Man and Woman

I have recently visited a website of a lady named Maria Toth from the UK. She has put into words something that I have been working on in my head for a blog post here, for a very long time now and I want to share it with you as well as give her website address. Enjoy your reading of her posting. I agree with every word and I'm thrilled to find another woman who thinks this same way.

Considering there are a few words in the following post that are new to me, I decided to look them up and post their definitions for you to read as well. It certainly helps to understand what you're reading in a more in depth way.

Prowess:

–noun
1. exceptional valor, bravery, or ability, esp. in combat or battle.
2. exceptional or superior ability, skill, or strength: his prowess as a public speaker.
3. a valiant or daring deed.


Pastoral:

-adj.
Charmingly simple and serene; idyllic.



http://www.inhishands.co.uk/

Gender bender!
November 11th, 2006

In my post 2 days ago the male readers became defensive over society’s understanding of what it is to be male (or female). In years gone by women were seen as the weaker sex and men the strong ones, particularly physically. Women were said to have pastoral prowess, intuition and above all an ability to multitask.

However in recent times the innate differences seem to have merged and people talk of the feminisation of men, and also of women trying to take on roles previously deemed only appropriate for males.

Dare i suggest that having pastorally aware men is a good thing, but that women trying to be equal to men strips men of an opening to fulfil their role as a man?

This morning i was talking to a nun - she’s a professor of gender and the New Testament in Nigeria. She told me that she thinks we’ve misunderstood what it is to be male and female in God’s eyes (according to scripture) and that if we re-visit it many of societies struggles may be solved!

I wonder if we make too many assumptions and generalisations with regards to gender? What is it to be male and female? Can we learn that from scripture? Mmmm. A weekend musing!

by Maria Toth