Works Cited
Stone, Merlin. "Chapter 9." When God Was A Woman. Orlando, Florida: Harcourt Brace, 1976. 180-97. Print.
Cited: Stone, Merlin. "Chapter 9." When God Was A Woman. Orlando, Florida: Harcourt Brace, 1976. 180-97. Print.
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
Throughout Hammurabi's Code, it is made clear that the ancient Near East had a patriarchal system in which laws were needed to be put in place to grant protection to women from abuse. Laws placed restrictions on women's dowries and the manner in which divorce could occur. The state, therefore, recognized that women needed certain legal protections from male authority. Unfortunately, while such legal protections are granted, women are constantly addressed as a piece of property similar to slaves. Therefore, there are a few major issues in Hammurabi's Code that demonstrate how the individual rights of women took a back seat to social order and stratification in the ancient Near East. It was believed that a woman's sexuality should be sacrificed to ensure her legitimacy. A family's wealth was controlled by the father of the family, and finally, women that were divorced or widowed were viewed as needing society's help in the Near East.…
- 969 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Most mainstream religions and religious organisations tend to be patriarchal and women and men are rarely treated equally. This is shown in religious scriptures for example in the new testament it says “wives be subject to your husband’s for the husband is head of the wife and Christ is head of the church”. In Christianity the creation story shows how eve was created from Adam’s rib and how eve is the basis of original sin. Another example is shown in the Koran which says that men are in charge of women. ItemA mentions “Feminists see religion as a force for subordination and patriarchal oppression. This is supported by evidence such as the differential treatment of women in religious congregations”. This shows women are still oppressed because of traditional religious beliefs.…
- 836 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Hammurabi’s Code illustrates the patriarchal society and the class system that was present in the Old Babylonian Empire. As we discussed during class, Hammurabi’s code outlines varying punishments depending on social standing. For example, one of the laws states that “if a man knocks out the teeth of his equal, then his teeth shall be knocked out,” however, “if a man knocks out the teeth of a [commoner], he shall pay one third of a mina.” Hammurabi’s code offered women protection from offenses such as rape, however, it ensured that the control still resided in the hands of men, and it enforced the patriarchal lifestyle that was very much a part of life in ancient Mesopotamia. One of the laws states that, “If a man's wife be surprised [having intercourse] with another man, both shall be tied and thrown into the water,” but…
- 642 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Although these laws protected the rights of many in this patriarchal society, it left little room for women to have some, if any, freedom compared to the influence goddesses had on their culture.…
- 975 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Elizabeth Johnson is one of the greatest female theologians. Elizabeth, a feminist, proposes and seeks out a new imagery on the traditional views of God. She gives her proposal in her work “God Acting Womanish.” In this work she expresses a liberation theology in a way. She decides to bring issues into light to show how woman should be not only equal socially, and politically, but spiritually as well.…
- 267 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
In the taking sides article Did Christianity Liberate Women? neither Karen Jo Torjesen, nor Karen Armstrong deliver a winning argument. There are several flaws in each of their arguments and neither successfully prove to be correct. Despite each Professor making valid points with adequate support, neither of them were able to fully defend their claim. The each side of the argument discredits the opposing side. Professor Torjesen argues yes, that Christianity both liberated and provided equality for women, while Professor Armstrong argues no, that Christianity excluded women from full participation in a male-dominated church. The two articles make valid points, both of which discredit the other.…
- 837 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
The Book of the City of Ladies begins with Christine’s explanation for writing the novel. After reading a book by Matheolus filled with slander and insults against women, she studies other works by philosophers and poets just to find that they all express the same opinion about women. Pizan finishes the first chapter of the book questioning God, “For unless I stray from my faith, I must never doubt that your infinite wisdom and most perfect goodness ever created anything which was not good,” (Couser, 126). According to the word of God, the indication of three or more witnesses supplies credibility to an accusation, in which there are numerous examples seen within literature.…
- 1369 Words
- 6 Pages
Better Essays -
Look closely at Document 1 we can tell there weren’t even any female gods. The Gilgamesh Epic reads, “… their father, Anu; Their counselor, the warrior Bel; Their leader, Nimurta; Their champion the god Enlil.” (doc. 1) All of the gods listed are male. Pleasing a god was an important objective when it came to everyday life; if you wanted your future to be prosperous, you would do everything you could to please the gods. The question is what would please a god, or what would a god find pleasing? The lord [nobleman] Ptah-hotep advises his son, “If you are a wise man, bring up a son who shall be pleasing to Ptah [a god].” (doc. 2) From this we can already tell that the gods favored male offspring rather than daughters. However it wasn’t only to gods did sons seem more cherished; even kings/rulers from all over the land seemed to fancy songs more than daughters. Herodotus, an ancient Greek historian, once wrote about Persia in his book, The Histories, “Those who have the most sons receive an annual present from the king.” (doc. 3) Why was it not ‘those who have the most daughters?’ Sons were obviously much more valued than…
