Yes — according to Les Feldick, Christianity dramatically raised women from a downtrodden position of near-total subservience to a place of respect and near equality with men.
Les teaches that before Christianity, women in pagan cultures did all the work and were kept in subservient, ignorant positions. Christianity, he says, set womanhood free, loosed women from cultural detriments, and put women on the same level as men in God's eyes. He also notes that women and Paul himself were not anti-woman, and that the Pauline doctrine opened up a world of freedom to women.
Romans 16 — Les cites this chapter as evidence that the Apostle Paul commended women who helped him in ministry, showing that Christianity recognized a role for women in the Church.
The provided transcript evidence does not contain a direct quotation from Scripture, so the Bible's exact wording on the status of women is not available from these clips alone. The one explicit scriptural reference mentioned by Les is Romans 16, where Paul commends women who helped him in the ministry (Clip 6). In the Corinthian context, Les connects Paul's instructions about women's speech and head coverings to the cultural reality that unveiled, talkative women could be mistaken for the temple prostitutes who flooded the streets of Corinth (Clips 0 and 7). No exact KJV verse text is supplied in the evidence, and no other Bible passage is directly quoted.
Les repeatedly teaches that Christianity is what set womanhood free. In Clip 1, he contrasts pagan cultures where women did all the work and child raising while men lounged drunk, with Christianity, which 'brought the woman up to the place of respect, and on an even keel with mankind.' Clip 5 makes the same point, calling Christianity 'the beginning of true feminism' because it put women on the same level as men in God's eyes. Les also defends the Apostle Paul against any charge of being anti-woman. In Clip 3, he says Paul's doctrine 'opened up the world of freedom to the woman,' and in Clip 6, he notes that Paul commended women in Romans 16 and recognized a role for them in the Church. He attributes the apparent restrictions on women in 1 Corinthians to the specific circumstances of pagan, prostitute-filled Corinth, explaining that Paul did not want believers to act in ways that would make outsiders think they were like the brazen temple prostitutes (Clips 0 and 7).
Les describes pre-Christian pagan cultures as places where women did all the work: planting, harvesting, grinding grain, washing clothes, and raising children, while the men sat around drinking and getting drunk (Clip 1). He also mentions that ancient Hebrew and pagan attitudes toward women are captured by the Greek philosopher Sophocles, who said 'silence confers grace upon a woman' (Clip 6). Under such religions, he says, women were kept subservient, in ignorance, and in superstition (Clip 4).
Christianity, Les says, changed all that. It brought women up to a place of respect and on an even keel with men (Clip 1). It loosed them from 'all of the hang ups, and the detriment to women' and set womanhood free (Clips 3 and 4). Clip 5 states that Christianity was the beginning of true feminism, because it placed women on the same level as men in God's eyes. Les also notes that this new liberty has been abused, but that does not change what Christianity accomplished (Clip 1).
Les explains that Paul's instructions had to be viewed against the culture of Corinth, a grossly immoral city where a thousand temple 'priestesses' came into the streets each night as prostitutes (Clip 0). Paul told the women to watch their language, speaking, and behavior so the world would not get the wrong impression and think they were like those brazen, talkative prostitutes (Clip 0). In that culture, an unveiled woman in public was seen as flaunting her profession as a prostitute (Clip 7). Les emphasizes that Paul was dealing with those circumstances, and that customs have changed our interpretation of some of these things, though the Word of God itself has not changed (Clips 2 and 7).
Yes, according to Les. In Clip 5, he says 'Christianity is what set the female gender free. That was the beginning of true feminism — when Christianity put women on the same level in God's eyes as man.' He makes the same point in Clip 1, where he says Christianity brought women up to 'a place of respect, and on an even keel with mankind.' This is why he tells viewers to thank God that we have been brought under Christian influence rather than pagan religions that keep people subservient and in ignorance (Clip 4).
Avoiding Prostitute-Like Behavior in Corinth
Les says Paul instructed the Corinthian women to watch their speech and behavior so the world would not think they were like the brazen, talkative prostitutes from the nearby temple.
Women Under Pagan Cultures vs. Christianity
Les describes pre-Christian women doing all the work while men lounged, and says Christianity changed this by bringing women to a place of respect and on an even keel with men.
Change in Men's Attitude Toward Women
Les says there has been a tremendous change in the position and attitude of men toward women in Christianity, and that Paul himself was not anti-woman.
Christianity Set Womanhood Free
Les insists that Paul's doctrine opened up the world of freedom to women, and that Christianity is what set womanhood free.
Christianity Loosed Women From Pagan Detriments
Les says Christianity loosed women from hang-ups and detriments, while pagan religions kept people subservient, ignorant, and superstitious.
Christianity Began True Feminism
Les explicitly says Christianity set the female gender free and was the beginning of true feminism, putting women on the same level as men in God's eyes.
Paul's Recognition of Women and Cultural Background
Les notes that Paul commended many women in Romans 16 and recognized a role for women in the Church, while also echoing the cultural attitude that 'silence confers grace upon a woman.'
Unveiling Was a Prostitute's Mark in That Culture
Les explains that in the culture of that day, an unveiled woman in public would be assumed to be a prostitute, so Paul's head-covering instruction was tied to that circumstance.
Yes, according to Les Feldick. He teaches that Christianity brought women up to a place of respect and even footing with men, and that it set womanhood free from the subservient position women held under pagan cultures.
Les explains that Corinth was full of temple prostitutes and that Paul did not want Christian women to do anything that would make outsiders confuse them with those brazen, talkative women. The instructions were connected to the cultural circumstances of that city.
Les teaches that yes, Christianity was the beginning of true feminism, because it put women on the same level as men in God's eyes and gave the female gender the freedom they had never experienced before.
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