Does the Bible Oppress Women?
Christians With Questions
In this series, I want to help you get “unstuck” with common questions that seem to regularly cause Christians to lose sleep or their faith. These are questions that have been posed to me through email or in conversation with real, live “Christians with questions.”
Question: In Genesis 3, after Adam and Eve’s fall, God punishes Eve by saying that she will want to be in charge but will be ruled by man. But, if this was a punishment for sin, then it wasn’t God’s original design or intent for women, right? Why has the Bible been used so often as a reason and an excuse to oppress women?
You are absolutely correct in saying that it was not God’s intent for women to be subordinate to men. In fact, in Genesis 1, this is very clearly stated:
“Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground. So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:26–27
God does not make any distinction between male and female being made for separate purposes. It’s clear that his intention was for both to act as “imagers”…
