I bought my roommate a fair trade chocolate advent calender. Although there were no complaints about the quality of the milk chocolate, the Christmas story told in daily snippets was an object of some contention. My roomie is profoundly spiritual (when it comes to kayaks) and a devout atheist. So the story went something like this:
December 4th - "Angel Gabriel told Mary she had been chosen to have God's son."
Roomie - What?!? Where's the free will in all of this? She doesn't even get to choose to have the kid or not?
December 5th - "An angel came to Joseph in a dream and told him to name the baby Jesus."
Roomie - Oh my goodness, this is ridiculous! Not only is there no choice about having the baby, but they can't even pick the name?
And so the story continued, but it does make you think. As a woman in a decidedly patriarchal society, maybe even misogynistic, I wonder how much choice she really had . . . how much choice did any woman have about reproductive issues at the start of the common era two thousand years ago. Heck, if a life-size glowing angel appeared in my room, I'd either say "Yeah, sure, just like you said!" . . . or, admit myself directly to the closest psychiatric ward.
My dad says the universe was thinner back then. That people were less stuck to science and more open and aware of the spiritual world interacting with the material one. The topic of women in the bible I am convinced must be taken with a healthy understanding of history.
2 comments:
ONE OF YOUR UNCLES SAYS THERE IS SOME REAL FREEDOM IN SAYING YES TO A MESSAGE FROM GOD
M
Joseph and Mary couldn't exactly say no, could they?
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