Is the Bible “Sexist,” “Misogynistic,” or “Anti-women”?

Of the critics who desire to attack the Bible, one of the favorite complaints often used by them is that the Bible is “sexist,” “misogynistic,” or “anti-women.” But is this true? Before answering this question, we owe it to ourselves to examine the evidence:

• Both male and female were created in the image of GOD:
  “God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”
  (Genesis 1:26-27)
• Both male and female are offered the same salvation:
  “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
  (Galatians 3:28)
• Both male and female have access to the Spirit and gifts:
  (Read the entire chapter of 1Corinthians 12)
• Male was incomplete without female:
  The female came not from the feet for man to walk upon nor the head so as to rule over the male, but she came from the side because the female is equal and a companion. In fact, the female was created because the male was not complete without her.
  (Genesis 2:20-24)
• Moses because of females:
  Moses was supposed to have been thrown in the Nile River to drown, but a female placed him in a basket and in that basket her hope did float. Moses lived because a female placed him in a basket instead of throwing him in a river; moreover, a female saw him, a female nursed him, and a female raised him.
  (Exodus 2:1-10)
• There are examples of females in the ministry:
  (Exodus 15:20; Judges 4:4; 2Chronicles 34:22; Luke 2:36; Acts 16:14,40; 18:26; Romans 16:1)
• A female rescued GOD’s chosen people:
  Not only did she rescue the Israelites and aid them in their victory, but she also ended up in the Hall of Faith!
  (Joshua 2:6; 6:25; Hebrews 11:31)
• Another female rescued GOD’s chosen people:
  Esther was a nobody who became queen and saved the Jewish people.
  (Read the entire book of Esther, but the glory moment can be seen in 4:14)
• Males because of females:
  “For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God.”
  (1Corinthians 11:12)
• The Savior from a female:
  The female was the blessed vessel from whom the Savior Jesus came! Though she was not the cause of the creation, all humans are now blessed from her participation!
  (Luke 1:26-33)
  In fact, women played an important role in Jesus’ family tree:
  Tamar; Canaanite (Genesis 38:1-30)
  Rahab; Canaanite (Joshua 6:22-25)
  Ruth; Moabite (Ruth 4:13-22)
  Bathsheba; Israelite (2Samuel 12:24-25)
  Jesus sprouted up through sin for the win! Christ came through injustice and oppression to make His impression of justice (Matthew 1:1-6)!
• Females are loved just as much as males:
  (Luke 10: 38-42; John 4:1-30; 8:2-11)
• A female was the first witness of Jesus’ resurrection:
  (John 20:15-18)

Examination Of Some Difficult Passages:

