V. Corinthians 14:34 ??
“Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law. And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.”
This verse has been the source of a lot of hurt. I know that the Bible is not made to hurt people. I know that God is Love. I want to make sense of this verse, and sense of all the squabble people have made out of it. There are many opinions, some I believe, some I do not. Personally, I am still chewing on this verse. I do know that God has given me a gift of music. I grew up singing in churches. My mother sang in churches. We were not silent. People have been blessed, saved, and set free because of this. I feel like it was not a sin for me to make noise in church. I feel like it is not a sin for me to teach Bible class to the body of Christ at school. So, what about this verse? What can I make of it? The Bible is Truth. I want to know the truth, not just what suits me and makes me the most happy.
A. Context
Remember at this time, that women hardly went out of the house. The fact that there were women at all in church was incredible. Most of the time, if a woman was present at a religious event, it was to engage in prostitution or some kind of immorality. The Christian church probably had to be careful so that people wouldn’t think they did this. I think it’s beautiful that women were in church at all. Women weren’t usually able to participate in religious services unless they were letting people use their bodies.
In Corinthians, Paul was correcting a church that was very disorderly. People were not being respectful. They were talking when other people were talking, perhaps demanding leadership, and not being submissive to each other.
B. Opinions
1. Opinion #1:
The scripture is word-for-word correct. Women should be silent in churches. They are not permitted to speak.
Personally, I can’t really give myself to this opinion. If the scripture is to be taken 100% literally, then women are to be SILENT in church. That means no singing, no playing the organ, no reciting public prayers. To me, this doesn’t sound like the God I know and love. This does not sound like Love. This would mean I have been sinning for a very long time. But singing and speaking in church gives me joy, and fulfillment. I feel like it makes my Father happy. This is my personal opinion. Not fact.
2. Opinion #2:
When looking at this in cultural context, and in the Greek, a little more light can be shed on Paul’s words.
Women had never been able to listen to lectures. They had never sat in school or services. As kids, we’re taught to be respectful and not talk while other people are talking, or during public services. We’re taught to discuss things later at home, not during the service. These women were probably never taught this. Why should they be? They weren’t ever allowed to attend. In this opinion, people say that women were probably coming to church and just talking and that it was, obviously, inappropriate. They needed to be quite. They were socializing.
a. In Greek, the word “silence” in Greek is sigao. It means, “to keep silent (transitively or intransitively):--keep close (secret, silence), hold peace.” In Greek, there are other words that mean silence.
He did not use the Greek word phimoo, which means a forced silence.
He did not say hescuchia, which means quietness and stillness. However, in his letter to Timothy, Paul did tell women to do this while studying.
He said sigao. The same word is used to describe the disciples decision to keep silent about the transfiguration they had just seen. It was also used to describe Jesus’ silence before Pilate. It was used when Jesus said that if the disciples were silent, the very stones would cry out.
To me, this shows that the word sigao is used to mean refraining from saying something. It means to hold something in.
b. The Greek word for “speak” is laleo. Out of 25 words translated “speak” it is the only one that means to simply talk. Other Greek words translated “speak” can mean “preach”, or “teach”, but laleo just means to simply talk.
In this opinion, it is said that due to these translations, women were not prohibited from contributing to the services, or teaching or speaking, they were just being asked not to socialize during the service.
Personally, this opinion makes a lot of sense with me. It makes more sense in context, because in verse 26 Paul says that everyone should come with something to contribute. In the Greek, the word “everyone” means man and woman. Paul prohibiting women from speaking seems very contrary to a lot of the things he teaches. It seems like the heart of his ministry is equality among people; Jews and Gentiles, slaves and free, man and woman. To me, this opinion sounds more like Paul, and more like God. This is just my personal thought, not fact.
3. Opinion #4:
This is a fascinating opinion. I don’t know what to think of it, but it’s worth being aware of.
In Greek, there are no quotation marks.
Hmmm.
In the New Testament, we hear a lot of cases where people quote scripture, other people, or popular belief. All of the times we see quotations, it is because the translators have assumed them due to context.
In Corinthians, Paul is exposing a lot of wrong beliefs. Perhaps verse 34 is a quotation from a popular belief. It would seem that this would be a Judaic quotation because women were assumed to be married, and it was assumed that the husbands were knowledgeable enough to answer questions about scripture. This wouldn’t denote a Gentile, but a Jew.
People have assumed that, since verse 34 is so unlike what Paul would say, that he is quoting a popular belief.
What makes this a little more probable, is the word he uses following verse 34. In Greek, it looks like and “e” with a line over it. It is translated “what?”. It can also mean “nonsense!” and is used in many places when Paul is refuting beliefs that he disagrees with. He uses this “e” word in 1 Corinthians 6:1-2, 6:9, 6:16, 6:19, 9:6, 9:8-10, 10:22, 11:13.
In this opinion, verse 34 is not a commandment, it is a belief to avoid. Paul goes on to say, perhaps just to the men “What? came the word of God out from you? or came it unto you only?”
To me personally, this makes sense, contextually, and theologically. It would follow the way Paul talks, especially in this book. It would follow what Paul teaches, and it would follow the message of Christ. However, it is radical, and I am weary to adopt it as my own belief. I will have to study more about this. I brought it up because it is terribly interesting.
Think about these things, chew on them, ask people about them, find resources and study them. Pray about them. Seek truth. What do you think?
Showing posts with label Writings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Writings. Show all posts
Friday, October 24, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
IV.
IV. What Do Scriptures Say?
When we are bombarded with different opinions from the philosophers, culture, Rabbis, teachers, media, friends, the only safe place to go to find the truth is the Bible. I'm not saying this because I'm a Christian. I'm saying this because the Bible has proved itself countless times, historically, spiritually, and even logically. The Way the Bible points us in, I've found, is the Way that works the best, makes the most sense in my heart, and relates the most to who I am at the very core of me. You, of course, are free to find this out on your own. Dig into the Books and find that truth for yourself.
A. Interpretations
1. When talking about different interpretations of the Bible, I've heard people say things like, "Well, I just take scripture for what it is. It says what it says. I don't read anything in to it." This is a good thing. It does say what it says, and it's dangerous to read any of your own agendas in to it. It would be awful to follow a wrong truth just because it suits you better. However, to what degree can we really just "take the Bible for what it is" ? Almost everything it says has to be interpreted. And actually, every word in it HAS been interpreted....into Latin, and then into English. Unfortunately, we cannot hide from the responsibility to interpret it. When you say, "I love you" I have to interpret that. Do you love me like you love cupcakes? Do you love me like you love a friend? Do you love me romantically? Context, and a previous knowledge of who you are helps me determine what you mean. I interpret your words, and then I choose whether or not to believe them.
Now, let's look at the Bible. The New Testament was written in Greek, the Old in Hebrew. Men made interpretations and translated it into Latin. Then more men interpreted that and translated it into English. Then even MORE men interpreted that and translated it into modern version. Add that to thousands of years of cultural changes, and you have the Bible as it reads today.
All this to say, I want to add that I trust the Bible completely. Yes, completely. However, sometimes I read something that trips a wire in my brain or my heart, and I feel like it's a wise thing to do to look things up in the original language. I usually find, in those cases, that the original word communicates something different, something that may seem to line up more with who God really is.
The only way to just "read the Bible for what it is" is if you read Greek or Hebrew. The very best we can to today is to read the Bible with our hearts, and with a basic knowledge of who God is.
2. Sometimes the Bible is hard to read because the language is so formal. It's not how we talk. It's not written like and exciting fiction book. Don't let the vernacular of the Bible fool you into thinking God is rigid, formal and too holy to approach. The New Testament was written in the street language of the day. It was written in the casual language of the markets so that everyone could understand it. The language is called Koine Greek. God wants you to understand the scriptures. He wants to communicate with you casually, like a friend. He is approachable. With a little practice, the Bible is too.
B. Concordance: A concordance is a book that tells you what each word in the Bible translates to in the Greek or Hebrew, and defines the original word. FUN!!
When I discovered concordances it was like Christmas. There was so much truth at my fingertips. I dug and dug and dug. I usually found that the translators did a terrific job at holding true to original meanings. Usually the original words just added a new "deep" to scriptures I knew. But, occasionally, there are words that will shock you. These are things every Christian should be aware of, so that they can decide for themselves, with God's guidance, what truth is.
C. Cultural Context
1. The Bible was written in a very different time from now. Laws, governmental, spiritual, and social were often wildly different. Much of the New Testament is letters; letters written to dear friends. We also have to take into account conversational context.
