Christian, Atheist and Faith Based Debate

Christian - Atheist Debate

The symbols and rituals of Christianity are those I choose.  I was raised with them and they are comfortable for me.  I am a member of the Mid-Valley Interfaith Council in the Coachella Valley.  As such I have the opportunity to hear prayers, blessings, greetings and expressions of faith which are new to me but resonate with my experience of the divine. The members of the council are Roman Catholic, Latter Day Saint, Buddhist, Muslim and so many other faith traditions.  We meet once a month to eat, pray and share the work of our congragations in the community.  

I like this video because the participants are respectful, passionate and funny.  They do not take their own point of view so seriously that they forget to listen.  They are not angry about another's beliefs nor are they trying to change each other.  

Holocaust

Holocaust and Syria

I watched a documentary this morning.  It was made by a man who, as a child, survived the Holocaust.  All my life I have known that we must never forget the atrocities of the Holocaust in Europe so that it never happens again. But it is happening in Syria!  I tried to post pictures of the victims of the Holocaust and the Syrian Civil War.  They are so horrible I could not.  The only real difference in the photos is you can see the color of the blood in the Syrian photos and al-Assad seems to be killing his victims where they live instead of rounding them up.  I do not want war!  I do not want war for our country or anyone else but if it is true, we must never forget than action must be taken against the holocaust of the Syrian people.  Thoughts?

Rape

Rape:

Courageous Clarity speaks out about the rape of a 14-year-old girl by her teacher.  Her eventual suicide as a result of that rape and the 30 day jail sentence of her rapist.  

This crime came to my attention as I contemplated the rape and impregnation of a 15-year-old girl in Concord, New Hampshire.  She was raped by an adult member of her church.  Her pastor Rev. Charles Phelps made her apologize to the wife of her rapist and the entire congregation.  He told her she was lucky that she didn't live in Old Testament times because she would have been stoned to death.  The rapist in New Hampshire got 15-30 years.  In the rape described above, the rapist got 30 days.  I think the pain on the face of the young woman in the video expresses the horror I feel as I see how little women and girls are valued.  

Tina Anderson, the rape survivor wanted her name publicized to highlight church abuse.  

  

The Cushite Wife of Moses

Where to find the story of the Cushite wife of Moses?

The nameless woman known only as the Cushite woman is found in Numbers 12:1.

The Cushite woman tells her story.

Mariam and Arron were so angry that Moses married me.  They had a terrible fight.  Mariam became very ill as a result.

Observations on the Cushite woman.

Was the Cushite woman  Zipporah the wife mentioned in Exodus?  She is said to be from the land of Midian.  Did Moses have two wives?  Why were Mariam and Arron so angry that Moses had married a Cushite?  

In Numbers 25:1-8 the grandson of Arron kills an Israelite man and a Midianite woman.  The man is said to have brought her into his family.  They may have been having sex because they are in the tent and both are stabbed through the belly.  

"Since Cush is the Hebrew term for Ethiopia or Nubia, some say that this woman was black." 

(Winter, Miriam Therese; Woman Wisdom, 1993)

Like so many biblical women all we know about her is how she figures into the story of the male biblical hero. 

Following is an interesting video about the Cushite wife of Moses.  

Biblical Women

Where to find the story of the Shunammite Woman

As is the case with so many biblical women the Shunammite woman is not named and does not tell her own story.  Unlike many biblical women she does speak up for herself.  She is found in 2 Kings 4:8-37 and 8:1-6 as a character in the story of Elisha the prophet.  

The Shunammite Woman Tells Her Story

I invited the prophet, Elisha to dinner.  I wanted to see what this holy man was all about. He was always accompanied by his servant, Gehazi.  They began to come to my home whenever they were in town.  I am a wealthy woman so I told my husband I wanted to build a room on the house for them.  One day Gehazi asked me if there was anything Elisha could do for me.  They wanted to thank me for all I had done for them.  I couldn't think of anything I wanted.  Gehazi told Elisha, "She doesn't have any children and her husband is old."  I did not believe him when he said I would have a son that time next year and I told him as much.  I said, "O man of God; do not deceive me."   

To my great joy, a year later I had a beautiful baby boy.  When he grew big enough he went to the fields with his father.  One day a servant carried my son back to me.  He had a terrible headache.  I held him on my lap and he died.  My  heart was broken and I was so angry at with that prophet.

I told my husband to send me a servant and I saddled a donkey.  I was going to see that prophet.  My husband tried to argue with me but my mind was made up.  I rode as fast as I could to Mount Carmel.  Gehazi met me as I approached and asked if anything was wrong.  I was not going to say anything to anyone but Elisha.  I know the power of words and I was not going waste them on the servant.  

I said to Elisha,"Did I ask you for a son?  Didn't I tell you I didn't need anything?  Didn't I tell you            not to deceive me?  My child is dead and my heart is broken.  If you had left me as I was I would not have this broken heart."  

