It seems to me that references to women in the Bible are few and far between and when they appear they seem to be entirely unpleasant or almost saintlike in their actions. Even when referring to God the adjectives all seem very masculine, for example: Lord, Everlasting Father, Strength, Prince of Peace etc. In the Gospels God is called 'Father' 170 times and 11 in the Old Testament. He is never called Mother.
When presented with women in the bible we seem to get one of two extremes; they are either practically perfect in every way or entirely sinful, disgraceful beings. One example of a good girl is the Virgin Mary. She follows God's will without question and is even grateful. After Mary's told she will give birth to Jesus she sings a song called 'The Magnificat' (Luke 1:46-55) in it she says: "my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour; Because He has regarded the lowliness of His handmaid." This shows hoe she feels blessed by the fact that God has bothered to do this for her as she is nothing but a servant to him.
Another example of a 'good' girl from the Bible is Ruth. When Ruth's husband dies she stays with her mother-in-law Naomi, and wehn Naomi suggests she sleep with (and therefore marry) Boaz, a rich land owner, in order to protect the both of them from poverty and hunger she does so without question. Ruth is good because she shows compassion and loyalty towards Naomi: "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God." - Ruth 1:16.
There are many not so good girls, however, one of them being Eve. Eve is weak allows herself to be tempted to disobey God and eat the forbidden fruit. As if this wasn't bad enough she then goes on to temp Adam into doing the same thus resulting in the original Sin and the human inheritance of concupiscence. The role of the serpant is often overlooked as Eve should not have allowed herself to be tempted in the way that she was.
Potiphar's wife is another example of a 'bad girl'. Potiphar is a rich man with many slaves and his wife falls in love with one named Joseph, she tries to tempt him into sleeping with her but when he refuses and runs away she accuses him of rape. In this story Potipher's wife tries to use her power as a woman and also her social status to dominate Joseph, a man. Not only does she try this but when she does not succeed she relies on her Husband's power to punish him.
Personally, I think that this story is told from an incredubly biased perspective. Never once do you hear it from the point of view of Potipher's Wife. The fact that she is not even granted her own name seems to make her even more of a piece in this story to show how bad a woman can be. There are many refrences in the story to show that prehaps she was unhappy with a husband who did not care about her for example the description of Potipher: "he had no concern for anything but the food he ate." These details, however, are ignored and once Joseph is unfairly punished and the woman showed to be an eveil temptress she is not mentioned again.
Overall I think that there are many more stories of women being sinful and evil than there are of them being 'good'. And when they are showed in a positive light they are shown to be pure and perfect, never once stepping a foot out of line. To me this dies not seem fair, nor realistic.
Thursday, 17 October 2013
Wednesday, 16 October 2013
Fatalism, Determinisms and Predestination
The disapearance of Madeliene McCann according to a fatalistic, deterministic and predestinationist point of view:
Fatalism: Madeliene was always going to go missing at the exact time, place and way she did. There was nothing that could be done to prevent it.
Determinsm: It was dtermined that Madleine was going to go missing and the choices of everyone involved i.e. the parents and kidnappers are what led to it hapening the way that it did.
Predestination: A higher power (God) planned for Madeliene to go missing. Human choices did not effect the matter.
Fatalism: Madeliene was always going to go missing at the exact time, place and way she did. There was nothing that could be done to prevent it.
Determinsm: It was dtermined that Madleine was going to go missing and the choices of everyone involved i.e. the parents and kidnappers are what led to it hapening the way that it did.
Predestination: A higher power (God) planned for Madeliene to go missing. Human choices did not effect the matter.
Friday, 11 October 2013
What Is Being Human (30 mark essay)
The question of what it means to be human is one that has been and I'm sure will continue to be asked over and over again. Opinions stem from many different sources and belief systems.
One major aspect of being human is the fact that we are relational beings. From a Christian point of view we are made in he 'imago dei' (image of God) and God consists of the Holy Trinity. The Trinity is the inter-relation of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, that all amount to one almighty God. This would therefore imply that to be made in God's image we must be inter-relational beings ourselves. The human relationship with God is demonstrated in the Nicene Creed which supports a strong relationship with each aspect of the Trinity and with what seems to be a very impersonal and transcendent God. As well as having the ability to posses strong relationships with God we are also able to create strong relationships with one another. This abides by the Golden Rule: 'Love they neighbor as yourself' - Mark 12:31.
