66. Did God Do That or Did Men? Part 1

In last week's episode, I had a LOT of questions around "How did we even get here?" "How did women get written into this system that way?" "Why are women buying into this movement?" "WHY WOULD WOMEN AGREE TO GIVE UP THEIR RIGHT TO VOTE?"

Quick note: take the repeal of the 19th Amendment seriously. It serves two purposes: 1. To normalize it so when they come for it, it doesn't sound as crazy as it used to. 2. By shifting the Overton window, when they propose other parts of their agenda, it sounds less crazy and sets off fewer alarm bells.

So I wanted to do a two-part series about how women were written out of authority and a few rungs down the ladder of hierarchy in the church and in Christian Nationalism but also the history of how propaganda was weaponized against faith communities to build the power system we see happening. We have to know it and name it to fight back. And if you are a person of faith you have to be vocal about reclaiming it.

In this episode, we go through the invention of virginity, the need to control reproduction to control wealth. The history of female leadership in the church, how it was intentionally translated out of the Bible in order to justify removing women from leadership and subjugating them. And the 20th century push of the weaponization of wedge issues against feminism, abortion, and gay rights to help people defend racism and school segregation. I hope that you enjoy! Full source list on patreon.com/montemader

Sources:

Primary Documents and Legal Records

• Treaty of Tripoli (1797), Article 11. Ratified unanimously by the U.S. Senate, June 7, 1797. Full text, Avalon Project, Yale Law School.

• Jefferson, Thomas. The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth (the Jefferson Bible), c. 1820. Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Primary source.

• Public Law 84-274, "Under God" added to the Pledge of Allegiance. Signed June 14, 1954. • Public Law 84-851, "In God We Trust" established as national motto. Signed July 30, 1956. • Bob Jones University v. United States, 461 U.S. 574 (1983). Supreme Court ruling.

• Reagan, Ronald. "Evil Empire" speech, March 8, 1983, National Association of Evangelicals, Orlando, FL. Reagan Presidential Library.

• Southern Baptist Convention resolutions on abortion, 1971, 1974, 1976. Available through SBC Historical Commission archives.

Patristic and Early Church Sources

• Socrates Scholasticus. Historia Ecclesiastica (Church History), Book VII, Chapter 15, c. 439 CE. English translation, NPNF (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers) Series.

• Damascius. Life of Isidore (fragments), c. early 6th century CE. Names Cyril in connection with Hypatia's death.

• John of Nikiu. Chronicle, Chapter 84, c. 690 CE. Pro-Cyril secondary source. • Tertullian. De Cultu Feminarum (On the Apparel of Women), c. 204 CE.

• Chrysostom, John. Homilies on Romans, Homily 31 (on Romans 16:1-4).

• Augustine of Hippo. De Genesi ad Litteram (The Literal Meaning of Genesis), c. 401-415 CE. • Council of Laodicea (363-364 CE), Canon 11.

• Pope Gregory I. Homily 33 on the Gospels, 591 CE. The sermon conflating Mary Magdalene with the sinful woman of Luke 7.

On Biblical Scholarship and the Pastoral Epistles

• Ehrman, Bart D. Forged: Writing in the Name of God — Why the Bible's Authors Are Not Who We — 37 —

Flipping Tables — “Divine Protection… For Men”

Think They Are. HarperOne, 2011.

• Brown, Raymond E. An Introduction to the New Testament. Doubleday, 1997. • Johnson, Luke Timothy. The First and Second Letters to Timothy. Anchor Yale Bible, 2001.

• Fee, Gordon D. The First Epistle to the Corinthians. NICNT, Eerdmans, 1987. (Interpolation argument for 1 Corinthians 14:34-35.)

• Epp, Eldon Jay. Junia: The First Woman Apostle. Fortress Press, 2005.

On Women in the Early Church

• Gupta, Nijay K. Tell Her Story: How Women Led, Taught, and Ministered in the Early Church. InterVarsity Press, 2023.