- 1018 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
For the past two-thousand years, the Book of Genesis has served as work of literature to the western civilization. Whether people believed in the Bible or not, the Book of Genesis tell stories they talk about having good morals, teaching live-learned lessons and overall it gives a glimpse of how the first human being acted when the world was developing and how they handle problems and situations. However, even though the book of Genesis shows a tone of life long morals, Genesis also shows the different sides of humans. Genesis shows how human can be deceitful, evil, and disobedient to authority figures. But these traits with humans were rarely displayed by man, but mostly by woman. In the book of Genesis, woman are displayed obstacles and road blocks to these undermining and broad goals through God‘s plan . From the beginning of the book with Garden of Eden to the ending of the story of Joseph, women, as mothers and wives are typically portrayed disloyal, undependable mischievous or, just simply for their womanhood, and they frequently threaten to undermine God's will than men. This portrayal is done because women were not considered equal to man and man was the only thing that God intended to create. Women in Genesis were set as these archetypes that God wanted them to be, but in the narrative its they are shown otherwise.…
- 1503 Words
- 7 Pages
Better Essays -
Starting way back in ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian society women were view and treated inferior to men. This was shown in the harshness of Hammurabi’s code. It was written with little consideration to the women in society. It was established in 1686 BCE to bring order, retribution, and "justice" to the Babylonian society. There are 282 laws that were supposed to protect the poor from the wealthy; the weak from the strong, and other inequalities. However, some of the laws enacted by Hammurabi showed strong gender bias. They were considered to be family laws, but in many considerations were laws to control women. Some of the laws in the code gave women protection from patriarchal rule, such as laws placing restrictions on the use of women's dowries, the bride prices paid for women, and laws involving divorce can happen. These laws may have been seen by lawmakers as protection but they actually show the state's recognition that women needed some legal protections from male authority. In many cases, women were treated as children and not given equal treatment under the law.…
- 1223 Words
- 5 Pages
Better Essays -
eyes. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, archaeologists and other prehistorians understood these images to be fertility objects or pornographic toys. But over…
- 41666 Words
- 167 Pages
Powerful Essays -
Throughout the Bible, women are portrayed as powerful but also powerless. When one reads their stories the women are often portrayed as trickster. The Bible keeps changing its views on women on either powerful or powerless with women. The Bible does not go into great detail about the lies of women but when the Bible does it shows the lives of powerful and powerless women. Why will they show how women can be powerful while others are shown as being powerless.…
- 530 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
In Genesis, God created the sun, the moon, stars, animals and the land. God also created a man – Adam and a woman – Eve, and let them live together in Eden. The Tree of Life and the Knewledge of Good and Evil were placed in the middle of the Garden in Eden. God said not to eat and touch any fruit of tree. “You shall not eat from it and you shall not touch it, lest you die” (Genesis, Page 160). Meanwhile, the serpent tempted a woman to eat the fruit from the forbidden tree, which could make her become as gods knowing good and evil. The woman listened to the sepent, ate the fruit and shared it with her husband. God got mad when he found out that they ate the fruit. Authority must be obeyed, if not you will be punished. To the woman, God said, “I will terribly sharpen your birth pangs, in pain shall you bear children. And for your man shall be your longing, and shall rule over you.”(Genesis, Page 161). Therefore, women now endure so much pain during childbirth and also are controled over by their husbands. To the man, God said, “Because you listened to the voice of your wife and ate from the tree that I commanded you…for dust you are and to dust shall you return.”(Genesis, Page 161). The only obedience is obedience to God, not somebody else. You are not supposed to listen to your wife and bad thing will happen when you listen to your wife. Women are portrayed as troublemakers and suffer more pain when they are…
- 432 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
The bible is very male-centric. In the first chapter of the Bible, for example, God gives Adam the right to name the world around him. “…Adam said, this is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” This paper will explore how women are a muted group in one of the most widely known and influential books in history; the bible.…
- 744 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Thousands of years ago, the Goddess was viewed as an autonomous entity worthy of respect from men and women alike. Because of societal changes caused by Eastern influence, a patriarchical system conquered all aspects of life including religion. Today, the loss of a strong female presence in Judeo-Christian beliefs has prompted believers to look to other sources that celebrate the role of women. Goddess religion and feminist spirituality have increasingly been embraced by men and women as an alternative to the patriarchy found in traditional biblical religion.…
- 1990 Words
- 8 Pages
Better Essays