"There is neither Jew nor Greek—there is neither bond nor
free; there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ
Jesus." Galatians 3:28
I can think of no subject with which more appropriately
to commence this work, than the influence of Christianity on the condition
of woman.
Our first attention must be directed of course to the
condition of the female sex beyond the boundaries of Christendom.
It would seem from the words of the original denouncement
upon Eve for her transgression in eating the forbidden fruit, that while yet
the first pair were innocent, there was a more entire equality of condition
and rights between the sexes than there has been after the fall. "Your
desire shall be to your husband, and he shall rule over you." This sounds
like something penal, though perhaps some would regard it as merely
predictive, and intended to describe the cruel and brutalizing tendency of
sin, in turning man, who ought to be the loving companion of his wife, into
a tyrant. How fearfully, if predictive, this sentence has been fulfilled,
the degradation of woman, her wrongs, her sorrows, and her vices, in many
cases, most painfully attest.
History, which will ever be found to corroborate
revelation, proves that in most Pagan and Mohammedan nations, whether
ancient or modern, woman has been cruelly and wickedly sunk below her proper
level in social and domestic life, "hated and despised from her birth, and
her birth itself esteemed a calamity; in some countries not even allowed the
rank of a moral and responsible agent; so tenderly alive to her own
degradation that she acquiesces in the murder of her female offspring;
immured from infancy; without education; married without her consent; in a
multitude of instances sold by her parents; refused the confidence of her
husband, and banished from his table; on his death, doomed to the funeral
pile, or to contempt that renders life a burden." In such a condition she
has been the household drudge, or the mere object of lust. She has
ministered to the gratification of man's indolence or sensual appetite, but
has not been his companion, his counselor, or his comforter. In barbarous
countries she has been a slave; in civilized ones very generally little
better than a kept mistress. Her mind has been left untaught, as if
incapable or unworthy of instruction. She has been not only imprisoned in
seclusion by jealousy, but degraded and rendered inferior and miserable by
polygamy. Sometimes worshiped as a goddess; next fondled as a toy; then
punished as a victim, she could never attain to dignity, and even with all
her brightest charms could rarely appear but as a doll or a puppet.
Exceptions to some extent may be made in favor of the
polished Greeks and proud Romans—but only to some extent; for did time
permit, and necessity require, it could be shown that neither Athenian
refinement nor Roman virtue gave to woman her just rank by the side of her
husband, or her proper place in his affection, esteem, and confidence.
"Neither Paganism nor Mohammedanism ever yet understood
the female character, or conceded woman's just claims. In many nations the
degradation has been excessive. You remember probably the reply of a Pagan
mother, who having been expostulated with for the murder of her female
child, contended that she had performed an act of mercy in sparing the babe
the miseries of a woman's life. All travelers and all missionaries attest
the fact of woman's humiliation, beyond the boundaries of Biblical
revelation."
If we go to the Bible, we shall learn that it is to
Christianity, as contrasted even with Judaism, that woman owes her true
elevation. Polygamy is, and ever must be, fatal to female dignity and
happiness—this, or at any rate concubinage, was practiced, no doubt under
mistaken views, by the patriarchs; not that it was ever positively
sanctioned by God, for from the beginning he made one woman for one man, and
by the providential and remarkable fact of the general equality of the sexes
as to numbers, he still proclaims in unmistakable language the law of
monogamy. But to use an expression of the apostle, "he winked at" these
things—he did not regard it as innocent or convenient, yet he did not say
much about it, or punish it—but left it to punish itself, which it most
certainly did. If we examine the Levitical code we shall find that even it,
though a Divine dispensation, contained some regulations which evinced that
the time of woman's full emancipation from a state of inferiority had not
yet arrived—and that it was reserved for the glorious and gracious economy
under which we are placed, to raise the female sex to its just position and
influence in society.
Christianity as in other things, so in this, is an
enlargement of human privileges; and among other blessings which it confers,
is its elevation of woman to her proper place and influence in the family
and in society.
Let us now consider what there is in Christianity that
tends to elevate and improve the condition of woman.
