I suppose it is rather redundant to post telling you that I'm not going to write in this blog much, as I haven't posted anything here for years!
However, for those who might be interested, I do just want to let you know that I am starting a new blog called "Honey Sandwiches - my journey in parenting with cancer". It is pretty much what it says on the tin. All will be explained over there.
http://honeysandwichesau.blogspot.com.au
Monday, August 25, 2014
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Slavery and women
I saw the movie "Amazing Grace" about abolitionist William Wilberforce. I admit I saw it mainly because it had Ioan Gruffudd in it. But as well as that it was a fantastic movie! It really made the point that the Abolitionists as a political force were motivated by their Christian ideals. Despite the fact that abolition of slavery isn't actually mentioned in the Bible. At all. In spite of the fact that the Bible speaks quite matter-of-factly about slavery, and lays down circumstances and rules for it, and the Bible has even been used to justify slavery, apparently.
But there is a trajectory of freedom in the Bible, and there is a Christian principle of justice to others. In the early parts of the Hebrew Bible slavery is accepted and there are lots of rules about it. Later in the Hebrew Bible there are tighter rules on slavery which give slaves more rights and restrict the freedom of slave owners. Moving into the New Testament it is clear that within the church slaves are to be regarded as free and equal brothers in Christ (Galatians again). It seems a logical step to say that complete abolition of slavery is a continuation of this trajectory, and the ultimate expression of Christian justice and love.
I think a similar trajectory of freedom and rights for women can be seen in the Bible. In the Early Church there clearly were women leaders and teachers - Lydia, Priscilla, Eunice, Junia and others. There were also women disciples, particularly and especially Mary of Bethany, whose right to sit at the feet of the rabbi and learn was defended by Jesus (as opposed to being banished to the kitchen, which appears to have been the usual social expectation of the time.)
Unfortunately, the full fledged partnership of women and men remains to be realized fully in the church. It is a shame (and I mean that quite literally) that women have more freedom and respect in society at large than in the (institutional) church. The church should be leading the charge for women's full equality and full participation in everything, not just in cleaning up the kitchen and the "choir ministry". I hope to see a time when women will be accepted as ministers and priests, as leaders, as teachers, as pastors and as the spiritual leaders of their households (as they are gifted to be.) I hope to see a time when women and men will work alongside one another, each using their gifts and talents to the utmost in the service of God's work. I'd like to see that.
But there is a trajectory of freedom in the Bible, and there is a Christian principle of justice to others. In the early parts of the Hebrew Bible slavery is accepted and there are lots of rules about it. Later in the Hebrew Bible there are tighter rules on slavery which give slaves more rights and restrict the freedom of slave owners. Moving into the New Testament it is clear that within the church slaves are to be regarded as free and equal brothers in Christ (Galatians again). It seems a logical step to say that complete abolition of slavery is a continuation of this trajectory, and the ultimate expression of Christian justice and love.
I think a similar trajectory of freedom and rights for women can be seen in the Bible. In the Early Church there clearly were women leaders and teachers - Lydia, Priscilla, Eunice, Junia and others. There were also women disciples, particularly and especially Mary of Bethany, whose right to sit at the feet of the rabbi and learn was defended by Jesus (as opposed to being banished to the kitchen, which appears to have been the usual social expectation of the time.)
Unfortunately, the full fledged partnership of women and men remains to be realized fully in the church. It is a shame (and I mean that quite literally) that women have more freedom and respect in society at large than in the (institutional) church. The church should be leading the charge for women's full equality and full participation in everything, not just in cleaning up the kitchen and the "choir ministry". I hope to see a time when women will be accepted as ministers and priests, as leaders, as teachers, as pastors and as the spiritual leaders of their households (as they are gifted to be.) I hope to see a time when women and men will work alongside one another, each using their gifts and talents to the utmost in the service of God's work. I'd like to see that.
Your women shall prophesy - Pentecost 2
Still thinking about Pentecost - I know it is a bit out of season now, but I've never been the fashionable type! Also, I suspect that charismatic groups/denominations will be across this concept already, but it was new to me.
Pentecost is when the Holy Spirit descended on the Church and people began to prophesy (I mean in the "forth telling the will of God" sense, not the "fore-telling" sense.) The Joel verse from the Hebrew Bible is here quoted in Acts 2: "I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy….”
I find this an amazing statement of God's willingness, even desire, to use everyone. This is about as inclusive as the Hebrew Bible can get - specifically mentioning old and young, women and slaves, and even female slaves! Yet all of them are described as being speakers of God's truth, vessels of the Holy Spirit. I find it encouraging that women and slaves are explicitly given this high honour of speaking the words of God, both in the Hebrew Bible and in Acts.
