The Facts (Chapter number: Verse)
14:1 - "The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish tears it down with her own hands."
15:20 - "A wise child makes a glad father but the foolish despise their mothers."
Proverbs 16 - No mention of any women.
17:12 - "Better to meet a she-bear robbed of its cubs than to confront a fool immersed in folly."
17:25 - "Foolish children are a grief to their father and bitterness to her who bore them."
18:22 - "He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor from the Lord.
My Comments
I didn't realize before, but I went back to check and noticed that Wisdom's name is never capitalized (except, of course, when it is the first word of a sentence). Even when it is directly referencing her, like saying "wisdom calls," it never capitalizes her name.
Just figured I should mention that now since I failed to in previous posts.
Also, I think I know a group of children who would very much disagree with verse 17:12. Just saying.
Not much else new here. More repeats of the "a good child makes a glad father and a bad child makes a sad mother" and "a woman is either good or bad, never in between" verses. Already spoken on those before. But this is the first time we've gotten a verse where we have a bad child upsetting both the father and the mother, so a small change on the good fathers/bad mothers theme. We'll see if this is just a one off or if this too becomes a pattern that bears repeating ad nauseam.
Seriously, did people need things repeated to them this much back in those days? You'd think writing tools and paper were so precious back then they would refine their writing a little better so as not to waste more stone tablets/paper with needless redundancies. Just saying.
Wednesday: Proverbs 19-22
Monday, January 31, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
Proverbs 10-13
The Facts (Chapter number: Verse)
10:1 - "A wise child makes a glad father, but a foolish child is a mother's grief."
11:16 - "A gracious woman gets honor, but she who hates virtue is covered with shame."
11:22 - "Like a gold ring in a pig's snout is a beautiful woman without good sense."
12:4 - "A good wife is the crown of her husband, but she who brings shame is like rottenness in his bones."
Proverbs 13 - No mention of any women.
My Comments
I'll just let Polonius give you the general gist of how these chapters are going.
First the original Shakespeare.
And then the Reduced Shakespeare version, just because it always makes me laugh.
But anyway, I guess I can say a few things about the verses we have here, even though it's not much.
It's good there's such a cut dry way for women to be. They are either honorable or shameful, a crown or rotten bones. Or, if they are beautiful, a bad woman gets to be a gold ring in a pig's nose. Guess there's never any grey area there. I wonder how harsh the cut off is for honorable. I can't imagine it's very lenient.
Am I the only one who thinks Proverbs 10:1 is kinda odd. A happy child makes a happy father but a poor child makes a poor mother? Remind anyone of the way we treat mother's today. When a child is bad or unruly it is a problem with his upbringing and usually a problem with the mother's child rearing. A bad child has a bad mother. Now, in the same vein, a good child has a good mother since we typically do not think of the father as someone who has any input in raising a child. So it does go both ways, which is still not really great because the father (if there is one) is completely erased in the equation and seen as not having any bearing on the child's behavior. Though even "good" mothers are critiqued within an inch of their lives, so much so that even good mothers can be seen a "overbearing" and bad.
I just thought it was interesting that even here the father gets the credit for a good child and the mother gets the credit for a bad child.
Friday: Proverbs 14-18
10:1 - "A wise child makes a glad father, but a foolish child is a mother's grief."
11:16 - "A gracious woman gets honor, but she who hates virtue is covered with shame."
11:22 - "Like a gold ring in a pig's snout is a beautiful woman without good sense."
12:4 - "A good wife is the crown of her husband, but she who brings shame is like rottenness in his bones."
Proverbs 13 - No mention of any women.
My Comments
I'll just let Polonius give you the general gist of how these chapters are going.
First the original Shakespeare.
And then the Reduced Shakespeare version, just because it always makes me laugh.
But anyway, I guess I can say a few things about the verses we have here, even though it's not much.
It's good there's such a cut dry way for women to be. They are either honorable or shameful, a crown or rotten bones. Or, if they are beautiful, a bad woman gets to be a gold ring in a pig's nose. Guess there's never any grey area there. I wonder how harsh the cut off is for honorable. I can't imagine it's very lenient.
Am I the only one who thinks Proverbs 10:1 is kinda odd. A happy child makes a happy father but a poor child makes a poor mother? Remind anyone of the way we treat mother's today. When a child is bad or unruly it is a problem with his upbringing and usually a problem with the mother's child rearing. A bad child has a bad mother. Now, in the same vein, a good child has a good mother since we typically do not think of the father as someone who has any input in raising a child. So it does go both ways, which is still not really great because the father (if there is one) is completely erased in the equation and seen as not having any bearing on the child's behavior. Though even "good" mothers are critiqued within an inch of their lives, so much so that even good mothers can be seen a "overbearing" and bad.
I just thought it was interesting that even here the father gets the credit for a good child and the mother gets the credit for a bad child.
Friday: Proverbs 14-18
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Proverbs 8-9
The Facts (Chapter number: Verse)
8:1-21 - Wisdom calls and raises her voice. She stands on the heights, beside the way and on the crossroads, and outside the city gates. She cries out to the people. Learn prudence and acquire intelligence. She will speak noble things and only the right will come out, nothing twisted and crooked. All of her words are right to those who find knowledge. Her words are worth more than silver, gold, jewels or anything you could desire. Wisdom hates pride, arrogance, the evil way and perverted speech. By her kings and rulers rule and govern rightly. Wisdom loves those who love her and who seek her diligently. Riches and honor are with her and she endows with wealth all who walk with her.
8:22-36 - The Lord created Wisdom at the beginning. She was created before God had created anything else, including the earth and the heavens. Wisdom stood beside Him as a master worker "and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always, rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting in the human race." Listen to Wisdom, for those who do are happy in their ways. Those who find Wisdom find life and obtain the Lord's favor, and all who hate Wisdom love death.
9:1-6 - "Wisdom has built her house, she has hewn her seven pillars. She has slaughtered her animals, she has mixed her wine, she has also set her table. She has sent out her servant-girls, she calls from the highest places in town. 'You who are simple, turn in here!' To those without sense she says, 'Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed. Lay aside immaturity, and live, and walk in the way of insight.'"
9:13-18 - "The foolish woman is loud; she is ignorant and knows nothing. She sits at the door of her house, on a seat at the high places of the town, calling to those who pass by, who are going straight on their way, 'You, who are simple, turn in here!' and to those without sense she says, 'Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.' But they do not know that the dead are there, and her guests are in the depths of Sheol.
My Comments
Holy shit can I get through ONE reading of Proverbs without having to read about loose, whorish women and the death and destruction they bring upon men?! Just once?!
The only thing I found weird in chapter 8 was the whole Wisdom being a mast worker thing. What exactly was she a master worker on? Because no where does it mention her helping God build anything, she just kinda sits there. I guess her master work was her being God's "daily delight" (which just makes me think of "afternoon delights" and that's just kinda skeezy) and rejoicing before him always. I swear, God has a huge fucking worship complex. He couldn't WAIT to be worshiped so He had to create a being before He made anything else that would sit there and pat Him on the fucking back while He created the world. Wow, Wisdom sure is amazing. All that praising and back patting must have been really arduous work. I'm glad she was there to fill that very important role in creation.
And does this technically count as a third different retelling of the creation myth or would you just count it as a simple addition to the story? I can't decide if this actually contradicts the other two stories. What do you readers think?
Did anyone else notice the strange parallels in chapter 9 between Wisdom and the adulteress? Because I sure did. Wisdom sits outside her house and in the highest place and yells out to passers by that they are simple and should turn in or that they should come in and have some bread and wine with her. So why it is all wise and awesome when wisdom does it, but when this other unnamed women does it suddenly her place is death and her guests are in the depths of Sheol. Seriously, what the fuck? Did they mean for the two stories to be so alike? Or was it an accident? Are they trying to say that some women will try to disguise themselves as Wisdom to trick men into their spider's den? Is that the point? Does this make Wisdom a "foolish" woman because she herself is loud and stands outside gates and on roads calling to wayward men to come to her that they may find knowledge and God? Which seems like an odd thing to suddenly say since we just had all of chapter 8 talking about how awesome she is.
