Feminism and the Fall

Hello, little friends! I'm back in Bristol between holidays and this is my first post about feminism in the Bible. 

Before I start I’d like you to know that I’m totally aware of the amount of baggage feminism carries with it, so there won’t be any bra-burning or man-hating on this blog. Feminism promotes gender equality not domination, and although it focuses on the empowerment of women much of the time there are also areas where men need to be empowered (for example suicide rates among men are 4 times higher than among women). So I hope I can write this in a way that doesn't alienate anyone, if I do please give me a heads up.

Where better to start than at the beginning? Genesis. The creation story. You’ve probably know it but it may be helpful to refresh yourself (Genesis 2:4 – 25 and 3: 1 – 24, you can search it on the internet if you don’t have a Bible handy).

A lot of elements in this story have been interpreted to show mans natural dominance over woman so let’s explore the main ones.

When Adam and Eve are made it seems pretty clear who’s boss: Adam is made first, Eve is a sort of afterthought, a playmate to keep Adam company, and she’s described as a ‘helper’ in verse 18.

But let’s look at it in more detail. First off, Adam translates as ‘human’, not ‘man’ so it’s been suggested that the act of removing his rib to create Eve was more an act of splitting the first human in two to separate it into male and female. (The Hebrew word for rib is more often translated into the word ‘side’ i.e. half of Adam).

And whether or not you agree with the amoeba theory (as I like to call it) God makes it clear that “it is not good for man to be alone.” In creating the first human alone God shows us that we are incomplete on our own, men and women are equal, complementary and integral to one another.

As for the Hebrew word used to describe Eve (translated as ‘helper’) it doesn’t mean helper like an ‘assistant’ or ‘subordinate’. The word azer k’negdo refers to powerful and vital aid and support. It is used throughout the Bible to describe the role of God himself, notably in 1 John 2:1.

Finally, the relationship between man and woman is really important: it illustrates the relationship between us and Jesus. We need Jesus’ aid and support, he brings life to us as life was brought to Adam through Eve (Eve means ‘life’). Only Jesus can complete us.

The second part I want to address is when Adam and Eve eat the fruit of knowledge. When I was younger I sort of got the impression that Eve (the temptress) was skulking about by herself when the snake shows up. The snake's all like “God’s a bit of an old fart isn’t he? Go on, eat a bit of this fruit.” And Eve says, “yeah I guess you’re right.” She eats the fruit and, having poisoned her own mind, runs off to find her hubby to trick him into eating some too. “hey Adam, fancy a nice apple?” “Have you licked this?” “Nah, I just had a tiny bite to check it wasn’t mouldy (heh, heh, heh).”

This story is wildly inaccurate. First off Adam and Eve were both there when the snake rocks up. Eve is discussing the tree of good and evil with it whilst Adam listens (could this be the first example of a women in leadership?). Genesis 3:6 says “she also gave some of the fruit to her husband who was with her.”

At no point does Adam pipe up “er, babe, maybe this isn’t such a good idea.” He eats the fruit when she passes it to him, so both of them sinned equally.

After this, one of their punishments meant that Adam would rule over Eve from that point onwards. And I don’t think this punishment exclusively affects women, the repression of women in many cultures has caused problems which affect both genders: they are no longer equals and no longer complete one another in the same way.

The creation story shows us that men and women are equal yet display contrasting and complementary aspects of Gods character. God made both genders in his own image so that means that all of us embody God, regardless of our gender, ethnicity, impairments, sexuality, dress sense etc etc.

“When God created human beings, he made them in his own likeness. He created them male and female and on that day he blessed them.” Genesis 5: 1-2

The next post will probably look at Jesus' and how he treated men and women equally (catchy title, I know). Also I’d like to thank the people who’ve told me that they enjoy reading this blog. I really appreciate it!

And the painting at the top of this post was done by a nun at our Lady of the Mississippi Abbey in Iowa, my mum found it on the internet somewhere.