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The Forum > Article Comments > Does God hate women? > Comments

Does God hate women? : Comments

By Luke Gartner-Brereton, published 2/12/2009

In the Bible God exercises a monopoly over the birthing of heroic figures, stealing from women the chance to attain honour in the eyes of peers.

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There's no doubt that some parts in the Bible are influenced by the contemporary social attitudes, so that's why it's important to distinguish between the cultural elements and what is God's revelation. Arguing that God hates women based on the examples you list is a simplistic literal interpretation that is a very superficial way to understand the Bible.

You also cherry-pick some episodes, so I recommend for your reading this book: Courageous Women: A Study on the Heroines of Biblical History
Author: Stacy Mitch, ISBN: 1-931018-09-X, 978-1-931018-09-8
Publish Date: 2002
Posted by Mustard, Wednesday, 2 December 2009 9:27:50 AM
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It's not all bad news for women in the Bible. As you suggest, "it's the interpreter who twists the text" so you might argue that Eve was created from Adam’s bone and therefore she is superior to the muck from which he was created; Eve was created within Paradise whereas Adam was first created then introduced into Paradise; woman was created after man as the crowning glory of God’s creation; a woman gave birth to the Son of God; it was a woman (Mary Magdalene) to whom Jesus first revealed himself after the resurrection, and the Virgin Mary sits at the right hand of God.
Posted by hjay, Wednesday, 2 December 2009 9:36:19 AM
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The authors’ penchant for speculative fiction and exaggeration is alive and well but does it really have a place in the 21st century?

Anyone with a shred of common sense surely doesn’t believe in the contents of the Bible any more than they would believe in the contents of the Book of the Dead, the ancient Egyptian equivalent which survived for 3,000 years. Like its successor, the Bible, both are regarded as being a collection of fables and myths which tried to explain happenings in the world of that time.

But this is the 21st century where science and fiction have a much clearer divide. Surely these primitive notions are no more believed than is the virgin birth and bodily resurrection from the dead, or for that matter the belief that there is a god or that he can be used to explain the modern world.

I have always held the gravest doubts about institutions granting degrees in theology, involving study and writing on a fiction. No integrity, no value, just a fiction.

And that is precisely how sensible women should regard the way they are classified and treated by religious texts and thinkers. Those who believe in the natural evolution of humans, rather than delusions about some fictitious divinity, know that they have vast potential and with sufficient will and determination can realise it.

The last thing women should do is believe or comply with the limiting, classifying views of a religious organisations or leaders purporting to represent divine decisions. Those decisions are, more often than not, based on fiction, made by men for their advantage, based on superstitious nonsense or, like the question ‘Does God Hate Women’ a load of drivel.
Posted by JonJay, Wednesday, 2 December 2009 10:35:30 AM
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Only fools who are selective and dishonest in there historical views would deny that the Christian Judea based society have given women more freedom and status than any other time in history. Unfortunately of late the secularist have sexualized young girls and boys to the extent where teenagers measure themselves according to sexual appeal. Feminism has done much to destroy family structure where women are encouraged to be totally selfish and ignore their natural mothering instincts. Does God hate women? He certainly would not send HIs Son to die for people he hates. I would suggest it is the secularist who hate God because he knows much better than them. They are caught in their own lusts and fail to see any moral boundaries that create healthy society. People who were honest enough to face up to their own corruption would not ask such a stupid question from a God who have them life, food and clothing. It is the sheer arrogance of men and women that leads to such dumb articles being written.
Posted by runner, Wednesday, 2 December 2009 11:42:11 AM
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It's not really surprising considering that the only idea of human reproduction the writers of the Bible had was that men "planted their seed" in women. Which, from their point of view, made sense: after all, farmers planted seeds in the ground, and if the ground was sufficiently nourishing, the seed grew. Men planted their stuff in women, and waddaya know, babies brew. Therefore, if the seed failed to grow, the woman was obviously barren ground.

All of which fit neatly into their fiercely patriarchal mindset, as well.

But, to answer your article's question: as Ben Elton once said, "three reasons why God hates women: periods, pregnancy and pap smears".
Posted by Clownfish, Wednesday, 2 December 2009 11:51:18 AM
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When are you people going to realise that the God of the Bible is a figment of the imagination of men. So what else do you expect. Their attitudes toward women are no different to the attitudes of most Moslem and Jewish men of today. A large number of Christian denominations also look upon women as inferior beings. You only have to look at the Catholic Church for a typical example. Look at the teachings of Paul.

