Tuesday, July 12, 2011

"Problem Passages: Genesis 3:16" and (Y)our Reading

Kay Bonikowsky is writing a series of blogposts comparing the teaching on various gender passages in the Bible,"to provide a resource for those searching to understand what they believe."

Today, she's written, "Problem Passages: Genesis 3:16."  Here are a couple of paragraphs she gives as synopses of beliefs:
The Comps believe this consequence of [Eve's then Adam's] sin is the battle of the sexes. Women want to be in charge now, and men, to keep their God-ordained position, will use any means to dominate. As a result, Christian women should learn to stay in their God-ordained role, and Christian men should learn to control their aggression.
and
Egals believe that this verse foretells male oppression upon women; that women, because of this powerful longing or turning, have enabled male oppression throughout history.  This longing is not focused on God, as it was originally created for, but for man. It is misplaced worship; idolatry.
The post gets to the critical Hebrew words, the Greek and Latin and English translations of them, and provides a number of secondary resources for further study.  The author of the post herself has done considerable study and is herself learning and changing.  Be forewarned, then, if you're concerned at all where an honest investigation might take you and how you yourself might turn and turn out.  Of herself, the author notes:
I’ve taught as a complementarian in the past, but recently I’ve given up the charade. I’m not a comp. I am convicted that male patriarchy is a tradition of man, not a mandate of God. I am passionate about it. I believe it is a huge blind spot in the church. But, the times they are a changin’! This little outlet is my way of joining the “reformation” on the place of women in God’s church.
Now, decide whether you yourself can read her post, "Problem Passages: Genesis 3:16."  I'd recommend it.  (But don't say I didn't warn you about what reading the Bible with such intellectual curiosity and openness might do.)

2 comments:

Bob MacDonald said...

Thanks for pointing this out. Of course we integrate what we learn, perhaps reducing it to a system of thought as if our logic could give us a reductionist resting point. I am only just getting to the phrase by phrase and poem by poem view of the psalms. Who knows if the tokens even meant the same thing to the different poets? If they were written over say 300 years, then even the Hebrew would have changed in that period. But to attempt to 'prove my point' strikes me as dangerous if the result is imposed on others as their starting point under my rule. So the church is largely ruled by those who are trained in her propagation. How do we escape from this domination of the logic of the word, rather than the freeing and life that comes in the word? I suppose it is by such engagement as the desire expressed in the Song. - That at least is my resting point.

J. K. Gayle said...

But to attempt to 'prove my point' strikes me as dangerous if the result is imposed on others as their starting point under my rule. So the church is largely ruled by those who are trained in her propagation. How do we escape from this domination of the logic of the word, rather than the freeing and life that comes in the word?

Thanks Bob. I'm not the only one who appreciates your engagements with "the desire expressed in the Song," as you put it. I missed reading a comment from you, here, when Jay was asking his questions about Genesis 3:16 - so thank you for stopping by at this blog now to comment.