I originally thought well maybe they ARE saying Wisdom is a fool because in most of the lengthy descriptions we've read about Wisdom being awesome and the path to riches have been spoken by Wisdom herself. Most of the time those are direct quotes from Wisdom, like she's just sitting there blowing her own horn. So I thought well maybe they do think Wisdom is too full of herself and foolish because she sits around yelling at everyone about how awesome she is.
But that doesn't quite work because Proverbs 3 and 4 both contain verses where a man, not Wisdom, is speaking about her greatness and the need to "take hold" of her (take note that it is only the men who have used such physical language when talking about Wisdom; Wisdom herself does not use this same language when talking about herself) so I don't think this is the case necessarily. Maybe if this kind of parallel between Wisdom and a loose woman comes up again then we'll have more information and context to work with.
Right now, though, if I had to make a call I think what it's trying to get at is that normal women who are unwitting destroyers of men can disguise themselves as Wisdom and take on her ways and lead men astray. Therefore men have to be extra on guard so that they may not be deceived by these women as well, who use the guise of Wisdom in order to lure men to their death.
Really, though, I'm just tired of reading chapter after chapter about how evil women are and why they need to be kept in check by men. The Bible would really be much, much shorter if they just cut out all the redundant bits.
Friday: More Proverbs, not sure how many chapters yet. It looks like we're going to start in on wise saying of Solomon, so we may be abandoning Wisdom and "loose" women all together. SO I may end up reading more than a couple of chapters if there turns out to be a serious lack of women (which I'm suspecting is going to happen).
8:1-21 - Wisdom calls and raises her voice. She stands on the heights, beside the way and on the crossroads, and outside the city gates. She cries out to the people. Learn prudence and acquire intelligence. She will speak noble things and only the right will come out, nothing twisted and crooked. All of her words are right to those who find knowledge. Her words are worth more than silver, gold, jewels or anything you could desire. Wisdom hates pride, arrogance, the evil way and perverted speech. By her kings and rulers rule and govern rightly. Wisdom loves those who love her and who seek her diligently. Riches and honor are with her and she endows with wealth all who walk with her.
8:22-36 - The Lord created Wisdom at the beginning. She was created before God had created anything else, including the earth and the heavens. Wisdom stood beside Him as a master worker "and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always, rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting in the human race." Listen to Wisdom, for those who do are happy in their ways. Those who find Wisdom find life and obtain the Lord's favor, and all who hate Wisdom love death.
9:1-6 - "Wisdom has built her house, she has hewn her seven pillars. She has slaughtered her animals, she has mixed her wine, she has also set her table. She has sent out her servant-girls, she calls from the highest places in town. 'You who are simple, turn in here!' To those without sense she says, 'Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed. Lay aside immaturity, and live, and walk in the way of insight.'"
9:13-18 - "The foolish woman is loud; she is ignorant and knows nothing. She sits at the door of her house, on a seat at the high places of the town, calling to those who pass by, who are going straight on their way, 'You, who are simple, turn in here!' and to those without sense she says, 'Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.' But they do not know that the dead are there, and her guests are in the depths of Sheol.
My Comments
Holy shit can I get through ONE reading of Proverbs without having to read about loose, whorish women and the death and destruction they bring upon men?! Just once?!
The only thing I found weird in chapter 8 was the whole Wisdom being a mast worker thing. What exactly was she a master worker on? Because no where does it mention her helping God build anything, she just kinda sits there. I guess her master work was her being God's "daily delight" (which just makes me think of "afternoon delights" and that's just kinda skeezy) and rejoicing before him always. I swear, God has a huge fucking worship complex. He couldn't WAIT to be worshiped so He had to create a being before He made anything else that would sit there and pat Him on the fucking back while He created the world. Wow, Wisdom sure is amazing. All that praising and back patting must have been really arduous work. I'm glad she was there to fill that very important role in creation.
And does this technically count as a third different retelling of the creation myth or would you just count it as a simple addition to the story? I can't decide if this actually contradicts the other two stories. What do you readers think?
Did anyone else notice the strange parallels in chapter 9 between Wisdom and the adulteress? Because I sure did. Wisdom sits outside her house and in the highest place and yells out to passers by that they are simple and should turn in or that they should come in and have some bread and wine with her. So why it is all wise and awesome when wisdom does it, but when this other unnamed women does it suddenly her place is death and her guests are in the depths of Sheol. Seriously, what the fuck? Did they mean for the two stories to be so alike? Or was it an accident? Are they trying to say that some women will try to disguise themselves as Wisdom to trick men into their spider's den? Is that the point? Does this make Wisdom a "foolish" woman because she herself is loud and stands outside gates and on roads calling to wayward men to come to her that they may find knowledge and God? Which seems like an odd thing to suddenly say since we just had all of chapter 8 talking about how awesome she is.
I originally thought well maybe they ARE saying Wisdom is a fool because in most of the lengthy descriptions we've read about Wisdom being awesome and the path to riches have been spoken by Wisdom herself. Most of the time those are direct quotes from Wisdom, like she's just sitting there blowing her own horn. So I thought well maybe they do think Wisdom is too full of herself and foolish because she sits around yelling at everyone about how awesome she is.
But that doesn't quite work because Proverbs 3 and 4 both contain verses where a man, not Wisdom, is speaking about her greatness and the need to "take hold" of her (take note that it is only the men who have used such physical language when talking about Wisdom; Wisdom herself does not use this same language when talking about herself) so I don't think this is the case necessarily. Maybe if this kind of parallel between Wisdom and a loose woman comes up again then we'll have more information and context to work with.
Right now, though, if I had to make a call I think what it's trying to get at is that normal women who are unwitting destroyers of men can disguise themselves as Wisdom and take on her ways and lead men astray. Therefore men have to be extra on guard so that they may not be deceived by these women as well, who use the guise of Wisdom in order to lure men to their death.
Really, though, I'm just tired of reading chapter after chapter about how evil women are and why they need to be kept in check by men. The Bible would really be much, much shorter if they just cut out all the redundant bits.
Friday: More Proverbs, not sure how many chapters yet. It looks like we're going to start in on wise saying of Solomon, so we may be abandoning Wisdom and "loose" women all together. SO I may end up reading more than a couple of chapters if there turns out to be a serious lack of women (which I'm suspecting is going to happen).
Monday, January 24, 2011
Proverbs 6-7
The Facts (Chapter number: Verse)
6:20 - "My child, keep your father's commandment, and do not forsake your mother's teachings."
6:24-26 - "[The commandment is a lamp] to keep you from the wife of another, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress. Do not desire her beauty in your heart, and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes; for a prostitute's fee is only a loaf of bread; but the wife of another stalks a man's very life."
6:29 - "So is he who sleeps with his neighbor's wife; no one who touches her will go unpunished."
6:32 - "But he who commits adultery has no sense; he who does it destroys himself."
Proverbs 7 subtitle: The False Attractions of Adultery
7:7-8 - "I saw among the simple ones, I observed among the youths, a young man without sense, passing along the street near her corner, taking the road to her house."
7:10-23 - A woman goes towards the man dressed like a prostitute, for "her feet do not stay at home" and she approaches the young man. She takes him and kisses him and tells him how she has offered her sacrifices and paid her vows and has come out to meet him. Her couch is decked with coverings and perfume is on her bed. She wants the young man to come and they will take their fill of love till the morning since her husband is not home but on a long journey. She "compels" the man with "seductive speech" and "smooth talk." He follows her "like an ox to the slaughter."
