[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by Phil

"As regards the individual nature, woman is defective and misbegotten, for the active power of the male seed tends to the production of a perfect likeness in the masculine sex; while the production of a woman comes from defect in the active power...." Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica,Q92, art. 1, Reply Obj. 1 .

Roman Catholic theologian

"And a man will choose...any wickedness, but the wickedness of a woman...Sin began with a woman and thanks to her we all must die" Ecclesiasticus, 25:18, 19 & 33. 1
"And I find more bitter than death the woman, whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands as bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her." Ecclesiastes 7:26, from the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament)

Musings of a Jewish philosopher, 200/250 years BC.

This is the basis of the oppression of women?

The severe and shameful oppression of women and their contributions to society has been hidden throughout the world or at best a rarely or untold story. The deaths of accused witches (heretics) is a direct result of this oppression and reached it’s peak from 1200 to 1800A.D. varying in range from 100,000 to 9 million persons but, the percentage of women killed, during this time, is consistent in all references. Eighty percent of the people accused, tortured, and burned during the witch hunts were women!

How were these women accused? Who pointed the finger and called them witches? Women, in most cases. For reasons of their own, most likely catty, insignificant reasons, women hurled accusations at each other providing fuel for the trials.

There is a systematic behavior of scholastic and intellectual men who have feared women and her powers dating as far back pre-Paleolithic and Neolithic times.

True, but this is sociological, not theological.

Europe witnessed this massive hunt, torture and killing of women and men who were also viewed as pagan/heretics. The pagans refused to give up their matrilineal culture and practices. Their very lives of planting and harvesting depended on it. The witch hunts became a useful vehicle as an attempt to stamp out the ancient pagan traditions built around the worship of the Goddess and Gods. “If life is inherently evil, the church fathers needed someone to blame; and who better to blame than woman, who creates life from her own body? Living women, also, can be publicly punished, as the iconic and illusory Devil can never be.” 2 Plus the church had a long tradition of taking over the most celebrated pagan holidays and began to call them Christian to gain the support of the people of the land. The church hijacked the yearly pagan celebration of the Sun and made it the celebration of the son now called Christmas.

You're mixing apples and oranges and plums and grapes. Not every US against THEM, that happened in history is the responsibility of the church just because they were present. We have chaplains in the military but that doesn't make the church responsible for wars we fight. Yes, I know, they started plenty of their own wars..... that doesn't negate my point.

Speaking of war, the battle of the sexes predates all the religions. Men had been fighting the battle of the sexes for thousands of years, because women don't want men to do what they want to do.
Religions, founded by men, were another male dominated organization, but it's funny, women used the church and it's social structure to control men's behavior with ever increasing effectiveness. Women "civilized" the frontiers, smoothed the cultural rough edges and generally made men behave, by way of the church, because it was the only organization they were allowed to join, the only place they were allowed to congregate and conspire.