How (Not) to Read the Bible: Making Sense of the Anti-women, Anti-science, Pro-violence, Pro-slavery and Other Crazy-Sounding Parts of Scripture

by Dan Kimball

Never read a Bible verse. Let’s begin by going back and looking at where these verses fit in the whole Bible storyline. We’ll begin to see how the Bible isn’t anti-women at all; in fact, it’s quite the opposite.

In Genesis 1:27, it says, “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created

Genesis 1:27, it says, “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”

them; male and female he created them.” There is no indication that one gender is superior or has greater value than the other. The story continues in Genesis 1:28: “God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” Here we see Adam and Eve given shared responsibility and...

There is no indication that one gender is superior or has greater ...

Here we see Adam and Eve given shared responsibility and a shared mission to take care of what God created. There is no indication of hierarchy or superiority in any way.

God’s original design is for man and woman to co-rule and co-reign in community with one another to advance God’s purposes on earth.

There are some questions that come up when you read this phrase in Genesis 2:18: “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” It has been incorrectly taught that this verse indicates the woman is in some way less than the man when it says she was created as a “helper” for the man.

the meaning of the word to the original audience of Genesis is more nuanced. The Hebrew word ezer, translated as “helper,” appears not just here but more than twenty times in the Old Testament. And nearly every time it appears, it refers to God. We read in Psalm 33:20, “We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield.”

since this word frequently refers to God, who is clearly not inferior to those he helps, when it refers to the woman here, it is not saying she is inferior or of less importance.

God gives the man and the woman a partner, one who equally, but differently, reflects the image of God.

Keep in mind this is figurative language. It wasn’t an actual “rib” (we will discuss if Eve is a “rib-woman” in chapter 12).

Eve chose to eat of the fruit first. It is implied that Adam was there with her. Genesis 3:6 makes it clear Adam “was with her.” Her action was not a solo act—the woman against God—both man and woman participated in this act of disobedience.

Before God, Adam and Eve are both guilty, and both end up suffering the consequences of their actions. Romans 5:12 says that Adam is responsible since he was created first, and Paul is writing here to the Roman church to indicate that Adam is the representative head of the human race.

In Genesis 3:16–19, God describes to each one, man and woman, what they would now experience because of their actions.

We see a shift in their equality here too. We read that the corruption now changes the man and woman’s relationship. God tells the woman, “Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you,”* thus beginning the messy struggle for power and control.

Things change from the original harmony of creation.

We

see the development of a hierarchy of men over women, just as God said would happen. We see a world of pain and mess due to human pride, ego, power, and control—everything that was ...

My good friend and Bible scholar Scot McKnight writes about Huldah and says, “Huldah is not chosen because no men were available. She is chosen because she is truly exceptional among the prophets.”

other prophets that could have been chosen, such as Jeremiah, Zephaniah, Nahum, and Habakkuk. But Josiah did not ask for help from any of those men. Instead he chose Huldah.

Huldah spoke on God’s behalf and was an instructor, teacher, and prophet. Prophets were seen as mouthpieces for God, so this shows that God was not placing women in subservient roles. In Isaiah 8:3, we also see Isaiah’s wife listed as a prophet.

The prophet Joel, writing near the end of the Old Testament period, provides a future picture of how God’s Spirit will

clearly work through both men and women.

We read in Joel 2:28–29: And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, bot...

Yes, most of the leaders and voices were men due to the world being patriarchal. The Bible is telling us the story of what was happening in this world with the progression of fallout from human disobedience and God’s

plan to fix that. So there will be stories about men leading and men as central figures. But the amazing thing is that in the midst of this male-dominated world we see God bringing in women to represent him with authority as prophets, teachers, and leaders.

There are several accounts of Jesus speaking with and caring for various women, people a religious leader of his time would not associate with.†

When you read the biblical account, you also find that the Samaritan woman is the one to whom Jesus first reveals that he is the Christ.‡

Normally, to have these women traveling with the group would have been viewed as scandalous.9 Ironically, the women in this traveling group are the ones supplying the financial means for them to be traveling together.†

Jesus Used Feminine Imagery for God as an Illustration

Jesus Appeared to Women First After His Resurrection

Paul was the author of at least thirteen of the New Testament books, and in Romans 16, Paul mentions the names of people who worked in partnership to advance the work of the mission of the church in spreading the good news about Jesus.

Many of the names mentioned are women.

Paul also mentions that Priscilla and her husband risked their lives for him. Clearly, he’s not saying the women just helped out in the kitchen and served coffee and snacks to the men.

Cultural practices of that time would have the one who delivered the letter read it and then answer the recipients’ questions. Anyone who has ever read the letter Paul wrote to the Romans can only imagine the questions that would have arisen during that initial session.

Every time we see a list of gifts that God’s Spirit gave to enable the church to function on mission, we see no distinction made between men and women.

Now, of course some may hold strong opinions but have never truly studied the issue, and I hope this book challenges you to always study anything in the Bible beyond a surface reading.

you are in a church that blatantly demeans females, makes chauvinistic jokes, and uses the Bible to advocate misogyny, get the heck out of there and find a church that honors women as equal in God’s sight.

Just because it is recorded in the Bible does not mean God agrees with it, nor did he create it. Instead, we see God working within the culture with the institutions and social patterns humans established (more on this in the next chapter), transforming them, but not approving of them.

God equates rape with murder, and anytime you see stories of rape in the Bible, it is always shown as an evil act of violence.

Put yourself, as best you can, in that time and culture. If a woman was raped, she was seen as no longer desirable for marriage. And if she remained unmarried, her life was virtually over. There were few options available to a woman at that time, and without a husband and family of her own, she had little hope for a future.

None of this is good. Rape is evil, violent, wicked, and we should be glad that we live in a time and culture where women have opportunities and are not at the mercy of men for survival.

It seems horribly cruel to even consider that whoever raped a woman would stay in relationship with her. But in that world, it was the equivalent of being sued by the victim and having to financially support the woman you had

harmed. If the woman became his wife and part of his family, it meant he could never divorce her. This was God’s way of creating accountability to prevent and deter crime.

is important to note that the law requiring a rapist to marry his victim was not forced on the woman. It was the woman’s legal right, if she chose, to pursue the law and request marriage or to reject

It’s easy to see why Bible verses about polygamy, concubines, and forced marriages get shared online and mocked.

All of this raises an honest question: does God allow men to marry multiple wives, take on concubines for their pleasure, and treat women as property?

Jesus Takes Us Back to the Original Marriage Design Where did the practice of polygamy and concubines originate, and why is it included in the Bible’s timeline?

The Bible offers a subtle commentary on these practices. Note that every time you see polygamy mentioned or a man who takes concubines, these things do not play out in their lives in good ways.