The Place of Women in the Church

The DaVinci Code points to a difficult and painful historical issue…

THE PLACE OF WOMEN Regrettably some early Church Fathers -- including John Chrysostom, Tertullian, Clement, Cyprian and Augustine, were repulsed by the mere thought of women, and often viewed them as a "necessary evil."

John Chrysostom ( ) was a notable bishop and preacher. The Orthodox Church honors him as a saint and count him among the Three Holy Hierarchs. He is recognized by the Catholic Church as a saint and a Doctor of the Church

THE PLACE OF WOMEN John Chrysostom described women as “a necessary evil, a natural temptation, a domestic peril, a deadly fascination, and a painted ill."

Tertullian Early church father (ca. 155–230) was a very influential church leader and prolific author. He was born, lived, and died in Carthage. Known as the "father of the Latin Church". He introduced the term Trinity, and probably the formula of "three Persons, one Substance"

THE PLACE OF WOMEN Tertullian wrote: "God's verdict on the (female) sex still holds good, and the (female) sex's guilt must still hold also. You are the devil's gateway!"

THE PLACE OF WOMEN Tertullian continued: Women should go about "clad in mourning and ashes, her eyes overflowing with the tears of remorse… to make us forget that you have been man's destruction."

THE PLACE OF WOMEN Tertullian: “(Women) for your deceit, the very son of God had to perish!" Tertullian: “(Women) for your deceit, the very son of God had to perish!"

Augustine of Hippo Saint Augustine (354–430) was one of the most important figures in the development of Western Christianity. In Roman Catholicism, he is a saint and pre-eminent Doctor of the Church. Many Protestants, especially Calvinists, consider him to be one of the theological fountainheads of Reformation teaching on salvation and grace.

THE PLACE OF WOMEN Augustine: "What is the difference whether it is in a wife or a mother, it is still Eve the temptress that we must beware of in any woman... I fail to see what use woman can be to man, if one excludes the function of bearing children."

Thomas Aquinas (c –1274) He is considered by the Catholic Church to be its greatest theologian and one of the thirty-three Doctors of the Church. There have been many institutions of learning named after him. He was the second most prolific writer ever, second only to Martin Luther.

THE PLACE OF WOMEN St. Thomas Aquinas: "woman is defective and misbegotten, for the active force in the male seed tends to the production of a perfect likeness in the masculine sex; while the production of woman comes from a defect…”

How did Jesus view women? The Gospel of Luke provides insight. 24 times in Luke, Jesus either met a woman, talked about a woman, or mentioned a woman in a parable. All of these 24 times are instructive and positive.

What place did Jesus give women? No rabbi of Jesus’ day included women among their disciples. However, Jesus included women in His circle of followers–even women from questionable backgrounds (Luke ch. 8 names some women disciples).

How did Jesus treat women? Jesus dared to talk openly with a Samaritan woman at the well (John 4). He breached every standard of His culture by doing that. A woman with multiple marriages and a sordid life– found respect. She became the first evangelist for Jesus.

What role did God give women in the Jesus story? The women disciples were the first to witness the resurrection. They were the first to announce the empty tomb. Mary of Magdalene was the first person to see the resurrected Christ.

The bottom line: Galatians 3:28 In Christ's family there can be no division into Jew and non-Jew, slave and free, male and female. Among us you are all equal. That is, we are all in a common relationship with Jesus Christ. -Message Bible