Faith and Logic; Can You Have Both? A Rhetorical Question for Discussion

A friend of mine, Aleksandr, who is from Russia, and helps train our troops in hand to hand combat and such, is a highly spiritual person, being at peace with his inner self, and is also a feminist.  He holds women in high regard, and believes women should be considered a higher species than men.  Of course, much of what we find in our religious books are very contradictory to what is stated in the Bible.  Because often, it is stated in the Bible of slavery, rape, mass murder, and so many instances of racism and sexism, that it's basically turned him off to religion.  Often, more intelligent people are less likely to believe in a creator, but, that doesn't mean all people who believe are uneducated.  Aleksandr has proposed many a listing as to why religion is bad, and I'm trying to let him know that it's not as bad as he thinks, without diminishing the fact that yes, there are very terrible things that have been written in the Bible.

So, how do we broach this type of subject?  If we accept some things but not others, we are accused of cherry picking.  If we say that some misinterpreted what was, it loses credibility as a document.  But, I do say that there are ways to figure out what may or may not actually be. 

I'll start with this example, which has nothing to do with faith, religion or the Bible.  But, it's a relative story that happened in real life.  I was a sophomore or junior in high school, when I was in a sociology class, and it was covering the different cultures of the different countries and continents.  Even though the newest copyright date was from 1971 or something like that, and this was the mid 1980's, I didn't put too much stake in it while learning about some of the third world countries and primitive cultures.  But, we came upon the section for Japan, and what do we see?  It depicts how the women all wear kimonos, have their hair up in a bun, with white powdered make up on their faces, and this was being taught as being the current culture...  Okay.  Um, I was born there in 69 (yes, I'm dating myself), and was there until I was 8.  Well, unless it was some kind of festival, no one wore kimonos on a daily basis, and I have no recollection of people wearing make up to lighten their skin.  I'd also went back to visit in 85, when I was 16 for 5 weeks.  So, I'd raised my hand saying that the book was old, and the teacher actually got mad, saying this is they way it is there in Japan, now.  And since that's the way it is in the book, that is the way it is.  I'd said I was just there, and I explained that is what I observed, I was told to stop being insubordinate or to get out of the class...  Maybe I should have walked out.  But, the teacher would sit there and misgrade my tests and such, and some of my correct answers were marked wrong, and when I'd point it out, he'd say something about being appreciative that I didn't get a worse grade...

Anyway, back to the topic...  I don't think that the Bible is an all or nothing type situation.  I actually understand where the turn offs are, with many of the situations.  But, lets face it.  Back in the Genesis times, written word was not "invented" yet.  The stories were passed down from generation to generation, and like the game of telephone, and the more people you have, the more it gets messed up, these stories, too, could have been turned around in retelling the stories of ancient times.  While not everything got twisted or lost in translation, the way it translates into other languages can have an impact on it too, as we come close to modern times.  I'm not saying it's bad, but, it's one of these things that certain languages are still more restricting than others.  How can we say what was changed?  Let's have a look...

As we read in one story of Genesis, the first day, God created heaven and earth.  The second day, created day and night.  The third day, He separated the land and water, and had the vegetation grow, both for beauty and for food.  The forth day, was creating day/night lights as well as seasons.  The fifth day came underwater creatures and, of course, land & other above water creatures.  See the pattern?  God made heaven/earth, day/night, land/water, sea creatures/land creatures.  And these were to multiply and populate the earth.  Even fruit trees need a pair, to cross pollinate.  With corn, you have to have male rows and female rows to have good & tasty corn cobs to grow correctly.  It's not just the animals that come with a male/female counterparts to ensure reproduction for future population.  Sure, it's the survival of the fittest, because seeds that are planted in the shade will not grow as well as those which are in full sun, if sun is what they need.  A plant requiring shade will not grow correctly in full sun.  But then, on the sixth day, God created man.  What, and all of a sudden, Adam cries to God "Hey, yo' big daddy!  Where's MY mate?  How do I populate?  Huh?  I'm kind of lonely down here as the only human!"  Uh, oh.  So God says, "Quick, Adam, lay down and go to sleep on the dirt....  I'm going to play Santa Clause, and when you wake up, he-he.  You will like this one."  Excuse me?  I think we can logically say, that it's more like the sixth day, God created man and woman in his own image.  No, not man in God's image, then woman from Adam.  By saying that God made Adam, then Eve from Adam, you can't say that both were made in His image, when one was His direct creation, and the other was an altered copy of the first.  It makes more logical sense, that mankind were made together, male and female, in His own image.

