Was the Bible Written by Males for Males?
All Bible quotations are from the NIV. For many topics, I feel I have a strong handle on what’s true, or at least I have a strong opinion. For this writing, I am offering my best personal attempt to make sense of what I am seeing. For Christians, the Bible has been placed as the central reference point for beliefs. A great deal of the instruction in the Bible could be considered gender neutral. But, let’s be brutally honest. It can feel like the Bible was directed more at men than women. So, was the Bible written by males for males? I feel like the answer is somewhat yes for at least portions of the Bible. Yet, I believe that the Bible was inspired by a God who does not favor men over women. So, how can God not prefer men over women, but give inspiration to a Bible that seems to do that? Well, here goes… Much of the history covered by the Bible was set in a male dominated culture. In my opinion, throughout Bible history, God has worked in the midst of less than ideal cultures without waiting for them to change (not just in regard to sexism, but also other issues). Within these cultures, God provided inspired Biblical messages that could go out to the societies as they were. YET, during these same times, the Bible pushed the envelope for going against cultural norms. This included affirming the intrinsic value of women and their ability to advance the world’s well being. In fact, this affirmation was downright radical for the times at which the Bible was written. I will use two approaches to support my position that the Bible stands up for the worth and contribution potential of women. First, I will elaborate on my idea that in the Bible, God works in the midst of certain cultural deficiencies without endorsing them. This includes God working in societies that put ungodly limits on women. Second, I will address 9 reasons why people say that the Bible caters more to men than women. My response will be that none of the reasons really indicate that God wants divine words communicated only from men to men. In fact, I will contend that close examination of these issues actually show that ideally, both women and men should receive and spread God’s word. God’s working within male dominated societies did not equal endorsements of those dominations. In the Bible, God often worked in less than stellar societal situations to accomplish spiritual goals. A few examples are as follows: Paul told slaves to continue in their work even while advocating that they should get their freedom if they can (1 Corinthians 7:21). The Bible never supported polygamy and discouraged it (Deuteronomy 17:17, Leviticus 18:18, 1 Timothy 3:2,12). And, every time polygamy was mentioned in the Bible, it was associated with problems. Yet, God worked with leaders who practiced this (ie. Jacob in the Old Testament). God also gave instructions about how to handle a problem that could arise in that system (Deuteronomy 21:15-17). Daniel and his three friends started a rise to power by allowing their names to be changed to pagan names; they also took 3 years of training in pagan Babylonian language and literature (Daniel 1:4). God worked with certain kings even though they didn’t (and maybe couldn’t) remove the “high places” God wanted out (ie. 1 Kings 22:43). In the Bible Book of Esther, this woman became queen partly due to terrible behavior of a pagan king toward his first wife. Yet, as queen, Esther saves her people from extinction. In 1 Peter chapters 2 and 3, this apostle talks about the Christian cause being advanced by people doing difficult and even unfair things (like respecting the Roman emperor in many circumstances). Peter then tells wives to act submissively to nonbeliever husbands. This behavior could win these husbands over to the cause of Christ. This instruction is preceded by the expression “in the same way.” You might ask: in the same way as what? Peter is saying in the same way as I am asking other people to put up with unfair situations. However, there is a limit to this. Some husbands thought it was “fair” to use a physical strength advantage over a wife to physically abuse her. Peter tells these husbands “in the same way,” even if you think it’s your right to physically abuse, it’s wrong; Peter tells these men that your wife is your spiritual equal in Christ. So, these examples show the general idea that God will work in cultural settings not matching God’s ideals. But, does this general principle apply to the worth and usefulness of women? Well, the last two examples I just gave support that idea. In the first case, a specific woman was valued in a society primarily for her beauty, a limited measure of significance. Yet, God worked with this person’s cleverness and courage to save a nationality. In the second case, some women were asked to accept unfair sexist norms to further God’s cause. This was God working within a sexist culture without approving that culture. And even though God did work within that culture, God still put limits as to how far this could go (by Peter condemning physical abuse of women). And, it should be noted that women were not the only ones Peter asked to make unfair sacrifices (ie. both genders were to try to get along with harsh Roman rulers). Besides the examples just given, my point will be brought out further in the rest of the writing. Responses to reasonings saying the Bible favors communications from men to men I see 9 reasonings that are mistakenly used to push women mostly to the background. I will name these below and then give my responses. In my opinion, these responses not only refute these reasonings, they actually show that God strongly affirms primary spiritual roles for women. 1. The early creation story
Was Jesus a False Prophet When He Predicted a Return in the First Century AD?
