The Bible: A Feminist Analysis

Women have been treated as second-class citizens for centuries, only gaining the right to vote in the 20th century in the United States and slowly demanding the respect and attention from then on. When looking at ancient times, women tended to be left out of the narrative. With only a few outliers, women were expected to run the household. With feminist groups appearing in vast numbers, reevaluating history is more commonplace. However, with every new idea, criticisms soon follow. Some argue that the exclusion of women in the Bible was a product of its time and cannot be changed and attempting to use the Bible as a source of oppression is not valid. Others believe that, while the times were different, the Bible’s teachings on women are still

Neoliberal feminist biblical tendencies are to add women’s history to ancient Israel. Historians are now trying to reveal the contributions of men and women as being more equal than previously assumed (Fuchs 49). During the suffragist movement, Elizabeth Cady Stanton argued about the Bible’s view on women, stating that it could not be accepted or rejected and that the teachings are varied regarding women (Fuchs 47). In Ilana Pardes’s Countertraditions in the Bible: A Feminist Approach, Pardes argues that the stories of women in the Bible are a different tradition than those of men (Fuchs 53). Susan Ackerman in Warrior, Dancer, Seductress, Queen: Women in Judges and Biblical Israel, believes feminist biblical ideas to be inappropriate for the times. Ackerman argues that applying modern feminist ideas to Biblical times is not valid, given the circumstances of each idea (Fuchs 56). The Bible poses many questions for feminist arguments. Deciding on the applicability of the women and their stories presented in the Bible is important for women’s

However, Mary Magdalene committed her life to Jesus Christ. While she is not officially considered a disciple, Mary Magdalene followed Jesus and spread his teachings. Mary Magdalene is often depicted as the “fallen woman”, “the temptress”, and “the mistress of Jesus” (Scott 577). Many people believe Mary Magdalene to be a prostitute who left that life to become a follower of Jesus Christ. However, she was never a prostitute. Mary Magdalene is confused with other biblical women named Mary, like Mary of Bethany who anointed the feet of Jesus. Mary Magdalene was an important disciple and an early leader in the Church. She was one of the first to witness the resurrection (Scott 577). While there are many unsavory depictions of Mary Magdalene, she is still considered to be a saint in some denominations, like Catholicism, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran. She is recognized during Easter and there is even a celebration of her on July 22 (Scott 578). The misconceptions surrounding Mary Magdalene slander nearly everything she lived for. Mary Magdalene was a devoted disciple who never questioned the teachings of Jesus