Do JWs treat women like second-class citizens, like their husbands' property?

by matt2414 28 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  matt2414

  As an elder, I recall that the husband always had to be present on any judicial committee meeting involving his wife, but that the wife was not to be present on judicial committee meetings involving her husband. Has this changed? If not, isn't that treating women as lesser persons than their husbands?

  Also, male regular pioneers were always listed as "John Smith." And if he had a wife, she was listed as "Mrs. John Smith," not even using her own name, as if she were her husband's property. Even if she were single, she had to use the "Miss" courtesy title, an old custom that many women no longer use.

  Are these customs Bible-based? Based on ancient tradition when biases against women were extreme? Or are they just something the Governing Body uses to keep women submissive?
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  PaintedToeNail

  Yes, women are viewed as chattels. It does make one wonder why god created women with thinking ability if they were never supposed to use it.

  If marriage is a union of two becoming one, then really, the wife should be at the husband's meeting, as he is at hers.
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  blond-moment

  According to the new elders manual, that has not changed.

  Here is a vid on that exact thing.

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxmCceq1W14
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  matt2414

  Thanks for the link to the video. I guess much hasn't changed regarding the way women are demeaned among Jehovah's Witnesses. I remember how they would mock Pentecostals for wearing their long hair in buns and long skirts all the time, but they don't see that they themselves aren't much different. They might as well be wearing burqas.

  Since Galatians 3:28 indicates that everyone (former men and women on earth) will be equal in heaven, why did Paul indicate that women should play a secondary role in the congregation? Could it be that he was merely following the custom of the day, trying to avoid stumbling new converts? If that's so, what is the Witnesses' excuse now that women enjoy greater parity with men? Women are now doctors, lawyers, religious leaders, mayors, governors, and law enforcement officials, so why are they treated as the property of their fathers and husbands? Even Jesus treated women with dignity and respect, at a time when men rarely interacted with women in public, so why don't the Witnesses follow Christ's example?
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  Chemical Emotions

  PTN:"It does make one wonder why god created women with thinking ability if they were never supposed to use it. "

  That is great!

  I'm not a fan of Jesus, but he was much more respectful to women than his apostles.
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  matt2414

  I agree. Although the Bible accounts describe women as secondary to men, how much of that was because of the customs of the time and how much of that was God's doing? I mean, God made woman not from some lesser material but from Adam. You can't be more equal than that. God also told Abraham to listen to his wife, Sarah, giving her an equal say. Jesus showed respect for all women, including prostitutes and Samaritans, women who were disdained in those days. The fact that so many women wanted to be around Jesus indicates that he welcomed them and treated them as equals, even though he was the son of God. He didn't have a double standard for men and women including in the matter of divorce, as was the custom, and he even included women among the very first to receive the outpouring of holy spirit.

  It just seems apparent to me that the Witnesses and their governing body clergy -- all men -- are misogynists and out of touch.
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  ABibleStudent

  The WTBTS cherry-picks scriptures from the Bible to substantiate its leaders point of view. According to the Books of the New Testament, Jesus did not feel that women were inferior to men and Paul many times (but not all the time) praised some women for supporting Christianity or for teaching his spiritual son Timothy.

  I sometimes feel that the books of the Bible were written not to offend men about 2000 years ago, and therefore seem to be very demeaning towards women since Industrial society's view of women has evolved. If you want to know how women were treated about 2000 years ago, go to countries that follow Sharia Law or Third World countries.

  Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

  Robert
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  nugget

  The problem is that those in charge are clinging to the ideas of a previous era. As a result women are weak and have a minor role in the relationship.

  The husband can attend the JC of his wife because the implication is he will be part of the process to save her. He will get to hear everything unless there are unusual circumstances. The wife can only attend if the husband wants her to be there and then will only hear part of the process. The book implies that her role is to give evidence against the husband. She cannot attend the whole JC because of confidentiality. However the wife doesn't have the same courtesies extended to her.

  People are people and men are not lesss likely to be affronted by behaviour of their wives than wives are. It is unequal and allows abuse of power. It has ever been thus.
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  wha happened?

  I didn't see any trading of women in the parking lot, but there is that underlying smugness. I remember one brother in his response to sisters and dating. "WHere are they going to go. We're it" I just hated that cockiness coming from the brothers who had the least to be braggards about themselves
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  WTWizard

  Yes, the witlesses treat women like crap. Hounding the husbands to control their wives is not something I would expect from a sound religion. And yes, that comes right from the LIE-ble, which the witlesses take more seriously and literally (when they choose) than most religions. Which means that when Paul tells them to denigrade women, the Filthful and Disgraceful Slavebugger (themselves male chauvinist PIGS) gleefully exploit it.

  However, the witlesses are not unique in this. All of Christi-SCAM-ity does this to a degree, though not necessarily as blatantly as the witlesses. Notably, they also tend to denigrade homosexuals (again, not all as blatant as the witlesses). Jews and Muslims also treat women as property, and they should be ashamed of themselves for that.