2. I believe that everything the Bible says is valid for today. However, to get the most out of it, we have to read it with an understanding of the context. Doing this will either simply give you a deeper understanding of scripture, or present to you entirely new ideas that you then have to take to God, and people you trust.
a. Example: When Jesus said to His disciples, "Come and follow me" he was saying something very beautiful. Jewish children would go to school and learn and memorize the Torah. If they had reached the highest level, which was an honor and very hard to do, they would be eligible to apprentice under a Rabbi. Children who didn't make it that far, which was the majority, went home to learn the family business. If you DID make it to the top of the class, the Rabbi, if he thought you were able to mimmick and be like him, and if he thought you were good enough, would say "Come and follow me." This was the highest honor.
Jesus' disciples were not Rabbis, they were not scholars, they were not in school. They didn't make it that far. He said "Come and follow me." This meant he believed that they could be like him. It was a high honor to apprentice under the Rabbi. Wow. Cool huh?
D. Translating
As a class, we are going to learn to use a concordance and look up some controversial scriptures. We are going to start in Ephesians 5. Students, please discuss what you learn with your parents, and test it in your own hearts. You'll learn some controversial things, and I don't want you to believe it just because I do. I want to believe what you believe with strength and surity. You need to own your beliefs, not just rent them.
1. Ephesians 5: 21-33 "Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church— for we are members of his body. For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband."
When I first read that, I thought, "How could God put one person over another if we're all equal to him?"
Let's look it up.
a.Look up "head". It is kephale. The definition reads “from the primary kapto (in the sense of seizing); the head (as the part most readily taken hold of), literally or figuratively:--head.”
Paul did NOT use the word arche which means “(properly abstract) a commencement, or (concretely) chief (in various applications of order, time, place, or rank):--beginning, corner, (at the, the) first (estate), magistrate, power, principality, principle, rule.”
The word kephale was also a military term meaning “spearhead”. This was the first person into battle.
This helps us understand what Paul really meant to say. He specifically avoided a word that meant chief, magistrate, power or ruler. But of course! Christians are told to be in submission to each other. How could a man submit to a woman if he was her ruler? No, he is the head of the woman in the same sense that Christ is the head of the church. Christ is the first into battle for us. He is the part most readily taken hold of. He gave up His life for us because He loves us so much. He came not to be served, but to serve. He doesn’t call us servants, He calls us friends.
Paul, carefully choosing not to say arche, was saying something quite different from Artistotle’s analogy.
b. Look up “submit yourselves” It is hupotasso “from 5259 and 5021; to subordinate; reflexively, to obey:--be under obedience (obedient), put under, subdue unto, (be, make) subject (to, unto), be (put) in subjection (to, under), submit self unto.”
He did not say peitharcheo, which means “from a compound of 3982 and 757; to be persuaded by a ruler, i.e. (genitive case) to submit to authority; by analogy, to conform to advice:--hearken, obey (magistrates).” We are told to peitarcheo God, though.
Also note that Paul did not tell husbands to hupotasso their wives. He told wives to hupotasso themselves. It is a voluntary choice. He didn’t say that wives ARE hupotasso to their husbands. He was not describing the state of women. He was making an appeal to them.
This was also a military term at the time. This bit of information touches me very much. When a solider failed to join the others, or held back during an advance, a captain might order him to hupotasso. It meant “join the ranks.”
Also note, that when Paul says we are all to submit to each other, the word is hupotasso. We are not supposed to rank ourselves. We are to care for each other. Jesus set the ultimate example of servant hood. Being a servant doesn’t make you less in rank. It certainly didn’t make Jesus less in rank.
Paul says that all the church should be hupotasso to God, and also wives to husbands. In my opinion, this is common sense. If I am supposed to serve God and others, OF COURSE my husband is in there too!
c. Look up “love”. It means agapeo which is the verb form of agape which means “ love, i.e. affection or benevolence; specially (plural) a love-feast:--(feast of) charity(-ably), dear, love.”
Paul did not say phileo, which means feeling fondness or deep liking.
Paul did not say erao, which means a sexual desire.
Agape is not so much a feeling, but an action. It’s the most frequently used form of “love” in the New Testament.
This same word is used in commandments to love our neighbors, our enemies, and God.
Husbands are supposed to love their wives like they are supposed to love God, and like God loves us, and like Christians are supposed to love each other.
Both agape and hupotasso involve giving up your own interests to care for another person. This would make a beautiful marriage, and a beautiful church. In fact, if all believers did this, instead of arguing over who is better and who is leader and who is supposed to obey and who is suppose to lead, we would be a much more inspiring example of love to the world.
d. Conclusion
Paul was not advocating Aristotle’s analogy. He was challenging it. I personally believe that Paul was a champion of sexual equality. His careful choice of words makes me smile, because they are a subtle challenge to what Aristotle and the philosophers said. I think it’s a shame that we read his words through the eyes of Aristotle.
I’ve heard some men use this scripture to demand that he is better than women, and that women should obey them. Now, to demand service is not love at all, is it? To do this, is to do the opposite of what Paul asked.
As Christians, male and female, we should all love and submit to each other. No man should force or even expect a woman to obey him. He should love her. No woman should demand love. She should serve, like God serves the church.
Think how similar it is to love someone in your actions and to serve someone with your actions. Quite similar, indeed! The responsibility is on both the husband and the wife to serve, love, and respect. I think the way we’ve interpreted this scripture in the past has created many miserable and unheathy relationships. It’s made women sad and unfulfilled, and it has made husbands lonely and unsatisfied. Let’s all love, respect and serve each other.
Paul could pay no greater honor to marriage than he did, patterning it after the bond between the Savior and those whom he loved more than life itself.
When we are bombarded with different opinions from the philosophers, culture, Rabbis, teachers, media, friends, the only safe place to go to find the truth is the Bible. I'm not saying this because I'm a Christian. I'm saying this because the Bible has proved itself countless times, historically, spiritually, and even logically. The Way the Bible points us in, I've found, is the Way that works the best, makes the most sense in my heart, and relates the most to who I am at the very core of me. You, of course, are free to find this out on your own. Dig into the Books and find that truth for yourself.
A. Interpretations
1. When talking about different interpretations of the Bible, I've heard people say things like, "Well, I just take scripture for what it is. It says what it says. I don't read anything in to it." This is a good thing. It does say what it says, and it's dangerous to read any of your own agendas in to it. It would be awful to follow a wrong truth just because it suits you better. However, to what degree can we really just "take the Bible for what it is" ? Almost everything it says has to be interpreted. And actually, every word in it HAS been interpreted....into Latin, and then into English. Unfortunately, we cannot hide from the responsibility to interpret it. When you say, "I love you" I have to interpret that. Do you love me like you love cupcakes? Do you love me like you love a friend? Do you love me romantically? Context, and a previous knowledge of who you are helps me determine what you mean. I interpret your words, and then I choose whether or not to believe them.
Now, let's look at the Bible. The New Testament was written in Greek, the Old in Hebrew. Men made interpretations and translated it into Latin. Then more men interpreted that and translated it into English. Then even MORE men interpreted that and translated it into modern version. Add that to thousands of years of cultural changes, and you have the Bible as it reads today.
All this to say, I want to add that I trust the Bible completely. Yes, completely. However, sometimes I read something that trips a wire in my brain or my heart, and I feel like it's a wise thing to do to look things up in the original language. I usually find, in those cases, that the original word communicates something different, something that may seem to line up more with who God really is.
The only way to just "read the Bible for what it is" is if you read Greek or Hebrew. The very best we can to today is to read the Bible with our hearts, and with a basic knowledge of who God is.
2. Sometimes the Bible is hard to read because the language is so formal. It's not how we talk. It's not written like and exciting fiction book. Don't let the vernacular of the Bible fool you into thinking God is rigid, formal and too holy to approach. The New Testament was written in the street language of the day. It was written in the casual language of the markets so that everyone could understand it. The language is called Koine Greek. God wants you to understand the scriptures. He wants to communicate with you casually, like a friend. He is approachable. With a little practice, the Bible is too.
B. Concordance: A concordance is a book that tells you what each word in the Bible translates to in the Greek or Hebrew, and defines the original word. FUN!!
When I discovered concordances it was like Christmas. There was so much truth at my fingertips. I dug and dug and dug. I usually found that the translators did a terrific job at holding true to original meanings. Usually the original words just added a new "deep" to scriptures I knew. But, occasionally, there are words that will shock you. These are things every Christian should be aware of, so that they can decide for themselves, with God's guidance, what truth is.
C. Cultural Context
1. The Bible was written in a very different time from now. Laws, governmental, spiritual, and social were often wildly different. Much of the New Testament is letters; letters written to dear friends. We also have to take into account conversational context.
