Does God favor males?
`Why do a good majority of US adults envision God in primarily or exclusively male terms?
Probably because we link "godly" attributes such as wisdom and power to men. Thus, it is hardly surprising that organized religions tend to favor males, a fact evident in passages from many of the sacred writings of major world religions.
The Koran declares that men are to dominate women:
quote: Men are in charge of women. . . .
Hence good women are obedient
. . . . As for those whose rebelliousness you fear, admonish them, banish them from your bed, and scourge them. (quoted in Kaufman,1976:163)
Christianity, the major religion of the Western world, also supports patriarchy. While many Christians revere Mary, the mother of Jesus, the New Testament also includes the following passages:
quote: A man . . . is the image and glory of God; but woman is the glory of man. For man was not made from woman, but woman from man. Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. (1 Cor. 11:7-9)
quote: As in all the churches of the saints, the women should keep silence in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be subordinate, as even the law says. If there is anything they desire to know, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church. (1 Cor. 14:33-35)
quote: Wives, be subject to your husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church. . . . As the church is subject to Christ, so let wives also be subject in everything to their husbands. (Eph. 5:22-24)
quote: Let a woman learn in silence with all submissiveness. I permit no woman to teach or to have authority over men; she is to keep silent. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. Yet woman will be saved through bearing children, if she continues in faith and love and holiness, with modesty. (1 Tm. 2:11-15)
In Judaism, male Orthodox Jews say the following words in daily prayer:
quote: Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, that I was not born a gentile.
Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, that I was not born a slave.
Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, that I was not born a woman.
Challenges to the patriarchal structure of organized religion, from ordaining women to gender-neutral language in hymnals and prayers, has sparked heated controversy, delighting progressives while outraging traditionalists. Propelling these developments is a lively feminism in many religious communities. According to feminist Christians, for ex, patriarchy in the church stands in stark contrast to the largely feminine image of Jesus Christ in the scriptures as "nonaggressive, noncompetitive, meek and humble of heart, a nurterer of the weak and a friend of the outcast".`
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Last edited by krnxswat on 04-03-2003 at 01:41 PM
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