Eve Bad, Wimmen R Bad

Some of these misconceptions became the norm for Christianity and existed largely uncontested as late as the 1800s. In fact, it was often cited as the main reason for keeping women uneducated and unable to vote: as Eve proved, the argument went, women cannot be trusted with any measure of power or knowledge.

Similar misapprehensions about women exist still in today's church, with the same underlying convictions: Women's sexuality is dangerous. Women aren't to be trusted with power. Women are created to be subordinate. These arguments mark modern church politics, often coloring our convictions about women's role in the hierarchy of church leadership.