Orthodox Christians most likely rejected feminine descriptions of God due to the strict gender roles of the time. Orthodox women were expected to take on the subordinate role, and Gnostic beliefs contradicted these values. Gnostic holy books often referred to God as both feminine and masculine. The books also suggest that they prayed to both God the Father and the Divine Mother (pagels). This female genderization of God is the primary reason their books were excluded from the New Testament.
Many examples in the book made me consider perspectives that I had never thought of before. In my opinion, this book definitely stirred up a reassurance of my place in society and what can be done to liberate the oppressed. I believe the voices represented in this book can cause negative reactions from some churches because it goes against what is and has been normal. Churches would not really like to change the view of “white” Christ to be a diverse Christ of another race because it would change certain aspects and power. The church is called to be one diverse body of God, but as churches can remain dominant to one race, it becomes difficult to incorporate diversity into what already is established.
Johnny Finns November 5, 2009 Conservatives Beliefs Conservatives are much less confident of human reason and experience than are liberals. They ground their theology primarily in scripture and the teachings of the church, especially the early church. Conservatives tend to stress the transcendence of God more than the other two groups and are much more resistant to change in theology or ethics. Incarnation- Conservatives believe Jesus was literally born of a virgin. They believe he was both fully human and fully divine.
They argue that religion is patriarchal in that women are exploited by men and seen as subordinate. Feminist sociologists are interested in how women have become subservient and how religion has promoted patriarchy. This view is not just shared by female and feminist sociologists. Anthony Giddens argues that; " The Christian religion is a resolutely male affair in its symbolism as well as its hierarchy. While Mary, the mother of Jesus may sometimes be treated as if she had divine qualities, God is the father, a male figure, and Jesus took the human shape of a man.
Outline the ways in which religious beliefs can be used to clarify dilemmas in sexual ethics. Many issues arise with sexual ethics when religious beliefs- particularly roman catholic- are considered. The largest and most noticeable dilemma is perhaps the contrast of modern, social beliefs and the teachings of religion, one disagreement present is the acceptance of homosexuality. Current law is being questioned over the legality of homosexual marriage whilst the Catholic bible and church strongly state otherwise. However, dilemmas in sexual ethics are not only approached through religion, for instance, in ancient Greece both Pythagoras and Stoics believed that the soul was imprisoned in the body and can only be released through the disregarding of the base pleasure, sex.
It is also because the words express the deeply held views of a wide swath of conservative Christianity. Buchanan’s speech epitomizes the Religious Right’s general view of the “culture war”—as a “religious war”3 that manifests itself on many “cultural” fronts, most urgently abortion, homosexuality (especially, now, marriage equality), education privatization, and curriculum content of the public schools. So the culture war is not simply conflict over abortion or gay marriage. It is a one sided war of aggression against the civil rights advances of women and minorities and the rights of individual conscience that we generally discuss under the rubric of religious pluralism and of separation of church and state. For these political aggressors, war is not merely a metaphor or the equivalent of a sports analogy.
Despite the previous public activity of Christian women, the majority of Christian churches in the second century went with the majority of the middle class in opposing the move toward equality, which found its support primarily in the rich or bohemian circles (Pagels, 63). Gnostic Christians correlate their description of God in both masculine and feminine terms with a complementary description of human nature. Most often they refer to the creation account of Genesis, which suggests an equal or androgynous human creation. Gnostic Christians often take the principle of equality between men and women into the social and political structures of their communities. The orthodox
Christianity should be seen as the outline for godly decision making and a strategy for daily living.11 The Word of God has the final jurisdiction and is pertinent for the choices that Christians must make, many of which have moral consequences. A Christ 1 Titus 1:1 (Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from the Women's Devotional Bible, New International Version®. Copyright © 1995 by Zondervan Corporation.) 2 “[Worldview] is simply the sum total of our beliefs about the world, the 'big picture' that directs our daily decisions
Dressing casually is not a problem in most churches but one still has to consider the views of the Bible. Even though times have changed in Christian churches and attire has become more casual one should not wear casual attire because the Bible says “I also want the women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, adorning themselves, not with elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God,” (first Timothy 2:9-10) Everyone knows that following scripture is one of the key elements of religion. The definition of sin is “any act regarded as such a transgression, especially a willful or deliberate violation of some religious or moral principle.” (Dictionary.com) If dressing casually is not what God wants, according to the Bible this means that it is considered to be a sin in which God does not want his followers to commit such transgressions. This is why Christians should not dress casually because God doesn’t want His followers to dress in this manner. When reading Jason Young’s blog “Considering the Motive behind the Act” one will learn that Christians who practice Holiness dress according to the scripture wearing long skirts for women, slacks and a button up for men.
Historically in Western culture, God is seen as a father figure, and has been assigned an authoritative male persona. Rosemary Radford Ruether, author of Sexism and God-Talk, explains how this tradition has led to a male-dominant society in which women are oppressed.1 She discusses possible social origins, gender biases associated with this patriarchal model, and why it should change. Ultimately she recommends using inclusive language, which involves calling God both he and she, and using analogies that show God as both powerful and nurturing.2 Despite what Ruether proposes, God should not be referred to as a he, or a she, or both, because it is the abstract qualities of God that characterize its uniquely divine and non-human nature. Ruether suggests the origin of God as male could have started with the Nomadic religions, where there was no female role in agriculture, and God was the Sky Father.3 The abstractness of God is very difficult to understand for many people, in an attempt to better understand God and religion, the divine has been given human characteristics that it does not actually posses. These often times not only include gender but also race, even attire depicted through artwork.