It can be argues that our ability to reason is what makes us human as we seem to be the only animals on earth who are able to. Plato and Aristotle are two philosophers who explore this. Plato creates the image of the human soul being a chariot. The chariot is led by a driver with two horses. The driver represents reasonn one horse represents appetite and the other is emotion. According to Plato reason must keeps the two horses under control and stop the soul from being unbalanced. From a Christian point of view reason is also a vital part of humanity. Thomas Aquinas creates the cosmological argument for the existence of God based on reason, this suggests that reason allows us to be closer to God. C.S. Lewis also shows how humans experience the word through reason in his poem 'On Being Human'.
Many religious believers also believe that we were created entirely by God and this is a fundamental part of what makes us human. For Christians in Genesis 2:7 it says God 'formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life'. Humans were also created last in the Genesis creation story and given 'stewardship' over the rest of creation. This massively sets humanity apart from the other animals as they are in a position of power over creation. This power was given by God and shows how we are something more than the rest of creation. This shows how, for Christians, our existence completely relies on God and our significant place in creation is down to the fact that we were created by him.
One major aspect of being human is the fact that we are relational beings. From a Christian point of view we are made in he 'imago dei' (image of God) and God consists of the Holy Trinity. The Trinity is the inter-relation of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, that all amount to one almighty God. This would therefore imply that to be made in God's image we must be inter-relational beings ourselves. The human relationship with God is demonstrated in the Nicene Creed which supports a strong relationship with each aspect of the Trinity and with what seems to be a very impersonal and transcendent God. As well as having the ability to posses strong relationships with God we are also able to create strong relationships with one another. This abides by the Golden Rule: 'Love they neighbor as yourself' - Mark 12:31.
It can be argues that our ability to reason is what makes us human as we seem to be the only animals on earth who are able to. Plato and Aristotle are two philosophers who explore this. Plato creates the image of the human soul being a chariot. The chariot is led by a driver with two horses. The driver represents reasonn one horse represents appetite and the other is emotion. According to Plato reason must keeps the two horses under control and stop the soul from being unbalanced. From a Christian point of view reason is also a vital part of humanity. Thomas Aquinas creates the cosmological argument for the existence of God based on reason, this suggests that reason allows us to be closer to God. C.S. Lewis also shows how humans experience the word through reason in his poem 'On Being Human'.
Many religious believers also believe that we were created entirely by God and this is a fundamental part of what makes us human. For Christians in Genesis 2:7 it says God 'formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life'. Humans were also created last in the Genesis creation story and given 'stewardship' over the rest of creation. This massively sets humanity apart from the other animals as they are in a position of power over creation. This power was given by God and shows how we are something more than the rest of creation. This shows how, for Christians, our existence completely relies on God and our significant place in creation is down to the fact that we were created by him.
Monday, 16 September 2013
Psalm 139 And The Nicene Creed
Psalm 139 and the Nicene Creed are similar in that they both explore human relationships with God.
The Nicene Creed explores a relationship with a transcendent God. This is implied as throughout the Creed God is presented as a trinity i.e. he is the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. As this Creed is written before the Catholic/Protestant split (?) it is believed that the Holy Spirit comes from the Father and Son. The first Stanza focuses on the Father, the second on the Son and the third on the Holy Spirit. This idea of an impersonal/transcendent God is further enforced by the lack of 1st person, also God is referred to as "He", which seems to be the way you'd address someone you don't really know, throughout the text.
The Creed is very inclusive of those who acknowledge it. This is shown through the repetition of "We". The text however, excludes anyone who doesn't follow the religion in this way.
Psalm 139 explores a much more personal and immanent relationship with God. This is evident from the first line "O LORD you have searched me and known me". Here the speaker is directly addressing God rather than just talking about his character. The speaker also uses direct address throughout the Psalm. Walter Bruggemann suggests that the repetition of the 'You' and 'me' pronouns imply that the Psalm is written to a known named and unidentifiable other.
