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WHY GOD MUST BE DEPICTED AS A FATHER AND NOT AS A MOTHER

"Most people believe that the Bible, the book that introduced humanity to God, refers to God in the masculine because of the patriarchy and sexism of the ancient world."

"It is true that the Bible was written within a patriarchal context, and it is true that there is sexism in Bible-based religion. But I do not believe that these facts explain why God is depicted as a 'father rather than as a 'parent' or 'mother' (a neutered 'It' would be unacceptable because the biblical god is a personal God)."

"The depiction of God in masculine terms, I believe, is essential to the Bible's fundamental moral purposes. To understand why, one must posit two premises: that the Hebrew Bible's primary concern is promoting good behavior, and that the primary perpetrators of evil behavior, such as violence against innocents, are males, especially young males."

"From these facts I derive three reasons that it is in men's and women's best interests to depict God in the masculine."

"Before offering these reasons, a personal note is in order: I strongly support women's equality, and I strongly affirm that God is neither male nor female and that both men and women are created in God's image (Genesis 1:27). In addition, my own religious life is quite egalitarian, and I regard the notion that either sex is superior as nonsense."

 BOYS TAKE RULES FROM MEN

 "When males are young, they need to feel accountable to a male authority figure. Without a father or some other male rule giver, young men are likely to do great harm. Almost any mother will tell you that if there is no male authority figure to give a growing boy rules, it is very difficult for her to control his wilder impulses. For this reason, a God depicted in masculine terms, not a goddess, not a 'Mother in heaven,' must be the source of such commandments as 'Thou shall not murder' and 'Thou shall not steal.'"

"Women who feel discriminated against because of the male depiction of God should reflect on the consequences of a goddess-or mother-based religious/ethical code. Any discomfort they feel because of a masculine depiction of God is not comparable to the pain they will endure if boys are not civilized into good men."

"The need for male authority figures is illustrated by the current criminal population in the United States. The absence of a father or other male authority in the formative years of a boy's life is the most important contributing factor to his turning to criminal behavior. A widely accepted figure is that 70 percent of the violent criminals in American prisons did not grow up with a father."

"If the father figure/rule giver that boys need is not on earth, a loving and morally authoritative Father in heaven can often serve as an effective substitute."

"But the last thing that a boy growing up with out a father needs is a female figure to worship. He already has one -- his mother -- and to develop healthfully, he needs to separate from her, not bond with another mother figure. Otherwise, he will spend his life expressing his masculinity in ways that are destructive to women and men."

 MALES NEED A MALE ROLE MODEL

 "To transform a wild boy into a good man, a male model is as necessary as a male rule giver."

"When the Bible depicts God as merciful, caring for the poor and the widow, and as a lover of justice, it is not so much interested in describing God, who is, after all, largely indescribable, but in providing a model for human emulation. Especially male emulation."

"If God were depicted as female, young men would deem traits such as compassion, mercy, and care for the downtrodden as feminine, and in their pursuit of their masculinity, reject them. But if God, i.e., our Father in heaven, who is , on occasion, even a warrior, cares for the poor and loves justice, mercy, and kindness, then these traits are also masculine, and to be emulated."

"The argument that this is sexist, since girls need moral female models, is both irrelevant and untrue. It is irrelevant because the problem of mayhem and violence is overwhelmingly a male one -- and this is the problem with which the Bible is most concerned. It is untrue because girls are able to retain their femininity and their decency with a male-depicted God. Girls, too, view their fathers as rule giver. Of course, girls need female role models -- but not to avoid violence."

 THE MALE IS MORE RULE-ORIENTED

 "A third reason for depicting God in masculine terms is the indispensability of law to a just and humane society."

"'Law and order' can be code words for repression. But they are in fact the building blocks of a decent society. It is therefore natural and desirable that God be identified with the gender that is more naturally inclined toward feelings and compassion, two essential qualities for a decent personal life, but not for the governance of society. A male depiction of God helps makes a law-based society possible. And the Hebrew Bible is nothing if not law-based."