Genesis 34 is entirely dedicated to Dinah. Why? This dedication is due to the devastation and division caused by the lack of devotion to Dinah. This is an often overlooked and rarely discussed chapter in the Bible, but Dinah deserves some dedicated discussion time. She was a teenager when she was raped by Prince Shechem the Hivite, who came from the lineage of Canaan (Genesis 10:17). [Read why GOD commanded the purge of the Canaanites.] After raping Dinah, Prince Shechem declared that he loved her and wanted her to be his wife. But if he loved her, he wouldn’t have raped her. Shechem even offered to buy Dinah, but love can’t be purchased (Song of Solomon 8:7). Jacob failed to provide any fatherly leadership in this situation; consequently, his sons took matters into their own hands. The sons devised a deceitful plan with Shechem, promising that if he and his entire clan would be circumcised, they would give Dinah to him as his wife. The brothers did this because it was painful and probably degrading for them. But three days after they had all been circumcised, Simeon and Levi attacked and murdered all of them with their swords and “took Dinah out of Shechem’s house.” This means that Jacob’s sons used Dinah [and her fresh experience of rape] as bait. This also means that Dinah had been with her rapist for three days until her brothers took her away again while she watched men get slaughtered before her eyes. In all this, the victim had been overlooked. Dinah was neither comforted nor consulted. Thoughtless avengers often hurt the original victims a second time and might even create new victims from innocent parties who happen to get in their way. In fact, innocent children had been taken captive by the band of brothers, most likely after watching their dads get murdered. Jacob was angry at his sons for their actions, but he did nothing. Because Jacob was silent, his leadership and authority was challenged. Meanwhile, Dinah was never mentioned again and she faded into oblivion. But even when everyone else seems to forget, GOD remembers. When no one seems to notice, GOD notices. When no one else seems to care, GOD cares. When you feel all alone, GOD is present. Think: GOD’s love is the reason this chapter is dedicated to Dinah. So, what does GOD want us to learn from Dinah’s drama? First, we must not allow sexual passion to boil over into evil actions. Passion must be controlled. Sexual sin is devastating because of its eternal consequences (1Corinthians 6:15-20; 10:8-13). Second, we are called to overcome evil by doing good (Romans 12:21). Third, we are to love our enemies (Matthew 5:38-48; Luke 6:27-36) and attempt to bring them to salvation. Fourth, we are not to seek revenge because GOD is The Avenger (Deuteronomy 32:35; Romans 12:17-19; Matthew 26:52)! In conclusion, mere men were the examples of the wrong while Dinah’s awful circumstance aided in conveying the message that only GOD’s ways are right. Genesis 34 describes the evil of man so that we may understand that our sinful nature is against GOD’s purpose for our lives.

Of course, there are more examples of such incidents like this in passages such as Genesis 19:8 where Lot offered his two daughters to be raped instead of his guest. Lot’s daughters were not only virgins (19:8), but they were also betrothed to be married (19:14). How could a loving father offer his [virgin and engaged] daughters to be raped by a mob of sinful men in order to protect two strangers? Lot’s proposal, so abhorrent to our modern minds, may have even been deemed meritorious in an ancient Eastern country, where people were bound by the laws of hospitality to their guests. The difficulty arises from the description of Lot being “righteous,” which Peter wrote about in 2Peter 2:7. Lot’s desire to serve the angels, invite them into his home, and protect them reveals that Lot did in fact desire to be righteous. His desire to be righteous was showcased when he told the mob, “Please, my brothers, do not act wickedly.” However, it also seems that Lot was only righteous relatively out of GOD’s favor to Abraham (Genesis 19:29). And though Lot’s soul was daily tormented by what he saw in Sodom (2Peter 2:8), he was not tormented enough to convince him to leave such evil surroundings, and return to the healthy and virtuous life of the mountains. Although it was the custom of the day to protect guests at any cost, this abhorrent act of offering his daughters to the mob reveals how deeply sin had been absorbed into Lot’s life. This is called desensitization.

According to Judges 19:22-25, it seems that this type of evil act was not uncommon for any city that lived in sin. Whereas the book of Joshua reveals GOD’s faithfulness, the book of Judges shows the Israelite’s failures through faithlessness in their refusal to give up evil ways. The judges were not set up as models: their failures, weaknesses and immorality are simply recorded, not condoned, glossed over or glorified. A sad cycle of sin and repetitive repentance calls attention to humanity’s tendency to stray and go their own way. The evils in the days of judges were attributed to the fact that “there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 17:6; 21:25). And this is exactly what happens when people refuse to acknowledge that there is indeed a King (1Timothy 6:15; Revelation 17:14; 19:16). Contrast that evil with the wisdom of Proverbs 21:2: “Every man’s way is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the hearts.” Without GOD as the absolute moral standard and candid central core, the people placed their focus on what was relative and subjective, which transformed into common corruption. In the days of the judges, the Philistines advanced by infiltration rather than outright war; pagan practices persisted because they had been accepted as normal and integrated into daily activities. The narratives warn against assimilating to the evil practices around them. Likewise, Lot had allowed the sinful society that surrounded him to torment him so long as to finally influence him. Whereas he once lived near Sodom (Genesis 13:12), he eventually chose to live in Sodom (14:12; 18:26; 19:1-5), drawing closer to the ways of the world rather than GOD’s ways. And when Lot offered his daughters to the mob, he chose to do evil in hopes of bringing about some good. However, in stark contrast, it is written that we are not to do evil in hopes of achieving good; rather, we are to overcome evil by doing good (Romans 3:8; 6:1; 12:21). And so yet again, GOD’s Word only reveals the evil of man so that we may understand that our sinful nature is against GOD’s purpose for our lives.