Thing is, God also gave his peeps dominion over the earth, and all of the critters.  This does NOT mean that God gives us permission to rape our planet of all Her resources and wreak havoc.  The other animals, including the coral reef is also a fellow creations of God as well.  This is why I don't understand those who think that it's okay to sacrifice nature for jobs, while species go extinct with the disappearing natural habitats.  To me, it's a great disrespect.  If God is Father Time, his Goddess wife is Mother Nature, wound up in one being as supreme.  No, I am not being rude.  I really think that there are many aspects of God who most consider male, not only has female characteristic as well, but, is also partly hermaphrodite, as well as some in between transition as well.  It only makes sense, if God is a single being, that She could actually  create life while organizing temperature zones and all of it together.  In studying Genesis chapters 1 & 2, you will see that one does state that God created man and woman in His image.  Which means, there is equality in this act, not a favoritism to one gender or the other.  To say that Eve came from Adam would be kind of like Adam being Eve's biological father, as opposed to a mate.  This is why neither of them had belly buttons.  Logic.  And faith.

There is more confusion with the gender roles in the Bible.  In Ephesians 5:23 - For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.  I never quite understood that.  I'm not sure if anyone can explain it to me satisfactorily.  This gives the impression that husbands are on higher ground with God than wives.  Even without full knowledge of understanding, it also contradicts with this verse of Galatians 3:28 - There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.  Here we go with the equality again, and how sexism and racism is wrong, that we are ALL the children of God.  Since Goddess created us equal, even with our differences, it makes sense that Jesus would also have all of us equal under Him.  It doesn't make any sense to me, with all of these verses that wives should submit to her husband, and that the husband should honor his wife.  How do you honor a subservient?  Yes I realize that respect comes in many terms, but, if women are supposed to be submissive toward men, what, so the eldest daughter has to be rated underneath her younger brother, because he's the head of household if the dad dies?  Um, excuse me, but, as a mother, my kid isn't bossing me around, better pack a lunch.  A God who created men and women equally in Her image, this description just makes no sense, what so ever. 

While it is true, that the original sin was committed by both, and it seems if only humans are ones that say that Eve was the first offender, even though God punished Adam and the sons of Adam.  Women have pregnancy/birthing issues, and man was supposed to toil the earth.  Even in this day and age, and no, we're not just talking about 2000 years since Christ, this is going back to the beginning of time, that men were supposed to toil.  to honor his wife properly, he is supposed to be able to be a good husband and with their children, a good father.  The pay rate to this day reflects that, and is also why when couples split, that the kids usually go to the mother, since the mothers are more nurturing.  I tell my son that he should not pay any close attention to a girl that he can't consider worthy of being the mother of his children.  But, for some reason, though, there seems to be a huge disrespect to what is considered "woman's work".  My ex used to try to say that the difficulty level of his job when working at a church was double of what my difficulty level working 24-32 hours a week as an aide with developmentally disabled adults, on top of which, my son was only 3, and I would come home to ensure that he got clean clothes for preschool, etc.  Run the household errands, start supper, make appointments, take him to the appointments, keep up with laundry, house keeping, etc...  By the time I was actually done with the week, I had probably worked about 75 hours to his 40, and I STILL wasn't done.  Thing is, I'd help him at his job, too, just to have him complain that I didn't get to the house work that got missed because I'm doing everything else.  So, this is another one of those things where it doesn't make sense, because how do you explain Ruth, in the Bible?  She was not only a faithful, but, initiated the intimacy and subsequent marriage proposal, to which the wealthy land owner gave his promise to do his best to take care of her properly.  She wasn't considered a gold digger, either.  She was a role model of a woman in the Bible.  So, does this sound like a submissive woman to you?  Not to me. 

