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Abstract：The spread of Christianity influenced the development of human society，whether in politics，economy and culture or other aspects，it did have a positive effect.This thesis will analyze how Christianity influenced and improved women’s status.
Key words：Christianity； influence； improvement； women’s status
1 Chapter One Introduction
According to Genesis，God first created a man named Adam，and then took a rib from the man and made into a woman called Eve.Eve was tempted by the serpent to eat the forbidden fruit and gave some to her husband Adam，which made God angry and they were driven out of the garden of Eden.Therefore，women were regarded as appendage of men and the root of evil when men sinned，which produced the idea that women were inferior to men.Thus，women were depreciated and their voice was obscured.They had the extremely low status，and gained freedom and dignity until the appearance of Jesus Christ.This thesis will first give a description of the low status of women before the birth of Jesus Christ，and then point out the improvement of women’s status after the appearance of Jesus Christ in several aspects，and come to the conclusion that Christianity improved the status of women.
2 Chapter Two The Low Status of Women before the Birth of Jesus Christ
Greek discrimination against women began early in a woman’s life cycle.Baby girls were more likely to be killed and sold than baby boys.In childhood，boys could receive education，while it was impossible for girls to go to school.Throughout a woman’s entire life she was not allowed to speak in public.After women got married，they had virtually no freedom and were treated like slaves.Wives could not divorce husbands，whereas husband could divorce their wives anytime.
In Roman society，the status of women was also low.There was a high rate of female infanticide because the Romans valued baby girls significantly less.Women were still denied many rights that were available to men，and were under the absolute control of their husbands.They had no rights to divorce，to inherit property，and were totally despised by the society.
3 Chapter Three The Improvement of Women’s status after the Appearance of Jesus Christ
One scholar of ancient Rome has aptly said that “the conversion of the Roman world to Christianity brought a great change in woman’s status.”1 Another has expressed it even more succinctly：“The birth of Jesus was the turning point in the history of woman.” 3.1 Jesus Christ and Women
The appearance of Jesus Christ had a great influence on the status of women，and his actions and teachings raised the status of women to a new height.Jesus once said，“I have come that [you] may have life，and have it to the full”（John 10：10）.If any group of human beings was in need of a more abundant life，spiritually and socially，it was the women of his day.
Jesus Christ went against the traditional beliefs that women were inferior to men by his own actions.He asked a drink of a Samaritan woman，while at that time speaking to a woman in public was regarded as a bad thing，which would bring evil upon him； John Gospel reported that Jesus taught a woman named Martha and had her publicly respond to him； Jesus appeared to women after his resurrection and chose them to tell his disciples that he had indeed risen from the dead.Jesus respected women，gave them freedom and dignity and taught them，so some women，even honorable women，defied conventional social norms in order to follow him.
Jesus Christ came to change people’s hearts and minds and gave women status equal to men，which meant he not only broke with the antifemale culture of his era，but he set a standard for his followers to emulate.
3.2 The Apostolic Church and Women
Jesus Christ’s attitude towards women affected the early apostolic church.Women were welcomed to take part in church activities，and in home churches，women played an important role.A woman named Priscilla had a church in her house，and once St.Paul mentioned her and stated that Priscilla was one of his “fellow workers”.Another key female leader in the apostolic church was Phoebe，and in Romans 16：1-2 Paul referred to her by the male title of diakonos（deacon） and also called her prostatis，or “leading officer”.From the words“fellow workers”，diakonos and prostatis that Paul used to refer to women in churches，it could be seen that Paul ignored the ancient prejudices and discriminations that barred women from leadership roles and showed his respect for women.Under the influence of Jesus and Paul，the status of women was gradually improved.Women were given freedom and dignity by the early Christians，and they could have equal rights to baptism and the Lord’s Supper like men.
3.3 Social Progress and Women’s Status
With the end of the apostolic church era （after about A.D.150），some of the church’s leaders reverted to some former practices of the Greco-Romans due to the influence of pagan ideas.Women were excluded in some aspects of life and structure of the church.Though women were treated contrary to the way Christ and his apostles related to them，they still had more freedom compared with the conditions before the appearance of Jesus Christ.On the whole，society made some progress under the influence of Christianity，especially for women，their status was improved and they gained more and more rights. Through Christ’s interaction with women，he introduced the new ethic，which had an influence on family life.Cognizant that Christ treated women equal to men，St.Paul commanded the husband to love his wife as Christ loved the church （Ephesians 5：25）.He also told the fathers，“Do not exasperate your children； instead，bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord” （Ephesians 6：4）.Christian men，as husbands and fathers，obeyed Paul’s command.Women were no longer private property of their fathers and fathers could not sell them to others； wives were not under their husbands’absolute control and husbands could not decide life or death of their family，including their wives.Besides，women had the same rights with men to control their property.