"It is ironic that some women, in the name of feminism, are attempting to emasculate the God of Western religious morality. For if their goal is achieved, it is women who will suffer most from lawless males."

"We have too many absent fathers on earth to begin to even entertain the thought of having not Father in heaven."

 Victorian Order vs. Modern Confusion

Tennyson in his poem"The Princess" depicted the Victorian ideal of the man-woman relation:

 

Man for the field and woman for the hearth;

Man for the sword and for the needle she;

Man with the head, and woman with the heart;

Man to command, and woman to obey;

All else confusion.

 

Toni Grant has a popular radio program and wrote a secular bestseller about this confusion called Being a Woman and subtitled"Fulfilling Your Femininity and Finding Love." She blasts the concepts of women's independence from men. She writes,"Today's woman is an imitation man, at war with actual men, confused and unsettled by it. The contemporary American woman is an Amazon Woman."

"At its inception, the feminist movement, accompanied by the sexual revolution, made a series of enticing, exciting promises to women. These promises sounded good, so good that many women deserted their men and their children or rejected the entire notion of marriage and family, in pursuit of 'themselves' and a career. These pursuits, which emphasized self-sufficiency and individualism, were supposed to enhance a woman's quality of life and improve her options, as well as her relations with men. Now, a decade or so later, women have to face the fact that, in many ways, feminism and liberation made promises that could not be delivered."

"All human beings have dependency needs, but modern woman has been loath to project her need of man in any way. This failure of modern woman to own and acknowledge the passive-dependent aspect of her personality has resulted in serious dysfunction and alienation between the sexes."

Father poetically speaks of women's responsibility to create a sanctuary for men. He says, "Each woman should think to herself, 'I have a huge pool of love within me. No matter how good a swimmer my husband may be and even if he dives down 100 feet, my pool of love is larger than his capabilities to swim it.' Do you have such a pool of love within your mind?"

"You women must allow your husbands to climb up to the highest peak and dive down freely into your pool of love. Or would you put a rock in the water for him to fall on. You should try to put more water in the pool so it will be deep enough to cushion him."

Dr. Harold Voth is one of America's most distinguished psychoanalysts and research psychiatrists. He is senior psychiatrist at the Menninger Foundation. He is also a rear admiral in the Medical Corps and serves as a consultant to the Surgeon General of the U.S. Navy. He has written extensively in books and articles for both professional and popular journals. In one his books he writes,"In my entire career I have never had a woman patient, no matter how militant a feminist or disturbed, fail to spontaneously divulge her secret wish for a strong man in her life -- father when she was a child and husband as an adult woman, even though on the surface she may claim the opposite."

"A woman who can live in harmony with a strong man will herself be a strong woman. These two will not clash or compete with each other. Rather they will divide up responsibilities, and live in harmony. I did not create or manufacture these patterns; I am merely reporting them. It is simply a fact that a family with a weak man suffers and children do not turn out well."

He writes that America has degenerated to the point where what was once deviant and sick behavior is now normal. He says,"Classically, women have been considered best equipped psychologically to be homemakers; now the 'househusband' is part of the social scene. A few years ago it would have been unthinkable to have women drill sergeants for young male recruits, and on and on." He says feminists are"highly destructive. This faction is having its way, and our male lawmakers tremble in their presence like small boys facing a wrathful mother."

 Anne Bradstreet

 The first major woman poet in America was Anne Bradstreet. She was puritan who came to Massachusetts as one of the first pioneers in the early 1600s. She was deeply and passionately in love with her husband. This is my favorite of all her poems to her husband, Simon:

 

If ever two were one, then surely we.

If ever man were lov'd by wife, then thee;

If ever wife was happy in a man,

Compare with me ye women if you can.

I prize thy love more than whole Mines of Gold,

Of all the riches that the East doth hold.

