We Must Change Our Thinking About Our Women

Prolific writer and attorney Khadija has posted a most enlightening article as a guest writer at Black Women Blow The Trumpet entitled Why Black American Muslim Women Follow Muslim Ike Turners hosted by Rev. Lisa Vasquez. Her post brought eye opening information concerning the maltreatment of Black American Muslim women. Khadija assesses that “the core problem is Black women’s idolatry. Instead of worshipping God alone, some Black women are worshipping God + the Black man they want to be/stay with + Male Clergy/Religious scholars…” I agree with her assessment, I can feel it when I am watching T.D. Jakes doing his pork chop strut across the pulpit/stage entertaining his mostly female Christian congregation/audience. Or Rod Parsley showcasing his watered down imitation of a Black country minister extolling the virtues of prosperity to his mostly lower middle class to poor Black and white female congregation/audience. Khadija mentions a case of a Muslim wife killing her husband just as a case of murder that was uncovered in the Christian world on July 30th this year. Anthony Hopkins, so called Evangelist, is accused of murdering his wife, cutting her up and storing her body in a freezer in the house for the last four years! Obviously, this male (obviously he is not a Man in the image of The Most High) has serious mental issues. Could his religion have influenced his thinking however warped it may be?

Khadija’s post hit a chord in my mind, something I see as the base for the problem of a male centered and dominated form of worship. Not only am I talking about Islam, but Christianity and Judaism and any other male God centered religion. We can safely say the male God image came into prominence approximately 8,000 to 10,000 years ago,when Sun worship began to be the major influence on humankind. Eventually the worship of the feminine was supplanted by the Hebrew Levites naming Yahweh (YHWH) as the God of Creation. Dr. Yosef Ben Jochonan teaches us that religion is culture deified, and can be witnessed in the cultural life of the people of the so called Middle East, where women of the times were in fact treated as chattel property, and not too differently today. Thus, we have adopted such backwards beliefs as the “male carries the seed” when we speak of reproduction, the male is the “head of the household”, leaving women to defend themselves by saying they are the neck turning or "manipulating" the head. The symbolism of this alone gives us the image of the male on top and the female on the bottom with the female as manipulator. All these symbols and images play a damaging role in the individual psychology and make up of the society. It also speaks against nature. The human brain does not function on an upper and lower hierarchy, but functions within the ebb and flow of left brain-right brain. Day does not seek to struggle against night, nor does the sand stand against the tide but, all work in a systematic flow with their natural function. So, men and women should function within our true and natural state. As long as we, men and women continue to call upon Him and exalt Him alone, the road to abolishing the idolizing of the Black man that she wants to be/stay with will be a long and rocky road.

Comments

[David Thomas]

For the record, T.D. Jakes; church the Potter's House is 505 men! I thought a few facts might help your article just in case truth matters to anyone. I am one of them.

[hagar's daughter]

My response is focused on Christianity because that is my faith tradition...

The day that Christians can image God as both male and female will be the day of a significant breakthrough. God is neither, but humankind is limited by language and we need some way to explain, understand, and describe The Creator.

To pray openly to a God who is Mother and Father is a most difficult concept to the majority of Christians.

As long as women, who are the majority membership of most churches including The Potter's House, continue to support such oppression financially and emotionally, change will be hard pressed. As long as female clergy do not introduce the Divine as femine or not embrace the feminine as divine, change will not occur.

Thanks for this post; this message is timely. I'm cross posting and sending you some link love.

[[Victor Amenta]]

@David Thomas, thanks for stopping by. I understand the feeling to defend your minister which fits into the "Idolizing" Khadija speaks on. We should begin to pay more attention to the message being given and less attention to the messanger. I believe I was clear when I said MOSTLY female congregation. I didn't say ALL female.

@ HG, Thanks for passing by my spot. You are right on when you said "To pray openly to a God who is Mother and Father is a most difficult concept to the majority of Christians." Very true, yet its up to the ministers to learn and bring out this message and not continue to teach unbalanced lessons.

[rawdawgbuffalo]

u know i agree and how i feel,and the women need to change their thinking about themselves too

[David Thomas]

First I realize I had a typo that made mty remarks non sensical. I am not defending unless you are defaming. It seems that the use of a term like "pork chop strut" would be a little derogatory and not just interested in facts. However, that is your right, this is yoru blog. My point ( though lost by the typo) is that our church is 50% mmen which isn't mostly women at all. But what of facts when one is on a role. I wasn't defending I left you to your pork chop discription of someone I bet you don't even know. I only thought that the facts about our demographics might be helpful.

Incidently, we have two female Pastors that are as well accepted as the white Pastor, Hispanic Pastor and the other black males who serve as Pastors in the church. I am not trying to argue. This is your blog, Go ahead and insult anyone who disagrees with you, I was just interjecting a fact in the rant.