2. I believe that everything the Bible says is valid for today. However, to get the most out of it, we have to read it with an understanding of the context. Doing this will either simply give you a deeper understanding of scripture, or present to you entirely new ideas that you then have to take to God, and people you trust.
a. Example: When Jesus said to His disciples, "Come and follow me" he was saying something very beautiful. Jewish children would go to school and learn and memorize the Torah. If they had reached the highest level, which was an honor and very hard to do, they would be eligible to apprentice under a Rabbi. Children who didn't make it that far, which was the majority, went home to learn the family business. If you DID make it to the top of the class, the Rabbi, if he thought you were able to mimmick and be like him, and if he thought you were good enough, would say "Come and follow me." This was the highest honor.
Jesus' disciples were not Rabbis, they were not scholars, they were not in school. They didn't make it that far. He said "Come and follow me." This meant he believed that they could be like him. It was a high honor to apprentice under the Rabbi. Wow. Cool huh?
D. Translating
As a class, we are going to learn to use a concordance and look up some controversial scriptures. We are going to start in Ephesians 5. Students, please discuss what you learn with your parents, and test it in your own hearts. You'll learn some controversial things, and I don't want you to believe it just because I do. I want to believe what you believe with strength and surity. You need to own your beliefs, not just rent them.
1. Ephesians 5: 21-33 "Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church— for we are members of his body. For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband."
When I first read that, I thought, "How could God put one person over another if we're all equal to him?"
Let's look it up.
a.Look up "head". It is kephale. The definition reads “from the primary kapto (in the sense of seizing); the head (as the part most readily taken hold of), literally or figuratively:--head.”
Paul did NOT use the word arche which means “(properly abstract) a commencement, or (concretely) chief (in various applications of order, time, place, or rank):--beginning, corner, (at the, the) first (estate), magistrate, power, principality, principle, rule.”
The word kephale was also a military term meaning “spearhead”. This was the first person into battle.
This helps us understand what Paul really meant to say. He specifically avoided a word that meant chief, magistrate, power or ruler. But of course! Christians are told to be in submission to each other. How could a man submit to a woman if he was her ruler? No, he is the head of the woman in the same sense that Christ is the head of the church. Christ is the first into battle for us. He is the part most readily taken hold of. He gave up His life for us because He loves us so much. He came not to be served, but to serve. He doesn’t call us servants, He calls us friends.
Paul, carefully choosing not to say arche, was saying something quite different from Artistotle’s analogy.
b. Look up “submit yourselves” It is hupotasso “from 5259 and 5021; to subordinate; reflexively, to obey:--be under obedience (obedient), put under, subdue unto, (be, make) subject (to, unto), be (put) in subjection (to, under), submit self unto.”
He did not say peitharcheo, which means “from a compound of 3982 and 757; to be persuaded by a ruler, i.e. (genitive case) to submit to authority; by analogy, to conform to advice:--hearken, obey (magistrates).” We are told to peitarcheo God, though.
Also note that Paul did not tell husbands to hupotasso their wives. He told wives to hupotasso themselves. It is a voluntary choice. He didn’t say that wives ARE hupotasso to their husbands. He was not describing the state of women. He was making an appeal to them.
This was also a military term at the time. This bit of information touches me very much. When a solider failed to join the others, or held back during an advance, a captain might order him to hupotasso. It meant “join the ranks.”
Also note, that when Paul says we are all to submit to each other, the word is hupotasso. We are not supposed to rank ourselves. We are to care for each other. Jesus set the ultimate example of servant hood. Being a servant doesn’t make you less in rank. It certainly didn’t make Jesus less in rank.
Paul says that all the church should be hupotasso to God, and also wives to husbands. In my opinion, this is common sense. If I am supposed to serve God and others, OF COURSE my husband is in there too!
c. Look up “love”. It means agapeo which is the verb form of agape which means “ love, i.e. affection or benevolence; specially (plural) a love-feast:--(feast of) charity(-ably), dear, love.”
Paul did not say phileo, which means feeling fondness or deep liking.
Paul did not say erao, which means a sexual desire.
Agape is not so much a feeling, but an action. It’s the most frequently used form of “love” in the New Testament.
This same word is used in commandments to love our neighbors, our enemies, and God.
Husbands are supposed to love their wives like they are supposed to love God, and like God loves us, and like Christians are supposed to love each other.
Both agape and hupotasso involve giving up your own interests to care for another person. This would make a beautiful marriage, and a beautiful church. In fact, if all believers did this, instead of arguing over who is better and who is leader and who is supposed to obey and who is suppose to lead, we would be a much more inspiring example of love to the world.
d. Conclusion
Paul was not advocating Aristotle’s analogy. He was challenging it. I personally believe that Paul was a champion of sexual equality. His careful choice of words makes me smile, because they are a subtle challenge to what Aristotle and the philosophers said. I think it’s a shame that we read his words through the eyes of Aristotle.
I’ve heard some men use this scripture to demand that he is better than women, and that women should obey them. Now, to demand service is not love at all, is it? To do this, is to do the opposite of what Paul asked.
As Christians, male and female, we should all love and submit to each other. No man should force or even expect a woman to obey him. He should love her. No woman should demand love. She should serve, like God serves the church.
Think how similar it is to love someone in your actions and to serve someone with your actions. Quite similar, indeed! The responsibility is on both the husband and the wife to serve, love, and respect. I think the way we’ve interpreted this scripture in the past has created many miserable and unheathy relationships. It’s made women sad and unfulfilled, and it has made husbands lonely and unsatisfied. Let’s all love, respect and serve each other.
Paul could pay no greater honor to marriage than he did, patterning it after the bond between the Savior and those whom he loved more than life itself.
Monday, October 20, 2008
III.
III. Devaluation of Women Today
A. Media
Watch MTV for a few minutes, or listen to a few minutes of hip hop, and you'll find that the devaluation of women still continues today.
In today's culture, it's impossible to avoid the media, so we must be aware of lies in the media so that we will not believe them.
1. The average young TV viewer will see about 14,000 references to sex each year. Teens themselves say that TV, as well as movies and other media, are some of their leading sources of information about sex and sexuality. But do these images give people realistic, healthy, equality-minded views of sex?
a.Of the roughly 14,0000 references to sex a teen would see on TV each year, only a about 165 will include any reference to abstinence or delay of sex, birth control, risk of pregnancy, or sexually transmitted disease.
b.MTV, regularly includes girls and women in the traditional role of sex object. Girls and women who are serious musicians (excluding singers) are rarely featured.
c. A study of video games found that the few female characters in those games are often highly sexualized—wearing tight revealing clothing and having unrealistically large breasts and distorted small waists. Video games and other media sometimes use prostitutes as characters that are targets for the male hero. In a game from the Duke Nukem series, prostitutes are forced to strip and are then killed. In the number one selling video game for 2001, Grand Auto Theft III, the player can clobber a prostitute with a baseball bat with a new game technique that allows the player to feel he or she is really doing this.
d.The average North American girl will watch 5,000 hours of television, including 80,000 ads, before she starts kindergarten. In the United States, Saturday morning cartoons alone come with 33 commercials per hour. Commercials aimed at kids spend 55 per cent of their time showing boys building, fixing toys, or fighting. They show girls, on the other hand, spending 77 per cent of their time laughing, talking, or observing others. And while boys in commercials are shown out of the house 85 per cent of the time, more than half of the commercials featuring girls place them in the home.
B. It Sells
1. Obviously, in advertising, women’s bodies are used sexually to sell products more often than men’s.
2. A 1997 advertising study showed that white women in roughly 62% of ads were "scantily clad", in bikinis, underwear, etc, while the same was true for 53% of black women. For men, the figure was only 25%. Women were also represented in stances of powerlessness more often, and black women were likely to be featured in animal prints, in predatory poses.
3.Women who are insecure about their bodies are more likely to buy beauty products, new clothes, and diet aids.
a. It is estimated that the diet industry alone is worth anywhere between 40 to 100 billion (U.S.) a year selling temporary weight loss (90 to 95% of dieters regain the lost weight).
b.Researchers report that women’s magazines have ten and one-half times more ads and articles promoting weight loss than men’s magazines do, and over three-quarters of the covers of women’s magazines include at least one message about how to change a woman’s bodily appearance—by diet, exercise or cosmetic surgery.However, advertising rules the marketplace and in advertising thin is "in." Twenty years ago, the average model weighed 8 per cent less than the average woman—but today’s models weigh 23 per cent less.
