messiah, was made to a Samaritan woman (John 4: 25-26). He always treated women with greater dignity - even women who were considered marginalized from society (Matthew 9: 20-22; Luke 7: 37-50; John 4: 7-27). He blessed  children (Luke 18: 15-16), resurrected his dead (Luke 7: 12-15), forgave his sins (Luke 7: 44-48), and restored his virtue and honor (John 8: 4). -eleven). In this way he exalted the condition of women.

So, it is not surprising that women were important in the ministry of the early church (Acts 12: 12-15, 1 Corinthians 11: 11-15). On the day of Pentecost, when the New Testament church was born, the women were there praying with the elder disciples (Acts 1: 12-14). Some were recognized for their good works (Acts 9:36); others for their hospitality (Acts 12:12; 16: 14-15); others for their understanding of sound doctrine and their spiritual gifts (Acts 18:26; 21: 8-9). The second epistle of John was addressed to a prominent woman in one of the churches under her care. Even the apostle Paul, sometimes falsely caricatured by critics of Scripture as macho, regularly ministered alongside women (Philippians 4: 3). He recognized and applauded his faithfulness and his gifts (Romans 16: 1-6, 2 Timothy 1: 5).

Naturally, when Christianity began to influence Western society, the condition of women improved markedly. Tertullian, one of the fathers of the early church, wrote very near the end of the second century a work entitled On the Apparel of Women. He said that pagan women who wore elaborate hair ornaments, not modest clothes and that covered their body with ornaments had been forced by society and fashion to abandon the superior splendor of true femininity. He commented, by contrast, that as the church grew and the gospel spread, one of the visible results was the increase in the modesty of women's dress and a corresponding rise in the condition of women.    He acknowledged that pagan men usually complained: "Since becoming a Christian, she dresses in poorer attire!" Christian women were even known as "priestesses of modesty." But, said Tertullian, as believers living under the lordship of Christ, women were richer spiritually, more pure and therefore more glorious than the most extravagant women in pagan society. Dressed "with the silk of righteousness, the fine linen of sanctity, the purple color of modesty," they elevated female virtue to an unprecedented height.

Even the pagans recognized that. Chrysostom, probably the most eloquent pastor of the fourth century, recorded that one of his teachers, a pagan philosopher named Libanius, once said: "Heavens! What women you Christians have! "What prompted Libanio's cries was when he heard that Chrysostom's mother had remained chaste for more than two decades since her widowhood in her twenties. As the influence of Christianity was felt, women were less despised or abused as objects of entertainment by men. Instead, women began to be honored for their virtue and faith.

In fact, Christian women converted from a pagan society were automatically released from a series of degrading practices. Emancipated from public debauchery in temples and theaters (where women were systematically dishonored and devalued), they elevated their prominence in the home and the church, where they were honored and admired for their feminine virtues such as hospitality, ministry to the sick, care and love for their own families, and the loving work of their hands (Acts 9:39).

This has always been the trend. Wherever the gospel is expanded, the social, legal and spiritual status of women has been, as a high rule expanded. When the gospel has been eclipsed (be it by repression, influence of false religions, secularism, humanistic philosophy or spiritual decadence in the church), the condition of women has declined accordingly.

Even when secular movements have emerged claiming to be concerned about women's rights, their efforts have generally been damaging. The feminist movement of our generation is an example of this. Feminism has devalued and defamed femininity. The natural differences of sex are usually minimized, discarded, neglected or denied. As a result, women are now being sent to combat situations, subjected to exhausting physical labor before only reserved for men, exposed to all kinds of indignities in their place of employment and also stimulated to act and speak as men. Meanwhile, modern feminists speak with disdain about women who want their families and homes to be their   priorities; underestimating the role of motherhood, the most exclusive and only female call. The whole message of feminist egalitarianism is that there is really nothing extraordinary about women. Undoubtedly, this is not the message of Scripture. As we have seen, Scripture honors women as women and encourages them to seek honor in an exclusively feminine way (Proverbs 31: 10-30).

The Scripture never discards the feminine intellect, does not minimize the talents and abilities of women, nor discourage the right of women to use spiritual gifts. But when the Bible expressly speaks about a woman's traits of excellence, the accent is always on female virtue. The most significant women of Scripture were influential not because of their professions, but because of their character. The message that these women give collectively is not about "equality of the sexes"; it's about true female excellence. And that is always exemplified by moral and spiritual qualities, instead of social status, wealth or physical appearance.

And that is putting things in order. Far from denigrating women, the Bible promotes freedom, dignity and feminine honor. The Scripture describes for each culture the portrait of a truly beautiful woman. The true feminine beauty is not about the external adornment, "ostentatious hairstyles, gold ornaments or selected dresses"; On the contrary, real beauty is manifested in "the inner, the heart ... the incorruptible adornment of a mild and gentle spirit, which is of great esteem before God" (1 Peter 3: 3-4).