Male and Female Created He Them

[Rose]

Gen.1:27 So God created man (adam) in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. Then God blessed them, and God said be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.

Gen.5:2 Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name adam (man), in the day when they were created.
I find it fascinating to observe that the first time the Bible mentions God creating man adam, is that of male and female being made equally in His image….with no mention of any kind of difference being made in their creation….both are given the blessing to go forth and multiply. It is only with the advent of the Garden story that a whole different picture is presented of man and woman’s creation, and that being of man formed from the dust, and woman taken from man. The Garden story is somewhat resolved with the closing verse uniting Adam and Eve as one flesh….thus, being deemed as equals.
Gen.2:24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
Now, jumping way ahead in the Bible to the words of Jesus in the New Testament, one finds that He not only brings together Gen. 1 and 2 to blend them and reiterate the equality in the formation of male and female, but also their uniting into one flesh.

What is particularly striking to me though, is that Jesus seems to deliberately overlook everything between Gen.3 and Matt. which documents a litany of negative results from God’s curse on Adam and Eve after they were kicked out of the Garden. These curses destined woman to a veritable 'prison sentence' of suffering, and gave man a license to rule and abuse her….instead of them working together as equal partners, one part is elevated in status above the other. This seems to go against and revoke God’s previous proclamation of man and woman being one flesh, thus having an equal status.
Matt.19:4-5 And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?

Mark 10:6-8 But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh.
Another interesting point to note in Mark 10 is that Jesus maintains symmetry between a man putting away his wife, and a woman putting away her husband even though under the law of Moses women had no divorce rights.…keeping perfectly with the idea of a woman’s equality in the eyes of God.
Mark 10:11-12 And he saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her. And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery.
Finally, the last place that male, female equality is mentioned is when Paul declares in his Epistle to the Galatians, that all peoples no matter what their gender, race, or status in society are united as one in Christ.
Gal.3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
Any minister, or teacher that tries to impose restrictions on the freedoms of women simply because of their gender is in serious error, and going directly against the words of Jesus.


Rose

[whirlwind]

This was an interesting and informative thread Rose. Thank you. I pulled two of the following paragraphs for comment....




What is particularly striking to me though, is that Jesus seems to deliberately overlook everything between Gen.3 and Matt. which documents a litany of negative results from God’s curse on Adam and Eve after they were kicked out of the Garden. These curses destined woman to a veritable 'prison sentence' of suffering, and gave man a license to rule and abuse her….instead of them working together as equal partners, one part is elevated in status above the other.


Often "the woman" mentioned in Scripture is the church, male and female. When seen as such it isn't negative or a curse or prison.




Any minister, or teacher that tries to impose restrictions on the freedoms of women simply because of their gender is in serious error, and going directly against the words of Jesus.


Rose


I very much agree and would add....teachers often use the following words written by Paul to strengthen their argument of women not teaching:



1 Corinthians 14:34-35 Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience as also saith the law. And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.


They fail to read and teach the very next verse:


14:36 What? came the word of God out from you? or came it unto you only?


Irony is a wonderful teacher at times. :)


.

[Rose]

This was an interesting and informative thread Rose. Thank you. I pulled two of the following paragraphs for comment....





Often "the woman" mentioned in Scripture is the church, male and female. When seen as such it isn't negative or a curse or prison.

Hi Whirlwind,

Yes, that is partly true, but even as such the feminine gender is used in the subordinate position, whereas the male gender is ruling which strengthens the male dominate leadership position ....even though both male and female make up the church.

So, the main point I really want to stress is that in the beginning God made adam in His image - male and female made He them....EQUAL.


I very much agree and would add....teachers often use the following words written by Paul to strengthen their argument of women not teaching:
1 Corinthians 14:34-35 Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience as also saith the law. And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church. They fail to read and teach the very next verse:
14:36 What? came the word of God out from you? or came it unto you only?Irony is a wonderful teacher at times. :)


.

People seem to pick and choose what they want to read and hear, so that it supports their authoritative doctrines.....like men who want to keep women in submission because it gives them more control and power.... having nothing whatsoever to do with spreading God's Love.

LOVE your neighbor as yourself ~ On this hangs ALL the law and the prophets....nothing more needs to be said.

Blessings,
Rose

[Gil]

Howdy Rose,
Back in the Garden again eh Rose.:pop2:
Yeah, it is an interesting subject.
You've probably read or seen how Genesis and Revelation
are compliments of one another.
Complimentary also in the fact that the end is actually a new beginning for man in the flesh.
The whole story written within the Bible is fascinating.
What began in Genesis with ADAM (caps) before the Garden is
how Paul through the teaching that he received through Jesus Christ
takes man back to were he originally started in Genesis.
It takes man on a separate path to led him through the flesh to
the realms that are not of this earth.

