paradox

The most fascinating information we went over tonight, for me, was the role of women in the New Testament. I wish we hadn't have had to go over it so quickly. I love to compare what life was like then and what it's like now - about what Western culture was like compared to what African or Far Eastern culture was like at the same time. You can see, especially in the evangelical christian subculture, remnants of Greek, Roman, and Hebrew culture. For example, like Greek women, some public spheres are unavailable to women (perhaps this is disappearing slowly). Like Hebrew women, women today are in largely in charge of tending both male and female children. The bottom line is paradoxical: women have come so far socially (think, a woman ran for president of the United States, arguably the most powerful position in the world) and yet they have hardly come anywhere at all. It seems to be purely a matter of interpretation.

Something has been burning in the back of my mind since week one or two of class. You mentioned that this issue of women in the bible - the roles they were intended to have - define the type of relationship we have with Jesus. I have never felt before that my relationship with Jesus is defined by how I see the role of women being. As issues and scripture are discussed in class each week, that thought keeps resurfacing. Does how I feel about women in the bible define the type of relationship I have with Jesus? I don't know the answer and that bothers me.