Gratefull's comment: Is there really a divine order to the world?

A few weeks ago, I wrote a column about what my ideal (all female) cabinet would look like.

From all the comments I received, it was clear that my slightly light-hearted column touched a raw nerve and exposed a longing amongst South Africans for a party of principled politicians who would truly serve the electorate.

One comment, in particular, caught my eye. Under the name Grateful, this person wrote: “Personally, I would prefer a male-dominated cabinet (provided of course that similarly, the males chosen are above reproach, God-fearing and public-serving). This for me is the intended natural order of creation….”

It stopped me in my tracks, and I felt an almost physical pain as I read those words.

It was a short comment, yet it held a world of pain for women.

Over the last few weeks, I have reflected on Grateful’s words and it took me back to the work I did as a student of theology many years ago (after my Bachelor of Theology, I also completed a Master’s degree on the impact of our use of masculine language to describe God).

Grateful is of course not an outlier. Millions of men and women around the world and in this country subscribe to the belief that there is a “natural” order with men at the top, women (and children) below men, and nature and the environment at the bottom.

They base this either on the belief that nature made women biologically inferior because of their lesser physical powers, or more commonly, on their understanding of religious teachings. 

The natural order or biological argument is of course totally outmoded. Apart from the fact that women live longer than men, we no longer live in a world where brute force or physical power are the measures for survival or success. There is also no example in any animal species indicating that males’ survival skills are superior to those of females.

However, I suspect that Grateful does not base their argument on biology. From the latter part of the comment (“God-fearing”) I suspect it is religiously motivated.

Many Christians and other believers insist that men are not only the head of the household, but superior to women. Women are therefore divinely instructed to obey and serve men in general and their husbands in particular. Many still argue that the wife becomes the possession of her husband, and daughters those of their fathers (thus brides get given away to the groom by the dad and/or dowries are paid).

Major religions base this on the belief that God is male and thus that men (and not women) are made in the image of God. For centuries, their ancient teachings have left little doubt that males have a privileged position over females in the eyes of God.

To really interrogate this issue would take much more than 700 words and any attempt would leave major gaps, but let me just make a few brief points.

In order for us to try and make sense of God we need words, symbols or imagery. Thus, for thousands of years humans have held on to a personalized image of God. However, it is important to note that the idea of a masculine God was not always the case nor is it part of some divine order.  There is ample archeological evidence to show that in Old Europe people referred to their deity as female.

Male superiority has never been given to us or divinely ordained by God. It was developed over centuries in patriarchal societies by male theologians (especially the men who wrote the Bible) who imposed a masculine image on God. In doing so, they theologically justified the cultural practices and secular beliefs of the time – and which still exist today - that women were inferior.  Incidentally, they also concealed the strong likelihood that at least one book - the Book of Hebrews - was authored by a woman.

This theological justification fostered the belief that men were godlike whereas women were ungodly, and this utterly groundless assumption continues to underpin the terrible hardship, discrimination, and violence that women have suffered for centuries and continue to suffer today.

Surely any true believer knows that no image or symbol can ever be an adequate picture or description of God. God transcends it all. This means that God is both male and female and neither male nor female.

To believe in - and pray to - only one (male) image of God, a human construction by patriarchal societies over the last 5000 years is surely idolatrous. It is not only an anthropomorphism that diminishes God, but something that does enormous harm.

As the feminist theologian Sally Mcfague puts it: “As long as we have God the Father and not also God the Mother, God the Father remains the sole creator of life -– women in general and specifically that which is linked to reproduction and sexuality becomes dirty, dangerous and something to be hidden.”

Is it therefore surprising that we see the horrible abusive laws in Texas in the name of religion, forcing women to give birth even in cases of incest and rape? Or that our churches are mostly silent when it comes to the pandemic of Gender-Based Violence? Or that pastors frequently claim the “right” to rape and abuse women?

So, no Grateful, there is no natural or divine order rendering men superior.  It is and has always been a dangerous patriarchal construct created by men and justified through false religious beliefs.

I don’t proclaim to know much about God’s will but I am 100% certain that any belief or attitude directly or indirectly underpinning the oppression, rape, abuse, and killing of women could never be part of what a loving God intended for this world.  

May you all have a blessed and loving festive period!