girls who would service only Christian men. The girls were required to say prayers, however." (19)
Since the Church has been responsible for history's most extensive atrocity against women, five hundred years of torture and murder under the Inquisition that slaughtered some nine million of them -- everyone entirely innocent of the crime for which she was executed, that of conspiring with a real devil -- many women in later times have preferred to seek alternative faiths that respect the female principle. The Goddess figure has been rediscovered by Western women in some of Asia's ageold faiths, where, as Swami Vivekananda put it, "The ancient Mother has awakened once more, sitting on her throne rejuvenated, more glorious than ever. Proclaim Her to all the world with the voice of peace and benediction." (20)
Women's rejection of ecclesiastical sexism actually began more than a century ago, with the leaders of the suffragist movement. Elizabeth Cady Stanton's The Christian Church and Women said:
The Church has done more to degrade women than all other adverse influences put together ... Out of the doctrine of original sin grew the crimes and miseries of asceticism, celibacy, and witchcraft, woman becoming the helpless
victim of all the delusions generated in the brain of man ... The clergy everywhere sustained witchcraft as a Bible doctrine ... So long as the pulpits teach woman's inferiority and subjection, she can never command honor and respect. .. There is nothing more pathetic in all history than the hopeless resignation of woman to the outrages she has been taught to believe are ordained of God. (21)
Nineteenth-century women in Europe and America were taught that God's rules for marriage counseled them only to "obey" their husbands, while as wives they lost all rights to own property, to manage money, to inherit paternal fortunes, or even to control their own bodies in matters of sexuality and reproduction. Matilda Jocelyn Gage pointed out in her
monumental book, Woman, Church and State, that the churches' rules for inheritance made sure that only the gender that could become clergy would be the owners of property, because the church would inherit from them -- a procedure that, over' the centuries, made churches the richest organizations in the Western world.
Mary Condren writes: l'The subjugation of women formed one of the central ideologies of Western Christianity." (22) Annie Laurie Gaylor states that "Repudiation of patriarchal religion is an essential step in freeing women." (23) But the fundamentalist churches, showing little or no awareness of such sentiments in modern women, continue to oppress in subtle and not-so-subtle ways.
The closing message to women at the Second Vatican Council went as follows: "Women of the entire universe, you to whom life is entrusted, it is for you to save the peace of the world." Women had hardly been allowed to speak at this event, especially on the subject of saving the world. And those few women who were admitted as "observers" and who freely mingled with the delegates on the first day, found themselves relegated to a "coffee ~oom" thereafter, ensuring that not even on the coffee breaks could their presence contaminate the purity of the decision-making process. (24)
It1s interesting that churchmen address women "of the entire universe, II as if their whole universe is just this one little insignificant planet, and all the women on it are presumed able and willing to listen to what they have to say. Such misuse of terminology symbolizes the highly restricted viewpoint of patriarchal religion today, and the narrowness of its vision.
Concerning this miniscule "universe" of patriarchy, theologian Rosemary Radford Ruether writes: "Women have to suspect that the entire symbolic universe that surrounds them, which has socialized them to their roles, is deeply tainted by hostility to their humanity. (25) She also says:
Because women are in fact not inferior, but full human persons of equivalent capacities upon whom all males, as children, were once dependent, the task of suppressing women into dependence on males is a never-ending struggle ... lt must be reiterated generation after generation, by repeating the myths of women's original sin to the young, both male and female, and by reinforcing laws and structures that marginalize women from power roles in society ... Religion is relied upon as both the foundation and the daily aid in this project. (26)
To their shame, most modern churches still ignore the knowledge now revealed by scholars: that the primary deity of the human species was not a He but a She. Theological imagery needs to return to the biological fact that, while fathering is more or less incidental among animals, it is mothering that truly gives and sustains life. The true test of any religion is its moral effect, and the effect of Christianity has been a disaster: the most ruthless and violent history on earth. Its sexism has been neither moral nor wise.
