Like you, raised Catholic, parted ways. In my 8 years of Catholic school we didn't read much bible (were just told what was in there). Have read more in the past few years; don't like to quote scripture at people though.
There are passages that show Jesus' examples of elevating women beyond what that time & culture accorded, according them equal treatment, honoring their wisdom and faith.
I'm no expert either. I am willing to follow the ways of Jesus on this: "love your neighbor as yourself"- a remarkably simple guide. Admittedly hard to do, easy to slip, but there's nothing there that excludes any gender.
LOL, we didn't read much directly from the Bible, either, in my weekly Catechism classes. But no one ever suggested that literally everything in the Bible was true - that would have been considered seriously fringe, if not deranged. And there was no crazy talk about 'End Times' - sure, the Last Judgement was a thing, but pretty vague and the main message was more along the lines of 'be a good person and you'll go to heaven.'
Re: Jesus and women - from a number of things I've read, in its early decades, Christianity was in fact seen as a religion for women and children, specifically because it called for protection of the weak and those in need. 'Real men' worshipped Jupiter and Mars, lol. Somehow, things seem to have gotten reversed, at least in the American evangelical version of Christianity.
Like you, raised Catholic, parted ways. In my 8 years of Catholic school we didn't read much bible (were just told what was in there). Have read more in the past few years; don't like to quote scripture at people though.
There are passages that show Jesus' examples of elevating women beyond what that time & culture accorded, according them equal treatment, honoring their wisdom and faith.
I'm no expert either. I am willing to follow the ways of Jesus on this: "love your neighbor as yourself"- a remarkably simple guide. Admittedly hard to do, easy to slip, but there's nothing there that excludes any gender.
LOL, we didn't read much directly from the Bible, either, in my weekly Catechism classes. But no one ever suggested that literally everything in the Bible was true - that would have been considered seriously fringe, if not deranged. And there was no crazy talk about 'End Times' - sure, the Last Judgement was a thing, but pretty vague and the main message was more along the lines of 'be a good person and you'll go to heaven.'
Re: Jesus and women - from a number of things I've read, in its early decades, Christianity was in fact seen as a religion for women and children, specifically because it called for protection of the weak and those in need. 'Real men' worshipped Jupiter and Mars, lol. Somehow, things seem to have gotten reversed, at least in the American evangelical version of Christianity.