I can't help wondering where the Early Church got off-track, where the Church lost this vision of all being equal in speaking the words of God? When we forgot that women should be equal in Christ? When were women forbidden to minister, to pastor, to lead churches? When was patriarchy and the surrounding culture allowed to override this sublime vision of egalitarian giftedness which the Early Church saw?
Now that we have all been baptized with water and with the Holy Spirit, we enter into a new and equal life together. The old categories are swept away - the old categories of age, of social class, of wealth, of ethnicity and of gender. We should allow God to speak with the gifts of the Holy Spirit through everyone - through women, through men, through Greek, through Jew, through slave and free. For we are all one in Christ Jesus. (Gal 3:28)
It is from this key revelation that the concept of the "priesthood of all believers" comes, which is a foundational concept of Protestantism. I'm not strictly a Protestant, but I think this is something they got right. We have Christ, and no longer need any other mediator between ourselves and God. I don't need a priest to stand between me and God, or a pastor, or a man. I don't need someone appointed to take my confession or give me a penance, or even absolution. I can speak to God directly myself.
How could the church ever lose sight of that?
Pentecost is when the Holy Spirit descended on the Church and people began to prophesy (I mean in the "forth telling the will of God" sense, not the "fore-telling" sense.) The Joel verse from the Hebrew Bible is here quoted in Acts 2: "I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy….”
I find this an amazing statement of God's willingness, even desire, to use everyone. This is about as inclusive as the Hebrew Bible can get - specifically mentioning old and young, women and slaves, and even female slaves! Yet all of them are described as being speakers of God's truth, vessels of the Holy Spirit. I find it encouraging that women and slaves are explicitly given this high honour of speaking the words of God, both in the Hebrew Bible and in Acts.
I can't help wondering where the Early Church got off-track, where the Church lost this vision of all being equal in speaking the words of God? When we forgot that women should be equal in Christ? When were women forbidden to minister, to pastor, to lead churches? When was patriarchy and the surrounding culture allowed to override this sublime vision of egalitarian giftedness which the Early Church saw?
Now that we have all been baptized with water and with the Holy Spirit, we enter into a new and equal life together. The old categories are swept away - the old categories of age, of social class, of wealth, of ethnicity and of gender. We should allow God to speak with the gifts of the Holy Spirit through everyone - through women, through men, through Greek, through Jew, through slave and free. For we are all one in Christ Jesus. (Gal 3:28)
It is from this key revelation that the concept of the "priesthood of all believers" comes, which is a foundational concept of Protestantism. I'm not strictly a Protestant, but I think this is something they got right. We have Christ, and no longer need any other mediator between ourselves and God. I don't need a priest to stand between me and God, or a pastor, or a man. I don't need someone appointed to take my confession or give me a penance, or even absolution. I can speak to God directly myself.
How could the church ever lose sight of that?
Monday, June 11, 2012
Reading, Writing...
As part of reactivating this blog, I've been doing a bit of reading through old posts, especially ones to do with reading and writing. I've decided the aspect to concentrate on is evoking the feelings. I think what has been missing from my medical stories is the ability to make the reader feel the way I felt at the time. I think if I can do that, the stories will work.
Thursday, June 07, 2012
Tell no lies?
It came as a great shock to me last week to realize that the Bible doesn't actually command us never to lie. No really, it doesn't.
The commandment that I thought said it, is actually "do not bear false witness" which isn't quite the same thing. There is also something in Leviticus and Deuteronomy about having honest weights and measures - but again this is about lying for advantage and cheating others. It doesn't seem to apply to giving an honest opinion about a new haircut.
There is of course plenty about the virtue of telling the truth, but that also isn't quite the same as an absolute ban on lying. In particular, in the story of Moses (and in a few other places in the Bible) people are blessed and commended by God for their actions - which include telling lies. The example we studied on Sunday was the midwives to the Hebrews, when Pharaoh commanded them to kill the Hebrew babies and they replied that the Hebrew women give birth too quickly for them to get there in time (Exodus Ch1). The very next verse is that they were blessed by God. They lied - they were blessed by God.
There was a little bit of discussion about whether or not this was actually a lie - maybe it was true that they were not attending the births in time in order to avoid carrying out Pharaoh's orders? I do not think this can be true. As someone who attends births myself, I would never consider not attending or "running slowly" when called to a delivery - two lives are potentially on the line. Professional neglect which almost certainly would involve loss of life at some point? I find it harder to believe that God would bless that action, than that God would bless women who lied to protect Hebrew babies and took their own lives into their hands in doing so.
