Written by a student from unc c for Mr. McCloud. Men are not the only people who played an instrumental role in religion. It is true that for most of Western history, religious leadership and power have been restricted to men.
It is also true that women were excluded from theological education and even from lay leadership in most Christian denominations until quite recently. Until women like Ann Hutchinson and Jarena Lee decided not to but on the back burner any more. They decided to stand up for what they believed in and defended women’s rights. Ann Hutchinson stood trial alone, with no lawyers to defend her.
She was charged with heresy and banished from Massachusetts Bay in 1636. Hutchinson believed that people could communicate directly with God without the help of ministers or the Bible. This was in direct contradiction with the established religion. Local ministers taught that people could only find God by following the teachings of the Bible and that only they could interpret the Bible correctly.
During this time all ministers were men, they believed that women should obey man at all times and that women should not teach religion because they were not intelligent enough. One of Ann Hutchinson ‘crimes’ was expressing religious beliefs that were different from the colony’s rulers, during that time it was against the law especially for a woman. Making matters worse, she held meetings in her home to discuss religion that was a common for Puritan in England. She believed that God had spoken to her directly, and that only God could be her judge. Anne was drawn by the excitement of this religious struggle and based her opinions on the study of the Bible.
The Essay on The Man after God’s Own Heart
David, King of Jews, possessed every weakness and sin that “a man of blood” is capable and yet God still showered and bestowed him with abundant blessings. He was the adulterer of Bathsheba whom he forced to go with him to bed and convinced to lie about her pregnancy to her husband Uriah. He was the murderer of his friend Uriah whom he sent in front of the battlefield if only to own Bathsheba. He ...
Although in some areas, she did disagree with Puritan doctrine, she was still a devoted member of the church and agreed with the majority of the Puritan principles. Her purpose in expressing her opinions was not to break down the church but rather to make positive change in those areas where the church was in error in her opinion. In 19 century, women were still prohibited by social and religious custom for preaching. Jarena Lee experienced a dramatic conversion when she was 21 after hearing a sermon by Richard Allen, founder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.
Lee said, ‘As if lightening had darted through me, I sprang to my feet, and cried, ‘The Lord has sanctified my soul!’ ‘ (132-133).
Her religious awakening in 1804 stopped her from committing suicide and years later, she felt God’s call to preach. Lee then dedicated her life to evangelizing her first mission was challenging the prejudices against women as ministers of God. Jarena Lee felt that if man could preach the word of Good so could she especially after God said to her “Go preach the gospel, I will put words in your mouth, and turn your enemies to become your friends.” Although Lee had Allen’s blessing, people were hostile to her because she was black and a women. Lee became a traveling minister she traveled thousands of miles on foot preach the word of God. Jarena Lee was the first female preacher in the African Methodist Episcopal Church.
Women in early America were denied the right to preach in public, but Jarena Lee, a free black woman of Philadelphia, challenged that tradition and became a traveling minister, preaching to audiences black and white, male and female. Hutchinson and Lee were more alike than one could imagine. Both Hutchinson and Lee used scriptures out of the bible to defend themselves when people said they should not preach because they were women. Ann got her authority to minister for her teachings while, Jarena got her authority directly from God himself. Regardless on where they got their authority from they truly believed that God had called them to do his will. Hutchinson believed that that people could communicate directly with God without the help of ministers or the bible so did Lee because she spoke directly to God.
The Essay on Women God Husband Ruled
Nowadays, women have their own career and free-will to do what pleases them. However, women in the 16 th century were treated differently and it was believed that they were the instruments of the devil. Females were te authors of the original sin who lured men away from God and salvation. They were the only imperfections of God's creation. Women's only function was to get married and have ...
The real motive for Ann persecution was that she challenged the traditional subordinate role of women in Puritan society by expressing her own religious convictions. There is no denying the fact that Anne Hutchinson was brought to trial because of her beliefs. Ann probably would have not been convicted or treated with such condescension by the court if she had been a male. Anne Hutchinson was unfairly condemned because she did not fit into the prescribed role of women in the colonial period, namely that of not having will or a mind of her own. You can consider Anne as a Jezebel. She was a courageous woman who succeeded in beginning the process of change in the intolerant environment of Puritan New England.
As for Jarena if she was not a women or black her teachings would have not been questioned nor her gift to speak to God him self.