7:24-27 - "And now, my children, listen to men, and be attentive to the words of my mouth. Do not let your hearts turn aside to her ways; do not stray into her paths. For many are those she has laid low, and numerous are her victims. Her house is the way to Sheol, going down to the chambers of death."
My Comments
I want to first, before I delve more into the fuckery that is Proverbs, talk a bit about adultery and the importance the Bible seems to lay on it. From all the crimes listed in the ten commandments (don't murder, steal, make false idols, covet, on and on) it seems adultery is the one that keeps popping up over and over and over again. Now I don't know about you, but on that list of things to do and not do, I think "murder" would be first on my list of things to talk about and elaborate on. Stealing and coveting would probably follow right after that, but only because the rest of the commandments are just ridiculously petty and childish in nature. I can guarantee if this was my holy book I would put a lot of focus on why I do not think people should be killing each other rather than why married women should or should or should not be sleeping around outside of marriage.
And yet, it seems adultery makes the top of the list every single time. We are warned again and again about how women will work their wiles and drag men down to the very depths of death with their seductive ways. But here's the thing, adultery is probably only a huge deal because they trace lineage through the fathers instead of the mothers. The mothers is the only parent who is guaranteed to share genetics with the child, but the father is never for certain. So in order to make sure that the father can be known the men have to take extra care to minimize adultery. They have to keep their women under lock and key, and if the women happen to be found with another man they are killed along with the offending man. Yeah, even for rape (as long as didn't take place outside the city walls; these people weren't barbarians, you know).
The whole concept is ridiculous from the start anyways, because you could get rid of all this hassle by just following someone's decent from the mother's lineage. But I guess that would give women SOME standing in history so they would just prefer to do it the ridiculous and often cruel way.
Anyway, onto the actual chapters for today. I don't know why but I thought proverbs was supposed to be general wisdom and knowledge, the kind of feel good stuff like "do unto others" and whatnot. Generally just light and fluffy. But nope, instead I get this rage inducing bullshit.
So, I imagine the dialogue during Proverbs 6:26 went something like this:
Father: So, son, instead of taking another man's wife just go out and take advantage of one of the many prostitutes wandering the streets. It's okay because the adultery thing only goes for women. The men can fuck around how ever much they please without consequence. You know, as long as they aren't fucking around with a woman who already belongs to someone. Women, we must always remember, are not people, so they have to follow men's rules because they are our property but we do not have to respect them because they have no feelings in the matter on account of them being objects and not people.
Son: Wow, thanks dad! Being a man sounds freakin' awesome! :D
Well, you know, I'd like to think of it as going that way. Though I don't know if it's better to think that these men probably believed this in ignorance or that they may have really understood the vast depths of their fuckery. Either way it's pretty bleak and fairly rage inducing for me to read.
Now Proverbs 7 goes back in to territory we have waded through before. You know, the usual nonsense on how it's women that seduce the men and so the men are merely passive players in their demise while the women are actively working to ruin the men's souls (about the only instances where the woman is always active and the man is always passive). It seems that a woman's sole (note: I had originally spelled that "soul" which I think works as well) purpose is to walk around and tempt men to stray from God's path-
Wait, hold on. Does that make us demons? Servants of the evil one himself? Satan is well known for tempting men into turning away from God, so it would seem his perfect minions would be women who walk around, tits out, luring men into their bedchambers while their husbands are out doing good husbandly duties. Eve ate the apple, which was in turn "given' to her by the snake (often rewritten as being Satan himself), so maybe we're just unwitting servants for the dark lord. That would explain our supposed ignorance of our evil. We're like robots with hidden programming that we are unaware of but which can be triggered at any time if we are not constantly kept in check. So perhaps we are minions for Satan without any knowledge of it (sweet!).
But wait... if we have no knowledge of it then why are we always the active ones when it comes to seduction?
No wonder men work so hard to beat us into submission. It's all just too confusing to bother figuring out. So instead of exploding their brains trying to make that illogical thought process work out, they choose to beat those they don't understand into submission since it is just easier on the brain.
I mean come on! No wonder most people in the world today are so much more likely to believe the myth that most women make up rape stories to get back at men. That story is so ingrained it's even in our holy books. These women are always the ones asking for it. Wearing revealing clothes and seducing men into their beds. The men are just pawns in their games. When I'm sure a more likely scenario was a man taking advantage of a woman and raping her. Shoot, if he does it while the husband is away no one would be the wiser. And what is the wife going to do about it? Tell it to the authorities? No matter what, whether the sex was consensual or not, she gets killed for it. And if she isn't able to convince others that the man she points to actually did it (and let's be honest, who do we think the people of this time are really going to believe) she dies and the man lives.
Really, the biblical times under biblical law were probably the best time to be a rapist. You can violate any woman you wanted and as long as you didn't get caught in the act you were likely to get away with it without a problem. The woman is powerless to say anything unless she wants the people in her town to take her life. Probably the best silencing tactics to date. And it makes it all the more difficult when young men are taught by the authoritative holy men in their village that women are just succubi waiting to take a man to bed and destroy his soul. That pretty much seals the fate of any woman wanting to come forward and try to get justice for her rape/sexual assault.
It's just... I have to be angry because if I don't seethe and rage and yell at the offensive book sitting in front of me I'll just cry. I cry for these women I read about, whether the specific ones written about existed or not. Because I know women in their exact situations did exist in their time. Those women were put through this. They were stoned for crimes they were powerless to stop. Treated as objects and things. Abused and broken so that they would keep in line and never do anything the men around them did not want them to do.
I cry because this still happens today. And then I hear people tell me that this shit that I seethe and rage at in the Bible is just cultural. It's all in the past. It's just silly tribal sheep herder nonsense.
Well it fucking is not cultural and it's not in the past and it's not silly nonsense. Women all over the world are still treated and thought of as things to be dealt with as men please. Women who are raped or assaulted are always treated as liars first (the alleged Assange rape cases, anyone?). It is always, "What did you do? What were you wearing? Did you tell him to stop? Well you must have done something to make him do that to you." It is one of the few crimes where the victim is considered guilty until proven innocent, and the man is treated as if he's the one who has been wronged. Even without the threat of death for coming forward, women are silenced by this bullshit. And this bullshit is everywhere, even in religious fucking "holy" books.
At least being angry makes me feel like I can do something. Makes me feel like I have some control. Like there is some hope.
So I scream and yell instead of cry.
Wednesday: More Proverbs
6:20 - "My child, keep your father's commandment, and do not forsake your mother's teachings."
6:24-26 - "[The commandment is a lamp] to keep you from the wife of another, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress. Do not desire her beauty in your heart, and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes; for a prostitute's fee is only a loaf of bread; but the wife of another stalks a man's very life."
6:29 - "So is he who sleeps with his neighbor's wife; no one who touches her will go unpunished."
6:32 - "But he who commits adultery has no sense; he who does it destroys himself."
Proverbs 7 subtitle: The False Attractions of Adultery
7:7-8 - "I saw among the simple ones, I observed among the youths, a young man without sense, passing along the street near her corner, taking the road to her house."
7:10-23 - A woman goes towards the man dressed like a prostitute, for "her feet do not stay at home" and she approaches the young man. She takes him and kisses him and tells him how she has offered her sacrifices and paid her vows and has come out to meet him. Her couch is decked with coverings and perfume is on her bed. She wants the young man to come and they will take their fill of love till the morning since her husband is not home but on a long journey. She "compels" the man with "seductive speech" and "smooth talk." He follows her "like an ox to the slaughter."
7:24-27 - "And now, my children, listen to men, and be attentive to the words of my mouth. Do not let your hearts turn aside to her ways; do not stray into her paths. For many are those she has laid low, and numerous are her victims. Her house is the way to Sheol, going down to the chambers of death."
