In Chapter 4 of American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America, Chris Hedges does a masterful job of discussing one of my great pet peeves with the Christian belief system: Its cult of masculinity. From the very get-go in the bible, women are viewed as second-class citizens and/or property. The best women are those who are married and obedient to their husbands, the unquestioning head of the household.
In a manner of speaking, women are treated about the same as children: Best to be seen and not heard!
For the fundamentalist Christian church, this supposed divide between the sexes is amped up to its zenith. All the major players are male. Almost all the pastors in the various churches are male too. Like the husband is the head of the household, the pastor is the head of his flock and most of the time he is not a kindly shepherd but a ruthless dictator.
What it all boils down to, according to Hedges, is an unswerving dedication to male authority. Believers are so beat down with this perverse message that, in time, they willingly cede their ability to think independently and to make moral judgments to the powers that be. They willingly become little Christian soldiers.
Needless to say, I reject such notions.
In a manner of speaking, women are treated about the same as children: Best to be seen and not heard!
For the fundamentalist Christian church, this supposed divide between the sexes is amped up to its zenith. All the major players are male. Almost all the pastors in the various churches are male too. Like the husband is the head of the household, the pastor is the head of his flock and most of the time he is not a kindly shepherd but a ruthless dictator.
What it all boils down to, according to Hedges, is an unswerving dedication to male authority. Believers are so beat down with this perverse message that, in time, they willingly cede their ability to think independently and to make moral judgments to the powers that be. They willingly become little Christian soldiers.
Needless to say, I reject such notions.
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