Customer Reviews

The woman's Bible

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1 star:		(16)

 

 

Famous suffragist Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815-1902) undertook to compile this work after the 1870 revision of the King James Bible was made by an all-male committee. She recruited commentators and essayists (identified by their initials at the end of the article) such as Matilda Joslyn Gage (author of Woman, Church and State), Ursula Gestefeld, Olympia Brown, Mrs. Robert Ingersoll, etc.

The book is divided into two sections: 'the Pentateuch,' and 'Judges, Kings, Prophets, and Apostles.' Stanton herself writes the Introduction to each section. She states in her Preface to the second section, "'The Woman's Bible' is intended for readers who do not care for, and would not be convinced by, a learned, technical work of so-called 'higher criticism.'"

Here are some representative quotations from the book:

"I do not believe that any man ever saw or talked with God, I do not believe that God inspired the Mosaic code, or told the historians what they say he did about woman, for all the religions on the face of the earth degrade her, and so long as woman accepts the position that they assign her, her emancipation is impossible." (V1, pg. 12)
"Accepting the view that man was prior in the creation, some Scriptural writers say that as the woman was of the man, therefore, her position shold be one of subjection. Grant it, then as the historical fact is reversed in our day, and the man is now of the woman, shall his place be one of subjection?" (V1, pg. 20)
"Indeed the Pentateuch is a long painful record of war, corruption, rapine, and lust. Why Christians who wished to convert the heathen to our religion should send them these books, passes all understanding." (V1, pg. 66)
"The fifth commandment will take the reader by surprise. It is rather remarkable that the young Hebrews should have been told to honor their mothers, when the whole drift of the teaching thus far has been to throw contempt on the whole sex." (V1, pg. 83)
"It is truly pitiful to see the deceptions that have been played upon the people in all ages and countries by the priests in the name of religion... No other class of teachers have such prestige and power, especially over woman." (V1, pg. 133)
"Is it not astonishing that so little is in the New Testament concerning the mother of Christ?" (V2, pg. 143)
"The best thing about the Catholic Church is the deification of Mary... The cruelty of Jehovah is softened by the mercy of Mary." (V2, pg. 144)
"Until the feminine is recognized in the Divine Being, and justice is established in the Church by the complete equality of woman with man, the Church cannot be thoroughly Christian." (V2, Pg. 173)

Stanton and her cohorts wrote The Women's Bible over 100 years ago and yet these commentaries are still as pertinent and valuable today as they were at the time they were written. She and others run rings around many of the tenets of organized religion, often disproving them with the very Scriptures on which they are founded! A great read for anyone who seeks equality for women in organized religion as well as those who wish to see a radical visionary (even by today's standards) at work in the 19th century!

This book is interesting and provides insight into the minds of women in our history. I thought everyone knew who Elizabeth Cady Stanton was -- it is amazing to read the work of someone so accomplished.

Obviously, it is not a "real" Bible or devotional. Anyone shocked by the content of this book probably does not have the capability of comprehending it, so if you mistakenly came across this book while searching for a devotional, don't download it. You will be disappointed. But anyone reading it from a historical and/or feminist standpoint will enjoy it.

This is the book that got Elizabeth Cady Stanton booted out of the official women's movement of her time. Woman Suffrage was by no means the only work left undone at the time of her death. Stanton knew how damaging the Bible was to women. What most people do not realize is that her co-authors also knew about the Goddess and the fact that she preceeded male gods by thousands of years. They stuck to the "scriptures" as the best ammunition and they also cleared ground for women who wish to move beyond. This book is an excellent foundation for any intellegent woman who is also interested in religion. Still radical after all these years.

This book isn't what it seems- it isn't anything like a new translation of the Bible with women's perspectives in mind. It is a collection of varied and insightful early feminist Biblical criticism. Groundbreaking and a must-read for anyone interested in women's studies or open-minded Christians.

Despite my flippant title for this review, I have a great deal of respect for this book. It is not a devotional, nor a Bible, but rather more of an expose of how traditional patriarchal Christianity and Judaism used Scripture to oppress women (and other minorities), by deliberate mistranslations, omissions, and spinning the truth for their own gains.

Having been raised and educated in a ruthlessly patriarchal Christian denomination, learning as an adult that the Bible actually supports and venerates women almost brought me to tears. It was learning that I was Loved, not hated, by God. Only then could I learn the true meaning of "Love your neighbor as yourself." Up till then, my question about that passage was "but what if you hate yourself?" Everything I had learned about myself up to that point was that I was worthless, a sinner made all the more contemptible for having the X chromosome, rather than the Y.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton was angry, make no mistake, and with good reason. Living a century before I had my epiphany, her life was even more proscibed than mine. She lived at a time when women lost both their first names and last names the day they were married, when a woman could not own property in her own name, when everything she posessed was at the whim of her husband, or nearest male relative. A friend once showed me a will written by his great grandfather, dated at the time of Stanton's life, and in it, he willed "To my wife, I leave her spinning wheel", thus assuring his wife she could continue to spin; had he not done that, her spinning wheel could have been seized or sold by the nearest male relative. It is hard to imagine a life where education for women was not considered necessary, and women were by no means given equal education to men, where women were at the mercy of husbands, fathers, brothers, nephews, sons (Mary Todd Lincoln's son had her committed to a mental instution with spurious evidence of her "insanity", probably to gain control of her money). All these attrocities, all the oppression was not only sanctioned but encouraged by the Church.

It is easy to understand why Stanton and other women were ready to go to war against the Church. Imagine learning that everything you had been taught was a hoax, a lie, perpetrated to keep you powerless and helpless and "in your place". These women who wrote "The Women's Bible" were well-educated, intelligent, determined, and very, very angry.

I believe "The Women's Bible" is best read as a historical document, as over time, many of the complaints Stanton and other women had have been changed (a woman can now own property in her name, careers that were once closed to women are now open, and many denominations now ordain women....though that still doesn't mean women now have equal status in the church). However, the deliberate mistranslations, omissions, and additions to the Bible that they uncovered and the attitudes those lies foster among current patriarchs of the church still exist in contemporary Bibles. Women still would do well to be wary of traditional churches, and to question what they hear.

I find it incredibly sad that the negative reviews of this were from individuals who thought they were downloading some kind of bible, or "Chicken Soup for the Ladies" book. Equally sad is the fact that these people have evidently never heard of Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Her writings should be taught in American History, along with the correspondence between Stanton and Susan B. Anthony.
The "dumbing down" of the American public school system to cater to the lowest common denominator and kowtow to the religious right is nothing short of criminal.

It is written by Elizabeth Cady Stanton - what would one suppose it is going to be?? As for thse who find it irrelevant today, take a look at the Republican presidential field. A fascinating, enlightening, and useful read.

Not quite what I expected, not the KJV; great historical facts included; free item - no complaints there! Thanks, Amazon!

If I could I would rate this book minus 5 stars. The fact that this author has the gall to call this piece of horsecrap a "bible" is a shame and disgrace. Everybody is entitled to their own opinion, but when you write a book calling the Word of God an "incomplete" and "imperfect" work, and calling it the Bible, you are false teacher, and should be avoided like the plague. I fear for the very soul of the person who wrote this drivel.