The Blogs: A list of quotations from Christian theologians on women as inferior to men

The following is a comprehensive, chronologically ordered list of 43 quotations from Christian theologians and church authorities—ranging from the New Testament through the early 21st century—whose writings explicitly depict women as spiritually or intellectually inferior to men. In many cases these pronouncements extend well beyond a plain reading of Scripture, revealing deeply embedded patriarchal biases that have shaped church practice, justified the exclusion of women from teaching and leadership, and even laid the groundwork for witch hunts and the persecution of women accused of sorcery.

New Testament (c. 50–100 CE)

“Let a woman learn in silence with all submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.”
(1 Timothy 2:11–12)
“For man was not made from woman, but woman from man. Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man.”
(1 Corinthians 11:8–9)
“The woman being deceived was in the transgression.”
(1 Timothy 2:14)
Clement of Alexandria (c. 150–215 CE)
“Every woman should be filled with shame by the thought that she is a woman.”
(Paedagogus, Book II, ch. 33)
“The consciousness of their own nature must evoke feelings of shame.”
Tertullian (c. 155–240 CE)
“You are the devil’s gateway. You are the unsealer of that forbidden tree. You are the first deserter of the divine law.”
(On the Apparel of Women, Book I, ch. 1)
“Do you not know that you are each an Eve? The sentence of God on this sex of yours lives in this age: the guilt must of necessity live too.”
Origen (c. 184–253 CE)
“Men should not sit and listen to a woman, even if she says admirable things or even saintly things.”
(Fragments on 1 Corinthians 14)
“What is seen with the eyes of the Creator is masculine, but what is seen with the eyes of the creature is feminine.”
Cyprian of Carthage (c. 200–258 CE)
“Women are a great snare and temptation, placed in our way by Satan to turn us from the path of righteousness.”
Acts of Paul and Thecla (2nd century, Apocryphal)
“Blessed are they who keep the flesh chaste, for they shall become a temple of God. But cursed are they who corrupt their flesh with pleasures, for they shall become a dwelling place of the devil.”
Methodius of Olympus (c. 260–311 CE)
“Woman is a foe to friendship, an inescapable punishment, a necessary evil, a natural temptation, a desirable calamity, a domestic peril, a deadly fascination, and a painted ill.”
Lactantius (c. 250–325 CE)
“Woman was made for man’s sake and to be in subjection to him.”
“Woman’s beauty is a trap for the foolish.”
Epiphanius of Salamis (c. 310–403 CE)
“There is no female among the angels. How then can there be female in the priesthood?”
“The female sex is easily deceived and cannot exercise authority.”
Basil of Caesarea (c. 330–379 CE)
“Woman is an inferior animal and must not be given authority over men.”
“Her body is made for childbirth, and that is her only purpose.”
Ambrosiaster (4th century)
“Women are not made in the image of God as men are.”
(Commentary on 1 Corinthians 14:34–35)
“Man was created for his own sake; woman was created for the sake of man.”
John Chrysostom (c. 349–407 CE)
“The woman taught once, and ruined all. On this account, therefore, let her not teach.”
(Homilies on Timothy, Homily 9)
“The female sex is weak and vain. They should be ashamed of their inferiority and remain silent in church.”
Jerome (c. 347–420 CE)
“A woman is the root of all evil.”
(Letter 22, to Eustochium)
“As long as a woman is for birth and children, she is different from man as body is from soul.”
Augustine of Hippo (354–430 CE)
“Woman was given to man as an assistant. But she was not given to him for companionship, but to bear children.”
(De Genesi ad Litteram, IX.5–9)
“What is the difference whether it is in a wife or a mother? It is still Eve the temptress that we must beware of in any woman.”
“It is no wonder that the demon, who deceived the first woman, has a special relationship with women.”
(City of God, Book 22, ch. 17)
“Woman should not be allowed to teach or dominate men, for she bears the guilt of Eve’s transgression.”
(On Genesis, Book 9, ch. 5)
Salvian of Marseille (c. 400–490 CE)
“The ruin of husbands and the destruction of empires have always been caused by the wickedness of women.”
Pope Gelasius I (c. 492–496 CE)
“Women should not serve at the altar, nor take upon themselves any masculine function.”
Isidore of Seville (c. 560–636 CE)
“Woman is feeble in both mind and body, prone to evil, and easily led astray by Satan.”
(Etymologiae)
Bede the Venerable (c. 673–735 CE)
“The woman is subjected to man, and rightly so, because she was first in bringing ruin upon man.”
(Commentary on Genesis)
Rabanus Maurus (c. 780–856 CE)
“The synagogue is a house of darkness, and its people are lost. The same can be said of women, who are prone to deception.”
Hincmar of Reims (c. 806–882 CE)
“Women are by nature more easily deceived than men and therefore must be kept under control.”
Canon Episcopi (c. 10th Century)
