Is the Bible Sexist?

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Christopher Rollston, “The Marginalization of Women: A Biblical Value We Don’t Like to Talk About,” Huffington Post, August 31, 2012. Last week, an article entitled, " Students 'angry and confused' over Archbishop Glenn Davies' comments on gender equality", was published by the ABC. The students who spoke to the ABC not only misrepresented the Archbishop's stance on the role of women in the church, but largely neglected even to engage with it, preferring instead to make sweeping generalisations about how his ideas were "outdated", that they contradicted messages "told to them by their parents, educators and society in general" and that he spoke of men as having "higher status and more power". (Interestingly, I have no memory of him saying anything of the kind). The church has the honor of articulating and advancing the biblical view of man and woman together, reflecting God's image: Male and female bear equal glory as image bearers.

Because of the awkwardness of the ESV translation, I’ve heard pastors in churches with ESV Bibles in the pews abruptly interrupt their public Bible reading to explain that the actual meaning of the text is “brothers and sisters.”The word “sexism,” according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary online, means “prejudice or discrimination based on sex (especially toward women): behavior, conditions, or attitudes that foster stereotypes of social roles based on sex.” Holladay said that the debate over sexism in the Bible today is reminiscent of the mid-19th-century controversy over references to slavery in the Bible. What is the task of Christians, Ware asked, in confronting this ideology of the church and its Bible? This piece is a part of our Spark series: The Use of the Bible to Justify Inequality and Advance Social Justice If you want to justify women’s leadership in the church, you can turn to the Gospels, where Jesus travels with and accepts support from women (e.g., Luke 8:1-3). Or look to Romans 16, where Paul hails Phoebe, a deacon and benefactor, and Junia, “prominent among the apostles.” If you believe in equality, you can appeal to 1 Corinthians 7:2-4, where Paul advocates mutuality in marriage, or Galatians 3:28, widely viewed as erasing differences altogether (“There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus”).

David Marvin serves as the Teaching Pastor at CityBridge Community Church in Plano, Texas. Previous to taking his role there in 2023, he led a young adult ministry; “The Porch” for nine years, at Watermark Community Church. David received his master’s degree in biblical studies from the Dallas Theological Seminary. In addition to his role as a pastor, his first priority is being a husband to his wife, Calli, who is a licensed counselor. David and Calli have three children: Crew, Monroe, and Bear. To find out more about David, his latest resources, and his book, visit davidmarvin.org What these three women have in common is that God can see the strength and capability in women others would deem ordinary, to do the extraordinary. What Should We Do When We Think We See Sexism or Partiality in the Bible? The Southern Baptist Convention soon incorporated these beliefs into its confessional statement – a document of generally shared beliefs. In an amendment in 1998 to the “Baptist Faith and Message,” the convention included the complementarian language. Scripture encourages us to “let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone” ( Colossians 4:6). We need to respond with grace instead of condemnation or hatred. Evidently, the original ESV translators were unbothered by modernizing the Old English word “ass” to “donkey” (cf., Numbers 22:22; Joshua 6:21). Apparently their editors deemed it more important to clarify the meaning of “ass” than “man.”

1. Point out Misinterpretations

In making these final changes, the Crossway Board of Directors and the Translation Oversight Committee thus affirm that their highest responsibility is to ‘guard the deposit entrusted to you’ (1 Timothy 6:20)—to guard and preserve the very words of God as translated in the ESV Bible.” Don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to suggest that if the Bible says sexism is OK, then I simply have to accept that my hatred of sexism is merely the product of the short-sightedness of society. Not at all. I recoil at the suggestion that the faith I've professed to be mine for my entire life is one that endorses and even institutes the male-centric, patriarchal social structures which have predominated history and which I so detest. In the New Testament, there is a telling little sentence in John 4.27 that sheds light on just how radical the Bible is in affirming women. The disciples come across Jesus during His conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well, and we are told they ‘were surprised to find Him talking with a woman.’ Jesus goes against these cultural trends time and time again.

She also gets up while it is still night, and gives food* to her household and the prescribed portion to her young women. A couple of months ago, my wife and I found out that we were pregnant with our fourth child — a second daughter.

Jesus's Countercultural View of Women

The Bible, Holladay and Schuyler Brown of the American Bible Society argued, must be read in its historical context, and when the Lord's Prayer begins "Our Father . . ." that is representative of Jesus mentality and that of a near-Eastern male-dominated family of his age.

Take a 1-minute survey to join our mailing list and receive a free ebook in the format of your choosing. Read on your preferred digital device, including smart phones, tablets, laptops, and desktop computers. But Christianity has always declared that human significance flows from the image of God — not superficial traits. These are just some of the many examples of the demeaning views of women that persist in our world where Christian influence has not been widespread. 6. Problems in Our Post-Christian SocietyIf you disagree with something the an author said, consider framing your response as, “I hear you as saying _________. Am I understanding you correctly? If so, here’s w This is the last in my series, looking at the elephant in the room of misogyny in the Bible that people generally don’t talk about. Read the text that someone (or yourself) might have issues with, and try looking at it from multiple translations. See what the person (or you) thinks, and how sexism might be interpreted from this passage. What you will discover instead is that God believed in women as much as He did in men, seeing they were able to do anything because God created them to be leaders in faith. Strong, Resilient Women When He was resurrected, Jesus appeared first to the women, who were the initial ones to tell others the good news that He is risen ( Matthew 28:8). As a result, women responded warmly to Jesus’s ministry. Have things changed too drastically today for us to see this same Jesus? Not at all. Modern women can find the same rich fulfillment in serving Christ as did the Marys and Marthas of Judea, or the Joannas and Susannas of Galilee.