As for marriage，Christ respected women and thought polygyny demeaned women，so his view of marriage was monogamous.Therefore，as Christianity spread and gained ascendancy，monogamy became the marriage norm in countries where the church became prominent.Besides，women had more freedom in their marriage，especially for Christian women，they could marry later and had a choice to choose husbands.
4 Chapter Four Conclusion
In Greek and Roman traditions，women’s status was extremely low.Jesus Christ broke the traditional belief that women were inferior to men and gave respect to women.His words and actions influenced his followers and churches，and with the wide spread of Christianity，women’s status was significantly improved and women gained more and more rights.
参考文献：
[1]J.P.V.D.Balsdon，Roman Women：Their History and Habits（New York：John Day，1963），283，cited in Alvin J.Schmidt，2001.
[2]L.F.Cervantes，“Women，”New Catholic Encyclopedia（New York：McGraw-Hill，1967），14：991，cited in Alvin J.Schmidt，2001.
[3]Alvin J.Schmidt，[Under the Influence] How Christianity Changed the World（Grand Rapids，Mich.：Zondervan Publishing House，2001.
[4]Ibid.
[5]Alvin J.Schmidt，[Under the Influence] How Christianity Changed the World（Grand Rapids，Mich.：Zondervan Publishing House，2001.
[6]刘文明.上帝与女性[M].武汉：武汉大学出版社，2003.
[7]劉文明.早期基督教禁欲主义的兴起及对女性的影响[J].世界史研究，2000（5）.
[8]王俊.女性在基督教中的地位浅析[J].金陵神学志，2011，3-4.
[9]徐海燕.中世纪时期西欧女性的社会地位浅析[J].文学·历史研究，2012.
[10]杨昌栋.基督教在中古欧洲的贡献[M].北京：社会科学文献出版社，2000.
[11]曾金花，王仁卫.试析女性在基督教兴起和早期发展中的地位与作用（公元1世纪—公元5世纪）[J].文史博览·理论，2007（2）.
作者简介：
王若涵（1992.05.15—），女，汉族，河北省邯郸市永年县，学历：硕士在读；单位：天津师范大学；研究方向：英美文化。
Key words：Christianity； influence； improvement； women’s status
1 Chapter One Introduction
According to Genesis，God first created a man named Adam，and then took a rib from the man and made into a woman called Eve.Eve was tempted by the serpent to eat the forbidden fruit and gave some to her husband Adam，which made God angry and they were driven out of the garden of Eden.Therefore，women were regarded as appendage of men and the root of evil when men sinned，which produced the idea that women were inferior to men.Thus，women were depreciated and their voice was obscured.They had the extremely low status，and gained freedom and dignity until the appearance of Jesus Christ.This thesis will first give a description of the low status of women before the birth of Jesus Christ，and then point out the improvement of women’s status after the appearance of Jesus Christ in several aspects，and come to the conclusion that Christianity improved the status of women.
2 Chapter Two The Low Status of Women before the Birth of Jesus Christ
Greek discrimination against women began early in a woman’s life cycle.Baby girls were more likely to be killed and sold than baby boys.In childhood，boys could receive education，while it was impossible for girls to go to school.Throughout a woman’s entire life she was not allowed to speak in public.After women got married，they had virtually no freedom and were treated like slaves.Wives could not divorce husbands，whereas husband could divorce their wives anytime.
In Roman society，the status of women was also low.There was a high rate of female infanticide because the Romans valued baby girls significantly less.Women were still denied many rights that were available to men，and were under the absolute control of their husbands.They had no rights to divorce，to inherit property，and were totally despised by the society.
3 Chapter Three The Improvement of Women’s status after the Appearance of Jesus Christ
One scholar of ancient Rome has aptly said that “the conversion of the Roman world to Christianity brought a great change in woman’s status.”1 Another has expressed it even more succinctly：“The birth of Jesus was the turning point in the history of woman.” 3.1 Jesus Christ and Women
The appearance of Jesus Christ had a great influence on the status of women，and his actions and teachings raised the status of women to a new height.Jesus once said，“I have come that [you] may have life，and have it to the full”（John 10：10）.If any group of human beings was in need of a more abundant life，spiritually and socially，it was the women of his day.
