Elaine R Kelly
Jul 4, 20235 min
Updated: Apr 7
As we have seen, God brings freedom in the perfect design of creation in Genesis 1-2 and gender freedom in the Fall in Genesis 3. Today I'm presenting two fictional tales to demonstrate how underlying ideas that either free or confine women can be incorporated into the Genesis account to slant the portrayal of God, women, and men.
Biblical Truth in Literalism and Allegory
Literalism:
Literalism relies on the historical person of Adam and Eve. Some interpreters believe that the story of Adam and Eve must be taken literally (1) or there is no fall of humanity, no original sin, and no need for the solution of salvation in Jesus to make sense. They may use Paul's letters to prove Adam and Eve were real people (2). Biblical literalism was developed relatively recently, reacting to perceived threats of new scientific knowledge in the late 1800s. Literalism seems to indicate that the Fall in the Garden led to human depravity, the destruction of God's perfect plan, and the need for Plan B with Jesus as our Redeemer.
Allegory:
For millennia before that, the church taught that Genesis reveals truth through historical allegory (3). Adam and Eve may represent humanity and our nature to follow our own rule instead of God's. Father Michael Guinan, professor of Old Testament (4) stated, “the Catholic Church has accepted the use of historical-critical tools to understand the Scriptures, which are, among other things, historical documents... Catholic scholars, along with mainstream Protestant scholars, see in the primal stories of Genesis not literal history but symbolic, metaphoric stories which express basic truths about the human condition and humans. In the 1980s, theologian and pastor Urban Holmes went so far as to state that “literalism is a modern heresy (5). The allegory seems to indicate that the Fall in the Garden demonstrates God's perfect design was the creation of imperfect people with the freedom to follow the flesh or the spirit. God created us knowing we would want to be like God, knowing good and evil, knowing the continuing human tendency to disobey God and make selfish choices. It demonstrates the reason for God sending Jesus as our Redeemer, showing us how to love and work together as equal partners in bearing spiritual fruit and managing the earth.
Ancient Jews:
The ancient Jewish understanding of the Creation story was that Satan is subordinate to God, serves God, and acts under God's direction in the Garden of Eden. Since God is all-powerful and the creator of all things. God tasks Satan (6) with tempting humans, testing human loyalty and improving us. Satan serves as the prosecutor or accuser in God's court. This was the view of Genesis for centuries and during the time of Christ and it affirms that God is in control, knows humans make disobedient choices, and restores us to God's family.
Regardless of whether you believe the creation story literally or figuratively, the account in Genesis influences the views of individuals and of society.
Two Tales of Genesis
The following two tales dramatize how the text can be understood in two ways. You may find your understanding of Genesis 1-3 in either story or somewhere in between. As you read the stories, reflect on how each impacts your views on God’s character, sin, salvation, and gender roles.
Women Are Daughters of Eve is a story about how God made women subordinate and created them to be secondary. Like Eve, women tempt men and if a man listens to a woman she will lead him to disobey God. Women are easily deceived, morally inferior, and unsuited to lead.
In my biblical fiction, Mara was dealing with trauma from being called the derogatory name of 'daughter of Eve'.
"Mara tapped her brooch as Jesus shone the light on her hidden fears: people who had cheated, criticized, or shamed her. She didn’t have much education, but it sounded like Jesus was saying it was a man’s fault for dreaming of being with a woman. Her teacher said she was a daughter of Eve, and it was her fault if her appearance or clothing tempted him and made him become unclean." Mara, Chapter 11, Forgotten Followers from Broken to Bold.
Women Are Daughters of Sarah is a story about how God gave women equal freedom, authority, and responsibility. There is no subordination based on gender and no gender-based authority. Leadership is based on spiritual gifts, not physical traits. Satan, the father of lies, ambushed and deceived Eve. She confessed the truth to God and God punished the Serpent and blessed Eve. Adam was not deceived but intentionally disobeyed and blamed the woman and God. Women and men are children of Abraham and Sarah, the result of God's promise, co-heirs with Jesus.
In my biblical fiction, Joanna is shocked to hear Jesus call a woman a daughter of Abraham:
“You hypocrites!” Jesus told them. “Any one of you would untie your ox or your donkey and take it out to give it water on the Sabbath. Yet an evil spirit has tied this dear woman in bondage for eighteen years! She is a daughter of Abraham and Sarah! Isn’t it right that she be untied and freed, even on the Sabbath?” Joanna was shocked. None of her tutors had called a woman a daughter of Abraham. They called women daughters of Eve, leading men astray. Did God bless women? “Does this mean Jesus values both woman and men as the result of God’s promise?” she asked. “Yes, he not only values women as much as an ox or donkey, but as the result of the promise to Abraham and Sarah, the free woman,” said Marie of Magdala, Chapter 25, Forgotten Followers from Broken to Bold.
Questions for Reflection:
In each story, who is made in God's image_____________________________________
In each story, who is blessed to be fruitful ______________________________________
In each story, who does God authorize to rule over the earth _____________________
In each, what does God command to the man? _________________________________
In each, what does God command to the women? ______________________________
In each, who was present to hear the serpent's temptation? ______________________
Are they hiding from God because of their evil nature or their knowledge of it? ___________________________________________________________________________
List who/what God curses: ___________________________________________________
Who is to blame for the Fall? __________________________________________________
After the Fall, does God curse or bless Eve? ____________________________________
Why is the ground cursed? ___________________________________________________
What are the characteristics of God shown in each story__________________________
Which aspects of each story reveals underlying gender beliefs____________________
Do you think God wants to bring freedom or confinement?________________________
We hope that you will be encouraged to go boldly into the world, being the person that God calls you to be.
The Lord gives the command; The women who proclaim good news are a great army (Psalm 68:11)
Sources:
1. https://answersingenesis.org/adam-and-eve/
2. https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/eve-in-the-new-testament/
3. https://catholicstand.com/genesis-1-3-part-i-literal-or-allegorical/
4. https://catholicreview.org/catholic-church-has-evolving-answer-on-reality-of-adam-and-eve/
6. https://www.jewsforjudaism.org/knowledge/articles/the-jewish-view-of-satan/
Sources accessed in composing my two fictional tales:
https://margmowczko.com/?s=genesis
https://margmowczko.com/in-the-image-of-god-gen-126-28-in-a-nutshell/
https://redemptivehistorytheology.com/blog/marriage-throughout-redemptive-history/
https://tru316.com/the-eden-podcast by Bruce C. E. Fleming
https://godswordtowomen.wordpress.com/category/genesis/
https://ishshahsstory.com/2015/08/06/another-look-at-genesis-316/
Elaine Ricker Kelly Author is empowering women with Christian fiction about women in the Bible and early church and Christian blogs about women in leadership, church history and doctrine. Her books include:
Forgotten Followers from Broken to Bold, Book 1
The Sword A Fun Way to Engage in Healthy Debate on What the Bible Says About a Woman's Role
Because She Was Called: from Broken to Bold, Book 2, A Novel of the Early Church, imagines Mary Magdalene's trip to testify before the emperor
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