David
Posted by VK3AUU, Wednesday, 2 December 2009 2:33:56 PM
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What a lot of nonsense about God by the author - obviously he has not met her, does not know her.
Posted by colinsett, Wednesday, 2 December 2009 2:43:08 PM
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Great article Luke,
But you missed the point about how the barren women (i.e. glorious misconception) are being able to give birth to such wondrous creatures. I mean men of course.
The overtly male dominance in the misogynistic portrayal of the biblical heroes is of course the theme inherent in all religions; be they Christian, Muslim, Buddhist , whatever.
The religiously kept philosophy of female as the temptress (Eve) and the poor hero (Adam) being corrupted by this evil despicable , pernicious , vile , low , below contempt , debased woman is not only a common theme , it’s a necessary one in all WASP religion also.
When one considers that religion is the tool by which men dominate and rule the world, then one can see the obviousness of you articles purpose. Thanks for shedding some light in this otherwise black hole of a religious mess the world endures.
http://www.youtube.com/user/patcondell#p/a/u/2/STlYN5KCiWg
Try this for some hilarity or is that reality.
Posted by thomasfromtacoma, Wednesday, 2 December 2009 8:23:10 PM
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"There's no doubt that some parts in the Bible are influenced by the contemporary social attitudes, so that's why it's important to distinguish between the cultural elements and what is God's revelation."

And how do we do that, exactly? Wait, I know -- the bits you agree with are God's revelation, and the bits you don't agree with are the cultural elements, right?

But what are we going to do about all the wicked people who don't agree with the same bits as you?
Posted by Jon J, Wednesday, 2 December 2009 8:25:14 PM
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Any search for intellectual rigor and consistency in the 'book of myths' is doomed to failure.
Posted by GYM-FISH, Friday, 4 December 2009 6:19:13 AM
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"Religion has actually convinced people that there's an invisible man living in the sky who watches everything you do, every minute of every day." - George Carlin
Posted by Clownfish, Friday, 4 December 2009 10:05:36 AM
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Question:
Does God hate women?

Answer:
Yes he does

Proof:
Allah hates women.
Allah is God.
Therefore God hates women.

Source:
"I looked into Hell and I saw that the majority of its people are women"...Mohammed, Prophet of Allah
http://www.islam-qa.com/en/ref/21457
Posted by HermanYutic, Friday, 4 December 2009 10:18:29 AM
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Anyone who has not seen the recent Ricky GErvais movie "the invention of lying" (and the big man in the sky) should see it......

It comes from a similar theological position as the article but is infinitely more amusing....
Posted by Col Rouge, Friday, 4 December 2009 1:30:38 PM
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HermanYutic you write

Question:
Does God hate women?

Answer:
Yes he does

Proof:
Allah hates women.
Allah is God.
Therefore God hates women.

'Allah is God' Where on earth this you get that idea. Allah is the old moon god. He was a pagan deity worshipped by the Arabs. That is why the secularist have more in common with Islam than most. Allah is happy to condemn women and secularist are happy to murder unborn babies.
Posted by runner, Friday, 4 December 2009 3:59:43 PM
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It is perfectly unreasonable to say that god hates women, and perfectly reasonable to claim that social attitudes at the time influenced inspired, biblical text.

As to the creation of Adam, what history do we have of him, bare none? As to the creation of Eve, what history do we have of humanity? Without creating woman also, there would be no history or destiny for human kind.

Anyways… the Zoroastrians and Athenians were harsher on their women than were the Hebrews
Posted by Monkey Magic, Friday, 4 December 2009 9:34:01 PM
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I think you may be reinventing the wheel,please take a look at writers such as Mary Day " God the Father" ( I think) or "Gyn/Ecology", Dorothy Dinnerstein "The Mermaid and the Minotaur",and also accounts of other versions of Genesis where you have Lilith being formed as an equal of Adam out of mud as well as Eve mark 1- both of whom were a little too much for Adam to handle.
Unfortunately these texts seem to be only used in "Womens Study" classes so they have been conveniently forgotten, I can only hope you will continue on this interesting journey...
Posted by jenny H, Monday, 7 December 2009 9:50:36 PM
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