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.
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