This refers to a prediction in what’s called the Olivet Discourse. Some famous skeptics have used this prediction to reject Jesus’ divinity. The Olivet Discourse appears in three Gospels (Matthew: 24:1–25:46, Mark: 13:1–37, Luke: 21:5–36). Many people view this narrative as describing Jesus’ return to earth in what’s known as the Second Coming. Others see the section as describing a preliminary return of Jesus to the sky, but not to the earth. This action is supposed to take away the Christians and leave the rest of the world behind. This event has been called the rapture, though some people use the word rapture to mean something else. In all three Gospels accounts of the Olivet Discourse, Jesus is quoted as saying that “this generation” will not pass away until all these things happened (Matthew 24:34, Mark 13:30, Luke 21:32). So, if this discourse deals with the second coming or a rapture, it looks like Jesus made a false prediction. In my opinion, this issue cannot be addressed by a simple look at popular English versions of the New Testament. A proper answer requires looking at ancient Greek renditions of the New Testament, understanding figures of speech, recognizing references to Old Testament verses, and knowing a bit of the cultural background of the times. First off, I don’t consider a preliminary return of Jesus to extract the church as an option. I have listened to many Christians present this version of the rapture concept, and I will continue to listen. But, as of right now, I just don’t see this taught clearly anywhere in the Bible. I discuss this further in a postscript below. What about the idea that Jesus falsely predicted a first century second coming? Here are four counter responses of which I am aware: Either 3 or 4 explains Jesus’ prediction, but it must be recognized that the language of the Olivet Discourse includes figures of speech and references to Old Testament verses. An example of the former is “the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken” (Matthew 24:29). How do I know this constitutes figures of speech and not a literal supernatural astronomy event? I know because in Acts 2:20 and Isaiah 13:10, similar language described events that have now already occurred. These events involved a traumatic transition. We use these types of expressions in modern times. For example, an old song by the Walker Brothers about a breakup said: “The sun ain’t gonna shine anymore. The moon ain’t gonna rise in the sky.” An example of an Old Testament reference in the Olivet Discourse is “At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory” (Mark 13:26). Matthew 24:30 says something similar: “And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.” An NIV Bible footnote gives a different translation for part of the sentence in Matthew 24:30. The footnote reads: “At that time the tribes of the land will see…” For reasons I won’t go into, the footnote gives a better translation than “all the peoples of the earth.” This could refer to Jesus’ second coming, but two alternative views have been raised. Possibly, Jesus’ quote merges both views. One view points to passages like Isaiah 19:1: “A prophecy against Egypt: See, the Lord rides on a swift cloud and is coming to Egypt.” Passages like this refer to God using an army to enact judgement. That would fit the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in “this generation.” This proposition is reinforced by Jesus using similar language about coming on clouds later when he appeared before Jewish religious leaders (Matthew 26:64). In this case, Jesus’ statement comes right after complaints were made about Jesus saying he would destroy the temple. So, the context of this second clouds language came in a discussion about destroying the temple. Such a threat to the city and temple would explain part of the extreme anger the leaders felt toward Jesus. These leaders’ power and livelihood depended on Jerusalem and the temple. One big reason they wanted Jesus killed was a fear of the Romans destroying the temple: “If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation” (John 11:48). One problem with this idea is the timing associated with Jesus’ statement to the Sanhedrin. Jesus said: “From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven (Matthew 26:64, bolding mine). Jerusalem and the temple were not going to be destroyed until later, not now. However, Jesus may have been referring to the transition of temple sacrifice to Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice. This goes with Jesus’ saying that he would destroy the temple and rebuild it in 3 days (John 2:19). This was a reference to his body as a temple (John 2:21). His body was going to die and be resurrected as a replacement for physical temple sacrifices. This was about to happen even though the physical temple in Jerusalem was not destroyed until later. The other view of the Olivet Discourse verse about clouds has Jesus taking his place in Heaven as having authority over all the world (a fulfillment of Daniel 7:13-14). The Olivet Discourse wordings show similarity with the Daniel passage. This coronation of Jesus as king would be taking place shortly after Jesus’ statement to the Sanhedrin (which could explain “from now on”). However, two problems arise with this interpretation. First, in the Olivet Discourse, the timing of the coming in the clouds seems to be intertwined with the destruction of Jerusalem. A number of Bible verses suggest that Jesus’ coronation happened before the Jerusalem
Are the Miracles Described in The Bible Possible? If They Are, Why Have I Never Seen Any?
