Margaret Starbird on Stay-at-home-Moms, Church fathers view of women

Margaret posted the following to our GoddessChristians forum on May 23, 2008 during a gender morality and gender roles discussion.

I, too, believe that we fail to consider the children–unto 7 generations, as the Native American grandmothers insist!…. Our materialistic world-view has caused women to abandon what was a sacred calling to nurture the children–and left the Television to be the “hand that rocks the cradle”–with obvious consequences! I’m for Fathers and Mothers sharing the responsibilities of nurturing as much as possible–but that balance isn’t always achieved. My husband and I were noticing the difference between our grown kids and those of some family members who left their kids for others to raise while both parents worked outside their home….

Western dualism causes a split that is hard to heal…. which is why my work is about the “Sacred Reunion” of masculine and feminine (“integration of Logos and Sophia”) as illustrated in the “marriage window” showing Jesus and Mary Magdalene “handfasted” (posted on my website: www.margaretstarbird.net –please feel free to copy, print and disseminate! This image is on the cover and PR for the “Bloodline” Movie—and is travelling around the world)….

There is a fascinating article on the discrimination against women by the Church (and Western civilization) at this website:

http://www.womenpriests.org/teaching/wijnga_1.asp  — some of the negative statements of church Fathers quoted there make my hair stand on end:

Aristotle: “A female is female by virtue of certain lack of qualities – a natural defectiveness.”

St. Jerome:  “Women is the gate of the devil, the path of wickedness . . . a perilous object.”

Tertullian:  “Do you know that each of you women is an Eve? You are the gate of Hell, the temptress of the forbidden tree; you are the first deserter of Divine Law.”

St. Thomas Aquinas:  “If a female is conceived, this is due to a defect in the mother or to some external influence like that of a humid wind from the south.”

Kirkegaard:  “What a misfortune, to be a woman! And yet, the worst misfortune is not to understand what a misfortune it is.”–

That is why it is so important to “excavate” the real truth about the original teachings of Jesus. The article’s quote from the Gospel of Thomas that has Jesus saying with regard to Mary Magdalene “…I will make her male..” is a mistranslation of the Greek which uses the word “anthropos”– This word doesn’t mean “Male” in the sense of gender. It would be better translated:  “I will make her a ‘perfected human-being’ ” —

“… there shall yet be heard, the voice of the Bridegroom, the voice of the Bride!”

peace and well-being,

Margaret

“Mary Magdalene, Bride in Exile”

www.margaretstarbird.net

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