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the Great Mother, God, Jesus
Raised in a catholic family, attending catholic school, i rebelled against christianity. I feel I had no religion until I was about 19 and realized I believed in the Great Earth Mother, who gave birth to the world and everything in it. I have prayed to this goddess for years until recently confused. I have always known deep down that something very significant would happen in my lifetime. I have learned a lot recently about the "end times" and the rapture. Which brings me back to the bible and am now thinking that God and Jesus is real. I know the Mayan calendar ends in 2012. I know we have seven years of tribulation before the apocalypse. I know war and famine and earthly destruction is beginning as i write this. i researched bible codes and feel there is a lot of truth in that. what i do not understand is the significance of men in the bible and religion. in the story of adam and eve, women are basically cut down. the messiah, jesus was a man. god is portrayed as a man. Yet women are life giving and wise. (not saying men are not wise). it would only seem to me that the mother of earth is in fact female in a way. if there is so much truth in the bible, then why are women insignificant as compared to Jesus and the prophets? if i do not believe in jesus deep down in my heart am i destined for hell although i am a good person? God chose women to give birth and and i think all that is today came from a female figure, because only women give life. if the rapture is real, i do not wish to be left behind because i don't believe in my heart that Jesus is our savior. I love life, i love people, i stay away from evil. i also do not think gay people or unmarried parents are wrong like it says in the bible. it pains me to think life ends with death. Even if my question is not precise, any insight will do , since i cannot fully give you the gist of my confusion. thank you
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Do you know about mitochondria?
[Link](Mouse over link to see full location)
Mitochondria are strange, in that they have their own DNA, which is not related to or affected by the host cell (yours). They are only passed on by the mother. Men cannot pass their mitochondria. MtDNA can be traced back to "Mitochondrial Eve", the farthest and oldest possible trace--the mother of the mother of the mother of the mothers.
Indeed, that begs the question. If mitochondria is ONLY passed down through mothers, if ONLY women can pass it and ONLY daughters can pass it forward... where did it come from in the first place?
The only conclusion is it came from a woman or was passed to a woman.
In Christian thought, that would make God a woman.
Please do some research into ancient religions that predate Christianity. You will find an amazing number of parallels between the Christian myths and original ancient ones. In a huge percentage of these religions, the main creator God was female. After all, as you pointed out, males do not give life. The female body is sacred, even animals understand this, so it is worshipped.
Do not feel confused about feeling the presence of a Great Mother. She has never been forgotten even through thousands of years--we still call her Mother Nature in a culture that has begun to worship male power.
The second point I'd like to make is, the Bible was composed in several ancient Middle Eastern societies during a time of very very strong male rule, where women were (and still are) very repressed. Their societies were ones of war, fighting for their lives in an inhospitable desert with enemies on all sides. They were not peaceful or tolerant peoples, and their Bible reflects it. Women had NO POWER. They were struck from the myths and replaced with male gods that the people could respect and believe in. It made the difference between Christianity being a minor cult (and a carbon copy of Mesopotamian and Egyptian myths), to being a large religion accepted by a number of converts. Nobody would believe in a female God or a gentle Mother when all around them is war, fear, starvation. They wanted a God of War and Power, and that's what they got.
Look to many religions to find the truth--Buddhism states, "like many facets of a diamond, all religions contain one face of the truth, but by staring only at one part we cannot see the blinding beauty of the entire Truth".
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my dear friend, wow. let me take a second a give God(the actual one true God) some glory. because that was God talkin to you. in order to truely know in your heart that God is real, you must seek him, in prayer, and say lord, come to me, and speak to my heart. see you must want to get to know him. not just be afraid of goin to hell. you must WANT to know him and jesus christ. now basicly im goin break this down. jesus is God in the flesh. also, the bible states very clearly that no man/woman knows the date,or the hour of christ's return. not even the angels. only God. so you must be ready. you must accept christ as your lord and personal saviour. and get baptized in the name of jesus christ. in order to be saved and go to heaven. hoped i helped.
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You have many things in your question and I will attempt to address what I can. It sounds to me like God is reaching out to you and attempting to draw you to Himself. This is a big deal.
We all have a God-shaped hole inside of us. We can try to fill it with other things like "stuff" or false beliefs, but when it comes down to it, that hole can only be filled with the love of the one true God; the God who created Heaven and earth and everything in it; who loves us without measure; who sent His only Son to die in our place. The God of the Bible.
Significance of women and men --
God is a triune God. Three persons; One God. He made man (general term meaning humanity; men and women) in His image. Like Him, each of us are one being yet three; body, soul and spirit. Not only are we made in God's image, we are the only part of creation that has the privilege of a personal relationship with God Almighty. Men and women in God's eyes are the same from a spiritual standpoint. He loves us equally. The difference is the roles He has given us. God made Adam and Eve to be compatible partners. To interact with Him and each other.
The man has authority over the woman. This is not to bring women down as insignificant, but to protect them because woman are precious. God placed in men the desire to protect and provide. God placed in women the desire to nurture. If we lived in a perfect world, the roles of men and women would be played out perfectly. But we don't live in a perfect world. We live in a sinful world. (see Genesis chapter 3)
Speaking to Eve, it says in Genesis 3:16b "...Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you." (ESV)
God was saying that because of sin entering into the world, women will now desire to have the role of authority, but the man will still be ruler.
The relationship between me and my husband is not perfect by any means, but I submit to him. Why?
