Religion

[vmsuhail]

Something I've always found odd, wondering if any of the religious can explain it: why is god considered masculine in the abrahamic religions? masculine implies being 1/2 of a pair needed to procreate and produce offspring, but god is unique and can't have baby gods, so surely it is a contradiction for 'god' to be masculine? also, if god is masculine, does this mean he has gigantic god testicles and a massive god wang?

It's only a matter of linguistics defined by the grammatical gender. In Arabic, nouns are always either grammatically masculine or grammatically feminine. The Qur'an refers to God using the masculine pronouns because the word “Allah” is grammatically masculine, this has nothing to do with the biological gender.

There is nothing whatsoever like unto Him.” (Quran, 42:11)

In our prayers, we use the word "Rabb" meaning Lord/Master. 'Father' is not used in our literature. I'll let the Christians explain their case for the Bible.

 

[bluejon]

It's only a matter of linguistics defined by the grammatical gender. In Arabic, nouns are always either grammatically masculine or grammatically feminine. The Qur'an refers to God using the masculine pronouns because the word “Allah” is grammatically masculine, this has nothing to do with the biological gender.

There is nothing whatsoever like unto Him.” (Quran, 42:11)

In our prayers, we use the word "Rabb" meaning Lord/Master. 'Father' is not used in our literature. I'll let the Christians explain their case for the Bible.

That's a shame as I tend to find religions that describe their deity as being masculine tend to have a serious problem with misogyny. If but for a quirk of fate (i.e. the word describing god was in the feminine) it could've all been so different.

 

[vmsuhail]

Or maybe the mind closed to the heart only knows the word of the law but not its spirit? In this way the purity of the wise heart is forgotten and replaced with the puritanical mind. Through this you can get fundamentalism, which might not be quite as great an idea as it believes itself to be?

The Law is different from the Creed. The Law has many aspects, is flexible and can even be suspended in certain situations. The doctrine however is fixed and ideas like the 'divine feminine' is viewed as ascribing false things to the Creator, and hence heretical.

 

[JASR]

War situation for example. More men die than women. Fact. So what happens to the women? Go out get a job? But after a war there is basically no economy... so what do u do to provide? Prostitution? This is why he prescribed it as permissable pending u do equal just to all wives and equal share, and u provide food and shelter.

Hope that answers your question.

Do your research pls, and NOT using islamaphobe websites.

This is almost like a mysogyny 101.

'More men die than women.' - yes, generally due to unjust archaic patriachal society, but whats that got to do with condoning women slavery?

'So what happens to the women?' - Err they carry on their lives as previously, and aren't enslaved?

'Go out get a job?' - yes, just like men if they want, it's not for religion to determine after a war (or at all), what women do.

'But after a war there is basically no economy... so what do u do to provide?' - same as prior, without the need for the involvement of slavery of women. Perhaps you should enslave all men, and get women to work them really hard to get the economy going...

'Prostitution?' - What's prostitution got to do with slavery? Slavery of wives, is effectively prostitution, as that's the entire purpose you just stated - to re-populate - ie sex!

'This is why he prescribed it as permissable pending u do equal just to all wives and equal share, and u provide food and shelter.' - so multiple slave owning is fine, rather than just multiple (if they want to) wives who can also provide work/money/food for the husband, or not need to have a husband at all.

'Hope that answers your question' - yep, your religion is fully condoning slavery and making women lesser than men.

'Do your research pls, and NOT using islamaphobe websites.' - WTF islamophobe? Anti-religion yes, treating all religions with the same degree of 'fairy stories and myths', yes. But a phobic against 1 singular religion...err... no.

At least @vmsuhail answered with some degree of intelligence.

 

[bluejon]

“Sufism cherishes the esoteric secret of woman, even though Sufism is the esoteric aspect of a seemingly patriarchal religion. Muslims pray five times a day facing the city of Makkah. Inside every Mosque is a niche, or recess, called the Mihrab - a vertical rectangle curved at the top that points toward the direction of Makkah. The Sufis know the Mihrab to be a visual symbol of an abstract concept: the transcendent vagina of the female aspect of divinity. In Sufism, woman is the ultimate secret, for woman is the soul. Toshihiko Izutsu writes, “The wife of Adam was feminine, but the first soul from which Adam was born was also feminine.”[16]

The Divine Feminine has always been present in Islam. This may be surprising to many people who see Islam as a patriarchal religion. Maybe the reason for this misconception is the very nature of the feminine in Islam. The Divine Feminine in Islam manifests metaphysically and in the inner expression of the religion. The Divine Feminine is not so much a secret within Islam as She is the compassionate Heart of Islam that enables us to know Divinity. Her centrality demonstrates her necessary and life-giving role in Islam.

