| Judson McClendon 2008-02-14, 6:55 pm |
| "tim" <TimJ@internet.com> wrote:
> Judson McClendon wrote:
>
>
> Having read all the Daoist books I can lay my hands on, they are entirely
> consistent in their view that differences of race, sex etc are nothing. We
> are all one in the Dao, they say. From about 1100 AD however this was
> overtaken in actual practice in China by the increasing dominance of the
> Confucian ways of thinking.
>
> If you contrast this with what the Christian texts say, the difference is
> striking.
>
> "As regards the individual nature, woman is defective and misbegotten, for
> the active power of the male seed tends to the production of a perfect
> likeness in the masculine sex; while the production of a woman comes from
> defect in the active power...." Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica,Q92, art.
> 1
Pointedly not from the Bible.
> "And a man will choose...any wickedness, but the wickedness of a
> woman...Sin began with a woman and thanks to her we all must die"
> Ecclesiasticus, 25:18, 19 & 33.
>
> "And I find more bitter than death the woman, whose heart is snares and
> nets, and her hands as bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her;
> but the sinner shall be taken by her." Ecclesiastes 7:26
See why the Apocrypha *should not* be considered part of the Bible?
> "...Christ is the head of every man, and a husband the head of his wife,
> and the head of Christ is God." 1 Corinthians 11:3
As I said, simply setting the pattern for families. Not degrading women.
> "...women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to
> speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says, If they want to inquire
> about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is
> disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church." 1 Corinthians 14:34-35
>
> The bible is not entirely consistent on these points, but the above was
> the ruling interpretation for thousands of years.
In the Roman Catholic church, perhaps. Most Protestants I know of
interpret this as specific language to the women in the church at Corinth,
where they had been commonly disrupting the services. Even then, it's
still only talking about church services. Far more Scriptures indicate the
respect and equality before God of women. Paul, who wrote that letter
to the church at Corinth, frequently commended many women, and
spoke very highly of their value in His and their own ministries.
> The role of women in biblical times seems to have been not unlike that of
> women in strict Islamic societies today.
Duh! Baby girl's weren't commonly given clitorectomies. Circumcision
of males is commonly done even today for health reasons.
> Slavery also has biblical backing. Not to mention the notion of the divine
> right of kings - the holy roman empire and so forth.
Giving the Jews a king was *their* idea, not God's idea (1 Samuel 8,9).
> The emancipation of women, the abolition of slavery, democracy, science -
> all these things happened only *after* the iron grip of religious zealots
> on society was considerably weakened. They happened in spite of Christian
> religion not because of it.
They happened in spite of secularly oriented power hungry people
ruling *in the name* of Christianity. Not the same thing. Jesus said
very bitter words to the same kind of people who were ruling during
His ministry. True Christianity has always been about freedom, not
secular power (Luke 4:18, in which Jesus quotes from Isaiah 61:1).
--
Judson McClendon judmc@sunvaley0.com (remove zero)
Sun Valley Systems http://sunvaley.com
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that
whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."
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