4. Research indicates that exposure to images of thin, young, air-brushed female bodies is linked to depression, loss of self-esteem and the development of unhealthy eating habits in women and girls.
a. The American research group Anorexia Nervosa & Related Eating Disorders, Inc. says that one out of every four college-aged women uses unhealthy methods of weight control—including fasting, skipping meals, excessive exercise, laxative abuse, and self-induced vomiting.
b.The pressure to be thin is also affecting young girls. Weight control measures are now being taken by girls as young as 5 and 6. Several studies indicate that nearly half of all preadolescent girls wish to be thinner, and as a result have engaged in a diet or are aware of the concept of dieting.
c. In 2003, Teen magazine reported that 35 per cent of girls 6 to 12 years old have been on at least one diet, and that 50 to 70 per cent of normal weight girls believe they are overweight. Overall research indicates that 90% of women are dissatisfied with their appearance in some way.
The barrage of messages about thinness, dieting and beauty tells "ordinary" women that they are always in need of adjustment—and that the female body is an object to be perfected
Women become sexual objects when their bodies and their sexuality are linked to products that are bought and sold.
Women’s bodies are often dismembered into legs, breasts or thighs, reinforcing the message that women are objects rather than whole human beings.
Messages about weight loss are often placed next to messages about men and relationships. Some of her examples: "Get the Body You Really Want" beside "How to Get Your Husband to Really Listen," and "Stay Skinny" paired with "What Men Really Want."
C. Unattainable
1. In movies, body doubles are often used to substitute for "imperfect" female movie stars (such as America’s favorite actress Julia Roberts, in one of America’s favorite movies, Pretty Woman.) Eighty-five percent of these body doubles have breast implants
2.Researchers generating a computer model of a woman with Barbie-doll proportions found that her back would be too weak to support the weight of her upper body, and her body would be too narrow to contain more than half a liver and a few centimeters of bowel. A real woman built that way would suffer from chronic diarrhea and eventually die from malnutrition. Jill Barad president of Mattel estimated that 99% of girls aged 3 to 10 years old own at least one Barbie doll.
3.The survey found two thirds of women who are size 14 also thought they were overweight or fat.
4.Even with the celebrity emphasis on being size zero, fewer than one in a hundred of those surveyed said they were that size.
In today's culture, women are free to enjoy full rights and freedoms, but this doesn't mean that women are viewed as equal. Every time I turn on my radio I hear songs encouraging the idea that women are objects, and the more "beautiful", the more valuable. Every time I buy groceries I see airbrushed pictures of women next to ads that tell me to loose weight so that I can be the "real" me. Every time I go online, I see diet ads and pictures of young, underweight girls. Half of my girl friends had sex before they were 17. All of my girl friends dieted even though they wore size 5 jeans. I've had men (not Jake) encourage me to wear more make up, bleach my hair, get contacts, wear more fashionable clothes, and straighten my hair....before I was even 15. At the age of 13, a few of my guy friends told me I was a more desirable girlfriend than my friends because I had to wear a bra. I grew up in a very Christian home. It still affected me. I was not aware of the lyes of the media, and I suffered from horrible self-esteem for a long time.
If, according to the philosophy of culture for thousands of years, I'm good for nothing but to be an object....and if, according to the media today, I am only a desirable object if I look a certain, unattainable way, then what hope is there for me? I see many girls suffer from this. They believe that their biggest worth is found in their bodies.
I believe that we need to discover two truths.
1. Our bodies are beautiful, naturally.
2. Our bodies are not what gives us worth, or value. If you use your body as advertising, you will attract men who will use you, not value you.
In the next lesson, we'll start talking about solutions, alternatives, and answers.
A. Media
Watch MTV for a few minutes, or listen to a few minutes of hip hop, and you'll find that the devaluation of women still continues today.
In today's culture, it's impossible to avoid the media, so we must be aware of lies in the media so that we will not believe them.
1. The average young TV viewer will see about 14,000 references to sex each year. Teens themselves say that TV, as well as movies and other media, are some of their leading sources of information about sex and sexuality. But do these images give people realistic, healthy, equality-minded views of sex?
a.Of the roughly 14,0000 references to sex a teen would see on TV each year, only a about 165 will include any reference to abstinence or delay of sex, birth control, risk of pregnancy, or sexually transmitted disease.
b.MTV, regularly includes girls and women in the traditional role of sex object. Girls and women who are serious musicians (excluding singers) are rarely featured.
c. A study of video games found that the few female characters in those games are often highly sexualized—wearing tight revealing clothing and having unrealistically large breasts and distorted small waists. Video games and other media sometimes use prostitutes as characters that are targets for the male hero. In a game from the Duke Nukem series, prostitutes are forced to strip and are then killed. In the number one selling video game for 2001, Grand Auto Theft III, the player can clobber a prostitute with a baseball bat with a new game technique that allows the player to feel he or she is really doing this.
d.The average North American girl will watch 5,000 hours of television, including 80,000 ads, before she starts kindergarten. In the United States, Saturday morning cartoons alone come with 33 commercials per hour. Commercials aimed at kids spend 55 per cent of their time showing boys building, fixing toys, or fighting. They show girls, on the other hand, spending 77 per cent of their time laughing, talking, or observing others. And while boys in commercials are shown out of the house 85 per cent of the time, more than half of the commercials featuring girls place them in the home.
B. It Sells
1. Obviously, in advertising, women’s bodies are used sexually to sell products more often than men’s.
2. A 1997 advertising study showed that white women in roughly 62% of ads were "scantily clad", in bikinis, underwear, etc, while the same was true for 53% of black women. For men, the figure was only 25%. Women were also represented in stances of powerlessness more often, and black women were likely to be featured in animal prints, in predatory poses.
3.Women who are insecure about their bodies are more likely to buy beauty products, new clothes, and diet aids.
a. It is estimated that the diet industry alone is worth anywhere between 40 to 100 billion (U.S.) a year selling temporary weight loss (90 to 95% of dieters regain the lost weight).
b.Researchers report that women’s magazines have ten and one-half times more ads and articles promoting weight loss than men’s magazines do, and over three-quarters of the covers of women’s magazines include at least one message about how to change a woman’s bodily appearance—by diet, exercise or cosmetic surgery.However, advertising rules the marketplace and in advertising thin is "in." Twenty years ago, the average model weighed 8 per cent less than the average woman—but today’s models weigh 23 per cent less.
4. Research indicates that exposure to images of thin, young, air-brushed female bodies is linked to depression, loss of self-esteem and the development of unhealthy eating habits in women and girls.
a. The American research group Anorexia Nervosa & Related Eating Disorders, Inc. says that one out of every four college-aged women uses unhealthy methods of weight control—including fasting, skipping meals, excessive exercise, laxative abuse, and self-induced vomiting.
b.The pressure to be thin is also affecting young girls. Weight control measures are now being taken by girls as young as 5 and 6. Several studies indicate that nearly half of all preadolescent girls wish to be thinner, and as a result have engaged in a diet or are aware of the concept of dieting.
c. In 2003, Teen magazine reported that 35 per cent of girls 6 to 12 years old have been on at least one diet, and that 50 to 70 per cent of normal weight girls believe they are overweight. Overall research indicates that 90% of women are dissatisfied with their appearance in some way.
The barrage of messages about thinness, dieting and beauty tells "ordinary" women that they are always in need of adjustment—and that the female body is an object to be perfected
Women become sexual objects when their bodies and their sexuality are linked to products that are bought and sold.
Women’s bodies are often dismembered into legs, breasts or thighs, reinforcing the message that women are objects rather than whole human beings.
Messages about weight loss are often placed next to messages about men and relationships. Some of her examples: "Get the Body You Really Want" beside "How to Get Your Husband to Really Listen," and "Stay Skinny" paired with "What Men Really Want."
C. Unattainable
1. In movies, body doubles are often used to substitute for "imperfect" female movie stars (such as America’s favorite actress Julia Roberts, in one of America’s favorite movies, Pretty Woman.) Eighty-five percent of these body doubles have breast implants
2.Researchers generating a computer model of a woman with Barbie-doll proportions found that her back would be too weak to support the weight of her upper body, and her body would be too narrow to contain more than half a liver and a few centimeters of bowel. A real woman built that way would suffer from chronic diarrhea and eventually die from malnutrition. Jill Barad president of Mattel estimated that 99% of girls aged 3 to 10 years old own at least one Barbie doll.
3.The survey found two thirds of women who are size 14 also thought they were overweight or fat.
4.Even with the celebrity emphasis on being size zero, fewer than one in a hundred of those surveyed said they were that size.