My Comments
I want to first, before I delve more into the fuckery that is Proverbs, talk a bit about adultery and the importance the Bible seems to lay on it. From all the crimes listed in the ten commandments (don't murder, steal, make false idols, covet, on and on) it seems adultery is the one that keeps popping up over and over and over again. Now I don't know about you, but on that list of things to do and not do, I think "murder" would be first on my list of things to talk about and elaborate on. Stealing and coveting would probably follow right after that, but only because the rest of the commandments are just ridiculously petty and childish in nature. I can guarantee if this was my holy book I would put a lot of focus on why I do not think people should be killing each other rather than why married women should or should or should not be sleeping around outside of marriage.
And yet, it seems adultery makes the top of the list every single time. We are warned again and again about how women will work their wiles and drag men down to the very depths of death with their seductive ways. But here's the thing, adultery is probably only a huge deal because they trace lineage through the fathers instead of the mothers. The mothers is the only parent who is guaranteed to share genetics with the child, but the father is never for certain. So in order to make sure that the father can be known the men have to take extra care to minimize adultery. They have to keep their women under lock and key, and if the women happen to be found with another man they are killed along with the offending man. Yeah, even for rape (as long as didn't take place outside the city walls; these people weren't barbarians, you know).
The whole concept is ridiculous from the start anyways, because you could get rid of all this hassle by just following someone's decent from the mother's lineage. But I guess that would give women SOME standing in history so they would just prefer to do it the ridiculous and often cruel way.
Anyway, onto the actual chapters for today. I don't know why but I thought proverbs was supposed to be general wisdom and knowledge, the kind of feel good stuff like "do unto others" and whatnot. Generally just light and fluffy. But nope, instead I get this rage inducing bullshit.
So, I imagine the dialogue during Proverbs 6:26 went something like this:
Father: So, son, instead of taking another man's wife just go out and take advantage of one of the many prostitutes wandering the streets. It's okay because the adultery thing only goes for women. The men can fuck around how ever much they please without consequence. You know, as long as they aren't fucking around with a woman who already belongs to someone. Women, we must always remember, are not people, so they have to follow men's rules because they are our property but we do not have to respect them because they have no feelings in the matter on account of them being objects and not people.
Son: Wow, thanks dad! Being a man sounds freakin' awesome! :D
Well, you know, I'd like to think of it as going that way. Though I don't know if it's better to think that these men probably believed this in ignorance or that they may have really understood the vast depths of their fuckery. Either way it's pretty bleak and fairly rage inducing for me to read.
Now Proverbs 7 goes back in to territory we have waded through before. You know, the usual nonsense on how it's women that seduce the men and so the men are merely passive players in their demise while the women are actively working to ruin the men's souls (about the only instances where the woman is always active and the man is always passive). It seems that a woman's sole (note: I had originally spelled that "soul" which I think works as well) purpose is to walk around and tempt men to stray from God's path-
Wait, hold on. Does that make us demons? Servants of the evil one himself? Satan is well known for tempting men into turning away from God, so it would seem his perfect minions would be women who walk around, tits out, luring men into their bedchambers while their husbands are out doing good husbandly duties. Eve ate the apple, which was in turn "given' to her by the snake (often rewritten as being Satan himself), so maybe we're just unwitting servants for the dark lord. That would explain our supposed ignorance of our evil. We're like robots with hidden programming that we are unaware of but which can be triggered at any time if we are not constantly kept in check. So perhaps we are minions for Satan without any knowledge of it (sweet!).
But wait... if we have no knowledge of it then why are we always the active ones when it comes to seduction?
No wonder men work so hard to beat us into submission. It's all just too confusing to bother figuring out. So instead of exploding their brains trying to make that illogical thought process work out, they choose to beat those they don't understand into submission since it is just easier on the brain.
I mean come on! No wonder most people in the world today are so much more likely to believe the myth that most women make up rape stories to get back at men. That story is so ingrained it's even in our holy books. These women are always the ones asking for it. Wearing revealing clothes and seducing men into their beds. The men are just pawns in their games. When I'm sure a more likely scenario was a man taking advantage of a woman and raping her. Shoot, if he does it while the husband is away no one would be the wiser. And what is the wife going to do about it? Tell it to the authorities? No matter what, whether the sex was consensual or not, she gets killed for it. And if she isn't able to convince others that the man she points to actually did it (and let's be honest, who do we think the people of this time are really going to believe) she dies and the man lives.
Really, the biblical times under biblical law were probably the best time to be a rapist. You can violate any woman you wanted and as long as you didn't get caught in the act you were likely to get away with it without a problem. The woman is powerless to say anything unless she wants the people in her town to take her life. Probably the best silencing tactics to date. And it makes it all the more difficult when young men are taught by the authoritative holy men in their village that women are just succubi waiting to take a man to bed and destroy his soul. That pretty much seals the fate of any woman wanting to come forward and try to get justice for her rape/sexual assault.
It's just... I have to be angry because if I don't seethe and rage and yell at the offensive book sitting in front of me I'll just cry. I cry for these women I read about, whether the specific ones written about existed or not. Because I know women in their exact situations did exist in their time. Those women were put through this. They were stoned for crimes they were powerless to stop. Treated as objects and things. Abused and broken so that they would keep in line and never do anything the men around them did not want them to do.
I cry because this still happens today. And then I hear people tell me that this shit that I seethe and rage at in the Bible is just cultural. It's all in the past. It's just silly tribal sheep herder nonsense.
Well it fucking is not cultural and it's not in the past and it's not silly nonsense. Women all over the world are still treated and thought of as things to be dealt with as men please. Women who are raped or assaulted are always treated as liars first (the alleged Assange rape cases, anyone?). It is always, "What did you do? What were you wearing? Did you tell him to stop? Well you must have done something to make him do that to you." It is one of the few crimes where the victim is considered guilty until proven innocent, and the man is treated as if he's the one who has been wronged. Even without the threat of death for coming forward, women are silenced by this bullshit. And this bullshit is everywhere, even in religious fucking "holy" books.
At least being angry makes me feel like I can do something. Makes me feel like I have some control. Like there is some hope.
So I scream and yell instead of cry.
Wednesday: More Proverbs
Friday, January 21, 2011
Proverbs 3-5
The Facts (Chapter number: Verse)
3:13-18 - "Happy are those who find wisdom, and those who get understanding, for her income is better than silver, and her revenue better than gold. She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare to her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. her ways and ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her; those who hold her fast are called happy."
4:3-4 - "When I was a son with my father, tender, and my mother's favorite, he taught me and said to me..."
4:6-9 - "Do not forsake [wisdom] and she will keep you; love her and she will guard you. The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, and whatever else you get, get insight. Prize her highly and she will exalt you; she will honor you if you embrace her. She will place on your head a fair garland; she will bestow on you a beautiful crown."
4:13 - "Keep hold of instruction; do not let go; guard her, for she is your life."
5:3-6 - "For the lips of a loose woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil; but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps follow the path to Sheol. She does not keep straight to the path of life; her ways wander, and she does not know it."
5:8 - "Keep your way from her, and do not go near thee door of her house."
5:18-20 - "Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth, a lovely deer, a graceful doe. May her breasts satisfy you at all times; may you be intoxicated always by her love. Why should you be intoxicated, my son, by another son, by another woman and embrace the bosom of an adulteress."
My Comments
Wow, notice how hands on you apparently need to be with the lady wisdom. "Lay hold of her" "Keep hold of" "Get wisdom" "Embrace her" "Hold her fast"
Talk about assault. Even our metaphorical ladies must be wrested hold of, guarded from others and held with the expectations of getting their wealth and treasure from them. Even being a bold and powerful concept, Wisdom doesn't stand above a man for long. Oh, she may try, but once you "hold her fast" she gives you her riches, she gives you power, she puts a garland on your head and becomes a servant to you. Wisdom, after all, is nothing but another woman to dominate and control.