The big hassle over the female issue is within the relationship of the spirit and soul, be it of GOD ,Gods or man.

The same story is told in all religions, ANE cultures and the Mystery
schools of the ancients.

The story written to the audience in layman's language that was understandable to them.

It brings out their ideas and concepts of the relatedness between man
and their GOD ,Gods whoever they may be.

It is a progression of thought within the consciousness of man.
It can be seen in the light of modern day thought within the
present advances in all scientific thought in most fields.

It is the same Story whether one looks at it from present perspectives
or ancient thought forms.

To present the story as they seen it.( the Hebrews in this case)
as it is their story, makes one out to be some kind of Idiot , with the
added assumption, that it is the way that one sees it to be within their own eyes.

Most Christians cannot take that step back in time and climb into their
shoes and begin the walk that they took.

Souls and Spirits is the name of the game.
There are so many deities, angels etc. all with different names,
that are represented in Hebrew thought as to varying function and purpose
that it alone is mind boggling.

In the wandering's of the children of Israel there was a synthesis of
thought and ideas with their stays and associations with others
that a melding together of cultures was continually taking place.

Will be interesting to see the responses that you get on this one.

Man and women were always intended to be equals with separate function and purpose only.A compliment to one another to make them a whole body
while still in the flesh. Separate but equal.

It was a long journey from the brute cave man to modern man.

Anyway the spirit and souls was even a latter learned lesson.

It would be Jesus, Paul and the Greek to find that they were not the
same body of flesh that they had conceived them to be in the beginning.

As GOD is one , so to is man and woman One. :winking0071:


Gil

[Rose]

Howdy Rose,
Back in the Garden again eh Rose.:pop2:
Yeah, it is an interesting subject.
You've probably read or seen how Genesis and Revelation
are compliments of one another.
Complimentary also in the fact that the end is actually a new beginning for man in the flesh.
The whole story written within the Bible is fascinating.
What began in Genesis with ADAM (caps) before the Garden is
how Paul through the teaching that he received through Jesus Christ
takes man back to were he originally started in Genesis.
It takes man on a separate path to led him through the flesh to
the realms that are not of this earth.

The big hassle over the female issue is within the relationship of the spirit and soul, be it of GOD ,Gods or man.

The same story is told in all religions, ANE cultures and the Mystery
schools of the ancients.

The story written to the audience in layman's language that was understandable to them.

It brings out their ideas and concepts of the relatedness between man
and their GOD ,Gods whoever they may be.

It is a progression of thought within the consciousness of man.
It can be seen in the light of modern day thought within the
present advances in all scientific thought in most fields.

It is the same Story whether one looks at it from present perspectives
or ancient thought forms.

To present the story as they seen it.( the Hebrews in this case)
as it is their story, makes one out to be some kind of Idiot , with the
added assumption, that it is the way that one sees it to be within their own eyes.

Most Christians cannot take that step back in time and climb into their
shoes and begin the walk that they took.

Souls and Spirits is the name of the game.
There are so many deities, angels etc. all with different names,
that are represented in Hebrew thought as to varying function and purpose
that it alone is mind boggling.

In the wandering's of the children of Israel there was a synthesis of
thought and ideas with their stays and associations with others
that a melding together of cultures was continually taking place.

Will be interesting to see the responses that you get on this one.

Man and women were always intended to be equals with separate function and purpose only.A compliment to one another to make them a whole body
while still in the flesh. Separate but equal.

It was a long journey from the brute cave man to modern man.

Anyway the spirit and souls was even a latter learned lesson.

It would be Jesus, Paul and the Greek to find that they were not the
same body of flesh that they had conceived them to be in the beginning.

As GOD is one , so to is man and woman One. :winking0071:


Gil

Hi Gil,

Thanks for the insights...:D

When one compares the words of Jesus with the rest of the writings of the New Testament we see that Jesus never spoke of woman as anything other than equal with man, it is only in the writings of Paul and the other Apostles that the disparity of equality is manifest.

I imagine because Paul and the other writers of the New Testament were so steeped in the customs and traditions of their day, it was hard for them to see past that perspective.

As modern achievements of women have clearly shown, there is no difference in the intellectual capabilities of men or women when both have equal opportunities. The same holds true of course for different races of people...Blacks in particular, who were thought in times past to be inferior simply because of the color of their skin, which of course is no more true than inferiority because of gender.

It is troubling to note that in many ways the Bible only served to promote the dark ages of men oppressing women, which as a free country we are only beginning to emerge out of, though most of the fundamentalist churches are still stuck in those dark ages of inequality. I feel extremely fortunate to live in a free country.

Blessings,
Rose