In today's culture, women are free to enjoy full rights and freedoms, but this doesn't mean that women are viewed as equal. Every time I turn on my radio I hear songs encouraging the idea that women are objects, and the more "beautiful", the more valuable. Every time I buy groceries I see airbrushed pictures of women next to ads that tell me to loose weight so that I can be the "real" me. Every time I go online, I see diet ads and pictures of young, underweight girls. Half of my girl friends had sex before they were 17. All of my girl friends dieted even though they wore size 5 jeans. I've had men (not Jake) encourage me to wear more make up, bleach my hair, get contacts, wear more fashionable clothes, and straighten my hair....before I was even 15. At the age of 13, a few of my guy friends told me I was a more desirable girlfriend than my friends because I had to wear a bra. I grew up in a very Christian home. It still affected me. I was not aware of the lyes of the media, and I suffered from horrible self-esteem for a long time.
If, according to the philosophy of culture for thousands of years, I'm good for nothing but to be an object....and if, according to the media today, I am only a desirable object if I look a certain, unattainable way, then what hope is there for me? I see many girls suffer from this. They believe that their biggest worth is found in their bodies.
I believe that we need to discover two truths.
1. Our bodies are beautiful, naturally.
2. Our bodies are not what gives us worth, or value. If you use your body as advertising, you will attract men who will use you, not value you.
In the next lesson, we'll start talking about solutions, alternatives, and answers.
Friday, October 17, 2008
II.
II. Women throughout history
Today I'm teaching about women throughout history so that we can have better insight into the ideas that affect us today, either positively or negatively.
Objective: To show that some ideas about women are unfair and untrue, and to try to shed some light on where these ideas have come from.
A. The Garden of Eden
1. As we read in Gen.2, it was not good for man to be alone, so God made a help meet for him. This word for help meet in the Hebrew is "Ezer". When it is not referring to Eve, it appears 17 times in the Old Testament and refers to God. To me, that means that I am not necessarily beneath man, as his servant or slave, but that I am a much needed helper. That my husband depends on me as much as I depend on him.
2. Many people have used the happenings in the story of Adam and Eve to say that women are beneath men.
a. Adam was made first, therefore, he is dominant.
i. perhaps men are dominant, but this is a terrible reason to conclude that. Wouldn't then cows be dominant to man? And then fish to cows? The Bible is full of examples where the younger and the last exceed the first or older. This is not to say that the first is not always dominant, or that the last is always dominant. It is a person's personality and God's calling that makes a person a leader, not whether or not they came first.
b. Eve sinned first, therefore women are more easily led astray, and are the cause of sin in the world.
i. Eve was deceived, she was tricked and cheated. The Bible does not show that she directly heard God say not to eat of the fruit. Adam, however, heard the command straight from God's mouth. I've heard people say, Eve was just tricked, Adam sinned. It isn't good to say that one sinned MORE than the other. They both sinned. Not just Adam, not just Eve. God didn't let either of them off the hook.
ii. I've heard people say that the serpent tempted Eve because she was weaker. I've heard people argue that the serpent tempted Eve because she was stronger and needed the full force of the tempter, whereas Adam just needed his wife to tempt him. I think these are both a childish way to assume anything. The bottom line is, they both fell.
iii. What I get out of the story when I hear that Eve was led away and tempted is not that women are weaker or stronger than men, but that we need each other for moral support and to hold each other accountable. They provide each other with moral
fortitude.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 9 Two are better than one,because they have a good return for their work:If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone?Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves.A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
c. God told Eve that her desire will be for her husband and he will rule over her.
i. This is, of course, true. Clear as day, scriptural quote.
ii. I believe that as believers redeemed from the curse by Jesus' payment on the cross, that He brought freedom and healing into all aspects of life, including relationships. I believe that woman can once again be the "Ezer" that God originally intended her to be, and that this would benefit and bring joy to man much, much more.
B. Jewish Culture
Despite examples of capable women in the Old Testament, Rabbis often devalued women in their teachings. A few Rabbis didn't, but most did.
1. One Rabbi taught, " a woman has more pleasure is one kab (measure) with lechery than in nine kabs with modesty."
2. Jesus ben Sirach said, "Do not look upon any one for beauty, and do not sit in the midst of women, for from the garments comes the moth, and from a woman comes a woman's wickedness. Better is the wickedness of 3 man than a woman who does good; and it is a woman who brings shame and disgrace."
4. One Rabbi said that "It is better to see the Torah burned than to hear it's words on the
lips of a woman."
5. One Rabbi said "If a man gives his daughter a knowledge of the Law, it is as if he taught her lechery."
6. From very early in history, women has had a bad reputation.
C. Athens
1. Socrates (A Greek philosopher)
a. Said that woman was halfway between a man and an animal.
b. Referred to women as the weaker sex.
c. Seemed at times to advocate women sharing the same duties as men, but said that men are far better at all things than women.
e. Socrates taught Plato, who taught Aristotle, who taught Alexander the Great, who brought the whole Western world under his command and sought to instill Greek philosophy in the minds of all people.
2. Aristotle
a. Said, "The courage of a man is shown in commanding, of a woman in obeying."
b. He was the one who proposed the thought that man is to wife as soul is to body. He used this analogy to also define the roles of slaves and masters. In his analogy, the soul is to command the body and not be ruled by the body's impulses and desires. We see this analogy pop up all over the place. I believe, even in interpretations of scripture.
3. Zeno
a. founder of the Stoics
b. Objected to men using women as objects, but not out of respect for women. He objected because he said women distracted men from learning about philosophy.
c. He said sex should be only for procreation.
d. Epictetus, a stoic philosopher taught that women, from the age of 14, think of nothing and aim at nothing but lying with men.
e. Stoics taught that women were a distraction, and to be avoided.
4. Plutarch
a. He praised men who bestowed upon their wives he same worth and dignity that they showed to their horses.
b. He taught that women are to be faithful, but he praised husbands who were thoughtful enough to send their wives away before they engaged in orgies with other women.
c. He said a wives two great duties were to keep at home and be silent.
5. Double Standard in Greek thought
a. the classic period gave the idea that women are inferior, and to be used by men.
b. the Stoics have the idea that women are a distraction, temptation, and are to be avoided.
6. Women in Athens
a. wives were completely secluded, and could not appear in public.
b. Pericles said that it was best if a wife was never even spoken of.
c. Xenophon said a wife should be one who "might see as little, hear as little, and ask as little as possible."
d. Men in Athens had courtisans for their pleasure. Courtisans were the only ones who could learn philosophy. Men had temple prostitutes for their daily use, and wives to bear legitimate children.
D. Women in the Age of Paul
1. The farther from Athens, the freer the women.
2. Women were referred to as a husbands "comrad and cooperator." and could attend public affairs.
3. The Egyptians were much better to their women. Tombs have pictures of husbands and wives holding hands. Sometimes men would stay home while women went to the markets.
4. Even in Rome, however, baby girls were left to die of exposure. Women with no inheritance had to be prostitutes. The Roman word for prostitute is "meretrix" and translates, "she who earns." This suggests that prostitution was the only was for a woman to earn money.
5. Roman boys were taught by Greek tudors, especially the Stoics. One teacher, Lucretius, said that love should be eradicated as soon as the first signs of it are felt. And to do this by focusing on the faults of the woman and realizing that physically, all women are the same.
E. Hellenization
Hellenization refers to the process of influencing the world with Greek thought.
1. The Essenes were the authors of the dead sea scrolls. They, like the Stoics, believed that women were a hinderance. The "best" Essenes were celibate. They abhorred sexuality.
2. Philo
a. A Jewish scholar who gave formal sanction to the Hellenization of Jewish thought. He sought to harmonize the Old Testament with the teachings of the philosophers. He imposed Greek distain of women into scripture.
b. He taught Aristotle's analogy. He said that there is in the soul a male and a female element. And that the male assigns himself to God only, and the female "clings to all that is born and perishes; it stretches out its faculties like a hand to catch blindly at what comes in its way, and gives the clasp of friendship to the world of created things with all its numberless changes and transmutations, instead of to the divine order, the immutable, the blessed, the thrice happy.
c. He thought that when scripture said that man will leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife, that it meant that man left God when he cleaved to a wife.
d. He agreed with the Essene ideal of celibacy, arguing alongside the Stoics that "a wife is a selfish creature...adept at beguiling the morals of her husband."
3. Josephus (A Jewsish historian one generation after Philo)
a. He wrote that the wife "is inferior to her husband in all things."
b. He didn't even think women should be allowed to give testimony in court on account of their levity and the boldness of their sex.