Also, before I start delving into Proverbs 5, I want to mentioned that the first line is: "My child, be attentive to my wisdom." Notice how now it is a man's wisdom here, not the female portrayal of Wisdom that we have been waxing poetic about for the past 4 chapters. I am not certain if this is why this chapter seems to be dedicated to the "loose" women of the world. There does seem to be a connection though. Wisdom herself has not yet spoken directly about these "loose" women. In chapter 2, these "loose" women were brought up by the speaker as an opposition to Wisdom, but not by Wisdom herself. Is this because men did not think women could be wise enough to know how evil their own kind is? Or even how evil they themselves can be? Even Wisdom doesn't seem to be that trusted in these books, since she is handled so tightly and guarded, as if the men fear Wisdom being loose and turning on them if they do not keep her under their thumb.
It may, perhaps, not really mean anything, but anything that starts to become a pattern is worth examining in its implications.
The "loose" women show up again, showing us that one of the major impediments to a man's wisdom and morality is really just an entire half of the human race. I guess that must be why we (or really just men) have to be constantly reminded of it because danger here is literally around every corner doing the housework. The best part is these women don't even know it. That must be why these men are offered these bits of "wisdom" so that they know to keep these ignorant and evil "loose" women in check. I mean, if they weren't there to stop us the world would just descend into chaos. So remember, ladies, when you're reading the Bible and you see stories about non virginal women being stoned at the city gates, or women trying to gain a little power being fed to the dogs, or even just a concubine who happened to be staying in the wrong city at the wrong time and get's thrown to a gang by her husband JUST REMEMBER: The men do this for us. It's a service, really. Imagine where we'd be if we didn't have those hoards of men keeping us in our place, even if their methods happen to involve rape, abuse and murder.
Yeah, a world where women aren't being threatened with violence by men on a daily basis because the women may dare step out of line sounds like a horrible place.
Oh yeah, and remember that the women you should love and honor are the ones who act as passively as game animals. They shy away from people yet at the same time are there to fill your needs, which is really creepy to think about since a game animals purpose is to be eaten. I'm sure they ate deer at this time, so it's weird to compare the perfect women to something you literally consume. But women are treated as mere commodities to be used up and thrown out, so it may be weird but it keeps with the general theme.
Really, how do people not realize that calling an entire gender a threat to men's morality and souls is problematic? That this doesn't make suspect every single woman out there, even the ones who play along with the patriarchy? Because these women don't even know their evil so you never know when one you trust is just gonna turn on you and try to turn you to the dark side.
The Bible wants men to constantly ere on the side of caution. Best to keep any woman of yours locked up with Wisdom. Held tight and guarded. Never allowed to do anything that doesn't benefit you.
Monday: More Proverbs
3:13-18 - "Happy are those who find wisdom, and those who get understanding, for her income is better than silver, and her revenue better than gold. She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare to her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. her ways and ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her; those who hold her fast are called happy."
4:3-4 - "When I was a son with my father, tender, and my mother's favorite, he taught me and said to me..."
4:6-9 - "Do not forsake [wisdom] and she will keep you; love her and she will guard you. The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, and whatever else you get, get insight. Prize her highly and she will exalt you; she will honor you if you embrace her. She will place on your head a fair garland; she will bestow on you a beautiful crown."
4:13 - "Keep hold of instruction; do not let go; guard her, for she is your life."
5:3-6 - "For the lips of a loose woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil; but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps follow the path to Sheol. She does not keep straight to the path of life; her ways wander, and she does not know it."
5:8 - "Keep your way from her, and do not go near thee door of her house."
5:18-20 - "Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth, a lovely deer, a graceful doe. May her breasts satisfy you at all times; may you be intoxicated always by her love. Why should you be intoxicated, my son, by another son, by another woman and embrace the bosom of an adulteress."
My Comments
Wow, notice how hands on you apparently need to be with the lady wisdom. "Lay hold of her" "Keep hold of" "Get wisdom" "Embrace her" "Hold her fast"
Talk about assault. Even our metaphorical ladies must be wrested hold of, guarded from others and held with the expectations of getting their wealth and treasure from them. Even being a bold and powerful concept, Wisdom doesn't stand above a man for long. Oh, she may try, but once you "hold her fast" she gives you her riches, she gives you power, she puts a garland on your head and becomes a servant to you. Wisdom, after all, is nothing but another woman to dominate and control.
Also, before I start delving into Proverbs 5, I want to mentioned that the first line is: "My child, be attentive to my wisdom." Notice how now it is a man's wisdom here, not the female portrayal of Wisdom that we have been waxing poetic about for the past 4 chapters. I am not certain if this is why this chapter seems to be dedicated to the "loose" women of the world. There does seem to be a connection though. Wisdom herself has not yet spoken directly about these "loose" women. In chapter 2, these "loose" women were brought up by the speaker as an opposition to Wisdom, but not by Wisdom herself. Is this because men did not think women could be wise enough to know how evil their own kind is? Or even how evil they themselves can be? Even Wisdom doesn't seem to be that trusted in these books, since she is handled so tightly and guarded, as if the men fear Wisdom being loose and turning on them if they do not keep her under their thumb.
It may, perhaps, not really mean anything, but anything that starts to become a pattern is worth examining in its implications.
The "loose" women show up again, showing us that one of the major impediments to a man's wisdom and morality is really just an entire half of the human race. I guess that must be why we (or really just men) have to be constantly reminded of it because danger here is literally around every corner doing the housework. The best part is these women don't even know it. That must be why these men are offered these bits of "wisdom" so that they know to keep these ignorant and evil "loose" women in check. I mean, if they weren't there to stop us the world would just descend into chaos. So remember, ladies, when you're reading the Bible and you see stories about non virginal women being stoned at the city gates, or women trying to gain a little power being fed to the dogs, or even just a concubine who happened to be staying in the wrong city at the wrong time and get's thrown to a gang by her husband JUST REMEMBER: The men do this for us. It's a service, really. Imagine where we'd be if we didn't have those hoards of men keeping us in our place, even if their methods happen to involve rape, abuse and murder.
Yeah, a world where women aren't being threatened with violence by men on a daily basis because the women may dare step out of line sounds like a horrible place.
Oh yeah, and remember that the women you should love and honor are the ones who act as passively as game animals. They shy away from people yet at the same time are there to fill your needs, which is really creepy to think about since a game animals purpose is to be eaten. I'm sure they ate deer at this time, so it's weird to compare the perfect women to something you literally consume. But women are treated as mere commodities to be used up and thrown out, so it may be weird but it keeps with the general theme.
Really, how do people not realize that calling an entire gender a threat to men's morality and souls is problematic? That this doesn't make suspect every single woman out there, even the ones who play along with the patriarchy? Because these women don't even know their evil so you never know when one you trust is just gonna turn on you and try to turn you to the dark side.
The Bible wants men to constantly ere on the side of caution. Best to keep any woman of yours locked up with Wisdom. Held tight and guarded. Never allowed to do anything that doesn't benefit you.
Monday: More Proverbs
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Proverbs 1-2
The Facts (Chapter number: Verse)
1:8 - "Hear my child, your father's instruction, and do not reject your mother's teaching."
1:20-33 - Wisdom cries out in the street. She cries at the busiest corner and at the entrance to the city gate she speaks. "How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge? Give heed to my reproof; I will pour out my thoughts to you; I will make my words known to you. Because I have called and you refused, have stretched out my hand and no one heeded, and because you have ignored all my counsel and would have none of my reproof. I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when panic strikes you, when panic strikes you [sic] in a storm, and your calamity comes like a whirlwind., when distress and anguish come upon you. Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently, but will not find me. Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord, would have none of my counsel, and despise all my reproof, therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way and be sated with their own devices. For waywardness kills the simple, and the complacency of fools destroys them; but those who listen to me will be secure and will live at ease, without dread of disaster."
