Religious or Spritual? What do you think?

Having a symposium is one way to disseminate information. Thus the 11th annual memorial lecture in honor of Rafael Salas held at the United Nations las Nov. 20 was just that.



Honorable Gertrude Mongella, president of the Pan African Parliament was guest speaker and touched on reproductive health issues of the African nation. She mentioned that her country has the highest population in the world with a ratio of 300 people for every square kilometer and that only one out of 22 born children will live to see daylight. Her appeal to the global community present at that symposium that night was indeed a revelation.



One statement that struck home was her mentioning of " religion which discriminates women in her country and should be re-examined." I couldn't agree more with her. Such subject is the issue of many women as well.



Haven't you notice that women's adversities always have MEN. Menopause, Menstruation, Mental etc..



It never ceases to upset me when verses taken from the bible are taken out of context to fit the male species' interpretation. This is what I'm talking about.



1. Submission
Ephisians 5:22..25 (Wives submit yourself unto your husbands, as unto the Lord...Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it)


When a man uses this verse as a tool to express his authority over a woman, there is only one conclusion. The husband has a symptom of pigititis also known as "pigheadedness". Many husbands believe that this verse puts them in charge no matter what conflict or disagreement arises. This is not the point because the verse before tht (21) states that submission is enjoined by all believers in fear of God. A wife's submission to her husband is to be "as unto the Lord" She has only one Lord, (Christ) but her devotion to her husband is to be of the same quality as her devotion to God. Similarly, a husband shows love for his wife by following Christ example of humility and self sacrifice (which is also a form of submission). No where in these passages says that the husbands are to excercise power or authority over his wife.



2, HEAD OF THE FAMILY
1Cor 11:3 ( But I would have you know that the head of every man is Christ and the head of every woman is man, and the head of Christ is God." Eph. 23 (for the husband is the head of the wife)



Again, this does not mean control or subordination or even heirarchical. When the bible was translated from the original Greek form, many words can get mixed up. The greek word "andrasin" for example can mean man or husband, depending on how it is used in the context. The word 'head' has been explained in a number of different ways variously as supreme ruler, governor, boss, derivation or source. Therefore, this verse simply means that the husband is not commanded to be head but is described in metaphorical terms as the head of the wife. Since the context is the parallel of not the glorious ruling of Christ, but has self giving sacrifice, it is likely that this is the most sensible reading.



The derivative source could also mean that women originated from man by its historical beginnings that women came out of man's rib (Adam in Genesis).



Given that our filipino culture is heirarchical, many men pressume that they are "boss". It can be terrifying to women that Christianity advocates them as seconday to men's supremacy. Not the point here. The bible also states that we are co-heirs to God's inheritance.


When two people enter marriage, they bring with them various gifts and abilities so that each partner will seek to develop the gifts of the other, rather than fitting into mythically predetermined roles. There is no biblical mandate for husbands going out to earn their daily bread and women staying home to bake it. Paul never specified any cultural action or practical application from this passage. But when a man loves his wife (Eph 5:25) he is fulfilling his role.


3 BIBLE IS LAW BECAUSE IT IS GOD'S WORD


I am an absolutist in terms of God's Word. 2Timothy3:16 says that "all scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." But I am a relativist when it comes to the level of belief that a believer or a non-believer has in terms of his faith.



If one is a spiritual midget, then the letter of the law is the basis of one's belief. But that is not what the truth portrays. We do not follow the letter of the law, but by the Spirit of the law. We go beyond what the scripture says, beyond its black and white letters. Just as the final verse of that chapter says 2Tim4:22 "the Lord Jesus Christ be with thy Spirit"



Ken Wilbur's book "the integral vision" explains in chapter 5 the aspect of being spiritual but not religious. When you first read his notes, you can easily conclude that he is a weird man. But sometimes weird men makes sense in our mess up worlds. Just as there are spiritual midgets, there are also spiritual giants in the Christian world. Wilber explains his findings/researches scientifially in layman's terms and it is up to us to find what level of spirituality we have attained.


Many researchers define spiritual intelligence accordingly. The most simplified one is based on Paul Tilich's definition that "spiritual" refers to that which indicats a person's ultimate concern. And he goes on to show the levels and stages. Just like Maslow's Needs Heirarchy, there is a graph to knowing your own level of spirituality. However, this does not mean that the level described will determine the specific content of one's ultimate concern, but simply explain the degree of development, complexity and consciousness that goes into one's ultimate concern, whatever the level may be.


Summing the whole issue on men being head (boss juno), submitting (under kuno), and it's all found in the bible (Law kuno), everyone who takes their spirituality seriously should consider the outcome which one desires.


I definitely confirm with Dr. Mongella's observation that religion is discriminatory to women when seen at the least level of understanding. Education in every aspect, whether for health, values and other pertinent issues should take priority in the list of programs,not only in Africa but in many parts of the world. Religion takes a major role in this quest because these are the origins of many wars since time immemorial.


To quote Wilber: The press (media) seems to recognize only two types of religion: fundamentalist nutcases and New Age nutcases. Both, of course, are pre-rational, with the fundamentalist believing in amber dogma and myth, the new agers believing in magenta magic. Any transrational orientation, such as transpersonal psychology is lumped in with the New Age nutcases. But heck, the only two people that the press knows who are "spiritual" are George W. Bush and Osama Bin Laden. And the press can't figure out who is the more dangerous.