Jesus Christ has
had a huge and growing effect on history, as described in Who is this man? By John Ortberg. He grew from humble
beginnings in Galilee to
inspire the lives of billions and transform societies 2000 years later in a variety of ways and His
influence continues to grow.
As noted by H.G.Wells in ‘The Greatest Men in History’:
The historian’s view
of an individual’s greatness is ‘what did he leave to grow?’ Did he start men to thinking along fresh lines
with a vigor that persisted after him? By this test Jesus stands first.
The incarnation of our Creator into humanity not
surprisingly had numerous profound effects, including the infusion of the
divine into situations of suffering and sin, something requiring deep prayer
and meditation to comprehend but God
chooses to make spontaneously available in many cases. Even though only partially understood and
sometimes wrongly portrayed by the
powerful institutions, both secular and clerical, Christ has transformed the
world to a degree which makes Christian society more humane, free, democratic and technologically advanced than any other
(look around the world today and tell me you don't agree, bearing in mind that most non-Christian nations, such as India and China, have been influenced by the west in modern times).
One of the many unique contributions of Jesus Christ to
human progress was the effect on the place of women in society and how he
overturned tens of thousands of years of entrenched exploitation of females
worldwide. Here I will list just a few points:
The Samaritan woman
at the well. Jesus’s longest recorded conversation with one person
was with a woman, a Samaritan (a sect despised by the Jews) who had been
married 5 times. It was a conversation
about her relationship to God and ‘many
of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s
testimony.’ It was to her that Christ gave
this eternally powerful statement: But
whosoever drinketh of the water I shall give him shall never thirst; but the
water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into
everlasting life. (John 4:14)
Women followers. Jesus travelled from place to place spreading
the gospel. Following him were the 12
disciples, Mary Magdalene, Joanna wife of Chuza from Herod’s court, who was the
manager of Herod’s household, Suzanna
and a host of others (see Matthew 27:55, Luke 8:1-3). Joanna used her comparative wealth to help in spreading the word. This was
unprecedented and must have raised many an eyebrow. Respectable women and
unmarried girls were expected to remain at home, out of sight.
Healing and
resurrection of women. Jesus healed a woman who for 12 years had been sick
with a flow of blood and, uniquely, without a word having been spoken
beforehand. She just touched his cloak from
behind while being surrounded by a crowd
and the healing power flowed into her. Later that day he resurrected the daughter of Jairus, the
ruler of a synagogue, having been called to his house. (see Matthew 9:18-26, Mark 5:22-42, Luke 8:41-55.)
Martha and Mary. Jesus
was invited into the house of Martha ,
Mary and Lazarus of Bethany. While Martha prepared food Mary sat listening to
Jesus. Martha resented this but was rebuked by Jesus who made clear to her the
importance of spiritual values. This, I believe, would have been unusual, given
the general status of females at that time.
He could have chosen to say this to a man but he was here to relate to
and influence humanity, not just men; and humanity involved male and female in
complimentary roles and equal before God. It also emphasized that the woman’s role was
not confined to domestic duties, important though these are. (See Luke 10:38-42.)
Gathering to anoint Christ's body.
The Bible relates that on the morning after the Sabbath, as early as
they could possibly come without breaking the Sabbath, Mary Magdalene, Mary the
mother of James the lesser and Joses (also called "the other Mary"),
Salome the wife of Zebedee, and Mary the mother of the apostles James and John,
came with spices to anoint His body and
prepare it for burial.(See Mark 16:1-2.)
The discovery of the
empty tomb . The gospels record that the empty tomb was discovered by Mary Magdalene of Magdala and other women, and
it was to her that an angel first
announced the Resurrection, something which no one was expecting and was
probably the most cosmically significant event since beings with the imago deo
had appeared on earth. Not surprisingly Mary initially met with disbelief from the male disciples, who had dispersed
and become demoralized as their belief in him as the Messiah ebbed away on
witnessing his ignominious death. (See Matthew 28:1-10; Mark 16:1-8; Luke 24:1-8.)
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| Florence Nightingale, pioneer of modern heallthcare |
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| Mother Teresa followed a vision from Christ |
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| Cicily Saunders |
The move to win votes for women in England in the early 20th century was driven and sustained by Christian inspiration, as indicated by this text from Questia
The appropriation of religion for the militant political campaign took a variety of forms. The suffragettes adopted symbolic Christian figures as well as the structure and tactics of other contemporary Christian organizations, particularly the Salvation Army. They infused their rhetoric, in both their autobiographical accounts and their novels, with the language of Christian theology and the Bible.
This had a profound and lasting effect on the whole culture and social structure of the western world.
Harriet Beecher Stowe and Harper Lee were Christ-inspired novelists that helped major shifts in the spiritual state of the USA, leading to the civil rights reforms. They have also taken on roles of national leadership, as did Joan of Arc.
Compare the treatment and status of women in Roman times
with nowadays: the Law of Romulus allowed routine killing of female fetuses and infants, resulting in a gender ratio of 140 males to 100 females. Temple
prostitution was widespread. Sex slavery and child molestation were standard, default
practices in most places most of the time, and even today are only regarded as wrong in societies with a Christian
heritage or after recent Christian influence.
Wives and daughters of emperors in the Roman and other civilizations managed to maneuver themselves into positions of power, as did the males, or to exert influence behind the scenes, or even to become monarchs themselves. But this was exceptional. The push for recognition of females in society outside the home only really began in the last two centuries or so as the gospel became accessible through the printing of the Holy Bible and a growing level of literacy. Ironically, this influence even continued in Soviet Russia after it became an atheist dictatorship.
In India gender exploitation is being slowly removed by conversion from Hinduism or Islam to Christianity. Within countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iran and China there is a growing western feminist influence which traces back to Christianity in the west from the nineteenth century.
(My personal view is that the Holy Spirit is working through all races, religions and cultures and will eventually bring them together in Christ, even when cultural and ritual practices are retained. The world will then be in peace except for those who knowingly and deliberately reject Him. What happens next nobody can know.)
Wives and daughters of emperors in the Roman and other civilizations managed to maneuver themselves into positions of power, as did the males, or to exert influence behind the scenes, or even to become monarchs themselves. But this was exceptional. The push for recognition of females in society outside the home only really began in the last two centuries or so as the gospel became accessible through the printing of the Holy Bible and a growing level of literacy. Ironically, this influence even continued in Soviet Russia after it became an atheist dictatorship.
In India gender exploitation is being slowly removed by conversion from Hinduism or Islam to Christianity. Within countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iran and China there is a growing western feminist influence which traces back to Christianity in the west from the nineteenth century.
(My personal view is that the Holy Spirit is working through all races, religions and cultures and will eventually bring them together in Christ, even when cultural and ritual practices are retained. The world will then be in peace except for those who knowingly and deliberately reject Him. What happens next nobody can know.)
I am not an academic and became confirmed in Christ only a
few years ago in my sixth decade. However,
the more I look at history the more apparent it becomes that the unique
role of women in western society and their growing role in other parts of the world, even today, owe a great debt to the
life, teaching and resurrection of Jesus the Christ.
John
Author, 2077:Knights of Peace
