The menstrual taboo continues to be a primary reason why women in Judaism and Christianity are excluded from positions of authority. This is demonstrated by examining positions taken toward menstruation by religious leaders in past history and in the present day. Jesus and Gregory the Great are notable exceptions to the disdain expressed by male religionists toward menstruants. Only after the removal of this persistent taboo will religious bodies come to treat women as full participants.
Hospices/hospitals in Western civilization are primarily an outgrowth of the teachings of Jesus. Soon after Greek monastic orders constructed buildings for the sick and dying, noblewoman Fabiola established the first hospices in the western Mediterranean. The hospice/hospital movement spread widely in medieval Europe. In modern society a distinction has been made between hospitals and hospices. Hospitals are devoted mostly to curing patients while hospices are concerned with terminal care. St. Christopher's Hospice is the acclaimed model of what a hospice program should contain. Caring for the sick and dying has contributed greatly to the positive influence of Christianity.
“Contrary to prevailing opinion, there is reason to hold that the myths of Eve and Pandora are quite dissimilar in original meaning. Our lack of awareness of this difference has been due to interpreters throughout Western civilization who have mingled these two stories together.”
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