Thread by @MattDrapps

I'm reading The Bible again folks. Wish me luck.

Why are extreme Christians so often like, 'God designed it specifically that men should work and women would stay at home to look after the children', but, my darlings, isn't that the CURSE?

#hashtagbible

"Your desire will be to your husband and he will rule over you," says God, and the extremist Christians are nodding like, "AMEN!"

But, sweetpeas, thazz THE CURSE.

#gen3 #hashtagbible

"Sin desires to have you, but you must master it."

I love that sin here is seen as a kind of external, dare I say, systematic thing that desires to suck everyone in, but Cain is given the encouragement to Do Better.

But it's easier to just do away with the 'competition'.

#gen4

BTW, this thread is just general thoughts from surface readings, I don't have the background on these verses and would super appreciate critique, especially from those who know the original Jewish understanding of these stories.

Are these long ages (930 for Adam, 912 for Seth, 815 for Enosh) for real, translation errors, different understanding of 'years', or other?

#hashtagbible #gen5

Friends and Family of Enoch when God took him

Interesting that Noah's dad is still holding a major grudge about The Curse, 'He will comfort us in the labour and painful toil of our hands caused by the ground God has cursed', but these days its all, 'Hard work for minimum pay is God's good plan for men!'

#hashtagbible #gen5

QUESTION: Are the angels agendered and not given in marriage, etc, or are they mingling with mankind and having superpowered children? Which is it?

#gen6 #nephilim

I...

So, hold on, Good made man in their image a few chapters back, and now that are like, 'Their hearts are only evil all the time!'

I get it, you make a creation and give it options and it picks Option B more than Option A, but did they never think, design flaw?

I'm not being funny but, you make a creation in your image and its violent all the time so you deside a great act of violence will solve that (????).

I... I assume I'm missing the point here somewhere.

So, Noah was righteous and Good picked him and his family to start the new generation on earth. But syrught away, he gets drunk and his son takes sexual advantage of him.

Is sexual abuse just massively built into humans? WHY??? I don't have an answer. I'm just asking.

#gen9

I don't accept Ham as the first queer representation either. Sexual Abusers are not welcome in our community.

🖐️ I have a few questions about the Tower of Babel

TW. on this whole thread, it's messy and has references to Bible violence

Also, I have this inner voice when I'm doing this kind of critical reading of The Bible which says, 'How dare you question God?' It's strongly in built, HOWEVER, most of our Biblical favs did exactly that. Plus, God can take it.

Also, disclaimer, questions don't mean that I think I know better, they are questions. If there are answers, great, even better, if not, I'm happy to leave some of those questions as unknown gaps in my understanding of A. Old texts that try to B. Understand God in a literal way

ON THAT NOTE: I have a question 🙋

Wouldn't it have been easier for God to tell the people already living in the Promised Land to make room, rather than telling Abram to take it over?

I...

#geb14

Abram goes out and rescues the King of Sodom. Nothing at this point is said about that King and Country being wicked (although it's briefly mentioned the chapter before)

#BeLessSodom

Oh, here's Melchizedek! One of my favs. Does his existence as a priest of God mean that God was chatting with and interacting with people of other nations at this point in history? Also is Melchizedek

'When the sun had set a smoking brazier appeared'

Early femanists burning their bras?

#hashtagbible #gen15

Hagar: 'You are the God who sees me'
Me: 😭😭😭😭😭

#gen16

Then God said, 'No longer will you be called Abram: your name will be Abraham'

But the Trans Exclusionary Radical Femanists couldn't deal with change and insisted on calling him by his deadname.

#gen17 #hashtagbible

I've talked about Sodom and Gomorah enough to not dwell on it now, but lemme say, I can't even deal with people who think it's a simple reading as an anti-gay horror story.

There's a lot in it, and frankly I DO think we should #BeLessSodom, here's a few ways:
Teach your sons about consent,
Better sex education,
Welcome strangers,
Treat people who are different well,
Don't defend sexual abuse

Lots wife

😭😭😭😭😭

In #gen20, God appears in a dream to talk with Abimelech king of Gerar, making it clear again that God was interacting with people from other nations, not just Abraham, but we usually only hear Abraham's POV on God.

Sarah, BTW, is HORRENDOUS to Hagar. Sarah may have different value in other cultural understanding of these passages, but I see her very much as America treating immigrants badly.

'God has heard the boy crying'

Please, God, hear the cries from the camps at the border too.

Abraham and Sarah honestly are not great role models. I honestly prefer Hagar. Do we know if she features more heavily in writings from the lands of Ishmael's future generations?