Sufism, or as some would define it "mystical Islam" has always honored the Divine Feminine. Of course, Allah has both masculine and feminine qualities, but to the Sufi, Allah has always been the Beloved and the Sufi has always been the Lover. The Qur'an, referring to the final Day, perhaps divulges a portion of this teaching: “And there is manifest to them of God what they had not expected to see.”[17”

The Centrality of the Divine Feminine in Sufism

www.adishakti.org

Thank you for that answer.

When I read the Qur'an a few years ago i was struck by just how much the book was aimed at essentially only men. It talked to men directly, how they should 'treat their women' etc etc, and women were referenced only really via "tell your women to do this". Women were to be revered, yes, but reverence doesn't imply equality. It is a pedestal to be placed upon, with anger aimed towards women who don't achieve the lofty expectations decided by 'god'. Any women who didn't live up to those standards, which were essentially standards of chastity, were a disgrace, whereas that wasn't the case with men as such. Found it very unbalanced.

 

[Trevor Morley's Tache]

I love all these arguments about the invisible sky fairies and the interpretations of their accompanying story books.

 

[mexico1970]

If anyone wants an easy to digest explanation of what ALL gods are then I suggest the more believable TV series Stargate to nail this topic to the wall :)

 

[vmsuhail]

Thank you for that answer.

When I read the Qur'an a few years ago i was struck by just how much the book was aimed at essentially only men. It talked to men directly, how they should 'treat their women' etc etc, and women were referenced only really via "tell your women to do this". Women were to be revered, yes, but reverence doesn't imply equality. It is a pedestal to be placed upon, with anger aimed towards women who don't achieve the lofty expectations decided by 'god'. Any women who didn't live up to those standards, which were essentially standards of chastity, were a disgrace, whereas that wasn't the case with men as such. Found it very unbalanced.

I'll give one properly balanced verse. :)

Qur'an 33:35 "Surely, Muslim men and Muslim women, believing men and believing women, devout men and devout women, truthful men and truthful women, patient men and patient women, humble men and humble women, and the men who give Sadaqah (charity) and the women who give Sadaqah, and the men who fast and the women who fast, and the men who guard their private parts (against evil acts) and the women who guard (theirs), and the men who remember Allah much and the women who remember (Him) - for them, Allah has prepared forgiveness and a great reward."

 

[bluejon]

I'll give one properly balanced verse. :)

Qur'an 33:35 "Surely, Muslim men and Muslim women, believing men and believing women, devout men and devout women, truthful men and truthful women, patient men and patient women, humble men and humble women, and the men who give Sadaqah (charity) and the women who give Sadaqah, and the men who fast and the women who fast, and the men who guard their private parts (against evil acts) and the women who guard (theirs), and the men who remember Allah much and the women who remember (Him) - for them, Allah has prepared forgiveness and a great reward."

Aye, as i referenced in my comment (wasn't the case with men as such), men are asked to be chaste etc, but bloody hell, it doesn't half go on about women significantly more than men in the book. My earlier point though, that men are spoken to in the book, women are spoken about, that really did ring through. I'm glad I read it though. It was a close friend, who is islamic, who gave it to me and that meant a lot to me. It was a brilliant bookswap. He bought me the Qur'an, i gave him a copy of Spinoza's ethics.

 

[arfurclue]

Thank you for that answer.

When I read the Qur'an a few years ago i was struck by just how much the book was aimed at essentially only men. It talked to men directly, how they should 'treat their women' etc etc, and women were referenced only really via "tell your women to do this". Women were to be revered, yes, but reverence doesn't imply equality. It is a pedestal to be placed upon, with anger aimed towards women who don't achieve the lofty expectations decided by 'god'. Any women who didn't live up to those standards, which were essentially standards of chastity, were a disgrace, whereas that wasn't the case with men as such. Found it very unbalanced.

You’re welcome. And I’m not saying the message is right or wrong, more that sort of thing is there,just often obscured… by the ‘religious.’ And i can’t really comment on the Koran as have only read a commentary on it by a Sufi. Enjoy the Sufi poems of Rumi and Hafez though. Have a beauty and warmth and loving wit.

As for Christianity, there are teachers who would go back and look at the Aramaic and that definitely has masculine and feminine in it. Besides that,some may be curious as to an idea of the main chamber of a Christian church being a womb - and what this might imply for the shape of the doors. No Divine Mother in a way of Christ? Then how are you reborn?
Anyhow, such is life. And yes, I can find some religious stuff like a drug to get high on and so is unbalancing and not so healthy. But, eg, the heart of compassion as a way to freedom from suffering and an enjoyment of life? Yes, can be with that. And, for me, that doesn’t exclude those that may call themselves atheist or agnostic. Others may differ.