2:16-19 - "You will be saved from the loose woman, from the adulteress with her smooth words, who forsakes the partner of her youth and forgets her sacred covenant; for her way leads down to death, and her paths to the shades; those who go to her never come back, nor do they regain the paths of life."
My Comments
Wait wait wait. So now women are wise and teachers? And men are supposed to listen to them?
Oh wait, no. I see. REAL women are loose and adulteresses and tricksters who are to be distrusted because they are likely to lead men astray. It's only abstract manifestations that are called "female" that are to be trusted and listened to. Good, 'cause I was about to think that the Bible was trying to suddenly tell me that women were actually wise and shit after everything it's had to say on the subject.
I was almost impressed for a second there. I was like "Hey, cool, wisdom is a woman. That's pretty cool." Of course that only went so far since apparently the Bible's definition of "wisdom" here is simply a fear of God. Not common sense or quick whit or even a high SAT score. Proverbs 1:7 states, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, fools despise wisdom and instruction." Which, really, I have a lot to say about right there. A fear of God basically means not questioning God or any of his rules or teachings. I have always considered a lack of curiosity or an inability to question a sign of ignorance and LACK of knowledge. But ignorance has always been highly praised in religion. That is why faith is such a big component because in order to have faith you must believe something without question and without actual proof. So this to me is the exact opposite of wisdom and knowledge. I'll be a questioning fool any day if the only other option is to be an unquestioning servant for a cruel and malevolent God.
So maybe in the end it's not so strange that wisdom is a woman since wisdom is apparently complete subservience and fear of the greatest Man in all existence: God. Wisdom may be above mortal men but she is still a woman and thus must still be subject to a man's will.
But since the Bible had some kind words to say about our dear lady Wisdom here, it feels obligated to remind us yet again in whose hands the real downfall of man lies.
So say it with me, my fellow Biblical adventurers! Who should we always have a hefty amount of distrust for?!
W-O-M-E-N!
Thaaaaaaat's right, kids!
Friday: More Proverbs
1:8 - "Hear my child, your father's instruction, and do not reject your mother's teaching."
1:20-33 - Wisdom cries out in the street. She cries at the busiest corner and at the entrance to the city gate she speaks. "How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge? Give heed to my reproof; I will pour out my thoughts to you; I will make my words known to you. Because I have called and you refused, have stretched out my hand and no one heeded, and because you have ignored all my counsel and would have none of my reproof. I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when panic strikes you, when panic strikes you [sic] in a storm, and your calamity comes like a whirlwind., when distress and anguish come upon you. Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently, but will not find me. Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord, would have none of my counsel, and despise all my reproof, therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way and be sated with their own devices. For waywardness kills the simple, and the complacency of fools destroys them; but those who listen to me will be secure and will live at ease, without dread of disaster."
2:16-19 - "You will be saved from the loose woman, from the adulteress with her smooth words, who forsakes the partner of her youth and forgets her sacred covenant; for her way leads down to death, and her paths to the shades; those who go to her never come back, nor do they regain the paths of life."
My Comments
Wait wait wait. So now women are wise and teachers? And men are supposed to listen to them?
Oh wait, no. I see. REAL women are loose and adulteresses and tricksters who are to be distrusted because they are likely to lead men astray. It's only abstract manifestations that are called "female" that are to be trusted and listened to. Good, 'cause I was about to think that the Bible was trying to suddenly tell me that women were actually wise and shit after everything it's had to say on the subject.
I was almost impressed for a second there. I was like "Hey, cool, wisdom is a woman. That's pretty cool." Of course that only went so far since apparently the Bible's definition of "wisdom" here is simply a fear of God. Not common sense or quick whit or even a high SAT score. Proverbs 1:7 states, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, fools despise wisdom and instruction." Which, really, I have a lot to say about right there. A fear of God basically means not questioning God or any of his rules or teachings. I have always considered a lack of curiosity or an inability to question a sign of ignorance and LACK of knowledge. But ignorance has always been highly praised in religion. That is why faith is such a big component because in order to have faith you must believe something without question and without actual proof. So this to me is the exact opposite of wisdom and knowledge. I'll be a questioning fool any day if the only other option is to be an unquestioning servant for a cruel and malevolent God.
So maybe in the end it's not so strange that wisdom is a woman since wisdom is apparently complete subservience and fear of the greatest Man in all existence: God. Wisdom may be above mortal men but she is still a woman and thus must still be subject to a man's will.
But since the Bible had some kind words to say about our dear lady Wisdom here, it feels obligated to remind us yet again in whose hands the real downfall of man lies.
So say it with me, my fellow Biblical adventurers! Who should we always have a hefty amount of distrust for?!
W-O-M-E-N!
Thaaaaaaat's right, kids!
Friday: More Proverbs
Monday, January 17, 2011
Psalms 73-150
The Facts (Chapter number: Verse)
Psalms 73 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 74 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 75 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 76 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 77 - No mention of any women.
78:63 - "Fire devoured their young men, and their girls had no marriage song."
Psalms 79 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 80 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 81 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 82 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 83 - No mention of any women.
84:3 - "Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your alters, O Lord of hosts, my King and God."
Psalms 85 - No mention of any women.
86:16 - "Turn to me and be gracious to me; give your strength to your servant; save the child of the serving girl."
Psalms 87 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 88 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 89 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 90 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 91 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 92 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 93 - No mention of any women.
94:6 - "They kill the widow and the stranger, they murder the orphan."
Psalms 95 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 96 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 97 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 98 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 99 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 100 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 101 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 102 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 103 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 104 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 105 - No mention of any women.
106:37-38 - "They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons; they poured out innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Caanan."
Psalms 107 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 108 - No mention of any women.
109:9 - "May his children be orphans, and his wife a widow."
109:14 - "May the iniquity of his father be remembered before the Lord, and do not let the sin of his mother be blotted out."
Psalms 110 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 111 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 112 - No mention of any women.
113:9 - ""He gives the barren women a home, making her the joyous mother of children. Praise the Lord!"
Psalms 114 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 115 - No mention of any women.
116:16 - "O Lord, I am your servant; I am your servant, the child of your servant girl."
Psalms 117 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 118 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 119 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 120 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 121 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 122 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 123 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 124 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 125 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 126 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 127 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 128 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 129 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 130 - No mention of any women.
131:2 - "But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; my soul is like the weaned child that is with me."
Psalms 132 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 133 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 134 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 135 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 136 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 137 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 138 - No mention of any women.
139:13 - "For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother's womb."
Psalms 140 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 141 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 142 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 143 - No mention of any women.
144:12 - "May our sons in their youth be like plants full grown, our daughters like corner pillars, cut for the building of a palace."
Psalms 145 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 146 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 147 - No mention of any women.
148:11-12 - "Kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all rulers of the earth! Young men and women alike, old and young together!"
Psalms 149 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 150 - No mention of any women.
My Comments
Okay, that was entirely too long. I originally planned on just typing up the Psalms that mentioned women and not bothering to write up the chapters that didn't mention any women, but I wanted people to see just how ridiculous it all is. When all the chapters missing women are just laid out like that you can see just how devoid of women the Bible really is. I'm just glad it's over. Below are my reactions to the small amount of verses that had women. The number refers to the Psalm, not the verse, since no Psalm had anymore than one or two verses about women in it.
78: Gotta love how a punishment equal to being set on fire is to not get married. A great example of how women's sole purpose in life is to marry a man (in order to have more male children). If she cannot even do that she might as well be dead.
84: Holy shit even female animals can't get away from the women = mothers theme in these Psalms. What the hell?
