discrimination and the treatment of women

“God our mother

You hold our life within you

Nourish us at your breast

And teach us to walk alone”

This is a classic example whereby God is being referred to as a mother. Janet Morley is clearly here emphasising the point that men and women are equal. At the same time there is evidence of discrimination against women. For example in the Catholic Church women are forbidden to be priests, read the gospels out loud, listen to confessions and pardon sins in all situations as written in Vatican 2. Only men have the right to be priests according to Catholicism, even in all female schools and convents.

Does this situation really reflect the attitude of Jesus to women? I have studied various examples of Jesus meeting with women and based on these examples I would say that Jesus’ attitude was that men and women are equal. One typical example of the way he treated women was in Mark 14:3-9 where it states that when Jesus was in the town of Bethany a woman came with a jar of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head. The people present were looking down on the woman and exclaiming thoughts with each other about how the woman had wasted the perfume when it could have sold to earn money for the poor. They were hoping for Jesus to agree with them but were surprised when Jesus in actual fact stood up for the woman. He told the people to stop bothering her because she had done a wonderful thing for him. He told the people that her act would be preached in memory of her wherever he went. This shows Jesus’ loving and kind attitude to women. The other people treat the woman badly but Jesus’ supports the woman in what she did. Jesus shows his great attitude towards all women which is that in the Kingdom of God, women are equals.

A further example of Jesus’ nature towards women and men which shows he sees them as equals is in Mark 7:24-30 which describes how a Syro-Phoenician woman was able to have a cryptic and intellectual conversation with Jesus regarding he healing of her daughter and the nature of Jesus’ mission to the Gentiles. This shows again how Jesus took an interest into the issues of women and spoke to them no lesser then he would to a man.

In conclusion I believe that the attitude of the church to women does not reflect the mind of Jesus. My reason for saying this is because churches like the Catholic Church clearly make divisions between the jobs of men and women in the church. I think this does not support the teachings of Jesus’ which show that men and women are equal. I think women should have the opportunity to be priests of they want to do and they are capable. However to some extent I can see the point of view of the Catholic Church and understand how when the Vatican 2 was written it was perhaps not appropriate for women to be priests. But in today’s day and age I think perhaps the rules could be updated, modified and possibly even reconsidered.