CazPerth wrote:
Ok going back to the OP. I'm curious about why you said something you don't agree with but then claim it is the truth?
You have begged the question for starters. What is dominance and where do you see men having more of it? Certainly in some societies there has been an historical picture painted of women dominated by men (however I venture to suggest that women have had far more power where it counts than the recorders of the history have cared to acknowledge) and in the Bible we see a patriarchal society. Taking the question from a biblical perspective we can start with Genesis and note that Eve was of Adam's flesh and their relationship would have been as equals who share the same body and mind had they not sinned. One could imagine in a paradise where all food was provided they could have been equal partners in raising their children. After the fall Adam was to toil for food and Eve was to give birth in pain. How else could this division of labour proceed except that women as mothers must be dependent on the father of the children to provide a greater portion of the food.
I will stop here to note that I consider myself a feminist (surprise!). I am the mother of four children and raised three of them as a single parent so I know how hard it is to be the sole provider and nurturer. I challenge you to find more examples of men being both the provider AND the nurturer than of women taking on both roles.
Thank the Lord I have been blessed with a second relationship with a man who is an equal partner in raising my fourth child we both work and divide parenting equally.
The OP question seems simple but the answer is incredibly complex. I have more questions. Why do men have a lower pain threshold? Why do women live longer after the death of their spouse than vice versa? To give but two.
Love and peace
carolyn
Hi Carolyn. Thanks for your post. I have a couple of comments.
You say that man and women stood as equals before they sinned, and that is simply incorrect. Please refer to the following scripture.
Genesis 2:18, 21-23 NASB
Then the LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him." [21] So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. [22] The LORD God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. [23] The man said, "This is now bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man."
What people seem to not notice here is that the usage of the rib is VERY significant. The ribs serve a PROTECTIVE purpose. Surely, that can be interpreted in a variety of ways, but we can certainly say that the ribs do not exercise authority over the man. Quite the opposite. The man has authority over his body. This is not vague symbolism. This is as God intended it.
When one says equal or equality and assumes that the man and women conditions are equal, you pretty much slam face first into physical inconsistencies and logical impossibilities. The word you are looking for is that we have similarities and one of those similarities is that we have a creator that has given us purpose. A purpose in which we play to our strengths, but make no mistake here that the man is the leader. To say that it is equal or contrary is just unbiblical and unsupported by every shred of evidence imaginable.
Second, you may want to reconsider your identity as a feminist because the idea and goals of feminism is not equality but rather of female superiority and that man is second class. I often tell other women," we're different, there is nothing wrong with that".
I found your other comment interesting as well that you challenge to find a more examples of man being the provider and nurturer. We need not look any further then Christ.
I believe these kinds of challenges are silly for us to do. For example, I challenge a women out there to teach a boy how to become a man. Or challenge a man to teach a young girl how to be a women. It sounds ridiculous because it actually is.
To your last questions.
Why do men have a lower pain threshold?
Not sure what you mean, but men are probably mentally engaged in a different way in regards to how they respond to pain. Then again, it depends on what kind of pain you're talking about.
Why do women live longer?
Might have more to do with the fact that women are typically younger or are in generally safer occupation working conditions.
My wife is 7 years older then me. I am shrugging my shoulders here on that one.