To the oppressive and cruel customs of Mohammedanism and
Paganism, in their treatment of the female sex—Christianity presents a
beautiful and lovely contrast; while to the partial provisions for female
rights in Judaism it adds a complete recognition of their claims. It is the
glory of our holy Christian religion, and a proof of its emanation from the
Divine beneficence, that it is the enemy of oppression in every form and
every condition, and gives to every one his due. It tramples on no right, it
resents and resists all wrong—but no one of all the sons of men is so
indebted to its merciful and equitable reign as woman. From Christianity
woman has derived her moral and social influence—yes, almost her very
existence as a social being. The mind of woman, which many of the
philosophers, legislators, and sages of antiquity doomed to inferiority and
imbecility, Christianity has developed. The gospel of Christ in the person
of its Divine Founder, has descended into this neglected mine, which even
wise men had regarded as not worth the working, and brought up many a
priceless gem, flashing with the light of intelligence, and glowing with the
lovely hues of Christian graces. Christianity has been the restorer of
woman's plundered rights, and has furnished the brightest jewels in her
present crown of honor.
Her previous degradation accounts, in part at least, for
the instability of early civilization. It is impossible for society to be
permanently elevated where woman is debased and servile. Wherever females
are regarded as inferior beings, society contains within itself the elements
of dissolution, and the obstruction of all solid improvement. It is
impossible that institutions and usages which oppose and stifle the
instincts of our nature, and violate the revealed law of God, can be crowned
with ultimate success. Society may change in its external aspect; may
exhibit the glitter of wealth, the refinements of taste, the embellishments
of art, or the more valuable attainments of science and literature; but if
the mind of woman remain undeveloped, her taste uncultivated, and her person
enslaved—the social foundations are insecure and the cement of society is
weak. Wherever Christianity is understood and felt, woman is free. The
gospel, like a kind angel, opens her prison doors and bids her walk abroad
and enjoy the sunlight of reason, and breathe the invigorating air of
intellectual freedom. And in proportion as pure Christianity prevails this
will be ever found to be the case.
But all this is vague and general assertion, and I will
bring forward proofs of it.
Christianity elevates the condition of woman by its
genius as "a system of universal equity and benevolence." When it descended
from heaven to earth, it was heralded into our world by the angel's song,
"Glory to God in the highest; and on earth, peace and good will to men." The
offspring of infinite love, it partakes of the spirit, and reflects the
character, of its Divine Parent. Christianity is essentially and unalterably
the enemy of all injustice, cruelty, and oppression—and the friend of all
that is just, kind and courteous. The rough, the brutal, and the ferocious,
are alien from its spirit; while the tender, the gentle, and the courteous,
are entirely in unison with its nature. It frowns with indignant countenance
upon tyranny, whether in the palace or the parlour, while it is the friend
of liberty, and the patron of right. The man who understands its genius, and
lives under its inspiration, whether he be a monarch, a master, a husband,
or a father—must be a man of equity and love. Christianity inspires the
purest chivalry—a chivalry shorn of vanity, purified from passion, elevated
above frivolity—a chivalry of which the animating principle is love to God,
and the scene of its operation the domestic circle, and not the public
pageant. He who is unjust or unkind to any one, especially to the weaker
sex, betrays a total ignorance of, or a manifest repugnance to, the
practical influence of the gospel of Christ. It is a mistake to suppose that
the faith of Jesus is intended only to throw a dim religious light over the
gloom of the cloister, or to form the character of the devotee; on the
contrary, it is pre-eminently a social thing, and is designed as well as
adapted to form a character which shall go out into the world in a spirit of
universal benevolence—to such a character the oppressor or degrader of woman
can make no pretensions.
The incarnation of Christ tended to exalt the dignity of
the female sex. His assuming humanity has given a dignity to our nature
which it had never received before, and could not have received in any other
way. Christ is "the Pattern Man" of our race, in whom all the lines of
humanity converge and unite, so far as the existence of our race goes. When
he took man's nature, he allied himself to all the members of the extended
race by the actual adoption of a human body, which gave him relationship to
them. He not only became like men and dwelt among them, but he became man
himself, an actual descendant from their first progenitor. He was made man.
