I actually enjoy the questions! I also enjoyed reading your story,
@Shiningstar89.
Let’s see if we can break down some scripture together then.
And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
The image of God concept in that early section of the Bible is totally linked to the dominion of mankind over the wildlife of the earth. It’s not linked to value or love or the worthiness of life, nor the punishment for committing crimes.
The above image of God is about authority over the earth and the wider role of husbandry, an occupation which even to this day is pronominally occupied by males. That’s part of our different desires as male and females, certain occupations satisfy women more so than they do men, and vice versa. It’s not a societal conditioning thing but rather is part of our hardwiring, it’s what we are largely geared towards. If you’d like some studies on that I’d be happy to share the TLDR version.
Although I appreciate there are other uses of the image of God concept that are linked to value, like the idea of murder being wrong because man is made in the image of God. Still, to include men in that verse doesn’t mean the text excludes women, just like when Paul teaches Christ died
“for him,” he’s not meaning to exclude the rest of the world for whom Jesus died. In literature I believe it’s called
“a limited negative.”
Maybe this line of reasoning and this section of the Bible will help with your worries. There’s a common Christian belief that we are being daily renewed into the image of Christ, so we take on more of His good qualities and as a result people use phrases like
“being Christlike,” or even
“That’s not very Christian of you” etc.
Christians tend to believe in a rebirth and renewal into Christ’s image after having had their hearts changed and being
“born again.” After that the Spirit of the Lord makes a home in the heart of a believer and they inherit His Spirit, the Kingdom, and even an ever increasing image. Notice woman go through this just as easily as men do, from the book of Acts.
On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. 14 One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message.
So consider some points laid out in a more logical way.
1. Christ is the perfect image of God the Father.
2. Christians have the indwelling spirit of Christ, and as a result we have the image of God.
3. Women have this image and conversion experience in the same way that men do.
I know this is like sneaking the image of God in through the back door here, but there’s no logical reason to deny that woman can cultivate Christ’s qualities as men do.
Now here’s the non scripture section of the post.
The strain of thought I kind of sense going through your message goes something like
“All of the biblical emphasis is on men.” And it largely is, but I imagine the reason has a lot to do with the brutality of the times. Something woman aren’t suited for.
The Bronze Age wasn’t about Mac books and universal education for all, it was about brute force, whether that be farming, robbery or war. The fact that so many women are mentioned in the Bible
(despite the bend) in brutal old societies towards male gifts is impressive.
On the subject of brutality, aggression and male gifts. Think about if
(God forbid) I invaded your home to burglarise you, pretending you’re an average woman and I’m an average man, my bone density is greater than yours, my testosterone is higher, my muscle fibres more dense, I weight 20% more than you and I’m a fair bit taller too. I hope when it comes time to whoop my ass and send me home to rethink my poor conduct, your husband is the first person down those stairs to face danger at the door.
That’s a tame situation compared to Romans crucifying people up and down the roads though.
Even today the vast majority of workplace fatalities are men, that’s because woman
(when given options) move far away from areas of danger and physical hardship. So I wouldn’t feel offended or put out if a book on the history of workplace fatalities involved 999 stories about men getting their legs and arms whacked off, and only 1 story about a poor woman who suffered the same terrible fate.
If we land on the side of the conversation where the Bible is a true story, one that doesn’t pull its punches, then the focus being on war, blood, guts and maleness makes total sense.
Even still all of the blood and guts OT stuff makes the most sense when we see Jesus and His image as our means of overcoming the gruff.
