San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1890-09-01
The 1ai1y Eight.
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 1890.
Women in the Bible.

Professor Huxley has written an ar
ticle for British magazine in which
he thinks he proves that the deluge
described in the Bible never occurred.
If there was no deluge there was no
Noah who got ingloriously drunk and
did disgraceful things while under
the influence OF wine. A distinguish
ed German biblical scholar years ago
wrote work to show that Judas was
not traitor. In fact, he undertook
to prove that he was the most loyal
and devoted of all the dis
clples. He whitewashed him
so that he looked like saint
in the purest of marble. De Quincy
also held that Judas was much
abused man. He insists that he had
more faith In his master than any of
his companions did, and that he
simply sought to put him in a posi-
ton where he would publicly pro-
claim himself King OF the Jews.
Bishop Colenso has thrown doubt
about the killing of Abel by his
brother Cain. If he does not class
the story as mythical he plainly re-
CARDS it as allegorical. Lately an at
tempt has been made to show that
the idea of sending Uriah into the
thickest Of the fight where he was
killed did not originate in the mind
of David, but in that of the woman
who shortly afterward became his
wife and the mother of Solomon.
Thus one by one all the bad male
characters in the bible are being dis
posed of. They either never lived,
were misunderstood, or carried out
the suggestions of some woman and
were blamed for it. Bnt no attempt
has been made to clear up the char
acter of the bold and bad or the fool
ish and disobedient women mention
ed in the Bible. Their names 60 from
disgrace and crime and follies of
every sort and kind. No one has
questioned the story of Ewes disobe-
dience, her listening to the words of
the devil, her eating an apple and
her successful attempt to induce her
hus band to do the same. AS con-
sequence Eve is taken as the
type of her sex, and all women suffer
on account of her reputation.
Judged as other historical accounts
are, the story of Delilah is the most
one in the entire Bible |
Prof. Huxley must admit that science |
condemns it. Still the incident of her |
cutting off her husbands locks is re- |
ferred to in the divorce courts almost |
every day as an example of a wife's |
The story furnishes the
basis for numerous sermons. 1t is |
being reproduced in statu-
ary, paintings, poems and operas. No
one thinks to discredit it or to lay the |
wrong committed on man.
The story has injured the reputa-
ton of the female sex for many thou |
sands of years, and will probably |
con tinue to do so until the end of |
time. The abuse of hospitality on
the part of a woman who drove a nail |
into the head of her sleeping guest is \
also frequently quoted for the pur-
pose of showing that women are capa-
BILE of committing any crime.
1t is now rather late in the day to |
to clear up these stories.
They have passed as authentic so
long that everyone believes them. 1t |
seems not little strange that women |
who claim 30 much for their sex have |
never attempted to disprove them.
Their silence in regard to them seems |
to show that they accept them as
literally and altogether true.