Human nature became more precious. By the manner of his birth, he associated
himself with our nature. This appears to be the meaning of the apostle in
his quotation of the eighth Psalm in the epistle to the Hebrews, to show the
dignity conferred upon humanity, by its being assumed by so glorious a
person, as our Lord Jesus Christ in his divine nature was.
If, then, manhood is honored by Christ assuming it, how
much more is woman exalted, who, in addition to this, was made the
instrument of giving birth to the humanity of Christ? It is emphatically
said by the apostle, "When the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth
his Son, made of a woman, made under the law." In the person of the Virgin
Mary, and by her giving birth to the holy being born of her, the female sex
was elevated. True, it was a personal distinction, that Mary should be the
mother of our Lord's humanity—and (while she has been by the apostate Church
of Rome wickedly exalted into an object of idolatrous homage) all
generations justly call her blessed. Yet the honor is not limited to
herself, but passes over to her sex, which she represented; and it is to
this the apostles allude. He does not mention her, but dwells upon the
abstract general term, "made of a woman." Every female on earth, from that
day to this, has had a relative elevation, by and in that wonderful
transaction.
Woman was not the mother of God, as the Papists absurdly,
and, as I think, blasphemously, say; but she was the mother of that human
being who was mysteriously united with Divinity. And does not this great
fact proclaim, "Let the sex which alone was concerned in giving birth to the
Son of God, and Savior of the world, be ever held in high estimation."
The personal conduct of our Lord during his sojourn
upon earth tended to exalt the female sex to a consideration before unknown.
Follow him through the whole of his earthly career, and mark the attention
which he most condescendingly paid to, and as condescendingly received from,
the female sex. He admitted them to his presence, conversed familiarly with
them, and accepted the tokens of their gratitude, affection, and
devotedness. See him accompanying his mother to the marriage feast of Cana
in Galilee. See him conversing with the woman of Samaria, instructing her
ignorance, enduring her petulance, correcting her mistakes, awakening her
conscience, converting her soul, and afterwards employing her as a messenger
of mercy and salvation to her neighbors. See him rebuking his disciples for
discouraging the approach of mothers and their infants. See him
compassionating the widow of Nain, and restoring her son to life. See him in
the little family of Bethany, blending his sympathies with the bereaved
sisters; and on another occasion entering into familiar conversation with
this same Martha and Mary, and faithfully rebuking one and kindly commending
the other. See him receiving the offerings of those women who ministered to
him of their substance. Witness the attendance of pious women upon him in
the last scenes of his life. It was to Mary Magdalene that the honor of the
first manifestation of the risen Saviour was made; and thus a woman was
preferred to apostles, and made the messenger of the blissful news to them.
"The frequent mention," says Doddridge, "which is made in
the evangelists of the generous courage and zeal of pious women in the
service of Christ, and especially of the faithful and resolute constancy
with which they attended him in those last scenes of his suffering, might
very possibly be intended to obviate that haughty and senseless contempt
which the pride of men, often irritated by those vexations to which their
own irregular passions have exposed them, has in all ages affected to throw
on that sex, which probably in the sight of God has constituted by far the
better half of mankind; and to whose care and tenderness the wisest and best
of men generally owe and ascribe much of the daily comfort and enjoyments of
their lives."
Compare this behavior towards women—this chaste, holy,
dignified conduct of our Lord—with the polygamy, licentiousness, and
impurities of Mohammed, not merely as evidence of their respective claims,
but as regards their influence upon the condition of woman—while the one did
everything by example and by precept to corrupt, to debase, and to degrade
them—Jesus did everything to purify, to elevate, and to bless them. The
conduct of Mohammed, the Arabian zealot and impostor, and the boasts of his
followers and admirers, are too revolting for description, almost for
allusion.