86: He asks for her child to be saved but not the serving girl herself? Classy. Did he just not have enough time to ask for her to be saved specifically? That would be hard to believe since most of these have been prayers by David. So I guess he just doesn't give a shit about her since he obviously has the time to pray about everything else under the sun.
113: This is true except when God decides that women should BE barren when they were previously able to bear children. So, you know, why praise him for giving barren women children when he is just as likely to turn around and make her barren again (ie. Rebekah and Leah).
139: Seriously, does the Bible have to try and take anything a woman can do away from her? Women can give birth, and apparently because men cannot they have to do everything in their power to take that away from her. So God is the only that creates the child inside her womb. This basically leaves the woman as just a glorified baby holder. The man provides the seed and God makes the actual baby, so what exactly does the woman do here? Oh how I long for the pagan and goddess based religions that actually had a respect for a woman's ability to create life. Instead we get this bullshit that does it's best to devalue a woman's role in creating life. I throw my hands up in frustration! Ugh!
144: What does this even mean? :\
Holy crap! Now finally we can move on to something new!
Wednesday: Proverbs
Psalms 73 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 74 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 75 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 76 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 77 - No mention of any women.
78:63 - "Fire devoured their young men, and their girls had no marriage song."
Psalms 79 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 80 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 81 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 82 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 83 - No mention of any women.
84:3 - "Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your alters, O Lord of hosts, my King and God."
Psalms 85 - No mention of any women.
86:16 - "Turn to me and be gracious to me; give your strength to your servant; save the child of the serving girl."
Psalms 87 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 88 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 89 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 90 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 91 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 92 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 93 - No mention of any women.
94:6 - "They kill the widow and the stranger, they murder the orphan."
Psalms 95 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 96 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 97 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 98 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 99 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 100 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 101 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 102 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 103 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 104 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 105 - No mention of any women.
106:37-38 - "They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons; they poured out innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Caanan."
Psalms 107 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 108 - No mention of any women.
109:9 - "May his children be orphans, and his wife a widow."
109:14 - "May the iniquity of his father be remembered before the Lord, and do not let the sin of his mother be blotted out."
Psalms 110 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 111 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 112 - No mention of any women.
113:9 - ""He gives the barren women a home, making her the joyous mother of children. Praise the Lord!"
Psalms 114 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 115 - No mention of any women.
116:16 - "O Lord, I am your servant; I am your servant, the child of your servant girl."
Psalms 117 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 118 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 119 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 120 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 121 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 122 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 123 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 124 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 125 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 126 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 127 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 128 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 129 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 130 - No mention of any women.
131:2 - "But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; my soul is like the weaned child that is with me."
Psalms 132 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 133 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 134 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 135 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 136 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 137 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 138 - No mention of any women.
139:13 - "For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother's womb."
Psalms 140 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 141 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 142 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 143 - No mention of any women.
144:12 - "May our sons in their youth be like plants full grown, our daughters like corner pillars, cut for the building of a palace."
Psalms 145 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 146 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 147 - No mention of any women.
148:11-12 - "Kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all rulers of the earth! Young men and women alike, old and young together!"
Psalms 149 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 150 - No mention of any women.
My Comments
Okay, that was entirely too long. I originally planned on just typing up the Psalms that mentioned women and not bothering to write up the chapters that didn't mention any women, but I wanted people to see just how ridiculous it all is. When all the chapters missing women are just laid out like that you can see just how devoid of women the Bible really is. I'm just glad it's over. Below are my reactions to the small amount of verses that had women. The number refers to the Psalm, not the verse, since no Psalm had anymore than one or two verses about women in it.
78: Gotta love how a punishment equal to being set on fire is to not get married. A great example of how women's sole purpose in life is to marry a man (in order to have more male children). If she cannot even do that she might as well be dead.
84: Holy shit even female animals can't get away from the women = mothers theme in these Psalms. What the hell?
86: He asks for her child to be saved but not the serving girl herself? Classy. Did he just not have enough time to ask for her to be saved specifically? That would be hard to believe since most of these have been prayers by David. So I guess he just doesn't give a shit about her since he obviously has the time to pray about everything else under the sun.
113: This is true except when God decides that women should BE barren when they were previously able to bear children. So, you know, why praise him for giving barren women children when he is just as likely to turn around and make her barren again (ie. Rebekah and Leah).
139: Seriously, does the Bible have to try and take anything a woman can do away from her? Women can give birth, and apparently because men cannot they have to do everything in their power to take that away from her. So God is the only that creates the child inside her womb. This basically leaves the woman as just a glorified baby holder. The man provides the seed and God makes the actual baby, so what exactly does the woman do here? Oh how I long for the pagan and goddess based religions that actually had a respect for a woman's ability to create life. Instead we get this bullshit that does it's best to devalue a woman's role in creating life. I throw my hands up in frustration! Ugh!
144: What does this even mean? :\
Holy crap! Now finally we can move on to something new!
Wednesday: Proverbs
Friday, January 14, 2011
Psalms 67-72
The Facts (Chapter number: Verse)
Psalms 67 - No mention of any women.
68:12-13 - "'The kings of the armies, they flee, they flee!' The women at home divide the spoil, though they stay among the sheepfolds."
68:24-25 - "Your solemn processions are seen, O God, the processions of my God, my King, into the sanctuary - the singers in front, the musicians last, between them girls playing tambourines."
69:8 - "I have become a stranger to my kindred, an alien to my mother's children."
Psalms 70 - No mention of any women.
71:6 - "Upon you I have learned from my birth; it was you who took me from my mother's womb."
Psalms 72 - No mention of any women.
My Comments
Mothers mothers mothers mothers. Really, women are defined solely by their vaginas and their ability (or lack thereof) to produce children. Soooooo tired of it. -_-
Monday: I am going to try to just do the rest of Psalms over the weekend because it is really providing me nothing to do any posts on. If I happen across an interesting passage (and from what I've read so far that's not very likely) I may stop before I reach the end, but I am fairly certain I can get through the rest of Psalms with no real issues.
Psalms 67 - No mention of any women.
68:12-13 - "'The kings of the armies, they flee, they flee!' The women at home divide the spoil, though they stay among the sheepfolds."
68:24-25 - "Your solemn processions are seen, O God, the processions of my God, my King, into the sanctuary - the singers in front, the musicians last, between them girls playing tambourines."
69:8 - "I have become a stranger to my kindred, an alien to my mother's children."
Psalms 70 - No mention of any women.
71:6 - "Upon you I have learned from my birth; it was you who took me from my mother's womb."
Psalms 72 - No mention of any women.
My Comments
Mothers mothers mothers mothers. Really, women are defined solely by their vaginas and their ability (or lack thereof) to produce children. Soooooo tired of it. -_-
Monday: I am going to try to just do the rest of Psalms over the weekend because it is really providing me nothing to do any posts on. If I happen across an interesting passage (and from what I've read so far that's not very likely) I may stop before I reach the end, but I am fairly certain I can get through the rest of Psalms with no real issues.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Psals 56-66
The Facts (Chapter number:Verse)
Psalms 56 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 57 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 58 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 59 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 60 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 61 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 62 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 63 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 64 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 65 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 66 - No mention of any women.
My Comments
I'm about ready to give up on this book. There is just nothing here.
Although I think it is amusing that almost all the prayers are asking God for something like smiting an enemy or a friend who has broken a promise or something along those lines. Seems that the Christian God is more of a God of vengeance than a God of love. Just saying.
Friday: More Psalms
Psalms 56 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 57 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 58 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 59 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 60 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 61 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 62 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 63 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 64 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 65 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 66 - No mention of any women.
My Comments
I'm about ready to give up on this book. There is just nothing here.
Although I think it is amusing that almost all the prayers are asking God for something like smiting an enemy or a friend who has broken a promise or something along those lines. Seems that the Christian God is more of a God of vengeance than a God of love. Just saying.
