Elizabeth Cady Stanton Speeches & Writings File Article: "The Woman's Bible" [1895?] [* *What is called the Word of God emanated from the hand of man*] [*[1895?]*] The Woman's Bible The blacked page in sacred & profane history, in [the] Canon & Civil Law, is the position of woman , for which the Church still claims divine authority. The Woman's Bible denies this claim, & declares that like the other books, * [it] emanated from the brain of man. [& that] to day it is the greatest block in the way of freedom for woman While recognizing the beauty of its poetry in parts, the broad principles of justice mercy & equality here & there 2 enunciated by the prophets & apostles, it is folly to make a fetish of the Bible[?] as a whole blasphemous & attribute to the Great Spirit of all Good such teachings to the mothers of the race. Why should the myths & fables of the Hebrews have more influence with us in deciding the status of women than those of the Greeks! They made the same pretentins to work miracles & talk with their Gods face to face. The object of "The Woman's Bible" is to emancipate women from all these degrading superstitions & inspire them with new hope & self respect. 3 The fact that women themselves denounce "The Woman's Bible" has no significance. Men have their denounced scientists & scholars all through the centuries, imprisoned tortured & killed them outright for every discovery that conflicted with a text of scripture. At one time it was as great a heresy to say that the earth was a sphere & the sun the centre of the solar system [&?] as it is now to say that women should have an equal place in the state & church. Elizabeth Cady Stanton THE GIRL THAT I LOVE NOW. I've heard the poets sing of maids they loved in days gone by, With golden hair and ruby lips, and eyes that matched the sky. I've read the songs that they have wri about each fair one's charms And how within the dim, dim, past, they held her in their arms. And yet, with due allowance for these sentiments, I bow Unto the present and the girl that I am loving now. I've listened to the raptures that were sung about some maid. Like whom no other ever lived, and yet I am afraid She dwelt but in the regions of the poet's fevered brain, And so before my living love I am inspired again To make my plain assertion, and with candor to avow, I worship at the human shrine of her I'm loving now. A girl within the hand I saw is better than a score That hide behind the bush of Time, back in the misty yore. And as I gaze upon her face, I cannot quite forget She's better than the maiden that we hope some day to get. And so with due respect to all, I feel I must allow The palm of victory to her that I am loving now. Some faults are hers which in the light of present days I see More plainly still than if she were a girl that is to be. But when I look into her eyes and hold in mine her hand, There's compensations in it which I think you'll understand; And when ofttimes I steal a kiss and see her blush, somehow I'm glad to have her as she is --- this girl I'm loving now. I love to think of Venus as I've read of her in books; And there are other visions that I've stolen secret looks. For each of us has fancies that we dwell upon at times. And in our idle moments we may weave them into rhymes. And yet with due allowance for these sentiments I bow Before the living presence of the girl I'm loving now. TOM MASSON. IS THE WOMAN'S BIBLE A SUCCESS? The first editions of Elizabeth Cady Stanton's much-talked-of "Woman's Bible" was exhausted in less than three months from the date of issue. The second edition is already sold out, and arrangements have been made to print an edition in England immediately. Mrs. Stanton is now at work on the second volume of her Bible, in which she carries her criticism from Job to Joshua. Naturally, some curiosity is expressed as to the why and wherefore of the great sale of the much-criticised volume. Here is what five famous women have to say on the subject: A Short Symposium By Five Women. The blackest page in sacred and profane history, in canon and civil law, Is the position of woman, for which the Church claims divine authority. The Woman's Bible denies this claim, and declares that what the Hebrews called the "Word of God" emanated from the brain of man, and not from the Great Spirit of the Universe. While recognizing the beauty and poetry in parts of the Old and New Testaments, and the broad principles of justice, mercy and equality enunciated by prophets and apostles, it is folly to make a fetish of the whole book, and blasphemous to make God its author. Why should the myths and fables of the Hebrews be held more sacred by us than those of the Greeks? They made the same pretensions to work miracles and talk with their gods face to face. The object of the Woman's Bible is to lift women out of these superstitions and inspire them to higher self-respect than the Pentateuch teaches. The fact that women themselves have denounced the Woman's Bible in their convocations has no special significance. Bigoted men do the same thing to the works of their scholars, and in former times, worse still, they imprisoned, tortured and killed their scientists outright if discoveries conflicted with any little text of Scripture. It was considered as great a heresy at one time to say that the earth was round, or the sun the