The Psalm also addressed the awesome power of God and emphasises how God possesses all of the Omnis. The first Stanza explores the omniscience of God and tells us how God is on another level of knowledge that is far too great for humans to understand. The second stanza talks of God's omnipresence and gives examples such as God being able to see you in Sheol (a place of no life). In the third Stanza the speaker talks of how God makes us and suggests that he plans out our lives. "In your book were written/ all the days that were formed for me". Personally I think that this idea shows a great lack of faith in humanity as it suggests that everything that we do was previously planned out by God and that we are incapable of making a decision that hasn't already been made for us.
The last Stanza of the Psalm seems to take on a confessional and almost desperate tone. It is almost as though the speaker has sinned and he is begging God not to punish him as he is scared. I think that this suggests a menacing and unforgiving side to God that is covered up in the rest of the Paslm.
The Nicene Creed explores a relationship with a transcendent God. This is implied as throughout the Creed God is presented as a trinity i.e. he is the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. As this Creed is written before the Catholic/Protestant split (?) it is believed that the Holy Spirit comes from the Father and Son. The first Stanza focuses on the Father, the second on the Son and the third on the Holy Spirit. This idea of an impersonal/transcendent God is further enforced by the lack of 1st person, also God is referred to as "He", which seems to be the way you'd address someone you don't really know, throughout the text.
The Creed is very inclusive of those who acknowledge it. This is shown through the repetition of "We". The text however, excludes anyone who doesn't follow the religion in this way.
Psalm 139 explores a much more personal and immanent relationship with God. This is evident from the first line "O LORD you have searched me and known me". Here the speaker is directly addressing God rather than just talking about his character. The speaker also uses direct address throughout the Psalm. Walter Bruggemann suggests that the repetition of the 'You' and 'me' pronouns imply that the Psalm is written to a known named and unidentifiable other.
The Psalm also addressed the awesome power of God and emphasises how God possesses all of the Omnis. The first Stanza explores the omniscience of God and tells us how God is on another level of knowledge that is far too great for humans to understand. The second stanza talks of God's omnipresence and gives examples such as God being able to see you in Sheol (a place of no life). In the third Stanza the speaker talks of how God makes us and suggests that he plans out our lives. "In your book were written/ all the days that were formed for me". Personally I think that this idea shows a great lack of faith in humanity as it suggests that everything that we do was previously planned out by God and that we are incapable of making a decision that hasn't already been made for us.
The last Stanza of the Psalm seems to take on a confessional and almost desperate tone. It is almost as though the speaker has sinned and he is begging God not to punish him as he is scared. I think that this suggests a menacing and unforgiving side to God that is covered up in the rest of the Paslm.
Sunday, 8 September 2013
Psalm 139
I found Psalm 139 interesting as I thought that the idea of an 'inescapable God' is not a nice one as it seems intimidating and unnerving. I think that the idea of a God whom all our actions and thoughts are open to and I thought that there were times in the Psalm in which the psalmist felt the same however they also seemed to be wondrously in love with God and describe how God loves us in return.
I looked at some of the context around Psalm 139 and found that some had named it the 'crown of the Psalms' as no other one describes the awesome power of God so explicitly. The Psalm is thought to be set to music which makes sense (I think) as it is transcribed by David who was said to write beautiful songs.
The Psalm emphasises the omnipotence and omniscience of God as it describes how he knows our thoughts and even in the womb "your eyes beheld my unformed substance".
The Psalmist has a very strong attachment to God as he talks of how he hates those who hate God. He wished God to know how purely he loves him and lead him to a place where he can always be with him.
I looked at some of the context around Psalm 139 and found that some had named it the 'crown of the Psalms' as no other one describes the awesome power of God so explicitly. The Psalm is thought to be set to music which makes sense (I think) as it is transcribed by David who was said to write beautiful songs.
The Psalm emphasises the omnipotence and omniscience of God as it describes how he knows our thoughts and even in the womb "your eyes beheld my unformed substance".
The Psalmist has a very strong attachment to God as he talks of how he hates those who hate God. He wished God to know how purely he loves him and lead him to a place where he can always be with him.
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