1. Pagels, Elaine. The Gnostic Gospels. New York: Random House, 1979, pp.30, 52, 57
2. de Givry, Grillot. Witchcraft, Magic and Alchemy. New York: Dover, 1971, p. 157
3. de Riencourt, Amaury. Sex and Power in History. New York: Dell, 1974, p.258
4. Vetter, George B. Magic and Religion. New York: Philosophical Library, 1973, p. 355
a snippett from one of fredricks posts, thanks Fredrick.
often Fascism
A system of government marked by centralization of authority under a dictator, stringent socioeconomic controls, suppression of the opposition through terror and censorship, and typically a policy of belligerent nationalism and racism.
A political philosophy or movement based on or advocating such a system of government.
Oppressive, dictatorial control.
"The difference between a structure based on unification and a structure without unification hinges on the question if nothing is just plain nothing or if nothing is mighty fundamental. Read In Search of a Cyclops with titillating mathematical evidence (see homepage) to find out if separation belongs to the fundamental basics of our universe - or not." ~frederick
Separation...Factionalisms...Creeds, Races, Clans, Sects, Theologies, Religions, Patriotism/Fanaticism is the evil wedge that drives marriages in particular and Societies in general and Nations globally apart from Oneness, Wholesomeness and Unity. This great Earth contains all the sustenance mankind could ever need, but to the Ignorance, arrogance and greed of the few...the masses are sacrificed callously for their participation, ends justifying the means..while those in power...
Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel. ~Samuel Jackson
The best hiding place in America is behind the banner of "Democracy".
Success is the last refuge of Failure ~Oscar Wilde
...e.g. The Holy Roman Empire under the brutal Dictator Constantine...and Appearing soon on A National Stage near you...
"Division" [separation] i.e. Divide and Conquer!...
People are the most important "fundamentals" in this/our.. Universe...
The Deflation of Independence was a misnomer...More appropriately it should have been named "The Declaration Of Liberation"...no wonder people don't see "eye to eye"...too many "I"s
I suppose, in summation, and upon preponderence, one can only imagine the unspeakable, ungodly and unholy 'atrocities heaped upon these young souls in their captivity(male and female alike, and all ages), by their Holy Self-Righteous, self-serving conquerers/'saviors'.
It does not take much to imagine, in the light of this article, how "The Holy Roman Empire" and The rise of early 'christianity' or at least the Roman Catholic 'version', grew to be such an enormous monstrocity as it is today, I can only 'imagine' the male members 'filling the offering basket' to become what would make them part of the 'priviledged' within the church itself, and welome to at least 'a portio'n of some of the more enticing 'booty' taken by the Romans in their sieges and battles, against everyone else.
Drift, finally something we can agree on, that religion poisons everything, but note that the old legends about God and such were only that, just made up.
As for humans, some do what they always did, hardly a human nature supposedly designed by one all good and perfect, it would seem.
When the wise man gives the world a truth Drifter ... it is the whole truth and nothing but the truth from the receiver as would be a white light ... we all know the rainbows of what light will break down to ... when just a bit of the rainbow can be seen, this wonderful perception of color and beauty under the ALL ... maybe just one color or two of the whole as the laws of reflection in the mirror or the soul does ..., is taken for enlightenment of a ponder and then oh boy even just a few frequencies of it baby ... WOW ...it is a great REVELATION to the receiver ... such be the "power of truth ..." even a little little little bit ... would you like personal example?
I moved the world though the UN once ... a little white light you know?
They took in this truth by what frequencies they could absorb feeding there ego and reflecting the rest as no matter ... I will never do that again sorry.
Like the song Vincent ... and all the woes are of those who took in just a little of the wise mans end ponder ... I like to ponder more , it is the most recommended mind exercise I can subscribe to ... ~kind regards, and very good post Mr Drifter ... Graham B.
I suppose, in summation, and upon preponderence, one can only imagine the unspeakable, ungodly and unholy 'atrocities heaped upon these young souls in their captivity(male and female alike, and all ages), by their Holy Self-Righteous, self-serving conquerers/'saviors'.
