Posted by Perry on September 08, 2004 at 14:33:34
In Reply to: The Bible and women posted by Oldtimer on September 07, 2004 at 23:32:09:
I don't dispute what you say here, Oldtimer, as you know the Bible better than I do. I think, however, that you are talking about something slightly different than I was. If you reread my sentence that you quote you'll notice that I say “the Bible has been used”. Regardless of the correct interpretation of the scriptures concerning the status of women, which is what your post is about, the Bible has been used throughout the centuries to keep women in their place, as I worded it. I was discussing literature in general and the ways in which literature reveals what a society expects of its women, and how those expectations determine women’s status. I included the Bible as one example, and a very influential example, of that process.
Since fiction, drama, and poetry are products of imagination and exaggeration, and non-fiction is subject to error and distortion, literature may not always present a mimetic representation of society. However, imo it is possible to discern societal attitudes in literature, particularly when recurring themes and images are found in a variety of works from various ages. That’s all I was really getting at.
I appreciate your insights into what seem to me to be more reasonable interpretations of certain scriptures. However, I’ll leave that discussion to you and others who are more knowledgeable in that area.