centre of the solar system, as it is to say to-day that it is not true that woman is cursed of God and the source of all evil. Some critics say the Woman's Bible is not well written. It is certainly far superior to the Pentateuch in style, in purity, morality and common sense. At least it suggests to woman her true position as an equal factor in civilization. Some say it is presumption for a committee of women to attempt what has been so well done by learned men. We accept the last revision made by wise men and comment on the only point they never touch, which comprizes but one-tenth of the, whole Bible. A work in which women alone comment on the position of women, under the Jewish and Christian theology, may with propriety be called the Woman's Bible. The Rev. Mr. Talmage said we might as well have a Shoemakers' Bible. As the shoemakers are not a distinct class, are not described as a mere afterthought in creation, the subjects of all other men, denied many privileges others enjoy, declared to be the authors of sin, etc., there would be no significance in such a Bible. But such being woman's position in the Pentateuch, she has a right to make her own Bible. Elizabeth Cady Stanton It is difficult to speak of the "success" of a book written by a contemporary, man or woman. The sale of a few editions may mean a temporary fad or the beginning of a lasting appeal to intelligence. I know little of Mrs. Stanton's Bible. I have no interest in any variety of unorthodox statements, and I am quite sure that the same feeling exists among Christian people in general. The Bible we have been trained to live by, as were our mothers and grand- mothers and all Christian women back through the centuries, is broad enough for my taste, without the superadded criticism of some one who has failed to find inspiration, help and comfort there- in. A new Bible could mean nothing to me, because the true Bible is complete as a means of spiritual satisfaction. I have no hesitancy in declaring my belief that no other agency has been so divine in its influence in uplifting the downtrodden, in encouraging the sad and in widening the intellectual and spiritual horizon of the world, for women as well as men. And this is true the world over. Wherever the Bible is accepted as the religious guide of a people, physical advancement and spiritual enlightenment bear witness to its power for good. The presentation of the truths of the Bible to the Oriental women of to-day is the first star in the darkness which surrounds their existence, and it will open for them a new pathway toward a broader, fuller life--the life which the Bible alone has made possible for the women of the nineteenth century. Women owe all of the joys of their present enlightened condition to Christianity. The Old and the New Testaments alike give woman a queenly place. The woman who fails to acknowledge her deep and lasting obligation to Jesus Christ and his teachings in the Bible convicts herself of mental dulness, as well as colossal ingratitude. The Bible puts no limitation about a woman except incapacity, and no woman can revise either Testament enough to better the wisdom of this arrangement. The Bible always has and always will stand for progress, the progress of the whole race, men and women equally, and an expurgated revised edition is no more necessary to aid in the further advancement of women than it is for men. The book that teaches unselfishness, charity and brotherly love as the abiding principles of moral character is one that all women, however "advanced," can afford to live by. Margaret E. Vanpeter The old Bible is plenty good enough for me, just as it has been for the majority of women for the past twenty centuries. I see no call for the Woman's Bible, no necessity for its existence at all. The Bible as it stands is big enough and broad enough to serve as a fountain of morality for women as well as men, and the progress of the feminine world will not depend upon the revision of it by one woman to suit her pet theories. Although the Woman's Bible is not a new and different translation of the old Word, showing that women were intended to figure in the Holy Writ in a more aggressive fashion, but were prevented by the narrow-minded obstinacy of former translators, it nevertheless essays to "change things for the better," which I do not think can be done. To add to or take from the Bible as we accept it to-day means to tamper with the text, which would indicate a doubt of its inspiration; hence we are compelled to put the whole matter aside as unworthy of consideration. And I do not see why women should set about to kick against the pricks. There are some pretty harsh strictures on the conduct of the masculine congregations addressed by St. Paul and others, and men are not foolish enough to waste their time writing a "Man's Bible" to prove their exalted worth. They work to prove their superior merit - where it exists. I have never, in any movement, believed in separating the sheep from the goats. Turn them in the same pasture and let them graze together. Do away with this stupid idea of sex in the brain and soul, and let women help themselves to the best in the entire Bible, which is far better than any feminine commentary. Above all things, it is necessary to understand that woman's progress is to-day an established thing. No word of