Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!mips!dimacs.rutgers.edu!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: arm@Neon.Stanford.EDU (Alexander d Macalalad) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: Should a wife work outside the home? Message-ID: Date: 22 Oct 90 06:32:53 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: Computer Science Department, Stanford University Lines: 41 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu In article gross@dg-rtp.dg.com (Gene Gross) writes: >Is there Biblical reason to believe that a woman should not work outside >the home? If you believe so, please provide Biblical support by way of >references so that others of us can check them out. And the same for >those who don't believe so. There are a couple of ways to interpret your question. First, in the ideal world, what role do women play? Second, is it a sin for a woman to work outside the home? Let me address the first interpretation. It seems clear to me that woman was created to be a companion for man. There is an implied complementarity and mutual respect. I see nothing in Genesis, though, to suggest that man and woman had fixed roles, i.e. that the woman's place was "in the home." As far as the second interpretation, I hope that the women's movement has been successful enough that most people see the folly in suggesting that women working outside the home are sinning against God. This leads me to wonder what the motivation is behind the question. Historically, keeping women in the home has been used to dominate and disempower women economically and otherwise. But I don't think that that is what your question is about. I think that your real question is this: What in the Bible can guide a woman in her decision to stay at home or work? To me this question is ultimately asking what is God calling me to do? This is a much more personal question, with each person receiving a different answer. One can look to the Bible to see the answers He has given to different women, but one can also look to the examples of women today and see how God works through them. I think that it is folly to suggest that God wants all women to stay at home. Women have made tremendous contributions outside the home. Mother Teresa is but one example. To chain women back at home would not only destroy the dignity of women, but also would rob society of the contribution of half of the population. This is not to say that women should not stay at home. All I am saying is that this is ultimately the woman's decision, and no one else's. Alex Macalalad