I will define a miracle as an event that cannot be explained by natural laws or behaviors. Bible examples include: the sea parting for Moses and his people, a lost borrowed axe head floating to the top of the water, Jesus healing a man’s withered hand, and Peter finding a coin in a fish’s mouth for his and Jesus’ tax payment. Three common objections to the possibility of miracles are: 1. Science laws are predictable and consistent. Miracles are rare deviations. Rarity equals impossibility. 2. Science laws cannot be broken. 3. I have never seen any miracles. 1. Rarity does not automatically equal impossibility. For example, according to the Big Bang Theory, this universe was created only once. Also, extremely rare genetic traits can occur. And, only one person exactly like you has ever been born. 2. Science laws don’t have to be broken to have a miracle. Even non-miraculous events can get around science laws. Is a science law broken when someone rides in an airplane? Is such flight impossible because it breaks the law of gravity? No, the law of gravity is not broken. Instead, the law of gravity is temporarily overwhelmed by the airplane. If natural people can devise a way to temporarily overwhelm a natural law, a supernatural being can do the same. 3. Should we all expect to see miracles for them to be possible? First off, the amount of miracles reported in the Bible varies from book to book and even within certain books (ie. there are more miracles in the early parts of Joshua and Acts than later on). Thus, even in the Bible times, miracles may not have happened with equal frequency at all points of history. Thus, I feel comfortable in saying nobody should expect to see miracles every day. But should anyone today ever expect to ever see a miracle? To address that question, the purpose of miracles in the Bible should be examined. From what I can see, Bible miracles served one or more of these purposes: A & B. Authentication & a glimpse of Heaven. The most important example of authentication is Jesus’ miracles attesting to him actually being the promised messiah. His greatest miracle was his resurrection from the dead, but the Gospels also record other miracles of Jesus. Other Bible people also had miracles to authenticate their roles. These include Moses, Joshua, the prophets Elijah and Elisha, and the apostles. In Bible sections where authentications were not occurring, fewer miracles were recorded. In the authentication sections of the Bible, the primary audience needing validation were people that already believed in the right God or were seeking that God. The miracles were generally not for winning over cynics. I talk about this more in a writing on this site on the hiddenness of God (second writing on https://godevidencesperplexities.com/spiritual-experiences/). Despite what I just said, Bible miracles were sometimes witnessed by people who were not in a good spiritual place. For example, Jesus did certain miracles in front of some not-so-good religious leaders. These leaders claimed to follow the “right” God, but really opposed that God. For the most part, the miracles did not convert these individuals and weren’t intended to. In fact, Jesus wouldn’t do miracles to put on a show. Instead, the miracles mostly verified to believers or seekers that Jesus was who he claimed to be. To examine another example, Moses was in charge of a transition of slave people into a nation. His initial miracles were intended to rally people behind him and to get Pharaoh to let his people go. These miracles were not an effort to convert hard hearted Pharaoh into following Moses’ God. In contrast to what I just emphasized, God could use a miracle to draw in a skeptic. However, this doesn’t seem to be standard operating procedure (see more in the hiddenness writing noted above). On the other hand, a person seeking God can look at the historical miracles as part of a faith building process. Besides authentication purposes, Biblical miracles also gave a taste of the eternal world to come. For instance, when Jesus healed someone, a glimpse was given into what heaven is like. In that world, God: “will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Revelation 21:4). Some people will argue that A and B have now been accomplished. The Bible never directly says that (especially for parts of the world that have had limited exposure to Jesus’ teachings). Nonetheless, it would seem that miracles for authentication reasons would now be rare if at all. Thus, a person may be less likely to see a miracle now than in Moses or Jesus’ public ministry days. C. Compassion. Matthew 14:14 says the following: “When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.” In another place in Matthew (15:32), it says: “Jesus called his disciples to him and said, ‘I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.” Jesus then proceeds to feed the group through a miracle. We also see compassion motivated Bible miracles in other places such Kings 6:1-6. A person was distraught because a borrowed axe head was lost in a body of water. However, a “man of God” is able to make the axe head float to the top. This reason for God doing miracles was given no expiration date in the Bible. Yet, as much as I hate to say this, God’s ultimate compassion does not play out fully until the future world noted in the Revelation verse cited above. The Bible says that in this world, we have tribulation and suffering. This includes prayers for healing that don’t turn out the way we want. I know this firsthand.