4. Christianity
a. The Gentiles and Jews that Paul converted brought with them their distain of women. I believe this greatly affects the way we read his words today.
b. Tertullian (160-230) was a leading defender of Christianity. He said to women "Do you not know that you are each an Eve? The sentence of God on this sex of yours lives in this age: the guilt must of necessity live too. You are the Devil's gateway: You are the unsealer of the forbidden tree: You are the first deserter of the divine law: You are she who persuaded him whom the devil was not valiant enough to attack. You destroyed so easily God's image, man. On account of your desert even the Son of God had to die." He was schooled in Stoic philosophy.
c. Saint Augustine regarded marriage as a "covenant with death." Both he and Saint Jerome, who translated the Bible into Latin) regarded celibacy more holy than marriage. He said, " What is the difference whether it is in a wife or a mother, it is still Eve the temptress that we must beware of in any woman......I fail to see what use woman can be to man, if one excludes the function of bearing children."
d. Thomas Aquinas did more than any other to harmonize scripture with Greek thought. He solidly infused the depreciation of women into Christian thought. He said, "As regards the individual nature, woman is defective and misbegotten, for the active force in the male seed tends to the production of a perfect likeness in the masculine sex; while the production of woman comes from a defect in the active force or from some material indisposition, or even from some external influence."
e. Even Martin Luther said, "If they become tired or even die, that does not matter. Let them die in childbirth, that's why they are there"
f. Even today, orthodox Jewish men, in their daily morning prayer recite "Blessed be God King of the universe that Thou has not made me a woman."; Another prayer found in many Jewish prayer books: "Praised be God that he has not created me a Gentile. Praised be God that he has not created me a woman. Praised be God that he has not created me an ignoramus.";
F. Ultimately, it is my personal belief that God, who is Love, would not say these things about his creation. That he wants us to be in submission to each other. I believe women are saved from this depreciation because of Jesus died for our sin. We are no longer identified as sinners, or "Eve's" in that sense. Yes, we need to respect and submit to our husbands. Being submitted to my husband gives me great joy, he absolutely has my respect. Yes, we should never "rule" over our husbands.
People have said some very childish, unfair, and hurtful things about women. I've seen many women that hate God because they think He hates women. Women have not been treated like the children of God that they really are. I don't want any woman to think that the ideas listed above are true of them: that they were made to die in childbirth, that men are better than them at everything, that they are sinful creatures, that they are halfway between a man and an animal, that they are a distraction or an object to use for pleasure.
Women are wonderful, helpful and a blessing from God. But we will get in to that later. :)
Today I'm teaching about women throughout history so that we can have better insight into the ideas that affect us today, either positively or negatively.
Objective: To show that some ideas about women are unfair and untrue, and to try to shed some light on where these ideas have come from.
A. The Garden of Eden
1. As we read in Gen.2, it was not good for man to be alone, so God made a help meet for him. This word for help meet in the Hebrew is "Ezer". When it is not referring to Eve, it appears 17 times in the Old Testament and refers to God. To me, that means that I am not necessarily beneath man, as his servant or slave, but that I am a much needed helper. That my husband depends on me as much as I depend on him.
2. Many people have used the happenings in the story of Adam and Eve to say that women are beneath men.
a. Adam was made first, therefore, he is dominant.
i. perhaps men are dominant, but this is a terrible reason to conclude that. Wouldn't then cows be dominant to man? And then fish to cows? The Bible is full of examples where the younger and the last exceed the first or older. This is not to say that the first is not always dominant, or that the last is always dominant. It is a person's personality and God's calling that makes a person a leader, not whether or not they came first.
b. Eve sinned first, therefore women are more easily led astray, and are the cause of sin in the world.
i. Eve was deceived, she was tricked and cheated. The Bible does not show that she directly heard God say not to eat of the fruit. Adam, however, heard the command straight from God's mouth. I've heard people say, Eve was just tricked, Adam sinned. It isn't good to say that one sinned MORE than the other. They both sinned. Not just Adam, not just Eve. God didn't let either of them off the hook.
ii. I've heard people say that the serpent tempted Eve because she was weaker. I've heard people argue that the serpent tempted Eve because she was stronger and needed the full force of the tempter, whereas Adam just needed his wife to tempt him. I think these are both a childish way to assume anything. The bottom line is, they both fell.
iii. What I get out of the story when I hear that Eve was led away and tempted is not that women are weaker or stronger than men, but that we need each other for moral support and to hold each other accountable. They provide each other with moral
fortitude.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 9 Two are better than one,because they have a good return for their work:If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone?Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves.A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
c. God told Eve that her desire will be for her husband and he will rule over her.
i. This is, of course, true. Clear as day, scriptural quote.
ii. I believe that as believers redeemed from the curse by Jesus' payment on the cross, that He brought freedom and healing into all aspects of life, including relationships. I believe that woman can once again be the "Ezer" that God originally intended her to be, and that this would benefit and bring joy to man much, much more.
B. Jewish Culture
Despite examples of capable women in the Old Testament, Rabbis often devalued women in their teachings. A few Rabbis didn't, but most did.
1. One Rabbi taught, " a woman has more pleasure is one kab (measure) with lechery than in nine kabs with modesty."
2. Jesus ben Sirach said, "Do not look upon any one for beauty, and do not sit in the midst of women, for from the garments comes the moth, and from a woman comes a woman's wickedness. Better is the wickedness of 3 man than a woman who does good; and it is a woman who brings shame and disgrace."
4. One Rabbi said that "It is better to see the Torah burned than to hear it's words on the
lips of a woman."
5. One Rabbi said "If a man gives his daughter a knowledge of the Law, it is as if he taught her lechery."
6. From very early in history, women has had a bad reputation.
C. Athens
1. Socrates (A Greek philosopher)
a. Said that woman was halfway between a man and an animal.
b. Referred to women as the weaker sex.
c. Seemed at times to advocate women sharing the same duties as men, but said that men are far better at all things than women.
e. Socrates taught Plato, who taught Aristotle, who taught Alexander the Great, who brought the whole Western world under his command and sought to instill Greek philosophy in the minds of all people.
2. Aristotle
a. Said, "The courage of a man is shown in commanding, of a woman in obeying."
b. He was the one who proposed the thought that man is to wife as soul is to body. He used this analogy to also define the roles of slaves and masters. In his analogy, the soul is to command the body and not be ruled by the body's impulses and desires. We see this analogy pop up all over the place. I believe, even in interpretations of scripture.
3. Zeno
a. founder of the Stoics
b. Objected to men using women as objects, but not out of respect for women. He objected because he said women distracted men from learning about philosophy.
c. He said sex should be only for procreation.
d. Epictetus, a stoic philosopher taught that women, from the age of 14, think of nothing and aim at nothing but lying with men.
e. Stoics taught that women were a distraction, and to be avoided.
4. Plutarch
a. He praised men who bestowed upon their wives he same worth and dignity that they showed to their horses.
b. He taught that women are to be faithful, but he praised husbands who were thoughtful enough to send their wives away before they engaged in orgies with other women.
c. He said a wives two great duties were to keep at home and be silent.
5. Double Standard in Greek thought
a. the classic period gave the idea that women are inferior, and to be used by men.
b. the Stoics have the idea that women are a distraction, temptation, and are to be avoided.
6. Women in Athens
a. wives were completely secluded, and could not appear in public.
b. Pericles said that it was best if a wife was never even spoken of.
c. Xenophon said a wife should be one who "might see as little, hear as little, and ask as little as possible."
d. Men in Athens had courtisans for their pleasure. Courtisans were the only ones who could learn philosophy. Men had temple prostitutes for their daily use, and wives to bear legitimate children.
D. Women in the Age of Paul
1. The farther from Athens, the freer the women.
2. Women were referred to as a husbands "comrad and cooperator." and could attend public affairs.
3. The Egyptians were much better to their women. Tombs have pictures of husbands and wives holding hands. Sometimes men would stay home while women went to the markets.
4. Even in Rome, however, baby girls were left to die of exposure. Women with no inheritance had to be prostitutes. The Roman word for prostitute is "meretrix" and translates, "she who earns." This suggests that prostitution was the only was for a woman to earn money.
5. Roman boys were taught by Greek tudors, especially the Stoics. One teacher, Lucretius, said that love should be eradicated as soon as the first signs of it are felt. And to do this by focusing on the faults of the woman and realizing that physically, all women are the same.
E. Hellenization
Hellenization refers to the process of influencing the world with Greek thought.
1. The Essenes were the authors of the dead sea scrolls. They, like the Stoics, believed that women were a hinderance. The "best" Essenes were celibate. They abhorred sexuality.