What about the New Testament? Many critics claim that the Bible teaches that women are made for man’s glory (1Corinthians 11:7) and that women should silent and not talk (1Corinthians 14:34-35; 1Timothy 2:11-12). But is that true? What does it mean in 1Corinthians 11:7 when it says that “the woman is the glory of man”? The word “glory” is the English translation of the Greek word δόξα [doxa] (dox’-ah), which primarily signifies an opinion, estimate, and hence, the honor resulting from a good opinion. Just as Jesus reflects the Father and reveals who the Father is, man is supposed to reflect Christ and reveal who Christ is; likewise, the woman is supposed to also represent the man and should also reflect who the man is. In essence, Paul is talking about reflecting the likeness of Christ in their designated functions as both male and female. Though males and females are equal in creation and salvation, they have different functions and roles they play. In the context of Genesis 2:21-23, Paul focuses on the temporal sequence of the creation of Adam and Eve: the man was created first and reflects the glory of GOD; the woman was created second, becoming the glory of man in that she completed him. This does not reduce the value of women. Paul is discussing here not the nature of males and females but the relationship between a husband and his wife. Since the woman is, from man’s perspective, “bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh” (Genesis 2:23), she shares the man’s image-of-GOD status. In fact, only a few verses later, Paul specifically states, “However, in the Lord, neither is woman independent of man, nor is man independent of woman” (1Corinthians 11:11). Thus, husband and wife depend on each other and complete each other. Paul argues that a woman, by the excellence of her being, also shows how excellent man is, since she was taken out of man at the beginning in order to help and complete man. 

But what about 1Corinthians 14:34-35 and 1Timothy 2:11-12? Is Paul saying women must always be silent? No. Since Paul seems to permit wives to pray and prophecy (1Corinthians 11:5,13) as long as they do not dishonor their husbands with the way they dress (11:5), it is difficult to see this as absolute prohibition (see also Acts 2:17; 21:8-9). Paul is likely forbidding women to speak up and judge prophecies (this is the activity in the immediate context of 1Corinthians 14:29), since such an activity would subvert male headship as GOD intended. GOD designated the male as the head of female in design, but this does not mean women cannot be a part of ministry. To understand this in greater detail, see my other article, “Can A Woman Be A Pastor?“. The context of 1Timothy 2:11-12 is within the assembled church. Women teaching other women, and women teaching children are not in view here, and both are encouraged elsewhere (Titus 2:4; 2Timothy 1:5). Nor does this passage have in view the role of women in leadership situations outside the church. After all, didn’t Priscilla (with her husband) teach Apollos a better understanding of the Gospel message (Acts 18:24-26)? And did not Paul acknowledge them as fellow workers in the Lord (Romans 16:3; 1Corinthians 16:19; 2Timothy 4:19)? Didn’t Paul acknowledge Phoebe in the same introduction he acknowledged Priscilla (Romans 16:1-2)? In fact, Paul acknowledged that Timothy’s faith came from his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice (2Timothy 1:5). Women can most certainly be a part of ministry. Again, to understand this in greater detail, see my other article, “Can A Woman Be A Pastor?“.

Conclusion:

Clearly, the Bible is not anti-women. Whether you are male or female, you are loved and Jesus sacrificed Himself to save you. Both men and women are equal in creation and salvation, but men and women have different functions and different roles.