does anyone get creeped out by father references in religion?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not religious but even I know about all the raunchy stories in the old testament. Incest, rape and murder. This should not come as a surprise...

Although it was sometimes equal opportunity. Like the two daughters who got their dad drunk and slept with him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I get creeped and weirded out by God referenced as "He," but then again the inherent misogyny of those religions makes sense with such gendering (not just Christianity, but including it of course)

I belong to a faith whose most recent prayer book tries to eliminate all gendered references to God. The English language makes this somewhat awkward in many cases.

It doesn't matter how you "update" an ancient text according to modern ethics. If it was written with an obvious, and only male spin, the religion was created in misogyny.

Jesus preached to women (he told Martha to come out of the kitchen and join his students), he let a woman with unbound hair annoint his feet (scandalous at the time), there were women among the earliest church leaders, and more.

That same God also wrote the Old Testament. The deep misogyny in the OT is often conveniently left out in Christianity.

[Anonymous]

That same God also wrote the Old Testament. The deep misogyny in the OT is often conveniently left out in Christianity.

Read the passage in the New Testament about Moses and the vail. The Old Testament is read "literally", but the true scripture is read with spirit. There is a difference. It is in II Corinthians 3

[Anonymous]

Well known that Christianity is a patriarchy so, yes, all about the father. One of the interesting things about Dan Brown's books was his point that, historically, the early Church allowed women such as the Magdalene a more important role (greatly reduced once the patriarchal structure hardened).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

That same God also wrote the Old Testament. The deep misogyny in the OT is often conveniently left out in Christianity.

Read the passage in the New Testament about Moses and the vail. The Old Testament is read "literally", but the true scripture is read with spirit. There is a difference. It is in II Corinthians 3

That's convenient.

Sounds like God had a personality shift, or is bipolar.

[Anonymous]

It's an indication of spiritual growth.

[Anonymous]

I'm Christian so a lot of what I read is male-centric because men have mostly run society over the past 20 centuries or so. The words reflect the social context with which they were written. No big deal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm Christian so a lot of what I read is male-centric because men have mostly run society over the past 20 centuries or so. The words reflect the social context with which they were written. No big deal.

you'd think God could do better than that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm Christian so a lot of what I read is male-centric because men have mostly run society over the past 20 centuries or so. The words reflect the social context with which they were written. No big deal.

you'd think God could do better than that.

Not God, what he did was send Jesus with a pretty advanced message, gender-wise, for the time. You mean, the various churches that developed their structures around Jesus' message. Indeed, people are fallible, and indeed, most societies were patriarchal until basically the last few decades.

[Anonymous]

OP - there are many groups who claim to be "Christian", but do not follow the teachings of Christ, nor adhere to the teachings of the Bible. A thorough understanding of Christianity (and the differences between the catholics and non-catholics), can only be done by being knowledgeable of the history that's spanned centuries. One cannot judge a religion through the practices of the people alone (for many are flawed anyway, and they're all struggling to adhere to their religion's standards). You need to get educated to know what's really authentic, and what's not, via good, reliable, historical literature although most may be academic in nature.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So a lot of people from my home town are very Christian in a strange sort of way. They talked a lot about saving, and their father, and it just rubs me the wrong way. Like a good friend from high school got married and a attendee wrote this:

Congrats to the most beautiful bride of Christ! You are a perfect picture of Christ's redemptive power. How much joy I've had watching you run into your Daddy's arms. The beauty I see on the outside pales to your beautiful heart, mind and soul. You literally jump for joy!!! May your birthday be a time when your Daddy whispers to you how deep and how long and how wide His love is for you.

This makes no sense to me because she married her husband and he is no ones daddy? It just grosses me out. I strive to be tolerant of all religion and all lifestyles but something about this sec of religion is hard for me to understand.

Living in the South, I've heard people use this language, even grown men. They'll even call their preacher a spiritual daddy. Strange stuff, kinda sad to watch. Downright pathetic really, but to each his own.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm Christian so a lot of what I read is male-centric because men have mostly run society over the past 20 centuries or so. The words reflect the social context with which they were written. No big deal.

you'd think God could do better than that.

I've always thought was trying to talk to them within a social context that they would understand. The Bible is also silent on dinosaurs and cell phones.