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| The Women Of Matthew 1: Source |
Bible Women, Part A:
I found the stories of the women of the bible to be truly fascinating. As mentioned, I grew up being raised with a (poorly disciplined) Buddhist belief system. My mother's family, however, was different sects of Christianity. I had neighbors take me to church and buy me bibles, etc. So I grew up with an interesting understanding of religion, and the bible. I was first given the "teen girl" bible, and then later a "King James" bible, both of which I read in their entirety. I was always drawn more towards the stories of the women in the bible, I wanted to see strong religious females in the stories, not wrong-doing, weak-minded women. It frustrated me to see that women were often viewed as scapegoats for the men's actions, even as a child, it bothered me. This reading reinvigorated my passion for biblical women, and I specifically found interest in Eve's story. The following excerpt always perplexed me, "This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh" (King James Bible). It never quite sat right with me, to me, it felt like this being, a woman, from the "beginning of time" had a debt to men, and men had ownership. Reading this as a young girl made me feel uneasy, it made me feel like women had only existed because of men, even though, biologically, it is certainly the opposite. Overall, all of the readings about biblical women left me feeling mildly uncomfortable. Any autonomy that the women in the readings held felt as if, in one way or another, the responsibility of the man. As if man granted women their freedom, which is not truly free at all. In conclusion, I really enjoyed the readings for today, and I look forward to reading the second half of the biblical women's stories.
Bibliography, King James Bible (1611): Genesis 2 and Genesis 3
Focus Story: Eve's Story
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