Women's Forum

admin · Posted: Mon Nov 11, 2002 3:12 am Post subject: Women's Forum

A place to discuss the role of women in Biblical times and today.

Cybermonsters (Most Beloved Admin)

Sara Jansky · Posted: Sun Nov 24, 2002 7:45 pm Post subject: Women's Forum

Good idea. Although, it seems I am the only visitor to this particular topic so far.

I as a married woman gladly accept my biblical role in the home. I am my husband's "help meet" and he is my loving provider. God made us and he knows how we work best.

Wildcat Kelly · Posted: Tue Nov 26, 2002 12:45 am Post subject: Women's Forum

Hello Sara. I also accept my role as a christian wife, sometimes it is hard when I have to have a job outside the home and sometimes I choke on the submission thing (expecially when I know he is about to make a very wrong dicision or do something compleatly stupid!)

I think that society today makes it hard on us women who really want to be the christian wives God made us to be.

Van · Posted: Tue Nov 26, 2002 5:44 am Post subject: Women's Forum

If God cursed Eve, was the curse to lust for man but face extreme pain in childbirth, or was the curse to desire to dominate man, but he shall rule over you, or both? Gen 3:16

Sara Jansky · Posted: Thu Dec 05, 2002 12:13 am Post subject: Women's Forum

"Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee." Genesis 3:16

Well, that is what the verse says so that is what the verse means. Sounds pretty simple to me.

admin · Posted: Thu Dec 05, 2002 12:23 am Post subject: Women's Forum

I think it's more likely a little poetic backward engineering to say God gave women pain in childbirth because of the fall.

Van · Posted: Thu Dec 05, 2002 5:55 am Post subject: Women's Forum

In reading Genesis 3:16, I think it may contain two curses, but it is certainly also possible it contains only one. The pain and sorrow of childbirth was increased for woman, that seems clear to me. But the second two lines could mean two different things: the desire for man could be related to wanting to have children, and the ruling over you could just be a poetic way of saying something about mating. But, if the desire is to rule over the man, but the man will rule over the woman, it is a different sort of curse.

Note in 1 Tim 2:15, woman are to santify with self restraint. So the curse could be the submission thing, but it is not clear.

Final thought: It may be that the requirement for the wife to submit and respect her husband was made more difficult because of the curse (Eph 5:22-33), just as childbirth was made more difficult because of the curse.

[This message has been edited by Van (edited 12-05-2002).]

Tiger75 · Posted: Thu Dec 05, 2002 8:09 am Post subject: Women's Forum

God multiplied the sorrow of conception and child-birth in the woman, do you think Eve had already had children so this actually could be compared?

Van · Posted: Thu Dec 05, 2002 8:34 am Post subject: Women's Forum

Clearly Adam and Eve were familiar with death and pain, prior to the fall, or God's warning would have not made sense. This suggests, but does not require, that Adam and Eve had witnessed death and pain prior to the fall. The Bible does not tell us how Adam and Eve obtained language skills, but like speaking in a language that had been unknown to the speaker, God could have given them the meanings of words like pain and death. Notice in Acts 2:6, the gift of tongues was the ability to speak in a language known to the audience, in which they had never been trained.

In any event, because of the above two possible answers to how Eve would have understood death and pain prior to the fall, I do not think it likely that she had had children prior to the fall.

Ian Rankin · Posted: Mon Dec 09, 2002 12:02 pm Post subject: Women's Forum

Hullo All,
With some trepidation I offer a thought on the role of women and men.
Gen 3:26-27 says that God created man and woman in his own image, MALE and FEMALE he created them.
I understand this as meaning that it is not man or woman that are the image of God but man and woman together make the image of God.
I think of this in the same sense as while each of us are Christians, yet it is the body,a group of local believers, that represents Christ and fulfills the purpose of our redemption.
God bless

Van · Posted: Mon Dec 09, 2002 2:52 pm Post subject: Women's Forum

I think your idea is a good one. Singles can find fulfullment in Christ and in the assembly of believers, and hence are on at least equal footing with folks committed to Christ and to their Christian marriage and to their brothers and sisters in Christ.

Ian Rankin · Posted: Tue Dec 10, 2002 7:32 am Post subject: Women's Forum

Just to add a thought to my previous post about man and woman being the image of God.
In the Godhead there is a difference of functions but no superiority or inferiority. I think this applies to the roles of men and women. This of course raises the question of what are their distinctive roles?

Van · Posted: Tue Dec 10, 2002 10:35 am Post subject: Women's Forum

Genesis 1:26 says God created man in his image so I think whatever characteristics we have that are in the image of God, we possess as individuals. Our expression of these characteristics may require a relationship with God or other entities, but the lack of a relationship with someone of the opposite sex does not mean they are less in the image of God.

Van · Posted: Wed Dec 11, 2002 10:54 am Post subject: Women's Forum

A couple of passages to ponder.

What part of the image of God was lacking in the individual named Jesus?

Are not all of us as individuals trying to comform ourselves to the image of Christ?

2 Cor. 4:4 and Col. 3:10.

Ian Rankin · Posted: Wed Dec 11, 2002 9:29 pm Post subject: Women's Forum

Van,
Thank you for your response to my post. I always welcome the opportunity of having my ideas challenged and the resulting process of clarification, rethinking and often the change that this brings.

Image of God
Father, Son and Holy Spirit, each divine, but with different functions. Their unity as one is the Christian view of the Godhead.
When I think of the image of God, I think of the perfect harmony of truth and justice, plus love and mercy

Mankind
Mankind was made in the image of God and was made man and woman.Before sin their relationship was a perfect balance of truth and mercy.
Sin broke the relationship with God, broke the perfectness of the image of God and broke the perfect relationship between man and woman

John 8:1-11 is an illustration of this.
The accusation the men brought against the woman was true, but they were seeking to use truth, not follow it. Their duplicity was exposed and they fled. It is interesting to speculate that had they accepted the rebuke and stayed then they too would have heard the words,'neither do I condemn you'.
Truth without mercy becomes bigotry and bigotry crucified Jesus who was Truth.
The woman illustrates how love without the discipline of truth leads to self-destruction, but truth, in the person of the One who is Truth brings salvation.

As man I stand in awe of the intuitive understanding that a woman has of mercy. I know about love, but my drive to find truth sometimes blinds me to the importance of love.
Truth needs the refining, enobling influence of love and love needs the guidance of truth.
Together they are invincible.
Ephesians 4:15 speaking the truth in love we are to grow up in all aspects into him who is the head, even Christ
God bless
Ian