Macon Bacon: Lies in Islamic Critique The story is told, over and over (re: excerpt videos) that

in Christianity, women were not even reco ni!ed as "ein human# $ome set the date at which Christianity reco ni!ed the humanity o% women in the &'th century( some cite it as earlier# )n%ortunately, the story itsel% is historically inaccurate# *s with other misquotes involvin early Christians (ex: $t# Thomas *quinas alle edly sayin that a the ima e o% +od isn,t %ound in a woman( when in %act he said that the ima e o% +od is not %ound in man nor woman) this misrepresentation o% events determined at the Council o% Macon, circa -.- *#/#, is 0ust another in a strin o% historical misrepresentations and, courtesy o% the internet, it ets repeated without challen e# 1xactly where did the alle ation that the Council o% Macon de"ated the issue o% women havin a soul come %rom2 The "unny trail oes "ac3 to the year 45th century and a youn scholar, 6alentius *cidalius, who was wor3in as a teacher in $ilesia and, quite %ran3ly, runnin short o% %unds# 6alentius came up with an idea to acquire additional %inances "y pu"lishin a 7divertin 8 pamphlet# In this case he hoped to ma3e a ton ue9in9chee3 humor pamphlet which would ma3e use o% the complexities o% the Latin meanin s o% the word 7man#8 * pamphlet pun, so to spea3# In Latin, the word 7man8 can "e used enerically %or humanity (re ardless o% ender) or it can mean speci%ically the male ender# 6alentius sou ht to cash in on the am"i uity to prove that the Bi"le declared that only men had souls# :hat 6alentius thou ht to "e an article o% humor, however, ended up not "ein viewed as %unny "y others# :hen $imon +eddicus, a Lutheran scholar, read the pamphlet "y 6alentius, he determined to write a re"uttal that he entitled A Defense of the Female Sex. The two pamphlets, "oth 6alentius, and +eddicus, were eventually pu"lished in Lyons, ;rance, in 45<= under the title Women do not have a soul and do not belong to the human race, as is shown by many passages of scripture. * title li3e that could "e the entire "oo3, "ut it is noteworthy that critics o% Christianity seldom, i% ever, mention +eddicus, re"uttal, thou h the two volumes are pu"lished to ether# The "oo3 cau ht the attention o% >ope Innocent ?, who viewed the notion o% women havin no soul with disdain and placed the "oo3 on the Index o% >rohi"ited Boo3s on @une 4., 45-4# By this time, the concept o% women not havin souls was already in discussion# Ane person who sou ht support %or the notion o% 7soul9less women8 was a Lutheran >astor and Chaplain %or the /anish *rmy, @ohannes Leyser# Leyser har"ored some peculiar views a"out women, as seen in his 45=5 pu"lication, he riumph of !olygamy wherein he extolled it,s virtues and "ene%its %or men# >rior to this pu"lication, however, Leyser sou ht support %or his view that women were in%erior to men# Be eventually resorted to ma3in a %alse claim that the Council o% Macon supported his views: "Among the holy fathers #at the $ouncil% there was one who insisted that women cannot, and should not, be called &human beings& 'homines(. he matter was thought so important that it was discussed publicly and in the fear of )od. Finally, after many arguments on this *uestion, #the bishops%

concluded that women are human after all." The pro"lem is that a readin o% the acts o% the Council o% Macon show no such discussion havin ta3en place# $o where did Leyser et this2 It turns out to "e a total misinterpretation o% a story told in he +istory of the Fran,s "y $t# +re ory o% Tours# In his writin , he discusses a council in the re ion which may, or may not, have "een Macon: - here came forward at this $ouncil a certain bishop who maintained that woman could not be included under the term &man.& +owever, he accepted the reasoning of the other bishops and did not press his case for the holy boo, of the .ld estament tells us that in the beginning, when )od created man, &/ale and female he created them and called their name Adam,& which means earthly man0 even so, he called the woman 1ve, yet of both he used the word &man&. The discussion was a"out the meanin o% the word 7man8( the issue o% women havin souls isn,t mentioned# Leysers, lie was repeated "y others, includin >ierre Bayle, a %ormer Catholic turned Calvinist who repeated the lie in his Dictionnaire. There were two councils at Macon# The %irst was in -.4 and the second, in -.-# Both were disciplinary in nature and did not address theolo ical issues# ;eminist writer and Cotre /ame >ro%essor o% *merican $tudies, Dathleen $prows Cummin s, addressed this issue in her &''E piece entitled $atholocism, Feminism, and the $ouncil of /acon2 - he phony account of the $ouncil of /acon was a popular fable .... 3ersions of the legend had appeared in boo,s and articles on women&s issues since at least 4567. he details varied2 some sources claimed the $ouncil of /acon was held expressly &for the purpose of determining whether or not a woman had a soul,& while others ascribed the supposed debate to better8,nown councils li,e 9icaea and rent. In a 4EEF de"ate "etween Christian %eminists and Muslim women, $ister *ysha Bey, with /r# @amal Badawi de"ated the issue o% the Treatment o% :omen in Christianity and Islam# /urin the de"ate, without detail, Ms# Bey speci%ically mentions the Council o% Macon in -.-, claimin that the purpose o% the council was to: -...discuss whether or not we women were homosapiens0 whether we had a soul0 whether we were an inferior breed0 an afterthought of )od...When this council was convened, they did vote to allow women to remain homosapiens, although of a lesser, inferior ,ind... *n un%ortunate %act is that very %ew Muslims seem to have the a"ility to conduct %ull research# They,re not alone, %eminists o% the &'th century have used this disin%ormation to slander Christendom (as i% everyone is a Catholic) %or a lon time and, while these modern %eminists see nothin wron with repeatin distortion, the %odder doesn,t o unnoticed "y Islamists who seem to thin3 that repeatin a %alsehood o%ten enou h will ma3e it a %act#

Sources2 Dictionnaire, s.v. )eddicus. /elanges d&+istoire et de :iterature, p.4;. $ited by <ayle, Dictionnaire histori*ue et criti*ue, s.v. )eddicus +istoriae Francorum, cited here as +F. See /onumenta )ermaniae +istorica, Scriptores rerum /erovingicarum, ed. W.Armdt and <.=rusch, 3ol 4, +anover, 455>0 /igne, !: 64. here are recent translations by ../.Dalton, .xford, 47?60 :. horpe, !enguin, 476?0 :.:atouche, !aris, 47;@. he 9ew <lac, Friars, 3ol 6A, 9o 56;, 9ovember 477@