Friday: More Psalms
Monday, January 10, 2011
Psalms 45-55
The Facts (Chapter number: Verse)
45:9-15 - "Daughters of the king are among your ladies of honor; at your right hand stands the queen in gold of Ophir. Hear, O daughter, consider and incline your ear; forget your people and your father's house, and the king will desire your beauty. Since he is your lord, bow to him; the people of Tyre will seek our favor with gifts, the richest of the people with all kinds of wealth. The princess is decked in her chamber with gold-woven robes; in many colored robes she is led to the king; behind her the virgins, her companions, follow. With joy and gladness they are led along as they enter the palace of the king."
Psalms 46 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 47 - No mention of any women.
48:6 - "Trembling took hold of them there, pains as a woman in labor."
Psalms 49 - No mention of any women.
50:20 - "You sit and speak against your kin; you slander your own mother's child."
51:5 - "Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me."
Psalms 52 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 53 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 54 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 55 - No mention of any women.
My Comments
Psalms 45 is titled "Ode for a Royal Wedding" and is subtitled as a love song. I am uncertain if this Psalms is being told by a woman, it seems very unclear on that point. The first stanzas wax poetic about how handsome the king is who apparently "girds his sword to his thigh," which is either a metaphor for his huge penis or a very odd way to speak about his actual sword (which seems misplaced in a "love" song). The entire Psalm does not seem to be obviously written by a man or a woman so I will go with the default and assume it's a man. If anyone has any information that says otherwise please let me know so I can go ahead and add the rest of the Psalm to this post.
I love how the woman who is marrying the king is to forget all about her biological family once she is married. The Psalm actually seems to imply that if she does not forget about her old family that she will be less beautiful and desired by the king. It all just seems so cold and I wonder if girls as children had a difficult time forming meaningful relationships with any of their family since it was pretty much a given that at some point in time they would no longer be a part of the family. Maybe it didn't cause any additional issues at all. I mean, girls weren't highly valued to begin with and it's not like these people traced lineages through the mothers. It is highly likely that this really wasn't a big deal to the family and it's possible that the girl being taken by her husband was a relief because that meant one less non essential family member to take care of.
Again I despise the lack of real knowledge we have of women's real lives during these times. These questions will pretty much never be answered because the only written accounts of women are written by men, and there really is no way to get an accurate telling of a woman's life that way. It really is a shame.
Wednesday: More Psalms
45:9-15 - "Daughters of the king are among your ladies of honor; at your right hand stands the queen in gold of Ophir. Hear, O daughter, consider and incline your ear; forget your people and your father's house, and the king will desire your beauty. Since he is your lord, bow to him; the people of Tyre will seek our favor with gifts, the richest of the people with all kinds of wealth. The princess is decked in her chamber with gold-woven robes; in many colored robes she is led to the king; behind her the virgins, her companions, follow. With joy and gladness they are led along as they enter the palace of the king."
Psalms 46 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 47 - No mention of any women.
48:6 - "Trembling took hold of them there, pains as a woman in labor."
Psalms 49 - No mention of any women.
50:20 - "You sit and speak against your kin; you slander your own mother's child."
51:5 - "Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me."
Psalms 52 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 53 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 54 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 55 - No mention of any women.
My Comments
Psalms 45 is titled "Ode for a Royal Wedding" and is subtitled as a love song. I am uncertain if this Psalms is being told by a woman, it seems very unclear on that point. The first stanzas wax poetic about how handsome the king is who apparently "girds his sword to his thigh," which is either a metaphor for his huge penis or a very odd way to speak about his actual sword (which seems misplaced in a "love" song). The entire Psalm does not seem to be obviously written by a man or a woman so I will go with the default and assume it's a man. If anyone has any information that says otherwise please let me know so I can go ahead and add the rest of the Psalm to this post.
I love how the woman who is marrying the king is to forget all about her biological family once she is married. The Psalm actually seems to imply that if she does not forget about her old family that she will be less beautiful and desired by the king. It all just seems so cold and I wonder if girls as children had a difficult time forming meaningful relationships with any of their family since it was pretty much a given that at some point in time they would no longer be a part of the family. Maybe it didn't cause any additional issues at all. I mean, girls weren't highly valued to begin with and it's not like these people traced lineages through the mothers. It is highly likely that this really wasn't a big deal to the family and it's possible that the girl being taken by her husband was a relief because that meant one less non essential family member to take care of.
Again I despise the lack of real knowledge we have of women's real lives during these times. These questions will pretty much never be answered because the only written accounts of women are written by men, and there really is no way to get an accurate telling of a woman's life that way. It really is a shame.
Wednesday: More Psalms
Friday, January 7, 2011
Psalms 34-44
The Facts (Chapter number: Verse)
Psalms 34 - No mention of any women.
35:14 - "I went about as one laments for a mother, bowed down and in mourning."
Psalms 36 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 37 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 38 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 39 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 40 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 41 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 42 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 43 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 44 - No mention of any women.
My Comments
Just in case anyone tries to say, "But nullefide! Most of the Psalms are directed at people and humans so therefore women are included! So quit your bitching!" I will direct everyone to my post on Nehemiah 1-5 in which I discuss how general references to "people" and "man" and "humans" are directed specifically at men and not women.
And pretty much that is all there is to say about this.
Monday: More Psalms
Psalms 34 - No mention of any women.
35:14 - "I went about as one laments for a mother, bowed down and in mourning."
Psalms 36 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 37 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 38 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 39 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 40 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 41 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 42 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 43 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 44 - No mention of any women.
My Comments
Just in case anyone tries to say, "But nullefide! Most of the Psalms are directed at people and humans so therefore women are included! So quit your bitching!" I will direct everyone to my post on Nehemiah 1-5 in which I discuss how general references to "people" and "man" and "humans" are directed specifically at men and not women.
And pretty much that is all there is to say about this.
Monday: More Psalms
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Psalms 23-33
The Facts (Chapter number: Verse)
Psalms 23 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 24 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 25 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 26 - No mention of any women.
27:10 - "If my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will take me up."
Psalms 28 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 29 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 30 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 31 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 32 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 33 - No mention of any women.
My Comments
Well, our internet is back up and I figured I'd make up for lost posts by reading a bit more than normal. Didn't seem to do much, though, since the Psalms are immensely boring and have no real substance to them. Kind of like reading lyrics to a bunch of Christian pop songs. All praise praise praise and nothing underneath it. Almost sounds empty after a while.
Friday: More Psalms
Psalms 23 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 24 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 25 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 26 - No mention of any women.
27:10 - "If my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will take me up."
Psalms 28 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 29 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 30 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 31 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 32 - No mention of any women.
Psalms 33 - No mention of any women.
My Comments
Well, our internet is back up and I figured I'd make up for lost posts by reading a bit more than normal. Didn't seem to do much, though, since the Psalms are immensely boring and have no real substance to them. Kind of like reading lyrics to a bunch of Christian pop songs. All praise praise praise and nothing underneath it. Almost sounds empty after a while.
Friday: More Psalms
Monday, January 3, 2011
Update
Ack! Sorry about no posts last week. There were some big thunderstorms last Wednesday which apparently messed up whatever towers we get our internet signal from. So I'm getting to live in the dark ages right now. Also, ringing in the New Year without any internet when you don't have any real parties to go to is kind of a bummer, lol.
So just a quick update while I'm at work and have some internet to use. I'm hoping now that the holidays are over some people will get out there and fix whatever is going on today or tomorrow. Will do my best to get some posts up this week.
Happy New Year!
So just a quick update while I'm at work and have some internet to use. I'm hoping now that the holidays are over some people will get out there and fix whatever is going on today or tomorrow. Will do my best to get some posts up this week.
Happy New Year!
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