Women and the Bible

by Letters Editor · October 14, 2009

In holy scripture, incidents of sexual violence against women are too numerous to count: stories of incest, abduction and rape.

In 2 Samuel 13:1-14, Tamar is raped by her brother Ammon in the household of David who is the renowned Judahite and Israelite king. Though the text features the celebrated and revered David, it is one that is never read publicly. In our traditional societies we have cultural and religious heritages, which are potentially liberating and deterrent to rape. However, masculine ego plays a negative role, which allows shameful acts such as rape to continue.

It is amazing how Tamar articulated her story. This is the attitude that the Church and cultures should promote to encourage women to voice their concerns.

Paul�s letters urge women to be silent and submissive. In 1 Corinthians 11:2-10, men are masters and lords over women. Paul says that women were created for men and he advises them strongly to veil their heads and not to cut their hair. (He is referring to Genesis 6 where the sons of God are tempted by the beauty of the daughters of men and took wives for themselves of all that they chose. This displeased God.�

After this account, the story of floods follows and this is one of the incidents where women are blamed for evil. Paul adapts the situation to a Christian setting to prevent evil from happening.

In Genesis, women tempt angels to fall. Paul tries to devise the solution: to put women and their power of seducing men under control. However, he uses God�s given authority by explaining this as the natural order that subdues women.

I asked a number of Catholic nuns about the value of a veil. The general response was that they found their fellow nuns wearing it, so they continued with the tradition. Some relate a veil to the letter of St Paul. The sodalities of Sacred Heart and St Anna based at a Catholic mission outside Pietermaritzburg said the covering of heads is a sign of respect. In most customs men take off their hats in church.

Christian testament and its ethics often maintain the cycle of violence by preventing resistance to it. In the family set up, a woman married to a bullying husband remains in the marriage �for better or for worse� because she believes that divorce is against the will of God.

Matthew 5-6 teaches about love of enemies, and prays for those who persecute us or do not resist evil. The result of blind belief in scripture has negative repercussions for most women who stay on and on in an abusive relationship, because they want to forgive their husbands �not seven times only but 70 times seven times� (Mt 18:21-22).

Women are also taken for granted because love is patient, does not keep records of wrong-doings, never gives up� love is eternal (1 Corinthians 13:4-8).

These sterling qualities are not prescriptions for women alone, but women feel guilty for not being patient enough when they walk out of terrible marriages. Therefore, they endure domestic violence and sexual abuse for the sake of holy matrimony, despite living with broken hearts

Benedict Jedegwa CMM, Mariannhill