For the record I agree with you about the male/female God concept. actually when the NIV was translated in an attempt to accurately depict the correct translation the term mother father God was translated. However, this met with such controversy that they quickly retracted it and used the male term because of its wide acceptance. This is stilll no reason to castigate all other ministers ,,, but that is just my opinion.

[Khadija]

Ensayn1,

Thanks for the appreciation! Yep, some things really need to change. And quickly. Things are coming to a head. I agree that a good place to start would be for people to stop thinking of God in anthropomorphic ways.
________________________

David Thomas,

I didn't read Ensayn's post as "castigating all ministers." The same way I didn't refer to "all" imams as being "Muslim Ike Turners" in my post. Ensayn stated his specific views about specific individuals. I talked about an overall pattern that I've observed.

If your church is 50% men, you surely realize that this gender breakdown is not at all representative of most Black churches? Even the most casual observer sees that many Black churches are overwhelmingly attended by Black women. If I remember correctly, a Black Christian man named Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu wrote a book about this phenomenon. I think the title was something like "Adam, Where Are You?"

Peace, blessings and solidarity.

[[Victor Amenta]]

@Khadija, Respect and thank you for coming by. I love your writing and the points you bring out. Each time its something we must really ponder, meditate on then take action of whatever level we can.

@David Thomas, I appreciate you coming back to make your point, you are welcome whether we agree or disagree. I have studied T.D. Jakes and Rod Parsley and I know they may do good works to help people outside of their message. I wanted to say that right up front. However, I have really focused on their messages/sermons that are broadcast world wide, most often this is all people get are the televised sermons or when they visit their cities and towns, and their messages leave many wanting without an answer, a true answer to their life issues. To do this is to do nothing but to massage their ego but provides no substance. These men and others are great purveyors of the "male is the head" sociology and it is not helping.

[DJ Black Adam]

"To pray openly to a God who is Mother and Father is a most difficult concept to the
majority of Christians."

And is also false and biblically erroneous to do so, Jesus tells us to pray "Our
Father", and that's what we should do.

God is beyond human sexuality, however, He is called a He and a Father by Jesus for
whatever reasons, as such, I see no biblical or theological reason to change that.

The sociological problems between men and women should not be superimposed on the infinite.

[[Victor Amenta]]

DJ Black Adam, thanks for coming through. I know there are many that feel as you do.

[[Victor Amenta]]

@DJ Black Adam, I don't believe the problem is superimposted on the "Infinite" but the culture based around how the "Infinite" is discribed.

[DJ Black Adam]

@Victor:

Thanks for having me by, I find your articles always thought provoking.

You had written:

“@DJ Black Adam, I don't believe the problem is superimposted on the "Infinite"
but the culture based around how the "Infinite" is discribed.”

I can see how you could come to that, many people view it that way since western
culture does have a patriarchal dimension as did many ancient middle eastern
cultures (to a degree), however; looking at the subject within the historical – esoteric - religous context of the time, the Romans (i.e. Diana, Athena) nor the Jewish people (Shekina in the
“female” sense) had a problem worshipping goddesses, in fact the veneration of
the Virgin Mary was a direct response to having the “goddess” viewpoint
regarding the “infinite”.

My point was that even with all that Jesus refers to God as a He, as the prophets in
the Tanakh did as well. The prophets in the Tanakh refered to God as a “he”, in
spite of the worship of female deities around them in the ancient world, so they did
so in spite of the culture bias of the time, a cultural bias to worship female
deities such as Tiamat which we read about in the Enuma Elish as well as Isthar,
Isis, Ninsun and Asherah; in fact there is no dispute amongst scholars of religion
or history that several ancient cultures worshipped female deities who match the
contemporary conception of a "mother goddess" as part of their pantheons, yet the
Hebrews and later those who followed the Hebrew God (i.e. Christianity, Judaism)
speak against the cultural norm to refer to God as a “He” or “Father” as Jesus did.

So again, I see today’s argument about God being referred to as a father / mother
as being our male / female problems being superimposed on God, in purposed
disagreement with what Jesus taught, His opinion, should be central and
authoritative to those who profess Christ Jesus (Yeshuyah HaMosiach) as their
salvation and who say they follow Him above their sociological or political
positions.

[focusedpurpose]

great post! right on point.

blessings,
focusedpurpose

[[Victor Amenta]]

FP, thanks for coming thru. I miss ur post!

[H.]

Hello Webmaster,

I am H. and interested in sponsoring your blog and I am contacting you to ask if
you are interested in blog post sponsorship. Please let me know if you have any further questions and if you are interested on this offer.

Yours truly,

H.