But on the contrary, what one syllable of the Savior's
utterances, or what one scene of his life, was there, which tainted the
immaculate purity of his language, or left the slightest stain upon the more
than snow-like sanctity of his character? What part of his conduct might not
be unveiled and described before a company of the most modest, most
delicate, and even most prudish-minded females in existence? But his
treatment of woman raised her from her degradation without exalting her
above her level. He rescued her from oppression without exciting her vanity;
and invested her with dignity without giving her occasion for pride. While
he allowed her not only to come into his presence, but to minister to his
comfort; and while he conciliated her grateful and reverent affection, he
inspired her with awe; and thus taught man how to behave to woman, and what
return woman was to make to man.
The conduct of Jesus Christ towards the female sex was
one of the most attractive excellences of his beautiful character, though
perhaps it is one of the least noticed. To him they must ever point, as not
only the Savior of their souls, but as the advocate of their rights and the
guardian of their peace.
The actual abolition of polygamy by Christianity
is a vast improvement in the condition of woman. Wherever polygamy prevails,
the female sex must ever be in a state of degradation and misery.
"Experience has abundantly and painfully proved that polygamy debases and
brutalizes both the body and the soul, and renders society incapable of
those generous and refined affections, which, if duly cultivated, would be
found to be the inheritance even of our fallen nature." Where is there an
instance in which polygamy has not been the source of many and bitter
calamities in the domestic circle and in the State? Where has it reared a
virtuous and heaven-taught progeny? Where has it been distinguished for any
of the moral virtues—or rather where has it not been distinguished for the
most fearful degeneracy? By this practice, which has prevailed so
extensively through nearly all countries and all ages in which Christianity
has not been known, or has not been paramount, marriage loses all its
tenderness, its sanctity, and its reciprocal confidence; the cup of wedded
felicity is exchanged for that of mere animal lustful pleasure; woman
panders to the sensual appetite of man, instead of ministering to his
comfort—and the home assumes much of the character of a debased brothel.
There may be several mistresses, but there can be only
one wife; and though there may be many mothers, they are without a mother's
affection; presenting a scene of endless envy and jealousy, before which
domestic comfort must ever depart, leaving mere sensual gratification. No
stimulus to improvement, no motive to fidelity, no ambition to please, can
be felt by a wife who may be supplanted the next month by a new favorite.
And in such circumstances there is no room and little occasion for the
display of those virtues which constitute female honor.
Here, then, is the glorious excellence of Christianity;
it revived and re-established the original institute of marriage, and
restored to woman her fortune, her person, her rank, and her happiness, of
all of which she had been cheated by polygamy; and it thus raised the female
sex to the elevation to which they were destined by their wise and
beneficent Creator. True it is that Christianity has not effected this great
change, so beneficial not only to the female sex—but to society, by direct,
explicit, and positive precept; yet it has done so by an implication so
clear that there can be no mistake as to the reality of the command, or the
universality of its obligation, for all its provisions, precepts, and
promises, proceed on the supposition of each husband being the husband but
of one wife. And the springs of national prosperity rise from beneath the
family hearth, and the domestic constitution is the mold where national
character is cast, and that mold must of necessity take its form from the
unity, sanctity, and inviolability of marriage.
The jealousy with which Christianity guards the 'sanctity
of the marriage bond' must ever be regarded as having a most favorable
influence upon the condition of woman. Let this be relaxed or impaired, and
that moment woman sinks in dignity, in purity, and in happiness. There have
been nations in which the 'ease of divorce' took the place of polygamy, and
of course was accompanied with some of its vices, and many of its miseries
too. This was eminently the case with ancient Rome after the early times of
the Republic, and most instructive are the examples in the annals of its
history, and the allusions to them in the pages of its poets. Let the
nuptial tie be weakened, and the wife live in perpetual fear, because her
union to her husband is placed in jeopardy by a law under which he may at
any time, at the instigation of passion or caprice, dissolve the bond
between them, and without either penalty, remorse, or shame, dismiss her
from his home—and there is an end to her peace, and perhaps to her purity.
