If there is a Heavenly Mother, why does she play no role

[SeattleUte]

Originally Posted by Archaea

I bet I know it, but if you can suprise us, take a whack at it.

The Judeo-Christian God is a mythic character imagined by tribal, paternalistic societies and then refined by the late Roman Empire. Mormonism is as endebted to the past as any religous creed, and is also as paternalistic as can be. Mormonism is in fact a deliberate throw back to Old Testament monotheism. If women wielded worldly, practical power in the early Hebrew tribes or in Mormon society God would be a woman. The Roman Empire was male dominated but still more shaded toward androgyny, and more enlightened than the tribal Hebrews. Hence, the Roman Christian God seems to me genderless.

Why this isn't as plain as the nose on your face to anyone is beyond me. But hey, I could say that about a lot of stuff.

[BYU71]

Originally Posted by SeattleUte

The Judeo-Christian God is a mythic character imagined by tribal, paternalistic societies and then refined by the late Roman Empire. Mormonism is as endebted to the past as any religous creed, and is also as paternalistic as can be. Mormonism is in fact a deliberate throw back to Old Testament monotheism. If women wielded worldly, practical power in the early Hebrew tribes or in Mormon society God would be a woman. The Roman Empire was male dominated but still more shaded toward androgyny, and more enlightened than the tribal Hebrews. Hence, the Roman Christian God seems to me genderless.

Why this isn't as plain as the nose on your face to anyone is beyond me. But hey, I could say that about a lot of stuff.

You are too smart for your own good.

[Archaea]

Originally Posted by SeattleUte

The Judeo-Christian God is a mythic character imagined by tribal, paternalistic societies and then refined by the late Roman Empire. Mormonism is as endebted to the past as any religous creed, and is also as paternalistic as can be. Mormonism is in fact a deliberate throw back to Old Testament monotheism. If women wielded worldly, practical power in the early Hebrew tribes or in Mormon society God would be a woman. The Roman Empire was male dominated but still more shaded toward androgyny, and more enlightened than the tribal Hebrews. Hence, the Roman Christian God seems to me genderless.

Why this isn't as plain as the nose on your face to anyone is beyond me. But hey, I could say that about a lot of stuff.

At least you actually write your own stuff, with a little bit of a flair. aaron cuts and pastes his own stuff.

If I have your worldview I'd say the same. And I might agree to some extent that the culture as you described it has impacted Mormon culture.

[JohnnyLingo]

Originally Posted by SeattleUte

The Judeo-Christian God is a mythic character imagined by tribal, paternalistic societies and then refined by the late Roman Empire. Mormonism is as endebted to the past as any religous creed, and is also as paternalistic as can be. Mormonism is in fact a deliberate throw back to Old Testament monotheism. If women wielded worldly, practical power in the early Hebrew tribes or in Mormon society God would be a woman. The Roman Empire was male dominated but still more shaded toward androgyny, and more enlightened than the tribal Hebrews. Hence, the Roman Christian God seems to me genderless.

Why this isn't as plain as the nose on your face to anyone is beyond me. But hey, I could say that about a lot of stuff.

So just to be clear, you either believe there is no God or you believe God is genderless. Is that right?

[Tex]

Originally Posted by Requiem

Please Tex, you and I both know an empirical analysis of LDS curricula is not required to prove my point.

Oh but I think it is. I'd be genuinely interested to see a neutral analysis of church curricula for the quality and quantity of the treatment of church women, both ancient and modern, and then compare that to a similar analysis done on the scriptures on which they are based. I think it would tell us a lot about whether your perception is real or imagined.

But you haven't address my second point, either. Is a lesson on faith less effective to you if it has an example of a man vs. an example of a woman? On charity? On obedience? On tithing?

More to the point, does it bother you that the beings that we worship, the members of the Godhead, are all male? How does that affect your spirituality? I admit I don't know how I'd feel were the roles reversed. I think it might be quite challenging, particularly if I had been abused by (in my case, women) in my life.

I think I related this to you once before: my mission president's wife instructed us that a woman's spirituality is easily influenced by how the important men in her life treat her ... her father, husband, brothers, sons .... for this very reason. As a result, she emphasized how important it was to treat women properly. Do you disagree?

[Requiem]

Originally Posted by Tex

Requiem's been on quite the tear during this discussion. I wonder how she feels about the women who speak in General Conference, ala BDB.

http://cougarguard.com/forum/showpos...9&postcount=10

Contrary to your thinly disguised inference, I assess Conference talks on their content rather than the gender of the speaker. Can you say likewise?

[Archaea]

Originally Posted by JohnnyLingo

So just to be clear, you either believe there is no God or you believe God is genderless. Is that right?

If you'd read his posts on this subject, you'd understand he does not accept the existence of a tangible God as contemplated by society of Christians. He appreciates the cultural contributions, but he's made that perfectly clear. It's not an irrational position, just not a Mormon position.

[Indy Coug]

Originally Posted by Requiem

Sorry to disappoint, but I would love nothing more than engaging in a civil, respectful conversation with anyone willing to discuss the topic of women in the LDS faith.

Given your body of work in this thread, I find this post pretty amusing.

[Archaea]

Originally Posted by Tex

Oh but I think it is. I'd be genuinely interested to see a neutral analysis of church curricula for the quality and quantity of the treatment of church women, both ancient and modern, and then compare that to a similar analysis done on the scriptures on which they are based. I think it would tell us a lot about whether your perception is real or imagined.

But you haven't address my second point, either. Is a lesson on faith less effective to you if it has an example of a man vs. an example of a woman? On charity? On obedience? On tithing?

More to the point, does it bother you that the beings that we worship, the members of the Godhead, are all male? How does that affect your spirituality? I admit I don't know how I'd feel were the roles reversed. I think it might be quite challenging, particularly if I had been abused by (in my case, women) in my life.

I think I related this to you once before: my mission president's wife instructed us that a woman's spirituality is easily influenced by how the important men in her life treat her ... her father, husband, brothers, sons .... for this very reason. As a result, she emphasized how important it was to treat women properly. Do you disagree?

Are you implying the roles of stories with genders have no psychological impact upon the recipient?

It must impact women to hear very little from their perspective and only frm those who've had their thoughts shaped by a male dominated culture. I don't know what a healthy expression is, because I've never witnessed it.

[JohnnyLingo]

Originally Posted by Archaea

If you'd read his posts on this subject, you'd understand he does not accept the existence of a tangible God as contemplated by society of Christians. He appreciates the cultural contributions, but he's made that perfectly clear. It's not an irrational position, just not a Mormon position.

I guess I haven't paid that much attention to past SU posts, which is why I asked. I certainly wasn't implying his position was irrational.