“Some wicked women, perverted by the devil, believe and profess that they ride through the air on beasts with Diana, the pagan goddess.”
Pope Urban II (c. 1035–1099 CE)
“Woman, by her nature, is the instrument of the devil. A woman’s voice is the hissing of the serpent.”
Peter Damian (1007–1072 CE)
“A woman is not made in the image of God. She is made only in the image of man, and therefore she is inferior to him.”
Gratian (c. 12th Century)
“A woman is to be silent in church and to submit to the rule of men, as her inferiority in nature requires.”
Honorius of Autun (12th Century)
“The Jews, having killed Christ, have forfeited their right to exist as a people. Women, having deceived man, have forfeited their right to authority.”
Bernard of Clairvaux (1090–1153 CE)
“The woman is the gate of the devil, the road of iniquity, the sting of the scorpion.”
Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274 CE)
“As regards the individual nature, woman is defective and misbegotten, for the active power in the male seed tends to the production of a perfect male specimen.”
(Summa Theologica, I, q. 92, a. 1)
“Jews, by their sin, are the slaves of those who serve Christ. Women, by their sin, are the slaves of men.”
Alfonso de Spina (15th Century)
“The Jews practice sorcery and conspire against Christian kings. Women are their most devoted followers.”
Malleus Maleficarum (1487 CE)
“All witchcraft comes from carnal lust, which is in women insatiable.” (Part I, Question 6)
“Witchcraft is chiefly found among women, because they are more credulous and prone to superstition.” (Part I, Question 6)
Martin Luther (1483–1546 CE)
“If they [women] become tired or even die, that does not matter. Let them die in childbirth—that is why they are there.”
“The greatest honor for a woman is to bear children; but if she dies, it does not matter.”
John Knox (1514–1572 CE)
“Women have no place in the governance of men. The monstrous regiment of women is against nature and against God.”
(The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women, 1558)
John Calvin (1509–1564 CE)
“On this account, all women are born that they may acknowledge themselves as inferior in consequence of the superiority of the male sex.”
— Commentary on 1 Cor 11:10
“If the woman is under subjection, she is, consequently, prohibited from authority to teach in public. … female government is improper and unseemly.”
— Commentary on 1 Cor 14:34
Philipp Melanchthon (1497–1560 CE)
“Scripture shows that woman was created for man’s help and subordination. … public rule or teaching belongs not to her.”
— Loci Communes (1535)
Matthew Henry (1662–1714 CE)
“Paul’s prohibition shows that women are by nature less capable than men of teaching in the congregation; their business is to learn quietly at home.”
— Exposition on 1 Timothy 2:12
John Wesley (1703–1791 CE)
“Let not women assume authority over men in the church, but quietly learn; for the order of nature and the law of God require that the weaker vessel shall be subject.”
— Explanatory Notes on 1 Timothy 2:12
Jonathan Edwards (1703–1758 CE)
“The distinction which God has made between the sexes extends to common offices of the church; … women are appointed to private duties, not public teaching.”
— Private Thoughts on Religion
Charles Hodge (1797–1878 CE)
“The apostolic injunctions exclude women from the pastoral office, because they are naturally deficient in authority of mind and strength of character, unfit for the toils and responsibilities of the ministry.”
— Systematic Theology, Vol. 2, p. 424
John Charles Ryle (1816–1900 CE)
“It is contrary to the Divine appointment for a woman to speak publicly in the assembly. Her place is to learn quietly and submit; the pulpit is no sphere for her.”
— Expository Thoughts on Matthew
D. Martyn Lloyd‑Jones (1899–1981 CE)
“There is no biblical warrant for women to occupy the office of preacher; the pulpit is reserved for men by the clear teaching of Scripture.”
— Women in the Church, p. 15
John MacArthur (b. 1939 CE)
“But I do not allow women to teach or have authority over a man; they must be silent.”
— Grace to You: Does the Bible Permit a Woman to Preach?
“Women who pastor and women who preach in the church are a disgrace … in opposition to the clear command of the word of God.”
— Quoted in The Liberty Champion, Feb. 20, 2023
Mark Driscoll (b. 1970 CE)
“For Eve to eat the forbidden fruit was … the first exercising of a woman’s role in leadership … It does not go well. … only men can teach other men or become elder‑pastors.”
— Desiring God interview, Sept. 20, 2011
“Empowering women makes weak men. Weak men make everybody vulnerable to danger.”
— Christian Post, 2019
John Piper (b. 1946 CE)
“In God’s design, while men reflect authority in the church and home, women reflect submission. … male headship and female submission is woven into the gospel itself.”
— What’s the Difference? (2005)
Wayne Grudem (b. 1948 CE)
“The Bible teaches that women are not permitted to hold authority over men in the church. This restriction is placed on them by divine command and reflects their created order.”
— Evangelical Feminism and Biblical Truth (2004)