For it is to be recollected that it is she who has most to dread from the
license of divorce. She is likely to be the victim of such a law. With what
devout and reverential gratitude should she then turn to that Divine Teacher
who has interposed his authority to strengthen the marriage bond, and to
guard it from being severed at the demand of illicit passion, or the
dictates of temperament or caprice. How should she rejoice to hear Him say,
"But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital
unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries
the divorced woman commits adultery." Matthew 5:32
The indulgence of greater latitude and liberty in this
matter granted to the Jews—was thus superseded by Christianity; a greater
security was provided for woman's honor and felicity; and a broader basis
laid for domestic harmony and happiness. If it were only for this,
Christianity deserves the gratitude of mankind. But it is only half its
glory that it has abolished the custom of having many wives—its crowning
achievement is that it has protected the rights, the dignity, and the
comfort of the one wife. It has shut out intruders from her home, and
guaranteed the safe and permanent possession of it to herself.
I may surely mention the equal participation of
religious blessing to which women are admitted by the Christian
religion. How explicitly and how firmly has the apostle claimed for woman
all the blessings obtained by Christ for the human race, where he says,
"There is neither Jew nor Greek; there is neither bond nor free; there is
neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus." There is the
charter granting to woman all the blessings of salvation; there is the proof
of woman's equality in the sight of God; there is woman's claim to her just
rank in the institutes of man. There is not a blessing necessary to eternal
life, which she does not receive in the same measure and in the same manner
as the male sex. There is a popular tradition among the Mohammedans,
prevalent among them to this day, that wives are not permitted to enter
paradise—the "voluptuously beautiful young women" of that region being
specially created in their stead. What degradation is there in such an idea!
But it is consistent with the spirit, and harmonizes with the ideals, of
Mohammedanism, which regards woman more as the slave of man's lustful
passions—than as the companion of his life.
Christianity places the wife by the side of the husband;
the daughter by the side of the father; the sister by the side of the
brother; and the maid by the side of the mistress, at the altar of the
family; in the meeting of the church; at the table of the Lord; and in the
congregation of the sanctuary. Male and female meet together at the
cross—and will meet in the realms of glory. Can anything more effectually
tend to raise and sustain the condition of woman than this? God in all his
ordinances, Christ in his glorious undertaking, and the Holy Spirit in his
gracious work, gave her her proper place in the world, by giving her a
proper place in the church. It is for her with peculiar emphasis to say,
"God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love with which he loved us,
has raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places."
And well have women understood their privileges, for look
into our congregations and churches, and see how largely they are composed
of females. How many more of their sex, than of the other, avail themselves
of the offer of gospel mercy, and come under the influence of religion. It
is in the female bosom, however we may account for the fact, that piety
finds a home on earth. The door of woman's heart is often thrown wide open
to receive the Divine guest, when man refuses Him an entrance. And it is by
thus yielding to the power of godliness, and reflecting upon others the
beauties of holiness, that she maintains her standing and her influence in
society. Under the sanctifying power of religion she ascends to the glory,
not only of an intelligent, but of a spiritual, existence; not only gladdens
by her presence the solitary hours of man's existence, and beguiles by her
converse and sympathy the rough and tedious paths of his life; but in some
measure modifies, purifies, and sanctifies him, by making him feel how
attractive, goodness is.
But the finishing stroke which Christianity gives in
elevating the condition of women, is, by inviting and employing their
energies and influence in promoting the spread of religion in the world; and
thus carrying out, through them as well as men, the great purposes of God in
the redemption of the world by the mission of his Son. To them, in common
with men, the apostle says, "That you also may have fellowship with us; and
truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ." The
honor so liberally bestowed upon the pious women of antiquity, of
ministering to the personal needs of the Savior, and of being so constantly
in his presence, was the least of the distinctions designed for them by our
holy religion. They bear an exalted place in the labors and offices enjoined
and instituted in apostolic times for the setting up of Christ's Kingdom in
the world. How instructive and impressive is it to hear Paul say, "Help
those women who labored with me in the gospel." What a register of names and
offices of illustrious females do we find in Romans 16. "Priscilla, his
helper;" "Mary, who bestowed much labor on us;" "Tryphena and Tryphosa, who
labored in the Lord;" "Phebe, the servant of the church at Cenchrea," who
was sent to the church at Rome, and entrusted with so momentous a commission
as to bear to that community of Christians that epistle of the apostle,
which, if we may lawfully compare one portion of Scripture with another, is
the most precious portion of Divine revelation.