My love is such that Rivers cannot quench,

Nor ought but love from thee, give recompence.

My love is such I can no way repay,

The heavens reward thee manifold I pray.

Then while we live, in love lets so persever,

That when we live no more, we may live ever.

 

She had eight children who all grew up to be successful. She adored her father who was a leader in Massachusetts and wrote poems expressing her love for all her family. And she wrote poems of love for God. Her father and husband loved books and had libraries in their home. She was taught at home and got an education that is far superior to any in the public schools of today. She read the classics in the original Greek and Latin. One writer said, "One of the possible values of Bradstreet's writings is that they may suggest a more accurate and broader picture of life in colonial New England than is reflected in the popular image of Puritan society as a spirit-withering monolith. Moreover, Bradstreet's projection of her experience of life may indicate that her society was less repressive in its attitude toward women than we imagine. After all, Bradstreet was not censured, disciplined, or in any way ostracized for her art, thought, or personal assertiveness. Rather, she was praised and encouraged; and there are no indications that the males in her life treated her as 'property.' If anything, the tone of much of the poetry which was first read by a familial audience indicates that she was treated as at least an intellectual equal."

The feminists have brainwashed everyone to believe that it was only a nightmare for women in the past. How many men today write letters like the excerpt from the following of Ben Franklin giving advice to a young man who had just got married: "Treat your wife always with respect; it will procure respect to you, not from her only but from all that observe it. Never use a slighting expression to her, even in jest, for slights in jest, after frequent bandyings, are apt to end in angry earnest. Be studious in your profession, and you will be learned. Be industrious and frugal, and you will be rich. Be sober and temperate, and you will be healthy. Be in general virtuous, and you will be happy. At least, you will, by such conduct, stand the best chance for such consequences. I pray God to bless you both; being ever your affectionate friend." Has feminism made men better than this? I don't see much of an improvement of twentieth century man over the past.

 Patriarchy in spirit world

 According to one book even spirit world is patriarchal. One of the most famous books on near-death experience is Embraced by the Light by Betty Eadie who says she was taken by her escorts in spirit world to a place of "exquisite beauty" and "a feeling of wholeness." She says, "I was led to a room, which was exquisitely built and appointed. I entered and saw a group of men seated around the long side of a kidney-shaped table. I was led to stand in front of them within the indented portion of the table. One thing struck me almost immediately; there were twelve men here-- men -- but no women."

"As a rather independent thinker on earth, I was sensitive to the roles of women in the world. I was concerned about their equality and fair treatment and had very strong opinions as to their ability to compete with men on an equal footing in most settings. I might have reacted unfavorably to this council of men and no women, but I was learning to have a new perspective about the differing roles of men and women." She goes on to say how they showed her how Satan works: "He would try to destroy families, and therefore humanity, by tempting women. This unsettled me, but I knew it was true. His plan seemed obvious. He would attack women through their restlessness."

She goes on saying, "I was told that once Satan had women, the men would easily follow. So, I began to see the difference in the roles between men and women, and I understood the necessity and beauty of those roles."

"With this new perspective I had no reaction to the council being comprised solely of men. I accepted the fact that they had their roles and I had mine. The men radiated love for me, and I felt instantly at peace with them. They leaned together to consult with each other. Then one of them spoke to me. He said that I had died prematurely and must return to earth." She said they told her she had a mission to fulfill, but she didn't want to go back.

 Old Truths

 Father says we must live the truth that Jesus taught -- that we must give perfect, unselfish love. He says people tell him, "Rev. Moon, you are coming here repeating the same old truth." But he says he's different than others in that he is teaching that it is possible to live those truths. We are not just to talk about them. They are not theories or philosophies, but are "to be lived ... Although in one sense you know the truth of the things I have been saying, still nobody ever lives it. This truth is as old as God, yet as new as the 21st century. You must live the truth." He says "the revelation of the Divine Principle" can make "this age-old truth real in your heart."


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