Biblical Gender Interpretations

Responsible use paper

The bible has been the center of many debates and has been used correctly and incorrectly. My objective in this paper is to illuminate the many flaws in the century-old yet ever present interpretation of the bible that suggests women are lesser than men. I will also commend and explain the use of the bible during the civil rights movement.

Some people believe that women were created for the sole purpose of assisting men. They justify their position by citing Genesis chapter two, in which God takes a rib from Adam and creates Eve. They believe that because Eve was made from a piece of Adam, she is directly under him, as if he were her creator. Another source of evidence for this claim is that Adam was created before Eve. The rationale behind this piece of evidence is that the human being that was created first has more importance and is therefore, greater than the second. This interpretation also relies on the fact that women are less physically capable than men. It is believed that because God made women less capable then she must be considered less than by her greater counterpart. Clearly, this is an irresponsible interpretation of the bible. Many passages of the bible state the equality of his creation. The Apostle Paul states in Galatians chapter three that all people under the lord are to be considered one entity and are equal throughout that entity. Any interpretation that suggests women are inferior can be easily refuted by this passage. Some argue that women are inferior because God calls Eve a “Helper” in the second chapter of Genesis, however God uses that same name, ‘ezer, to describe himself a number of times. Out of context it would seem that the bible makes women look less than, but in realit...

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...of god, allowed women to follow him despite their social status. Mary Magdalene was a prominent disciple of Jesus who played an active role in serving him. Ruth is also an excellent example of god’s trust in women. Not only does the bible disprove of the belief that women are less than through situations he also proves this in individual verses.

In conclusion, the “male superiority” idea is far less credible than the interpretation of the bible that states, all human beings are and were created equal, which was a major inspiration of the Civil Rights Movement. Not only can you find this in the written text of the bible, but also in the modern world. Through the success of each idea and strong biblical analysis I have come to the conclusion that the civil rights movement responsibly used the bible while the interpretation that suggests males are superior did not.