It does not take much to imagine, in the light of this article, how "The Holy Roman Empire" and The rise of early 'christianity' or at least the Roman Catholic 'version', grew to be such an enormous monstrocity as it is today, I can only 'imagine' the male members 'filling the offering basket' to become what would make them part of the 'priviledged' within the church itself, and welome to at least 'a portio'n of some of the more enticing 'booty' taken by the Romans in their sieges and battles, against everyone else.
Namaste`
D./Sky Dancer
Thank you, Drifter.
There is really only one on-going atrocity of this world: The "Big Con.".
It is the One who throughout the aeons arises time after time, in every community, every country, every civilization. The One who imposes CONtrol in all its forms (constraints, conditions, contradictions, contrariness, contraventions, controversy, conspiracies...). The One who stands between his fellow Man and every Man's rightful inheritence: to share equally in all that Life has to offer and to know God's wisdom for himself.
This song just keeps reminding me...
SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL
Please allow me to introduce myself
Im a man of wealth and taste
Ive been around for a long, long year
Stole many a mans soul and faith
And I was round when jesus christ
Had his moment of doubt and pain
Made damn sure that pilate
Washed his hands and sealed his fate
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guess my name
But whats puzzling you
Is the nature of my game
I stuck around st. petersburg
When I saw it was a time for a change
Killed the czar and his ministers
Anastasia screamed in vain
I rode a tank
Held a generals rank
When the blitzkrieg raged
And the bodies stank
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guess my name, oh yeah
Ah, whats puzzling you
Is the nature of my game, oh yeah
I watched with glee
While your kings and queens
Fought for ten decades
For the gods they made
I shouted out,
Who killed the kennedys? When after all It was you and me
Let me please introduce myself
Im a man of wealth and taste
And I laid traps for troubadours
Who get killed before they reached bombay
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guessed my name, oh yeah
But whats puzzling you
Is the nature of my game, oh yeah, get down, baby
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guessed my name, oh yeah
But whats confusing you
Is just the nature of my game
Just as every cop is a criminal
And all the sinners saints
As heads is tails
Just call me lucifer
cause Im in need of some restraint
So if you meet me
Have some courtesy
Have some sympathy, and some taste
Use all your well-learned politesse
Or Ill lay your soul to waste, um yeah
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guessed my name, um yeah
But whats puzzling you
Is the nature of my game, um mean it, get down
Woo, who
Oh yeah, get on down
Oh yeah
Oh yeah!
Tell me baby, whats my name
Tell me honey, can ya guess my name
Tell me baby, whats my name
I tell you one time, youre to blame
Ooo, who
Ooo, who
Ooo, who
Ooo, who, who
Ooo, who, who
Ooo, who, who
Ooo, who, who
Oh, yeah
Whats me name
Tell me, baby, whats my name
Tell me, sweetie, whats my name
Ooo, who, who
Ooo, who, who
Ooo, who, who
Ooo, who, who
Ooo, who, who
Ooo, who, who
Ooo, who, who
Oh, yeah
__________________ "What a fragile balance between the indispensable and the sublime." Hans Blumenberg
"Perfection is not when there is more to add, but when there is no more to take away." Antoine De Saint-Eupery
Disclaimer: *The above statements are my opinion only and shouldn't be taken as factual. Read at your own risk*
I think when you're dead, you're just dead (it seems likely);
but I'm not sure.
I'm really not sure!
However there is one thing I am sure of, and that's if there would exist a god, I don't like him.
I apologize for my language, but god can kiss my butt.
I'm sorry, it's not against this forum or any of you, it's just I don't like god.
I don't need him.
To hell with god.
I hear u D.M. No need to apologize. The God I grew up believing in was a God I did not like either. He was this guy out of a book claimed to be written by him and the description of himself is not friendly and far from loving. My question to you is. Who is this God you dislike? There are many to choose from or none.
Linear Mode
