Help Requested: Christian Misogyny

[Outrider]

At the risk of oversharing, I've just finished my fourth novel (none of them commercially published, quite probably none of them ever will be) and I'm in the early stages of planning my fifth. One of the fringe characters I'm starting to pitch out in my head as a sort of hardline misogynist who, regardless of his motivations, uses Christian belief and particularly scripture to reinforce and justify his position. I know that the passages are out there, I wondered if anyone could point me in the direction of some of them - I could google some of it, but I'm not sure I could stomach what I'd find.

For reassurance, this is neither a main character nor someone who is depicted as 'good' - of the five main protagonists, two are explicitly religious (one well-meaning but not particularly observant Catholic and one Anglican), and another is 'spiritual but not religious'.

O.

[Walt Zingmatilder]

At the risk of oversharing, I've just finished my fourth novel (none of them commercially published, quite probably none of them ever will be) and I'm in the early stages of planning my fifth. One of the fringe characters I'm starting to pitch out in my head as a sort of hardline misogynist who, regardless of his motivations, uses Christian belief and particularly scripture to reinforce and justify his position. I know that the passages are out there, I wondered if anyone could point me in the direction of some of them - I could google some of it, but I'm not sure I could stomach what I'd find.

For reassurance, this is neither a main character nor someone who is depicted as 'good' - of the five main protagonists, two are explicitly religious (one well-meaning but not particularly observant Catholic and one Anglican), and another is 'spiritual but not religious'.

O.

Just a suggestion, evil religious people are a bit of a cliche.  A more original caricature would be a misogynistic celebrity atheist who perhaps used his fame and perhaps academic credentials to carry out his misogyny.

[Aruntraveller]

Just a suggestion, evil religious people are a bit of a cliche.  A more original caricature would be a misogynistic celebrity atheist who perhaps used his fame and perhaps academic credentials to carry out his misogyny.

Give it a fucking rest.

[Nearly Sane]

At the risk of oversharing, I've just finished my fourth novel (none of them commercially published, quite probably none of them ever will be) and I'm in the early stages of planning my fifth. One of the fringe characters I'm starting to pitch out in my head as a sort of hardline misogynist who, regardless of his motivations, uses Christian belief and particularly scripture to reinforce and justify his position. I know that the passages are out there, I wondered if anyone could point me in the direction of some of them - I could google some of it, but I'm not sure I could stomach what I'd find.

For reassurance, this is neither a main character nor someone who is depicted as 'good' - of the five main protagonists, two are explicitly religious (one well-meaning but not particularly observant Catholic and one Anglican), and another is 'spiritual but not religious'.

O.

Wondering about your phrase 'regardless of his motivations' as I think that what sort of scriptural back uo such a person would use would reflect motivation. Sone people are consciously misogynist in that they think man os the superior sex, and in that case I think they would lean more to the OT view of women as both dangerous and chattels which can on occasion be enslaved and sold, and men can have many wives, and treat some as prostitutes.


Others can think that there are set roles for male and female which imply some form of equality but effectively have men in the prime role and women subjected to their pronouncements - and that would seem to fit the approach in the letters of Paul.


In terms of the first approach, you start with Eve. Created second from a male spare part who then becomes a temptress that gets humanity - thrown out of paradise.
In Genesis you would have:
2:22 Eve created from Adam’s rib.
3:16 Eve cursed with painful childbirth and domination by husband.
4:19 Man marries two wives.
12:13-19 Abraham prostitutes wife.
19:1-8 Rape virgin daughters instead of male angels.
19:26 Lot’s wife turned into pillar of salt for disobeying god.
19:30-38 Lot impregnates his two daughters while drunk.
20:2-12 Abraham prostitutes wife – again.
25:1-6 Keeping many concubines is OK.

For the second you would have:
I CORINTHIANS

11:2-10… Woman created for man.
14:34 Women must be silent in churches.

EPHESIANS

5:22-24 Wives must submit to husbands in everything.

COLOSSIANS

3:18 Wives submit to husbands.
3:22 Slaves must obey masters in everything.

I TIMOTHY

2:11-15 Woman must not have authority – she must be silent. Women can be saved with childbearing.
5:9-10 Widows should be faithful to husband and must wash saints’ feet.

1 PETER

2:18 Slaves submit to masters, even masters who are harsh.
3:1 Wives submit.
3:5-6 Sarah calls husband master

Note I've taken the references from here:

https://www.religiouscriticism.com/bible/the-sexist-bible/

Obviously you have the structure of the Trinity with God the FATHER, God the SON, and God the Holy Fucknose.


I have to admit that I find it ironic that the C of E is apoatently thinking of moving to 'gender' neutral descriptions 2000 years after the Son part supposedly walked the earth as it shows they haven't been bothered about women for that time but are willing to take into avvount men who say they are women for the regressive idea of gender.


https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/church-of-england-god-gender-neutral-b2277911.html

[Outrider]

Wondering about your phrase 'regardless of his motivations' as I think that what sort of scriptural back uo such a person would use would reflect motivation.

Well, he's not going to be a POV character, so people are going to be musing as to his motivations, and how dedicated a Christian he is might questioned. As with some real-world misogynists, I'm not sure if their misogyny is necessarily rooted in their religion, or if they pick and choose the religious elements they espouse to reinforce that character trait.

Sone people are consciously misogynist in that they think man os the superior sex, and in that case I think they would lean more to the OT view of women as both dangerous and chattels which can on occasion be enslaved and sold, and men can have many wives, and treat some as prostitutes.

That's the sort of thing; it's not a major theme of the book but two of the main characters do have an ongoing semi-friendly sniping about one of them being religious and the other not. I'm not sure that he'd go so far as to stretch to multiple wives, or even dalliances outside of the marriage, but I'm thinking of something more authoritarian and starker than I typically hear from people who rely on the NT more than the OT.

Others can think that there are set roles for male and female which imply some form of equality but effectively have men in the prime role and women subjected to their pronouncements - and that would seem to fit the approach in the letters of Paul.

In terms of the first approach, you start with Eve. Created second from a male spare part who then becomes a temptress that gets humanity - thrown out of paradise.
In Genesis you would have:
2:22 Eve created from Adam’s rib.
3:16 Eve cursed with painful childbirth and domination by husband.
4:19 Man marries two wives.
12:13-19 Abraham prostitutes wife.
19:1-8 Rape virgin daughters instead of male angels.
19:26 Lot’s wife turned into pillar of salt for disobeying god.
19:30-38 Lot impregnates his two daughters while drunk.
20:2-12 Abraham prostitutes wife – again.
25:1-6 Keeping many concubines is OK.

For the second you would have:
I CORINTHIANS

11:2-10… Woman created for man.
14:34 Women must be silent in churches.

EPHESIANS

5:22-24 Wives must submit to husbands in everything.

COLOSSIANS

3:18 Wives submit to husbands.
3:22 Slaves must obey masters in everything.

I TIMOTHY

2:11-15 Woman must not have authority – she must be silent. Women can be saved with childbearing.
5:9-10 Widows should be faithful to husband and must wash saints’ feet.

1 PETER

2:18 Slaves submit to masters, even masters who are harsh.
3:1 Wives submit.
3:5-6 Sarah calls husband master

Note I've taken the references from here:

https://www.religiouscriticism.com/bible/the-sexist-bible/

Obviously you have the structure of the Trinity with God the FATHER, God the SON, and God the Holy Fucknose.

Thanks for this, this is the sort of thing I was looking for.

Cheers,

O.