Is the Bible Sexist: Beyond Feminism and Patriarchalism

By: Donald G. Bloesch

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Synopsis: The author writes: "In this book I speak as a man who is for woman. I regret that I have not always been as active as I should have been in defending the legitimate rights of women and in decrying sexism, the sin of treating women as inferiors. In this, I share in the guilt of most men today. Yet I must raise my voice in protest against certain excesses in modern feminism which I regard as undermining women as well as the moral fabric of our society. As I see it, both patriarchalism and feminism result in the oppression and isolation of woman. In traditional patriarchal culture, it was the wife's business to make her husband successful, not the husband's business to make his wife happy. Subordination has generally meant in these circles abject submission to the dictates of the will of the man. The woman may be permitted to be a teacher of other women, but never of men. In modern feminist ideology, it is the wife's prerogative to fulfill herself, even at the expense of her obligations to her husband and family. Whether married or unmarried, the woman is encouraged to pursue a goal in which she realizes autonomy or independence. Both feminism and patriarchalism accentuate loneliness in the existence of woman, and the alternative that I propose is designed to overcome this."