They were women of God and they played a very important role in the development of the image of God and played an important role in life and the mission of Jesus. Women contributed to the movement and experienced belonging to its community just as much as men. However, some may view the presence of women in the Bible as a negative thing. Elizabeth Cady Scanton said the Bible could be used to exclude women from the public sphere. The Bible presents marriage and childbirth as the most important things for a woman to do, because these things would require her to stay at home and create a better environment for her husband. Images of women in the Bible, however, can help women connect more intimately with God and see themselves as an image of God. Women were among Jesus' early followers, and he treated them as equals. Women were seen as ministers, opened their homes to the less fortunate, and even witnessed the resurrection of Jesus. Since its beginnings, women have played a role of power in Christianity. Women gave birth to men of the Lord, but only if they were women of the