Authority over woman

Yes, Paul, the Great Compromiser, has done a job on women, for sure. And men, too, because without the contributions of womankind, mankind is diminished. They get stuck in that barbaric war-mongering / barefoot and pregnant role that is sorely outgrown.

I was reminded, reading Mary Jo's post, of a message in the UB which I cannot find, [I used to know this Book. But now I can't seem to find anything in it. All these Study Guides have made me soft.] that sets out the ideal of men and women, based on the ideal established by Michael and the Divine Minister. Poorly paraphrased, he goes out and slays the dragon, then comes back to the castle where she has been faithfully stirring the pot and holding down the fort, whereupon she brings him his slippers and he says he couldn't have done it without her; thus they rule the kingdom jointly and equally, consulting with each other before they do anything new or different or out of the ordinary.

Like many, I have found the sociological effects of role reversals interesting, since the advent of women's liberation, which now allows women to go out and slay the dragon and the man to stir the soup and fetch the slippers. Does that mean the working woman has authority over the house-husband? I think this issue of authority has a lot to do with money. Money talks. It has authority. And whoever brings home the bacon maintains a great deal of authority.

We are on the cusp of a new dispensation. Old ways are passing; new ways are coming in. And I'm thinking "How can we keep them down on the farm after they've seen Par-ee?" Once a woman knows what it feels like to be financially self-sufficient, I think it would be very hard for her to go back to being dependent. We are compelled to begin to work with the idea that Jesus introduced, that women are spiritually equal to men -- not someone that takes a back seat -- in the bus, in the synagog, in social status, or in intellectual acumen.

It's like that silly movie "What do Women Want" with Helen Hunt and Mel Gibson. They want to be considered. And like that other silly movie "Pretty Woman" where Richard Gere rescues Julia Roberts and she rescues him right back. The problem is that too many people, instead of building relationships, take hostages. They might treat their mate like a princess, or a prince, but if one is ruling over the other, they have taken a hostage. And while that might make a pretty picture, it does not lead to a "Happily Ever After." Not really. Not for reallies.

Maybe if and when women begin to have authority over THEMSELVES instead of others, we will begin to develop a civilization that is mutually advantageous, mutually satisfying, mutually challenging, and mutually authoritative over our own thoughts, our own opinions, our own creativity. Maybe we will know PEACE!

Urantia Book Forum

Who is online