2. Philo
a. A Jewish scholar who gave formal sanction to the Hellenization of Jewish thought. He sought to harmonize the Old Testament with the teachings of the philosophers. He imposed Greek distain of women into scripture.
b. He taught Aristotle's analogy. He said that there is in the soul a male and a female element. And that the male assigns himself to God only, and the female "clings to all that is born and perishes; it stretches out its faculties like a hand to catch blindly at what comes in its way, and gives the clasp of friendship to the world of created things with all its numberless changes and transmutations, instead of to the divine order, the immutable, the blessed, the thrice happy.
c. He thought that when scripture said that man will leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife, that it meant that man left God when he cleaved to a wife.
d. He agreed with the Essene ideal of celibacy, arguing alongside the Stoics that "a wife is a selfish creature...adept at beguiling the morals of her husband."
3. Josephus (A Jewsish historian one generation after Philo)
a. He wrote that the wife "is inferior to her husband in all things."
b. He didn't even think women should be allowed to give testimony in court on account of their levity and the boldness of their sex.
4. Christianity
a. The Gentiles and Jews that Paul converted brought with them their distain of women. I believe this greatly affects the way we read his words today.
b. Tertullian (160-230) was a leading defender of Christianity. He said to women "Do you not know that you are each an Eve? The sentence of God on this sex of yours lives in this age: the guilt must of necessity live too. You are the Devil's gateway: You are the unsealer of the forbidden tree: You are the first deserter of the divine law: You are she who persuaded him whom the devil was not valiant enough to attack. You destroyed so easily God's image, man. On account of your desert even the Son of God had to die." He was schooled in Stoic philosophy.
c. Saint Augustine regarded marriage as a "covenant with death." Both he and Saint Jerome, who translated the Bible into Latin) regarded celibacy more holy than marriage. He said, " What is the difference whether it is in a wife or a mother, it is still Eve the temptress that we must beware of in any woman......I fail to see what use woman can be to man, if one excludes the function of bearing children."
d. Thomas Aquinas did more than any other to harmonize scripture with Greek thought. He solidly infused the depreciation of women into Christian thought. He said, "As regards the individual nature, woman is defective and misbegotten, for the active force in the male seed tends to the production of a perfect likeness in the masculine sex; while the production of woman comes from a defect in the active force or from some material indisposition, or even from some external influence."
e. Even Martin Luther said, "If they become tired or even die, that does not matter. Let them die in childbirth, that's why they are there"
f. Even today, orthodox Jewish men, in their daily morning prayer recite "Blessed be God King of the universe that Thou has not made me a woman."; Another prayer found in many Jewish prayer books: "Praised be God that he has not created me a Gentile. Praised be God that he has not created me a woman. Praised be God that he has not created me an ignoramus.";
F. Ultimately, it is my personal belief that God, who is Love, would not say these things about his creation. That he wants us to be in submission to each other. I believe women are saved from this depreciation because of Jesus died for our sin. We are no longer identified as sinners, or "Eve's" in that sense. Yes, we need to respect and submit to our husbands. Being submitted to my husband gives me great joy, he absolutely has my respect. Yes, we should never "rule" over our husbands.
People have said some very childish, unfair, and hurtful things about women. I've seen many women that hate God because they think He hates women. Women have not been treated like the children of God that they really are. I don't want any woman to think that the ideas listed above are true of them: that they were made to die in childbirth, that men are better than them at everything, that they are sinful creatures, that they are halfway between a man and an animal, that they are a distraction or an object to use for pleasure.
Women are wonderful, helpful and a blessing from God. But we will get in to that later. :)
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Amelia's Extraordinary Egg
Amelia was a turtle dove, she lead a normal life,
She was an average citizen, she was an average wife.
She had ordinary feathers and an ordinary tail,
She nested in a normal tree, above and average trail.
But something quite extraordinary happened to this bird,
Which some say is impossible, and all say is absurd.
When all the other birds were laying ordinary eggs,
And hatching normal chicks with average beaks and tails and legs,
Amelia laid and egg that was about 3 times her size,
And the forest fussed and whispered of this abnormal surprise.
The turkey was most troubled for he'd heard time and again,
About eggs of this great volume and the fright that lurked within.
"A wild terradactyl! Oh!" He cried with knocking knees,
"He'll tear apart the forest if he's raised improperly!
You can't afford to feed him. No! As hungry as he'll get,
He'll gobble up his teacher while he learns the alphabet.
It's too much risky work, my dear, too terrible, so true,
Destroy that terradactyl egg before is ruins you!"
But Amelia was patient, for patient you must be,
When you wait for something wonderful, it's worth it, certainly.
Belle, the neighbor mallard duck had quite a different take,
From the years she'd spent with finer folk at parties on the lake.
She remembered all the wealthy nests built neatly near the lawn,
And was certain that the egg was nothing less than two twinned swans.
"We all know my social tenure, I was the diamond debutante,
I can teach them charm and manners, all the things twinned swans could want.
Swans are birds of upperclass, with slender necks and legs,
Why is it not in my nest? Surely I should have that egg.
I know the proper etiquette, I know the do's and don'ts,
I'll raise them up respectfully, and quite frankly dear, you won't."
But Amelia was patient, for patient you must be,
When you wait for something wonderful, it's worth it, certainly.
Now the bull snake eyed the egg with a certain sly agenda,
And decided that his diet could afford a slight addenda.
So he conjured up a tale, and dawned a sympathetic face,
And he slithered to Amelia to present his hopeful case.
"I regret to now inform you that the life you hope to bud,
Is just an empty shell, my dear. Your egg is just a dud.
That monster of a portion, well, it simply cannot hatch,
The chromosomes and proteins do not make a solid match.
I'll take it off your hands, my dear, if that is what you please,
Tsk, tsk, it's such a tragedy, condolences, indeed."
But Amelia was patient, for patient you must be,
When you wait for something wonderful, it's worth it, certainly.
The baby mouse came tittering up to the crowded nest,
"What's in there, Miss Amelia? I simply cannot guess.
And I cannot wait to meet it, whatever it may be,
I will wait here like a grownup with collect and dignity."
But he quivered with excitement, and his whiskers flicked about,
He fidgeted and wiggled and he finally burst out,
"Oh I hope it hatches NOW, I do! I cannot wait to play!
I hope, I hope, I hope, I hope, it hatches out today!"
Amelia told him to be patient, for patient you must be,
When you wait for something wonderful, it's worth it, certainly.
Now the peacock had been watching all the bustle and the fretting,
And he saw all the attention that Amelia was getting.
"Disrespectful and disgraceful!" He gasped in accusation,
"To flaunt a flashy egg like that one with no reservation!
Have you forgotten modesty? And tact? And self-respect?
I disapprove of this whole episode. The madness! I object!
Where's the good old fashioned standard, oh now what's a bird to do?
Eggs the size bullfrogs! What's this forest coming to!?"
But Amelia was patient, for patient you must be,
When you wait for something wonderful, it's worth it, certainly.
The weasel's eyes were widened, he was filled with sudden awe,
By the glittering opportunity, and the monstrous egg he saw.
"Bless my lucky stars!" He cried, "A dragon! Sure as day.
And folks will come from miles around to see him. And they'll pay.
We're rich! His shiny scales we can say have healing powers,
And we can charge a hefty fee to walk the steps up to his tower.
We must move into the city! We must show and advertise!
We'll commute across the planet when he's old enough to fly!"
But Amelia was patient, for patient you must be,
When you wait for something wonderful, it's worth it, certainly.
Now, the squirrel worked so hard at bringing food into her hut,
But noticed that Amelia hadn't hulled a single nut.
"She's got an egg like that, and hasn't earned it? My, the chances."
So she took it on herself to go and straighten circumstances.
"You must work work work, for joy like that, and dearie, I would know,
For I've hoarded POUNDS of nuts, and even then, my joy runs low.
Judging by your egg's great size, you should become employed.
You need at least two tons of nuts to quite deserve that joy."
But Amelia was patient, for patient you must be,
When you wait for something wonderful, it's worth it, certainly.
And finally the owl came to take a tiny peek,
At the egg the forest talked about with grunts and groans and squeeks.
Duds and shiny dragons, terradactyls and twinned swans.
People outraged and excited from the swamp to fancy lawns.
He sat and pondered all these things while gazing at the shell,
And finally looked up and stated, "Only time will tell."
And Amelia was patient, for patient you must be,
When you wait for something wonderful, it's worth it, certainly.
Finally, the egg was due it's hatching presentation,
And the forest gathered with a ruckus of anticipation.
Everybody's eyes were fixed and focused on the nest,
With silent hopes and fears and a most subtle hum of stress.
All at once the great egg shook, it wobbled and it slanted,
The crowd drew in it's breath, and the snake left, disenchanted.
