pitiful until Christianity exerted its influence for her betterment. And
it is again curious to note that after a period of nearly 2000 years of
Christian influence it was left for a sceptic such as Mrs. Stanton and
her sceptical co-workers to bring about an amelioration of the degrading
position of woman in Christian society.
The degrading picture of womankind as depicted in the Old Testament is
well known to anyone who has glanced through this storehouse of
mythology. It would be well for the multitude of devout female adherents
of all creeds to take the time, just a little of the time they give to
the plight of the poor, benighted heathen and read some of the passages
in the Old Testament dealing with their lot. The entire history of woman
under the administration of these "heaven-made" laws is a record of her
serviture and humility.
In the 24th chapter of Deuteronomy we find the right of divorce given to
the husband. "Let him write her a bill of divorcement and give it in her
hand and send her out of his house." The discarded wife must acquiesce
to "divine justice." But if the wife is displeased, is there any
justice? Under no clause of the Divorce Law could the wife have a
divorce on her part. None but the husband could put her asunder from
him.
In the 22d chapter of Deuteronomy is enacted the law for "Test of
Virginity," which states that, "If any man take a wife, and is
disappointed in her, and reports, 'I found her not a maid,' then, her
father and mother shall bring forth the tokens of the damsel's virginity
unto the elders of the city in the gate." The gynecological elders then
go into a "peeping Tom's" conference and "If virginity be not found for
the damsel: Then they shall bring out the damsel to the door of her
father's house, and the men of the city shall stone her with stones that
she die." Most probably the male partner in her "crime" was the first to
cast the largest stone.
The law laid down in the 12th chapter of Leviticus may have been
intended for hygienic purposes but it is cruel and degrading to women
because it assumes that the parturient woman who has borne a female
child is twice as impure as one who has borne a male child.
The "law of jealousies" as described in the 5th chapter of Numbers is a
good example of the mentality of the writers of this "divine
revelation." God in His infinite wisdom had caused to be written for
Him, that to test whether a woman has laid carnally with another man,
the priest shall, "take holy water in an earthen vessel, and of the dust
that is on the floor of the tabernacle the priest shall take and put it
in the water ... the bitter water that causeth the curse, and shall
cause the woman to drink the water." The divine revelation then
continues with, "if she be defiled, her belly shall swell and her thigh
shall rot."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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