In addition to all this, there can be but little doubt
that in the primitive church, not only were women occasionally endowed by
the Spirit with the miraculous gifts of prophesying, but they were also
employed in the office of deaconesses. The Christian church in modern times,
has gone backward in the honor put upon the female character. The original
age of Christianity was in advance of ours, in the respect paid to the
female sex by officially employing them in the services of the church, and
in the wisdom which made use of their available and valuable resources. It
has been said that the usages of society have somewhat changed since that
time, so as to render the services of women to their own sex less necessary
now than they were then, when the friendly and social communion of the sexes
was more restricted, and females were kept in greater seclusion. Some truth,
no doubt, there is in this assertion; but perhaps not so much as is imagined
by some. Both general and sacred history represent women in the times
referred, to as mingling in the society and sharing the occupations of the
other sex.
I now remark that not only does Christianity thus tend,
by its own nature and provisions, to exalt the female character, but it has
accomplished this wherever it has prevailed. If we consult the pages of
history, whether ancient or modern, whether eastern or western, we shall
find that wherever the religion of our Lord Jesus Christ has been
successful, there it has achieved the emancipation of woman from her
thraldom, and rescued her from degradation. I refer to modern Europe and
America in proof of this. What a contrast in this respect do those countries
present to all Pagan and Mohammedan nations! Is it not a triumph and a
trophy of Christianity to be able to point to the most polished nations of
the globe as being, at any rate, professedly Christian; and at the same time
to say, "Look at the improved condition of the female sex?" And may I not
affirm that woman's emancipation and elevation are in proportion to the
purity of that Christianity which has thus been diffused?
If we refer to the records of modern missions, we shall
find abundant proof of what the gospel does for the elevation of the female
character. It has abolished the Suttee in India (that is—the custom of a
Hindu widow willingly being cremated on the funeral pyre of her husband as
an indication of her devotion to him). It has stopped the drudgery of the
wives of all savage tribes, the incarcerating seclusion of Mohammedan and
Papal nations, the polygamy, the infanticide, and the concubinage of all
countries where it has gone. Yes, Christianity has in modern times proved
itself, in all parts of the world—woman's emancipator and friend! It has
brought her from under the disastrous influence of the pale crescent of
Mohammed, the impostor of Mecca, and placed her in all the irradiating and
enlivening splendor of the Sun of Righteousness. It has rescued her from the
baleful power of the Catholic crucifix, and brought her within the elevating
attraction of the cross.
But there is another way in which we may see that
Christianity, even in this Christian and Protestant nation, has benefited
and raised the condition of millions of once wretched and degraded women;
made such not by their own misconduct—but by the vices and cruelty of their
husbands! How many wives have been reduced to a kind of domestic
slavery by the drunkenness, infidelity, and tyranny of those who had pledged
themselves to love and cherish them? Christianity has in myriads of
instances, laid powerful hold of the hearts of such men, and changed them
from vice to holiness—and the converted husband has appeared a much changed
man. And among other evidences of the reality of the change, and the
manifestations of its excellence—was his altered conduct at home, where his
wife became his companion, instead of being his drudge, his slave, and his
victim!
Christianity has thus carried out its genius and its
precepts in the actual elevation of the female character wherever it has
gone. The chivalry of the middle ages which combined religion, valor, and
gallantry, whimsical as the institution seems, no doubt did something to
accomplish this end. I do not dispute the truth of the remark made by a
French writer, quoted in a popular work entitled "Woman's Mission," where he
says that women shut up in their castellated towers, civilized the warriors
who despised their weakness, and rendered less barbarous the passions and
the prejudices which themselves shared. It was they who directed the savage
passions and brute force of the men to an unselfish aim, the defense of the
weak; and added humanity to courage, which had been the only virtue
previously recognized. But even chivalry derived its existence in some
measure from religion. And after all, how inferior in its nature and how
different in its influence, was that system of romance—to the dignified
principles and holy influence of Christianity. It did very well to figure at
the joust and the tournament; in the hall of the baron, and in the circle of
the fair; but its influence in the domestic scene was very slight as
compared with that of the institutions of the New Testament. It was rather
the exaggeration to extravagance of female rights and privileges, than an
intelligent concession of them under a sense of justice, and in obedience to
the Divine authority; and it may be questioned whether many an illustrious
knight did not when the hour of imagination had passed away, and the ardor
of passion had cooled, in the absence of Christian principles, crush and
break the heart which he had been so anxious to win.
