(M, C)br...
Illustration
(M, C)
"... and the rib which the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman." (Genesis 2:22)
This verse has sometimes been perverted by those who want to make it a proof text for the "superiority" of the male sex. Those who thus misuse the text conveniently overlook the fact that in the later, more sophisticated version of the creation in the previous chapter of Genesis, man and woman are apparently created at the precise, same instant. Thus we read, "male and female he created them." (1:27) Neither sex had priority in creation -- according to the Priestly version. That being the case, no basis exists for arguing the superiority of one sex over another.
The Woman's Liberation movement and the Equal Rights Amendment are, at best, simply reminding us of an ancient biblical truth! How fascinating that American Indians have been taught the same truth by their own traditional religion for centuries. This is one of the illuminating insights to be gained from the novel, Sacajawea, the story of an Indian woman who travelled with the Lewis and Clark expedition. I have discovered the same philosophy prevailing among the traditional Mohawk Indians of the community with which I have had the privilege of a close personal friendship the past four and a half years. For example, a clan mother of one of the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy may depose a chief of her clan and nation who does not act in the people's interest. Certainly, I have found the women of Ganienkeh Community to be treated by the men with respect as equals.
-- Campbell
"... and the rib which the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman." (Genesis 2:22)
This verse has sometimes been perverted by those who want to make it a proof text for the "superiority" of the male sex. Those who thus misuse the text conveniently overlook the fact that in the later, more sophisticated version of the creation in the previous chapter of Genesis, man and woman are apparently created at the precise, same instant. Thus we read, "male and female he created them." (1:27) Neither sex had priority in creation -- according to the Priestly version. That being the case, no basis exists for arguing the superiority of one sex over another.
The Woman's Liberation movement and the Equal Rights Amendment are, at best, simply reminding us of an ancient biblical truth! How fascinating that American Indians have been taught the same truth by their own traditional religion for centuries. This is one of the illuminating insights to be gained from the novel, Sacajawea, the story of an Indian woman who travelled with the Lewis and Clark expedition. I have discovered the same philosophy prevailing among the traditional Mohawk Indians of the community with which I have had the privilege of a close personal friendship the past four and a half years. For example, a clan mother of one of the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy may depose a chief of her clan and nation who does not act in the people's interest. Certainly, I have found the women of Ganienkeh Community to be treated by the men with respect as equals.
-- Campbell