Hmmm, she's not mentioned by name in the Qur'an apparently, but her character is included in Islamic faith stories. Both the Muslim traditions and Jewish traditions that have extras assumed/remembered stories, have Hagar given to Sarah/Abraham by the Pharaoh at that time

I think that Paul's comparisons of Hagar to the law and Sarah to freedom in Christ, are what originally made me assume Hagar was in the wrong and Sarah was righteous, but tbh, I'm not a fan of Sarah right now.

(Yes, I do feel very guilty/weird researching historic characters crossover in other faiths, but it's something I should get used to because there's more where that came from, although atm Christian tradition is my main faith 'language')

SO ANNOYING that in the same chapter that Abraham sends Hagar away, HE is being treated well as an alien/stranger/foreigner in Abimelech's land.

So rude.

God, who is generally NOT a fan of human sacrifice and will later (seemingly) send people to destroy whole nations over it, asks Abraham to kill and burn his son, and Abraham does it (though, it can be argued that he was pretty sure he would ultimately not have to)

But, you know, I have a few questions 🖐️

'I don't know where Christians get their racism from, it seems so anti-Biblical...'

Meanwhile, Abraham is like, 'Only marry in this one family, whatever you do.'

Interesting note that Laban obviously believes in God (and also in divination) despite not being an Abraham decendant. Intrigued. There's a lot of God connections outside of that exclusive space at this point in the story for sure.

Jacob is... 🙄🙄🙄 He does my head in tbh. Also, what is with the sticks before the mating sheep 🐑 🐑 🐐 🐐

#gen30

Interesting to me (morning, by the way, hello!) is that Laban both worships God (the same recognised God as Abraham) AND does divination and had his so-called household gods. Its interesting to see the development of man's understanding of God from A God to Only One Access to God

Also, Rachel stealing the gods and sitting in them, claiming she can't get up because she has her period is 💯% female genius.

Jacob wrestling with God (in human form?) in #gen32 is such an encouragement. We get into a fighting mood with God from time to time, and here it's implied that God totally gets and even honours that fight.

Esau when he has totally forgiven and loves his younger bro coming home

Dinah's brothers fucking shit up when they find out that their sister has been abused is a mood.

Simon and Levi know what's what.

'Dinah went out to visit the women of the land' - - have read a lot lately about the Jewish tradition that Dinah and Joseph's genders were swapped in the womb, and that she went out to 'Look upon' the women of the land, and tbh, I'll accept Dinah as our first queer rep.

Ahhh. Here they put away all their foreign gods (literally burry them by a tree) and focus only on the God who is talking/interacting with them.

#gen35

There's also a reference to Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, who hasn't been mentioned up till now, but she gets a mention when she dies.

Reuben has always been my favourite brother (followed by soft-boy Benjamin, Joseph and Simeon), so I'm hugely disappointed to read that (in Bible text), sent in to Bilhah (one of his dad's wives). I don't remember noting that before.

Luckily, I thought I'd check other sources, and some Jewish teachings have this incident as him defending Leah against Bilhah becoming the favourite wife, and that he didn't sleep with her but did upset her in some way.

Also, some texts have him as 'the first repentant'

You can see his repentance in action (repentance changes you) in the next chapter where he tries to rescue Joe from his brothers.

Reuben: 'The boy isn't there! Where can I turn now?'

I feel that anguished cry. I often say, 'I don't even know where to look' at the injustice, danger and the state of the world for my siblings and the next generation.

Turn to some, sort, of, HOPE.

Onan in #gen38 ruining masturbation for generations to come, even though its not related.

#hashtagbible

Also, no shade, but God seems to be putting people to death here for minor infractions like not raising an heir, but doesn't put people to death for serious shit like killing people or selling your brother as a slave?

🖐️ I have a few questions

JUDAH WTF.

He's more than happy to sleep with women for money, but when he finds out his son's widow has slept with someone, he demands she be brought out and put to death.

THE PATRIARCHY OF IT ALL.

#gen38

Thank goodness Tamar is one of the stunningly cunning women of the Bible who knows how to take ACTION.

Potiphar's wife here setting up a precident for future extremist Christians to assume false accusations are far more prominent than they actually are.

#gen39

Can't take Pharaoh's dreams seriously anymore. If you know why, you know why.

The story of Joseph, rejected by family, accused of sexual sins, thrown into prison, lifted up fellow prisoners, finally lifted up and given freedom, and then able to extend that freedom to help his family

This is a very precious story to the queer Christian community.

'Joeseh hurried out and looked for a place to weep.' - - a whole mood

Judah saying, 'Take me instead!'

'I look for your deliverance, oh Lord'

Me too, Jacob, me too.

'You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good, to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.' - - a queer anthem

Morning @threadreaderapp, could you give us an unroll please thank you please?