either a religious or secular nature could retard her advancement at this stage of the game. My belief is that there are very few texts in the Bible, which if taken with the proverbial grain of salt and served with common sense, will not prove sufficiently wise, just and helpful for the most progressive of her sex. If not, let them use a little special judgment of their own. I should "speak in meetin' " if I wanted to, without indulging in any moral conflict or feeling that I were imperilling my chance of future salvation. Jeanette L. Gilder Without having studied the Woman's Bible, or noted its success among women, I can affirm as my conviction that the Bible, as it has been accepted for centuries, has been a drawback, a positive detriment to the advancement of women. It has established limitation for womankind that they have been centuries in breaking away from. Until the Church is willing to place women on an equal footing with men, as possessing intellect and soul in the same proportion, the greatest women in the coming ages will not be found with- in her walls. There are clergymen who do recognize the mental existence of the feminine portion of their congregation and preach to them; but I, as a woman, have often been in church where I felt that I had no part or portion in the service. A religion, not for women, but that includes them on the highest plane, that broadens their lives and their mental development, and preaches the gospel of equal advancement for men and women, is certainly the crying need of this end of the century. From time immemorial religions have sprung up, flourished during a period and faded away or given place to something stronger, better and more suited to the changes wrought by civilization. We are in such a period of transition now; the new is not yet come and the old is losing ground. We do not expect to go on wearing the same clothes forever. The grown woman who tried to continue through life wearing her baby shoes would have a hard time to keep on her feet. And why should we cramp the brain or soul more than the feet? Why should a woman be taught that it is one of the divine laws that she obey her husband? Why should she not be taught to consult his judgment as she would that of her mother, and refuse to accept his decision where it did not tally with her conscience? And, after all, the only needful religion is a willingness to help others, a heart guided by charity and unselfishness. That is the germ of every true religion, and there is no need of doctrines and creeds, color line or sex distinction. From what I know of Elizabeth Cady Stanton as a logician and profound thinker, I feel confident that every effort she puts forth will be for the elevation of womankind, for their permanent benefit and freedom from old-time shackles in religious, as well as civil life. Harriette C. Keatinge M.D Is the Woman's Bible a success? Yes, in this particular, if no other: It has called attention to the fact that the political status of woman has been the direct result of the statements made concerning her in the Old Testament, and thus led to a closer study of the rights of the sex, her duties and her responsibilities. Since the Woman's Bible was not commenced with a view to financial reward, it does not seem necessary to ask if it is a success in that direction, but it may frankly be stated that the criticisms of those who question the right of any woman to write a Commentary on the Old and New Testaments, and who object to the name given to this Commentary, have led to such curiosity respecting it that copies are called for from Maine to California. It is too early to decide as to the success of this commentary as a moral force or a literary effort. If the revisers do good work the result will appear in due season. It is the first time in the history of the race that either woman or man has written a commentary upon the Bible, with the design of showing woman's position as defined or illustrated therein. Valuable commentaries have been written by Adam Clark, Scott, Barnes and others, but none with the purpose which moved Mrs. Stanton to convene the revising committee which should freely comment on the Biblical position of woman. Many disapprove of the "Woman's Bible" because they think it a covert attack on what is termed "revealed religion." Such was not the intention of the revisers, or commentators. Some disapprove because they think it is a new translation, and may not be correct, since the committee lay no special claim to scholarship or proficiency in the Hebrew language. It is not a new translation at all. Those who approve of this effort to find the real position of woman, as given by the Scripture writers, do so for the sufficient reason that they live truth and do not fear its light. They desire that the religion taught by Him "who went about doing good" may not be hindered in its progress by false ideas or any lack of knowledge, and they feel that the great truths of the "Best of Books" will be unharmed by any research or any interpretation in line with the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. It remains for me to add that each commentator is responsible only for that which she herself contributes to the Woman's Bible. Phebe A. Hanaford Transcribed and reviewed by volunteers participating in the By The People project at crowd.loc.gov.