He was relating the tale of Abraham, who wanted a kid but whose wife was past child-bearing age. So an angel told Sarah, his wife, that she would nevertheless become pregnant and give birth to a son. She found this impossible to believe, and tried to make the prophecy come true by convincing Abraham to impregnate his servant girl (whose name has now slipped my mind). The servant in due course gave birth to Ishmael.
According to the Bible, Ishmael became the ancestor of the Arab people.
Pastor Chris’ take on the story: By not trusting God, Sarah was kind of sinning, although she tried to do the right thing. But she should have trusted God.
“And what became of Ishmael?” asks Pastor Chris in his sermon. “Well, he became a terrorist! Sarah’s lack of trust was the cause of terrorism today!”
I wondered whether e-TV (which is where I saw the above tidbit) is aware of the rather blatant bigotry they are broadcasting - they’re going to start a religious war.
But I must shame-facedly admit that I rather like religious wars, when I can sit back, relax and enjoy the sight of religious nuts waging holy war on one another…
Hagar the 'Dorable … compulsive amphora washer and founder of Ankh-gear, the designer house famous for their stylish Egyptian Chamber Maid’s uniforms.
But I must shame-facedly admit that I rather like religious wars, when I can sit back, relax and enjoy the sight of religious nuts waging holy war on one another... :-)
So few good shows are available these days without tickets.
One can only marvel slack-jawed at the creative interpretations that these preacher-types are capable of sewing together from the most basic of biblical raw materials. Many of them would have made excellent novelists … you might almost say they’ve missed their calling.
Jaaaaa… the same shit in a different package, lets blame the unfaithful, distrusting, untrustworthy, sin-filled bloody woman. One would think that since we’re so bloody useless that god really should have known better to create the female of the species in the first place. On the other hand, I suppose he had to create something to lay the blame on, why not a woman?
Without trying to push my writings down your throat here’s what I said in my book about this:
""Children, I want you now to listen closely," Rachel said. "In the world of the Ancients, women were discriminated against for thousands of years. It was only after they fought bitter battles against a male dominated society, that it was admitted that women also had needs and that they actually had brains. We must never again allow this situation to develop."
"You are going to be confronted with the same, if not worse, discrimination and bias. Men will send you on your way with words like "this is man’s work, be off with you" or "what does a woman know?" Remember, a woman is able to do exactly what a man can and besides, she can bear children!"
They all laughed at the mere thought that men could bear children. Perish the thought!
"Why are men like that?" a child called Kerry asked. She came from New London and was the oldest of the girls.
"The history of it starts with child bearing. A woman’s body was considered to be a mysterious thing by men, but a thing to be used for their pleasure. Most religions of the world portrayed the woman as being a sinner and in fact the original sinner; as being devious and wicked and even as being dirty because she menstruated, which as you already know is a perfectly natural process. Some societies actually used to isolate their women during that time of the month in fear that men may be contaminated! The Jesuit Bible actually says ‘Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? Not one.’ This silly statement implied that even a newborn child is tainted, dirty and sinful."
"Maybe the men were angry and hurt and believed wrongly that at certain times of the month we could not satisfy them or that something they did not understand was happening to our bodies. At the same time we as women must know that a man can never feel what we feel as women and a woman can never feel what a man feels. It therefore follows that we as women should never suppose that we can think for men as much as men should never be permitted to think for us as women."
"I know. I know," Esther loudly interrupted the Red Priestess who merely laughed because she encouraged a questioning mind and open debate: "One day, I c’n remember it clearly, my father read from the Bible. It said something like woman was created to be man’s servant forever. He also said the woman must submit to man."
