Foundations of Religion - Christianity SECTION B


How do you become someone with these qualities? Jesus said that you must do three things: ò Love your enemies (Matthew 5:38). ò Do what is right without looking for recognition or reward (Matthew 6:1–18). ò Treat others as you would have them treat you (Matthew 7:12).


Clearly, Jesus set a very high standard for his disciples to follow. He himself lived up to it in every day of his public ministry. Let us look at two examples of how he put his teaching about the Kingdom of God into practice.


Example 1: Equality between the sexes


In today’s developed world, women are guaranteed by law to enjoy the same rights as men. For example: ò Once eighteen, both men and women are eligible to vote. ò Both men and women can stand for election to public office. ò Women are entitled to equal pay for work of the same value. ò Both men and women may apply for any job, once they have the necessary qualifications.


However, such equal rights were not won until quite recently. Women in the developed world only achieved them after years of courageous and tireless campaigning. Most women in the developing world are still struggling to achieve them.


For much of human history, women have lived in patriarchal societies.


REMEMBER! A patriarchal society is one where men dominate and women are treated as second-class citizens.


Jesus lived in a patriarchal society. He saw how women were generally looked down upon by men. Women were treated as the property of either their fathers or their husbands. Women were denied the right to choose how to live their own lives. For example, in first-century Palestine: ò A woman could be married off by her father without her consent. Her happiness was not considered important.


ò A man could divorce his wife. However, a woman had no right to divorce her husband.


The evangelists show that Jesus was very different from other men of that time. He did not share their attitudes towards women. Instead, Jesus treated women as equals. For example: ò Jesus included women among his disciples (see Luke 8:1–3). ò Jesus had private conversations with women. He took what women said seriously and treated them with respect. In doing so, Jesus defied the social conventions of that time (see John 4:5–42).


ò Jesus treated his male and female followers just the same (see Luke 10:38–42). ò Jesus readily accepted help from women and publicly thanked them for their help (see Luke 7:36– 50).


ò Jesus took a firm stand against the unjust and hypocritical treatment of women. For example, when he defended the woman accused of adultery (John 8:1–11) or when he healed the crippled woman on the Sabbath (Luke 13:10–17).


Jesus said that he had come into the world to free the oppressed, to raise up the humble and to give hope to those who are discouraged by life. He wanted to show that: ò The Kingdom of God breaks down all those barriers that divide people and cause so much injustice and unhappiness in this world.


ò All human beings, whatever their gender, race or social class are equal in God’s eyes. Jesus set a high standard that he wanted his disciples to live up to.


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