Calvin Synod Herald, 1982 (82. évfolyam, 1-6. szám)
1982-10-01 / 5. szám
CALVIN SYNOD HERALD — 5 — REFORMÁTUSOK LAPJA standpoint of helper may lead to the discovery oi me mauiuciency of man as a single-handed agent rather to the proof of woman’s inferiority as a mere adjunct to man. The animals also qualify as helpers but they do not fit for the man. “In the intention of God’s creation the woman is the man’s equal, she is help like unto himself, she is set apart from the animals” (Sakenfeld, p. 225). “As helper God is superior; as helpers the animals are inferior; as helper the woman is equal to the man” (Trible, Biblical, p. 7). d) Sinned first. It is also presupposed that the serpent addressed the woman first because she, as the weaker, inferior sex, by her very inherent nature, more prone to yield to this temptation. In this context we have to remember that in Chapter 2 man is still by himself when God forbids him to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (v. 17). The woman must have learned indirectly about God's command. This indirect way of information might be one of the reasons why the serpent approached her. However, the serpent actually addressed both of them together since all of the verbs corresponding to “you” in the original Hebrew text are in the plural. “The Hebrew makes it clear that the man and the woman are standing together during this episode” (Sakenfeld, p. 225). Similarly “judgement comes equally upon the woman and the man. The result of eating from the tree is twofold for mankind: for the woman it is subordination to her husband from whom she was taken, and pain in childbearing; for the man, it is subordination to the ground from which he was taken, and pain in tilling the soil” (Ibid, p. 226.). “Subjugating and supremacy are perversions of creation. Through disobedience the woman has become a slave... The man is corrupted also, for he has become master, ruling over the one who is his God-given equal. The subordination of female to male signifies their shared sin.” (Trible, Depat. p. 4.) e) Naming. In Chapter 2 the Hebrew pun’ish — ’ishsha (manwoman) signifies only sexual differentiation. The technical naming formula is used here only for the animals. It is only in Gen. 3:20 when man names his wife and calls her Eve, the mother of all living. That is, the naming formula was used only after the fall whether we regard it as an additional sign of subordination or not. Through the fall the harmony of creation was destroyed and the relationship of the sexes fell out of joint. Man’s right relationship to God and the fulfillment of his own essential nature are realized in his relationship to his fellow-man. The basic paradigm of all human relationship is given in the relationship between man and woman. Therefore the alienation of man from God which is symbolized with the fall is, at the same time, the alienation of man and woman from one another and from their respective essential humanity. The distortion of man’s relationship from woman is the pattern of his alienation from his neighbor and the source from which other forms of human enstrangement flow. “It is remarkable that in a patriarchal society the idea of a good creation involving human equality was even thought of. The story teller could have narrated the creation such a way that woman was clearly subordinate to man, as the story has been read in the past. But the narrator sees the subordinate role of women in culture not as ordained in the goodness and blessing of God, but as a result of human rebellion” (Sakenfeld, p. 225.). BIBLIOGRAPHY Otwell, J. H. and Sarah Laughed — Westminster, 1977 Phipps, William E. — Adam’s Rib (Article), Theology Today, Vol. XXXIII. No. 3, pp. 263-73 Sakenfeld, Katherine Dobb — The Bible and Women: Bane or Blessing? (Article), Theology Today, 32 (1975-76) pp. 222-23 Starr, Lee Anna — The Bible Status of Woman, Fleming H. Revell Co., New York, 1926 Trible, Phyllis — Depatriarchalizing in Biblical Interpretation, Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Vol. XLI, March 1973, pp. 30-48 DR. EVA M. FABIAN Religion not keeping pace with population NEW YORK — The growth in religious affiliation in the past 10 years lagged behind growth in population for the first time on record, according to statistics released in September. The data also indicate that religious bodies are becoming spread more thinly geographically, with greater religious variety in most areas and fewer of them with predominant denominational sway. The findings are part of a once-a-decade look at religion in America sponsored by an ecumenical coalition and based on data supplied by 111 Christian and Jewish groups, providing county-by-county figures. Called “Churches and Church Membership in the United States, 1980,” the 321-page study offers comparisons with similar broad studies made previously in 1952 and 1971. For ther first time since such data was collected, religious growth failed in the last decade to keep pace with the population, which grew 11.5 percent, while religious affiliations grew only 4.1 percent. Previously, religious affiliation grew at a “much faster rate than the population”, Peter L. Halvorson, a University of Connecticut geographer, told a news conference. “Both territorially and in membership, a large number of mainline denominations had decreases,” he said. ___________________________________(Associated Press) An Old Myth According to the 1970 census there were 13,157 Hungarians living in Cleveland. (The number of nationalities from the 1980 census will not be available until next year.) But since Cleveland lost 177,057 residents in ten years there must be less Hungarians in the City of Cleveland now. With the suburban Hungarians the number is definitely higher. But if we add the Hungarian residents of the suburbs to Cleveland, then we need to add the suburban residents to the 210,000 residents of Miskolc, 195,000 residents of Debrecen and 170,000 residents of Pécs. There are 25 cities in Hungary where the population is above 40,000. So, it is about time to destroy the myth that next to Budapest’s 2,060,000 residents Cleveland has the largest Hungarian settlement. Hungary has 95 cities and the Hungarian population of Cleveland may exceed the population of some smaller cities, but very definitely would be close to the end of the list. 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