It is the glory of Christianity that, instead of
appealing to the imagination, the senses, and the passions—it supplies
principles which are rooted in the soul, and sway the conscience; and that
instead of leading its possessor to expend his admiration of woman in the
exciting scenes of public amusement, it teaches and influences him first of
all to contemplate her where her charms are less glaringly adorned, in the
retirement of social communion, and then to enjoy them within the hallowed
circle of domestic life. It allows of no senseless adoration like that which
chivalry promoted, and which from its very excess is likely to be followed
by recoil or collapse. What Christianity does for woman is to fit her to
be neither the goddess nor the slave, but the friend and companion, of man,
and to teach man to consider her in this honorable and amiable aspect.
Do we not see in all this a beautiful exhibition of the
transcendent excellence of our holy religion? In every view that we can take
of Christianity, whether we contemplate it in its aspects towards the
eternal world or towards this present world; in its relations to God or
society; in its sublime doctrines or its pure morality; we see a form of
inimitable beauty, sufficient to captivate every heart—but that which is
petrified by false philosophy, avowed infidelity, or gross immorality. But
never does it appear more lovely than in its relation to woman. With what
equity does it hold the balance between the sexes! With what kindness does
it throw its shield over the weaker vessel! With what wisdom does it sustain
the rank and claims of those whose influence is so important to society, and
yet so limit their claims that they shall not be carried to such a length as
to defeat their end! With what proper discrimination does it fix woman's
place in the home—where her power can be most advantageously employed for
the cultivation of her own virtues and the benefit of society!
"Behold Christianity, then, walking forth in her purity
and greatness to bless the earth, diffusing her light in every direction,
distributing her charities on either hand, quenching the flames of lust and
the fires of ambition, silencing discord, spreading peace, and creating all
things new. Angels watch her progress, celebrate her influence, and
anticipate her final triumphs! The moral creation brightens beneath her
smiles and owns her renovating power. At her approach man loses his
fierceness, and woman her chains; each becomes blessed in the other, and God
is glorified in both." (Dr. Cox's Essay)
May we not affirm that the treatment of woman by Judaism
and Christianity is one of the proofs of their divine origin? We have seen
already how much superior the later dispensation was to the earlier one, as
in other particulars, so in respect of the matter I am treating of here. But
they must always be associated together. The spiritual religion of Christ
was the development of the great truths prefigured in the symbols of the
ceremonial religion of Moses. I have shown how both Mohammedanism and
Paganism degrade the female character and sex. It would seem therefore that
man left to himself would never have set up a religion which dealt
equitably and kindly with woman. And what has infidelity, without
a religion, done for them? What would it do for them? Degrade them by
demoralizing them. The patrons of impurity and licentiousness, infidels at
heart, have put on the cloak of the philosopher, and maxims the most
licentious have found their way into works making high pretensions to
morality, and assuming the office of teachers of the age. Atheism, the most
undisguised, has made its appearance, and alas, that it should boast of a
priestess, entitled to distinction on other grounds, to conduct its worship
at the shrine, and upon the altar, of chance! Before skepticism had
reached this depth of error, and arrived at the gloomy region of a godless
void, while yet it lingered on the shores of Deism, it manifested its
demoralizing tendency. Hume taught that adultery, when known, was a slight
offence; and when unknown, no offence at all. Bolingbroke openly and
violently attacked every important truth and every serious duty;
particularly he did what he could to license lewdness, and cut up chastity
and decency by the roots. Lord Herbert, of Cherbury, the most serious of the
early English deists, declared that the 'indulgence of lust' is no more to
be blamed than the thirst of a fever, or the drowsiness of lethargy. Nor
have modern infidels been behind their predecessors. Godwin and Owen
attacked the marriage tie. And let the annals of the first French
revolution, that terrible eruption from the volcano of atheism, tell by the
history of Mirabeau, the type of its morals—what infidelity would do to
corrupt and degrade the female sex!
