3. Sin and the Sexuality of Women

8. DUALISM

     It has been difficult for men to divide the sexuality of women from sin, because the Old Testament language, accommodating to the culture of the time, and uses terms like whoredom for Israel's sin. The hard lesson of Hosea and his adulterous wife is the opposite of the N.T. use of the Bride of Christ for the church. But this dualism of language has been debilitating in the long and hard road for the rights of women. We are frightened of the term "feminism" but if we knew the history of women through the ages we would realise the necessity for the struggle. The Woman of the love Song of Songs has been divided from the business Woman of Proverbs when really they are both examples of loving and caring. There has been specific and systematic exclusion of women from the processes of theological reflection until just recently, and as well, elimination of female experience from the conclusions of these studies. Add to that the paucity of language to express sexuality, in an empirical, meaningful way, it is no wonder that reassessment has been necessary, and the proliferation of women in the church now crying out for better understanding cannot be hidden and decried under the umbrella of humanism, as a "dangerous path to tread". Women cannot be pushed back to the industrialised society, where they became decorations, where men forgot how to move and develop together with their wives. Perhaps some women look back with envy at the previous agrarian society, where they were partners in domestic and trade occupations, as well as recreation, and families worked together for better harmony. The church life of this century has reflected the male dominated society in which we live and has used men to do the theological, intellectual and general work of the church, while the women have stayed at home. Our own community has a proliferation of older sisters whose husbands have died of hard work, both in their employment and in our own community, and it would be healthier for all of us, if we encouraged removal of the gender lines as much as we could, in the work load of our own church. The metaphors of Christ's marriage to the church militate against male domination, for women are included in the Christ body as well. The lessons in fatherhood and the importance of that role, are also pictured in the language of the fatherhood of God, and now that men are encouraged to fully explore those roles, again not by the church, but by those who seek better family relationships, we can only admire our own young brethren as they seek to do the very best by their family. If this is detrimental to the workings of the church, they need to find compensating gains and work practices and leave the parents to master their godly roles

9. HISTORY REPEATING ITSELF?

     It is a matter of history that it has been the church that has backed and filled on - marriage, celibacy, chastity, virginity, adultery and divorce, making laws to suit itself, using social fabric when it so pleases. This is demonstrated where in the social needs of unemployment, say after the wars, or in times of depression, the church takes up the cry of the state, "back to the kitchen". I am not here arguing the merits, or demerits of mothers being home for their children, or for freedom for parents to work through their own needs, but for the theological and intellectual development that so many women crave. I am making the point that women need no longer submit to being defrauded, live in unappreciated, loveless, unfulfilled selfish relationships, where men’s self esteem is built on power over women and girls, where family life is destroyed. How can it be that divorced members are shunned, and paedophiles continue on in church communities and have male rights? Hardly can we espouse the church doctrine of the 4th Century that men represent righteousness and so do not need a head covering, whereas women represent sin, and must be covered, as some religious zealots still do.

     It has not been the cry of the church that has outed paedophilia, nor the family, it has been the cry of the state. "No!" and "Stop!" have been taught to our women and girls through schools and television. How is it that so many little girls have been “educated”, as their female forebears were, to think that abuse is normal and all that can be expected? Why is a sister's plea for better sexual behaviour from our brethren at meetings, responded to by a letter in the next magazine, "How dare we speak about such things!" Tidings Magazine, (U.S.A), January and February 1997). While ever the church consigns women to varying degrees of low estate, practising patriarchy, employing a male system of Bible education, buying and selling them, that is, insisting that they work or don't work, giving them no independence in their spiritual or secular lives, the church will continue to have members who are impotent to deal with paedophiles and abusers, and so dysfunction and family breakdown will continue, and spiritual security and fellowship will be the casualties. Sexism, classism, imperialism, colonialism, warism are all patrician, or unfashionable attitudes of patriarchy, where a woman's moral sense and place in creation are distorted. Women have powerful roles to perform, (though it is not the only role that is holy), in the creation, of the embryo, and the nurture of that little body, through until childhood begins, and is sanctified in that role. To enclose, subordinate, use and abuse, is not an outworking of the Eden principle that God intended. This is not submission, and men need education in submission roles for both genders, if we are to stop the family dysfunction.

     Men and women both represent righteousness and sin, good and evil. Happy, healthy, stable, loving, sensitive and tender relationships need to be displayed in our homes and in our collective worship, so that we, in turn, display the characteristics of the Kingdom. The Christian life is not easy. Where a woman has come from a loving stable home to be joined to an unfeeling partner, she feels it is impossible for her to have a soul joyful life, where her other, becomes herself, and they both together represent the love of God.

     The partnership of Adam and Eve, both equal sinners, should have shared the thorns and thistles and sweat and shame. However each gender over the ensuing years reacted in a different fashion, and consequently it was this struggle that lit the divine spark in human hearts and led to God's gift of his son.

     Force was not an option in Christ's teaching, (he did not lead the way back to stone throwing), nor did he advocate avoid getting caught. Prohibition was not an option, for where the church or the state has tried prohibition, it has not worked. We cannot remake the secular laws in a Christian context and must accept the divorce laws of the country, though a piece of paper does not make adultery right. Women now having sunk to the self interest that men have enjoyed over the last nearly 2,000 years, have brought our divorce rate to an all high level. Surely in our church, we can turn this trend into a positive reinforcement for good family relationships. No divorcee would advocate divorce. We need to understand the reasons for the high rate, rather than blaming it on feminism.