I also think their reply to Pharaoh when asked to "please explain" was brilliant - effectively it was to tell him: that's secret women's business, don't mess with the experts in this area. He could not possibly catch them out lying about how women birth!
I also note that there are other instances in the Bible of people lying for higher purposes and apparently being blessed by it - Rahab springs to mind. In real life there is Corrie ten Boom who lied many times to Nazi enforcers in order to protect Jews. I am sure Bonhoeffer would not have let a few lies stand in his way either.
Interesting. I had always assumed that God was a Kantian "absolute principles" ethicist, but perhaps it isn't as black and white as that...
The commandment that I thought said it, is actually "do not bear false witness" which isn't quite the same thing. There is also something in Leviticus and Deuteronomy about having honest weights and measures - but again this is about lying for advantage and cheating others. It doesn't seem to apply to giving an honest opinion about a new haircut.
There is of course plenty about the virtue of telling the truth, but that also isn't quite the same as an absolute ban on lying. In particular, in the story of Moses (and in a few other places in the Bible) people are blessed and commended by God for their actions - which include telling lies. The example we studied on Sunday was the midwives to the Hebrews, when Pharaoh commanded them to kill the Hebrew babies and they replied that the Hebrew women give birth too quickly for them to get there in time (Exodus Ch1). The very next verse is that they were blessed by God. They lied - they were blessed by God.
There was a little bit of discussion about whether or not this was actually a lie - maybe it was true that they were not attending the births in time in order to avoid carrying out Pharaoh's orders? I do not think this can be true. As someone who attends births myself, I would never consider not attending or "running slowly" when called to a delivery - two lives are potentially on the line. Professional neglect which almost certainly would involve loss of life at some point? I find it harder to believe that God would bless that action, than that God would bless women who lied to protect Hebrew babies and took their own lives into their hands in doing so.
I also think their reply to Pharaoh when asked to "please explain" was brilliant - effectively it was to tell him: that's secret women's business, don't mess with the experts in this area. He could not possibly catch them out lying about how women birth!
I also note that there are other instances in the Bible of people lying for higher purposes and apparently being blessed by it - Rahab springs to mind. In real life there is Corrie ten Boom who lied many times to Nazi enforcers in order to protect Jews. I am sure Bonhoeffer would not have let a few lies stand in his way either.
Interesting. I had always assumed that God was a Kantian "absolute principles" ethicist, but perhaps it isn't as black and white as that...
Friday, June 01, 2012
Pentecost
It was Pentecost last Sunday, and I learned something new to add to what I already know about Pentecost. Of course I was already aware that Pentecost (the 50th day) took place 50 days after Easter Sunday. Also called Whit Sunday it was when the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles as tongues of flame and enabled them to speak in other languages to all the people gathered there. It is also sometimes called "The Birthday of the Church", apparently.
So that's what I already knew, probably what most people know. I wonder how many people also know that Pentecost falls on the Jewish Festival of Weeks (Shavuot). This is the celebration commemorating the giving of the Torah, God's Law, in the desert at Mount Sinai. The festival takes place seven weeks after Passover.
So I see a certain parallel between the Hebrew Bible events and the New Testament events. At Passover the nation of Israel was liberated from Egypt, and seven weeks later they were given the Torah which is God's plan for a new way of life. At Easter Jesus died to liberate us from sin and death - 50 days later at Pentecost we received the Holy Spirit who is to teach and lead us in God's new way of life. Coincidence? I don't think so...
So that's what I already knew, probably what most people know. I wonder how many people also know that Pentecost falls on the Jewish Festival of Weeks (Shavuot). This is the celebration commemorating the giving of the Torah, God's Law, in the desert at Mount Sinai. The festival takes place seven weeks after Passover.
So I see a certain parallel between the Hebrew Bible events and the New Testament events. At Passover the nation of Israel was liberated from Egypt, and seven weeks later they were given the Torah which is God's plan for a new way of life. At Easter Jesus died to liberate us from sin and death - 50 days later at Pentecost we received the Holy Spirit who is to teach and lead us in God's new way of life. Coincidence? I don't think so...
Resuming after a long break...
I see that my last post was Evie's arrival - which explains in part the long break in blogging. The other explanations are Zoe (born 2009) and Genevieve (born 2012).
However, the time has now come when I feel the need to resume blogging again, so here I am! I will tell the birth stories of the other two girls another time, probably soon, but that's not the reason I'm here today. I have decided to cut down my online social time in favour of trying to do serious writing. By "serious" I mean aimed at getting published. So this will be my little writing practice area, and of course as it has always been, a place to explore my thoughts and what it means to live in the "grey" places of life. I've never been a black and white person...
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