Woman's virtue, dignity, honor, and happiness, are
nowhere safe but under the protection of the Word of God. The Bible is the
benefactor of the female sex. Beneath this protection they are secure in
their rights, their dignity, and their peace. It is their vine and fig tree,
under which in calm repose they may enjoy the shade and relish the fruit. It
protects their purity from taint, and their peace from disturbance.
Let woman know her friend, and her enemy too. An infidel
of either sex is the foe of our species, either individually or collectively
viewed; but a female infidel is the most dangerous and destructive of the
furies, from whom in her suicidal career the virtuous of her own sex recoil
with horror, and whom the vicious regard as the abettor, though it may be
unintentionally, of their crimes.
Woman! regard your Savior for the next world as your
Emancipator for this present one—love the Bible as the charter of your
liberty, and the guardian of your bliss—and consider the church of Christ as
your asylum from the wrongs of oppression and the arts of seduction.
Let woman seek to discharge her obligations to
Christianity. Grateful she ought to be, for immense are the favors which
have been conferred upon her by it. It is enough to demand her thankfulness,
that in common with man, she is the object of Divine love, redeeming mercy,
and the subject of immortal hope! But in addition to this, she is rescued
from oppression and exalted to honor in the present world. In regard to
this, your obligations to Christianity are immense. You owe infinitely more
to it than you ever reflect upon, or than you will ever be able to cancel.
Often as you look round upon your condition in society, and especially as
often as you contrast your situation with that of women in Pagan countries,
let a glow of gratitude warm your heart and add intensity to the fervor with
which you exclaim, "Precious Bible." Yes, doubly precious to you as your
friend for both worlds.
How then shall woman discharge her obligations? In two
ways. First, in yielding up her heart and life to the influence and service
of her benefactor—in faith, holiness, and love. Female piety is the best,
the only sincere expression of female gratitude to God. An irreligious woman
is also an ungrateful one. She who loves not Christ, whomsoever else she may
love, and however chaste and pure that love may be, is living immeasurably
below her obligations, and has a stain of guilt upon her heart and her
conscience, which no other virtue can efface or conceal.
Woman's obligations should also be discharged by seeking
to extend to others that benevolent system which has exerted so beneficial
an influence upon herself. Of all the supporters of our missionary schemes,
whether they are formed to evangelize the heathen abroad, or reform the
sinful at home, women should be, as indeed they generally are, the most
zealous, liberal, and prayerful supporters. Wherever she turns her eye over
the distant regions of our earth, at least wherever Paganism or
Mohammedanism throw their baleful shadow (and alas, how large a portion of
the earth that is!) there she beholds her sex degraded and oppressed. From
China's vast domain, from India's sunny plains, from Persia's flowery
gardens, from the snows of Arctic regions, from the sterile deserts of
Arabia, and beneath the burning sun in Africa—woman lifts her voice amid her
wrongs, her woes, and her miseries, piteously imploring, "Come over and help
us!"
The whole creation groans and travails in pain together
until now, but her groans are deeper, her cries louder, than any others.
Borne upon the wings of every breeze, and floated on every wave that touches
our shores from those regions of sin and sorrow—comes her petition to
Christian females in this country for the blessings of Christianity. Cold,
thankless, and unfeeling must be that heart which is unaffected by such an
appeal, and makes no effort to respond to it; which prompts to no interest
in our missionary schemes, and leads to no liberality in their support. The
eternal world of glory will be especially woman's jubilee, and as no groan
is deeper than hers during the reign of sin and sorrow, so no joy will be
louder than hers under the reign of Christ. It belongs, therefore, to her to
be most fervent in the cry of the church, "Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly!"