Because God says in Ephesians 5:22-23 "Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior." (ESV)
Submitting to my husband isn't hard because he is a God-fearing man who loves me the way Christ loves the church. I have a sense of freedom because I am obeying Christ by doing that. This is a difficult, if not impossible, concept for people to grasp who don't have a personal relationship with God through His Son Jesus.
Religion --
I don't know what you were taught growing up, but God is not interested in our rituals and our following the "do's and don'ts" check-off lists. He wants a personal relationship with you. The law is designed to show us our sin. The law says do not steal, if we steal something, we have done something wrong and we know it. Without the law, we would not realize we need to be reconciled to God. It sends our hearts seeking Him to sort through the confusion and then we realize Jesus is real and we need Him to save us.
For the sake of illustration, let's say you had a goldfish you loved. The goldfish is swimming around in a tank of water. Would you take that fish to the ocean and "loving" drop him in the water because the tank is considered to restrictive? That fish would not survive and the dropping of it in the ocean would be considered cruel and unloving. But without a relationship with God through Jesus, we see God as a task-master trying to keep us in a restrictive tank instead of a loving Father who wants nothing more than us to turn to Him with our whole heart.
Believing what the Bible says --
The Bible is the inspired Word of God. We either believe it all or we believe none of it. There is no picking and choosing. God's Word is Truth. For example, you said you don't believe homosexuality is wrong like the bible says it is. God's Word says homosexuality is a sin. Whether you believe homosexuality is wrong or not, God's Word says it is. Someone else may say they believe it's okay to murder. God's Word says it's sin. That person can believe all they want that murder is okay, but God is not going to change to adjust to our fleshly desires, we need to change to line ourselves up with Him.
Being a good person and going to hell --
The Bible says in Ephesians 2:8-9 "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." (ESV)
It doesn't matter how many good works a person does, we will NEVER be good enough to reach a place of getting to heaven on our own. That's why Jesus came to take the penalty for us. Our part is to repent and then accept God's free gift of grace through Jesus' sacrifice. THEN our good works are treasures in heaven. In other words, we do good works BECAUSE we are saved and have a relationship with Jesus, not to achieve salvation.
The rapture --
There are many opinions surrounding the rapture. I can tell you this, No one knows when it will happen.
Matthew 24:36 "But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only." (ESV)
Those who have a relationship with Jesus will not fear that day, because that is the day they get to be in heaven with Him forever.
Will you be one of them? Repenting and accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior of your life is the answer. God's Word says in Romans 3:23 that "ALL have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God." (ESV)
And the Bible says forgiveness is for all who choose to repent. Act 3:19 says "Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out," (ESV)
You may ask, how do I do that? Romans 10:9 answers that question. "...if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." (ESV)
I'll leave you with this thought...if you seek Him with your whole heart, you will find Him. Matthew 7:7-8 "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened." (ESV)
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Quick Correction: The Mayan calendar doesn't end in 2012. That is a misinterpretation of archeological evidence. It simply enters a new epoch. Similar to entering a new zodiac age, like the Age of Aquarius or entering a new millennium. If I remember correctly the epochs are based on the movement of Venus... regardless, the Mayans predicted large changes around a new epoch, but not the end of the world.
Other cultures also came up with interesting names for the period around 2012, they were all watching the same sky after all, so that isn,t surprising.
For some more interesting, and even biblically based examinations of end of the world theories (including the ones that didn't come true) check out this site: [Link](Mouse over link to see full location)
You might be particularly interested in the discussion about the rapture, why it is believed in, and what sort of rational and biblical support that belief has.
Despite every prediction made so far, and there have been thousands of them, the world still exists. Frankly, I think we are more likely to blow ourselves to pieces, or be drowned and scorched away by global warning then we are to be struck down at some pre-ordained time by a deity that seems otherwise disinclined to produce huge shows of their power.
If the rapture, or some other apocalyptic event, is going to happen in our lifetime, there is nothing you or I can do about it. Since it is completely out of my power to control or be aware of, and there is no compelling evidence in my opinion to believe in one end of the world theory over another when looking at the dozens of prominent ones out there, I am just going to continue to educate myself and my conscience and behave as well as I can with an eye to bettering the world that we are all living in, rather then earning some special place in some other one. My advice to you would be to do the same.
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Hi there. I'm only fifteen, but I'll give you some of my opinions on this topic...
First of all, the reason why women are shown as 'insignificant' compared to men is the time period in which the Bible was written. In my opinion there's no reason to take offense, God loves all people no matter what gender. It's just that back in that time period, women played a smaller role than men did.
Another thing you said dealing with insignificance: "if there is so much truth in the bible, then why are women insignificant as compared to Jesus and the prophets?" Everyone (including men) were shown as slightly lesser than Jesus and the prophets because obviously Jesus is holy (to put it bluntly).
The Bible was written a very long time ago, and therefore not every exact situation may apply to nowadays' standards. (Of course it all really depends on your religion. Some people take the Bible totally literally and others use it more as guidelines if you will.) Just because you don't agree with some of it (gay people, women playing a lesser role, etc.) doesn't mean you have to reject it all. Religion is about what you believe.
I believe in God. I had doubts and confusion just like you but have recently found Him. Now that doesn't mean that you have to. If you believe in the Great Earth Mother, then that's what you believe. There's nothing wrong with that in my opinion. I believe that people should be able to practice whatever religion they want.
Anyways, those are just some of my opinions. I don't know if they clear some things up for you or not. I know I'm young but that's just what I personally believe in.
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