Then there is Rebekkah, who was ambitious, kind of a go getter, and even was deceitful in certain situations, and gave Jacob the blessing needed to inherit his father's estate.  This goes to show that women were still considered people, too, and that a good mother understands her children, to know who should be in charge.  It doesn't matter that the traditional roles were that women were beneath their men.  The contradiction is, there are women who are in leadership positions, such as Deborah, the Judge; Esther, the girl who became Queen; and of course Mary Magdalene, the right hand woman of Jesus, who held the fort down in the home front, even with the disciples, when Jesus traveled without his peeps.  Here is a link, with other notable women in the Bible, and there are more than you think.  http://www.womeninthebible.net/  Here is another link about Mary Magdalene, and she isn't the prostitute that many have led you to believe.  It's truly even more sad, that people want to say that this woman was a prostitute, when it was probably another Mary.  http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/who-was-mary-magdalene-119565482/?no-ist

I find it pretty sad, that even today, rather than focusing on the positive role that women have, not just in a domestic way, but also as workers, diplomats, and so much more.  Or, maybe the fact that in my days in Japan, there were a LOT of people who were Shinto, which has obvious differences, yet uncanny similarities with the Native American spirituality.  In Shintoism, Kami is a sacred or divine beings, more like a spiritual essence, is one of the main monuments of the faith.  It's a belief that Kami doesn't just exist as spiritual beings, but also exists in nature as well, in the trees, natural regions, and more.  The balance of life is another key, where we must all endure in the greater circle.  Of course the Native Americans have many beliefs about celebrating the #4, and no, this has NOTHING to do with Brett Favre.  It has to do with the fact that there are: 1) 4 seasons  2) 4 directions 3) 4 elements and 4) 4 races.  For every tree they cut down for their own use, they plant 2.  It's all a part of the greater circle, and being one with the world they live in.  I'd spent a little bit of time on a reservation, and while I did learn a lot, I don't know even more.  But, it's all a part of my learning, and some of the teachings have entered into my belief system.  I find it peaceful that I can associate with peoples who give back to the earth what we borrow during our lifetimes, to try to keep the circle continuing safely, so we don't ruin the planet for future generations. 

We can't keep taking and taking and just brush it off that the "earth will fix it's self" mentality.  Especially with Christianity, with so many things that can be interpreted differently, which can be a discussion point in the comments, or maybe even a whole 'nother blog...  I've questioned, got some answers, questioned more, and some of it flat out doesn't make sense.  So, yes, I get it that in many parts, that the Bible talks about women being subservient to men, and the wars to take over the women and children, and take slaves, etc....  If God created us equal, I don't understand why rape would be considered, and yes, instances in there about how a man had visitors, and didn't know they were angels...  The men of the community wanted "to know" the visitors, to which the man offered up his daughters...  Um, so, the excuse is, at least the man didn't allow the townsmen to sex up the angels...  Um, excuse me, but, the angels have the wrath of God.  And what is worse, is, because to this father, these were just strangers, that being hospitable to strangers is more important than your own daughters' purity?  A God who loves all of his children is going to allow for a human parent to allow for their own children to be assaulted because treating strangers well is more important?  No wonder it seems if our culture world wide are considered property than as humans, and then that assaulting female children and adults is an okay thing, and that some men are even entitled...  A loving God would insist on good nature, as a person, as a species.  We can't have dominion over the earth and the creatures living on it if we can't have dominion over ourselves.  So, here is what I think.  The parts that points to the ugly aspects of faith was probably written or told by those with power/control issues, and trying to boost themselves up onto God's level.  The true words are the ones where equity and other progressive ideas were being pushed, as to move the whole society toward a better tomorrow.

So anyway...  aside from whether or not we believe or don't believe in a God, Goddess, Supreme Being, Creator, etc.  The cycle of life continues, and, just like how Mufasa told Symba, “Everything you see exists together in a delicate balance. As king, you need to understand that balance, and respect all the creatures from the crawling ant to the leaping antelope." then something along the line of - lions may eat the antelope, but when lions die, we become the grass that the antelope eat.  Simplistic, but, very true.

May the force be with you.  Live long and prosper.  Peace out.