Elisha told his servant to go home with me and lay his staff on my child's face.  That was not good enough for me.  I told him, "I am not leaving here without you!"  Gehazi went on ahead to do as Elisha said.  He met us on his way back and said my child was dead.  When we got to the house Elisha went into the room with my son.  He was in there a long time.  Finally, Gehazi called me.  My son was alright. Thank God!  

Elisha and I remained friends.  He advised me that there was going to be a famine and I needed to move my family to Philistia.  We were there seven years.  When we finally returned to Shunem, my home and land had been taken over by squatters.  I went to the king to ask that my property be returned to me.  Gehazi was already there and spoke to the king on my behalf.  After the king questioned me he appointed an official to help me secure my property and all the revenue my land had generated while I was gone.

Observations

The story of the Shunammite woman is told as part of a series of miracles to prove that Elisha is a prophet.  She is first described as standing quietly in the presence of the prophet or at the door of the room constructed for him. He only speaks to her through his servant. After the death of her child her whole demeanor changes.  She rides off to see Elisha.  When his servant asks what is wrong she ignores him and goes directly to the prophet.  I can imagine the scene.  She grabs him and screams,"Did I ask you for a son?  Didn't I tell you not to mislead me?     

Elisha tries again to have his servant take care of the women but she is not having any of that.  She forcefully tells him,"I am not leaving here without you.  Because of her tenacity her child and eventually her property are restored to her.  

         

Anthony Weiner and Bathsheba

Anthony Weiner and Bathsheba

On Friday, June 26, 2009 South Caroline governor Mark Sanford apologized to his cabinet for his extramarital affair.  The reporter from Good Morning America, John Hendren, who reported on the governor's apology introduced the governor saying, "comparing himself to the biblical king who gave into the temptress Bathsheba…"  It happened again this morning with the Anthony Weiner mess.  The commentator attempted to excuse Anthony Weiner's behavior, using a comparison to David and Bathsheba.  Let's be clear David was a powerful man who spied on a young powerless woman, had her taken from her home, had sex with her, sent her home and when he found out she was pregnant had her husband killed.  Sounds more like rape than giving into a temptress.  

Anthony Weiner

The commentator then went on to compare Mr. Weiner to Presidents Kennedy and Clinton and to explain that we have set the bar very low and do not expect much from our political leaders.    There is no excuse.  Forgiveness, yes, but making excuses for powerful men who abuse their power with sexual misconduct, no.  

Bathsheba

Bathsheba did not ask for what happened to her.  The prophet Nathan is reported to be her ally.  It hardly seems likely that he would have been an ally to the temptress of the king. Stop scapegoating Bathsheba and other women.  Let Mark Sanford and Anthony Weiner take responsibility for their own bad behavior and choices.  

Defining My Passion

Religion, Feminism, Justice, Human Trafficking

I have not posted for many days.  One reason is the wonderful time I spent with my great-niece, family and friends.  Another reason was deciding the direction I want to take with this blog.  I have gotten lots of advice.  I spent thirty years flying under the radar, so to speak.  Now I have a blog, a twitter account, a Facebook page, and am working on creating an author's Facebook page.  The initial reason for this social media campaign was to promote my book, Prostitutes, Virgins and Mothers: Questioning Teachings About Biblical Women.  That is still important but I cannot stay silent about some of the things I have learned on social media.

Human Trafficking

I am working with the Riverside County Anti Human Trafficking Task Force.  One of the questions I ask groups to whom I am presenting human trafficking information is, "True or False, a woman's love for her pimp means that she is willingly choosing prostitution?"  Today I read the new Dreamworks movie Turbo uses the term "pimp your shell" to equate improving or making better.  Do the pimps who sell the bodies of others for profit make anything better? 

Religion

I am a Christian.  It is the faith path to which I have been called.  I am a member of the Mid-Valley Interfaith Council in the Coachella Valley.  We are Roman Catholic, Muslim, Latter Day Saint, Independent Catholic, Christ Science, Jewish and more. I am inspired by the ways God has revealed God's self to the others in the group and I always learn something from each meeting.  Yet I read so much snipping about other faith tradition.  If I think I know all the ways God reveals God's Self the
God I think I know is very small.  Is God so small that God only speaks to your religious group?  I do not use pronouns for God.  God does not have genitalia.      

Feminism

I am delighted there are so many thoughtful feminist sisters and brothers taking a stand on human justice issues.  I am also shocked at some of the reactions I read to that work.  Such fear it seems to me but of what exactly?

Justice, Religion, Feminism, Human Trafficking

So I said all that to clarify for myself the work before me, my passions.  They are interpretation of the stories of biblical women from a woman's perspective, Christian Feminism, the end of Human Trafficking/Slavery, Liberty and Justice for all.