Three chips of shell came tumbling down and landed in a heap,
And the congregation gasped to hear a most distinctive "yeep!"
And out came a long-awaited baby dove for all to see,
Amelia laughed, quite happy, and the turkey left, relieved.
But another shudder from the egg made the audience gasp again,
As another baby tumbled out and yeeped and gave a grin.
"Two baby chicks." The weasel moaned, "There's simply no more room,
For a dragon to be in that egg, my fortune, oh, it's doomed!"
He slinked back to his hole and didn't even flick his tail,
About the darling chicks at all, he only wanted shiny scales.
But that's not all, no no! ANOTHER baby wiggled out,
Accompanied by hoots and squeals and most astonished shouts.
The squirrel finally saw the situation as she ought;
That Amelia got a splendid gift, whether she earned it or did not.
And then, oh yes! You knew, you guessed! ANOTHER dove, yippee!
Hopped from the giant egg to join his happy family.
"Disgraceful!" Cried the peacock, "Untraditional, absurd!"
And he shouted o'r his shoulder as he left, "You gaudy bird!"
Then baby five came rolling out and blinked and gave a yawn,
And Belle saw that five babies is quite better than twinned swans.
"Well fine," She said, "It suits you well, five silly, brownish babes.
Running 'round ungracefully, who'd want that? Not me, no way."
And off she flew, and feeling very sorry for herself,
As she always did when other birds did fairly well.
And the last delightful baby, number six, came running on.
Six charming, fuzzy turtle doves, and one delighted mom.
"Horray!" exclaimed the baby mouse, "Six friends to play with me!"
They flapped and ran and squeeked and peeped, best friends quite instantly.
"How splendid," said the owl, "Amelia, congratulations."
And Amelia's heart swelled up with joy, quite glad she had been patient.
She was an average citizen, she was an average wife.
She had ordinary feathers and an ordinary tail,
She nested in a normal tree, above and average trail.
But something quite extraordinary happened to this bird,
Which some say is impossible, and all say is absurd.
When all the other birds were laying ordinary eggs,
And hatching normal chicks with average beaks and tails and legs,
Amelia laid and egg that was about 3 times her size,
And the forest fussed and whispered of this abnormal surprise.
The turkey was most troubled for he'd heard time and again,
About eggs of this great volume and the fright that lurked within.
"A wild terradactyl! Oh!" He cried with knocking knees,
"He'll tear apart the forest if he's raised improperly!
You can't afford to feed him. No! As hungry as he'll get,
He'll gobble up his teacher while he learns the alphabet.
It's too much risky work, my dear, too terrible, so true,
Destroy that terradactyl egg before is ruins you!"
But Amelia was patient, for patient you must be,
When you wait for something wonderful, it's worth it, certainly.
Belle, the neighbor mallard duck had quite a different take,
From the years she'd spent with finer folk at parties on the lake.
She remembered all the wealthy nests built neatly near the lawn,
And was certain that the egg was nothing less than two twinned swans.
"We all know my social tenure, I was the diamond debutante,
I can teach them charm and manners, all the things twinned swans could want.
Swans are birds of upperclass, with slender necks and legs,
Why is it not in my nest? Surely I should have that egg.
I know the proper etiquette, I know the do's and don'ts,
I'll raise them up respectfully, and quite frankly dear, you won't."
But Amelia was patient, for patient you must be,
When you wait for something wonderful, it's worth it, certainly.
Now the bull snake eyed the egg with a certain sly agenda,
And decided that his diet could afford a slight addenda.
So he conjured up a tale, and dawned a sympathetic face,
And he slithered to Amelia to present his hopeful case.
"I regret to now inform you that the life you hope to bud,
Is just an empty shell, my dear. Your egg is just a dud.
That monster of a portion, well, it simply cannot hatch,
The chromosomes and proteins do not make a solid match.
I'll take it off your hands, my dear, if that is what you please,
Tsk, tsk, it's such a tragedy, condolences, indeed."
But Amelia was patient, for patient you must be,
When you wait for something wonderful, it's worth it, certainly.
The baby mouse came tittering up to the crowded nest,
"What's in there, Miss Amelia? I simply cannot guess.
And I cannot wait to meet it, whatever it may be,
I will wait here like a grownup with collect and dignity."
But he quivered with excitement, and his whiskers flicked about,
He fidgeted and wiggled and he finally burst out,
"Oh I hope it hatches NOW, I do! I cannot wait to play!
I hope, I hope, I hope, I hope, it hatches out today!"
Amelia told him to be patient, for patient you must be,
When you wait for something wonderful, it's worth it, certainly.
Now the peacock had been watching all the bustle and the fretting,
And he saw all the attention that Amelia was getting.
"Disrespectful and disgraceful!" He gasped in accusation,
"To flaunt a flashy egg like that one with no reservation!
Have you forgotten modesty? And tact? And self-respect?
I disapprove of this whole episode. The madness! I object!
Where's the good old fashioned standard, oh now what's a bird to do?
Eggs the size bullfrogs! What's this forest coming to!?"
But Amelia was patient, for patient you must be,
When you wait for something wonderful, it's worth it, certainly.
The weasel's eyes were widened, he was filled with sudden awe,
By the glittering opportunity, and the monstrous egg he saw.
"Bless my lucky stars!" He cried, "A dragon! Sure as day.
And folks will come from miles around to see him. And they'll pay.
We're rich! His shiny scales we can say have healing powers,
And we can charge a hefty fee to walk the steps up to his tower.
We must move into the city! We must show and advertise!
We'll commute across the planet when he's old enough to fly!"
But Amelia was patient, for patient you must be,
When you wait for something wonderful, it's worth it, certainly.
Now, the squirrel worked so hard at bringing food into her hut,
But noticed that Amelia hadn't hulled a single nut.
"She's got an egg like that, and hasn't earned it? My, the chances."
So she took it on herself to go and straighten circumstances.
"You must work work work, for joy like that, and dearie, I would know,
For I've hoarded POUNDS of nuts, and even then, my joy runs low.
Judging by your egg's great size, you should become employed.
You need at least two tons of nuts to quite deserve that joy."
But Amelia was patient, for patient you must be,
When you wait for something wonderful, it's worth it, certainly.
And finally the owl came to take a tiny peek,
At the egg the forest talked about with grunts and groans and squeeks.
Duds and shiny dragons, terradactyls and twinned swans.
People outraged and excited from the swamp to fancy lawns.
He sat and pondered all these things while gazing at the shell,
And finally looked up and stated, "Only time will tell."
And Amelia was patient, for patient you must be,
When you wait for something wonderful, it's worth it, certainly.
Finally, the egg was due it's hatching presentation,
And the forest gathered with a ruckus of anticipation.
Everybody's eyes were fixed and focused on the nest,
With silent hopes and fears and a most subtle hum of stress.
All at once the great egg shook, it wobbled and it slanted,
The crowd drew in it's breath, and the snake left, disenchanted.
Three chips of shell came tumbling down and landed in a heap,
And the congregation gasped to hear a most distinctive "yeep!"
And out came a long-awaited baby dove for all to see,
Amelia laughed, quite happy, and the turkey left, relieved.
But another shudder from the egg made the audience gasp again,
As another baby tumbled out and yeeped and gave a grin.
"Two baby chicks." The weasel moaned, "There's simply no more room,
For a dragon to be in that egg, my fortune, oh, it's doomed!"
He slinked back to his hole and didn't even flick his tail,
About the darling chicks at all, he only wanted shiny scales.
But that's not all, no no! ANOTHER baby wiggled out,
Accompanied by hoots and squeals and most astonished shouts.
The squirrel finally saw the situation as she ought;
That Amelia got a splendid gift, whether she earned it or did not.
And then, oh yes! You knew, you guessed! ANOTHER dove, yippee!
Hopped from the giant egg to join his happy family.
"Disgraceful!" Cried the peacock, "Untraditional, absurd!"
And he shouted o'r his shoulder as he left, "You gaudy bird!"
Then baby five came rolling out and blinked and gave a yawn,
And Belle saw that five babies is quite better than twinned swans.
"Well fine," She said, "It suits you well, five silly, brownish babes.
Running 'round ungracefully, who'd want that? Not me, no way."
And off she flew, and feeling very sorry for herself,
As she always did when other birds did fairly well.
And the last delightful baby, number six, came running on.
Six charming, fuzzy turtle doves, and one delighted mom.
"Horray!" exclaimed the baby mouse, "Six friends to play with me!"
They flapped and ran and squeeked and peeped, best friends quite instantly.
"How splendid," said the owl, "Amelia, congratulations."
And Amelia's heart swelled up with joy, quite glad she had been patient.
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