Women in Islam part 5

Muslims do not have a monopoly on the abuse of women

Poor treatment of women is not only a problem in Islam. It’s a problem with humanity. Throughout history, men have always taken advantage of women.

Porn and the Internet is one of the many ways women are abused

Abuse of women is common in secular and religious societies.  Just look at the prevalence of pornography on the Internet.  Pornography and sex is the most popular genre on the Internet.  Some of the more popular searches on the Internet are:

• Girls, Breast, Naked girls, girl video, hot mom, Pakistani girls, Japanese girls, Asian women, hotties, porn, Lady Gaga, Paris Hilton, Nude, sex

Women and Sex and Salvation: Jesus sets abusive men free and gives hope to women

The Good News of the Gospel is that Jesus was not enslaved to the sinful lusts of the flesh.  Jesus gives new life and sets both men and women free.  Muslims can’t say with complete confidence that Muhammad set women free because his marriages raise serious questions.

Jesus taught that adultery was not just a physical action, but extends even to the way men look at women.

Matthew 5:27-30
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’
But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.
And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

Jesus frequently interacted with women, treating them as human beings on the same level as men and not as sex objects.  Jesus’ treatment with women was so radical that it always got the attention of others!

Jesus and the Samaritan woman

John 4:7-29
When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?”
(His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)
The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)
Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”
“Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water?
Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?”
Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again,
but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”
He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”
“I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband.
The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”
“Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet.
Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”
Jesus declared, “Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.
You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.
Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.
God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”
The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
Then Jesus declared, “I who speak to you am he.”
Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?”
Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people,
“Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?”

A woman, perhaps a prostitute, washed the feet of Jesus with her tears

Luke 7:36-50
Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table.
When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume,
and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.
When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”
Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.” “Tell me, teacher,” he said.
“Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.
Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”
Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.” “You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.
Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.
You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet.
You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet.
Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.”
Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”
Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

Isn’t that amazing?!  Jesus gives PEACE to the woman, something Muhammad and Islam cannot give.

Salvation from sex scandals

Jesus’ teaching about adultery and sexual sin is bad news for sinners, but Good News for those looking to be freed from sin.  Jesus can set you free whether your are enslaved by others or enslaving others by your sin.  Jesus said and invites you to believe in Him,

“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36 )

You may also be interested in:

Muhammad, Marriage, and the Quran

Shaking Hands with Women

Related Posts

• Women in Islam Part 1
• Women in Islam Part 2
• Women in Islam Part 3
• Women in Islam Part 4
• Women in Islam Part 6

Also:

• Wife Beating and Islam Part 1
• Wife Beating and Islam Part 2
• Wife Beating and Islam Part 3
• Wife Beating and Islam Part 4
• Wife Beating and Islam Part 5