Jesus Christ went against the traditional beliefs that women were inferior to men by his own actions.He asked a drink of a Samaritan woman，while at that time speaking to a woman in public was regarded as a bad thing，which would bring evil upon him； John Gospel reported that Jesus taught a woman named Martha and had her publicly respond to him； Jesus appeared to women after his resurrection and chose them to tell his disciples that he had indeed risen from the dead.Jesus respected women，gave them freedom and dignity and taught them，so some women，even honorable women，defied conventional social norms in order to follow him.
Jesus Christ came to change people’s hearts and minds and gave women status equal to men，which meant he not only broke with the antifemale culture of his era，but he set a standard for his followers to emulate.
3.2 The Apostolic Church and Women
Jesus Christ’s attitude towards women affected the early apostolic church.Women were welcomed to take part in church activities，and in home churches，women played an important role.A woman named Priscilla had a church in her house，and once St.Paul mentioned her and stated that Priscilla was one of his “fellow workers”.Another key female leader in the apostolic church was Phoebe，and in Romans 16：1-2 Paul referred to her by the male title of diakonos（deacon） and also called her prostatis，or “leading officer”.From the words“fellow workers”，diakonos and prostatis that Paul used to refer to women in churches，it could be seen that Paul ignored the ancient prejudices and discriminations that barred women from leadership roles and showed his respect for women.Under the influence of Jesus and Paul，the status of women was gradually improved.Women were given freedom and dignity by the early Christians，and they could have equal rights to baptism and the Lord’s Supper like men.
3.3 Social Progress and Women’s Status
With the end of the apostolic church era （after about A.D.150），some of the church’s leaders reverted to some former practices of the Greco-Romans due to the influence of pagan ideas.Women were excluded in some aspects of life and structure of the church.Though women were treated contrary to the way Christ and his apostles related to them，they still had more freedom compared with the conditions before the appearance of Jesus Christ.On the whole，society made some progress under the influence of Christianity，especially for women，their status was improved and they gained more and more rights. Through Christ’s interaction with women，he introduced the new ethic，which had an influence on family life.Cognizant that Christ treated women equal to men，St.Paul commanded the husband to love his wife as Christ loved the church （Ephesians 5：25）.He also told the fathers，“Do not exasperate your children； instead，bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord” （Ephesians 6：4）.Christian men，as husbands and fathers，obeyed Paul’s command.Women were no longer private property of their fathers and fathers could not sell them to others； wives were not under their husbands’absolute control and husbands could not decide life or death of their family，including their wives.Besides，women had the same rights with men to control their property.
As for marriage，Christ respected women and thought polygyny demeaned women，so his view of marriage was monogamous.Therefore，as Christianity spread and gained ascendancy，monogamy became the marriage norm in countries where the church became prominent.Besides，women had more freedom in their marriage，especially for Christian women，they could marry later and had a choice to choose husbands.
4 Chapter Four Conclusion
In Greek and Roman traditions，women’s status was extremely low.Jesus Christ broke the traditional belief that women were inferior to men and gave respect to women.His words and actions influenced his followers and churches，and with the wide spread of Christianity，women’s status was significantly improved and women gained more and more rights.
参考文献：
[1]J.P.V.D.Balsdon，Roman Women：Their History and Habits（New York：John Day，1963），283，cited in Alvin J.Schmidt，2001.
[2]L.F.Cervantes，“Women，”New Catholic Encyclopedia（New York：McGraw-Hill，1967），14：991，cited in Alvin J.Schmidt，2001.
[3]Alvin J.Schmidt，[Under the Influence] How Christianity Changed the World（Grand Rapids，Mich.：Zondervan Publishing House，2001.
[4]Ibid.
[5]Alvin J.Schmidt，[Under the Influence] How Christianity Changed the World（Grand Rapids，Mich.：Zondervan Publishing House，2001.
[6]刘文明.上帝与女性[M].武汉：武汉大学出版社，2003.
[7]劉文明.早期基督教禁欲主义的兴起及对女性的影响[J].世界史研究，2000（5）.
[8]王俊.女性在基督教中的地位浅析[J].金陵神学志，2011，3-4.
[9]徐海燕.中世纪时期西欧女性的社会地位浅析[J].文学·历史研究，2012.
[10]杨昌栋.基督教在中古欧洲的贡献[M].北京：社会科学文献出版社，2000.
[11]曾金花，王仁卫.试析女性在基督教兴起和早期发展中的地位与作用（公元1世纪—公元5世纪）[J].文史博览·理论，2007（2）.
作者简介：
王若涵（1992.05.15—），女，汉族，河北省邯郸市永年县，学历：硕士在读；单位：天津师范大学；研究方向：英美文化。