Okay, I'm jumping the gun a little here. Even for Australia, if only by twelve hours or so. But in the usual bout of New Year's nostalgia and contemplation I was compelled to go back to the very first time I became properly angry about religion - the point where I first arrived at the edge of agnosticism and glanced into the depths of proud, firmly-realised anti-theism. As 2010 looms (no... that makes it sound foreboding. But "dawns" is a bit too flowery, and premature in any case), I am moved to repost it here, as a reminder to myself and a statement of purpose in a place where not many people know me yet. It may be a little average to the seasoned unbeliever, but it was the first time I ever gave voice to the full strength of my refusal, so please share it with me if you care to.

@ 2006-11-10, 00:25:00

Matt, we spoke recently regarding women in the bible. While we put aside the discussion that day because it was supposed to be a nice evening and dinner, it's a serious subject which angers me deeply. As such, the following post is written in anger and will probably be hurtful to those of the christian faith. Avoid it if you think it will offend you, please, but I'm not going to keep from saying it, because I think that believing otherwise frequently leads to a dangerous and hateful mindset.

One of the primary reasons I cannot, will not, ever owe any alleigance to the christian god is the general demand for subjugation, fear and self-degredation required by this figure. Worse than that, however, is the requirement that as a woman, I not only do such thing for god, but also for men, particularly the one I love - who, by virtue of loving me as I am, as a powerful woman and a holder of more control than he, is also an abomination unto your god. Matt, I suspect you have an argument as to how your god does not horribly degrade women time and again, but I doubt anything you say can refute the evidence in the bible itself. This is why I said what I said in our brief exchange on the subject.

This link contains a fairly exhaustive account of your god and his followers being mysoginistic barbarians. Some, I am sure, are taken out of context; some have had a more read into them by the site's authors than was strictly intended, I think. However, from the moment Eve is made for Adam, to the use of a female embodiment of evil in the Revelations, your book demands that I be subjugated and belittled by men, made meek and silent, prevented from teaching or having any authority over a male, prevented from dressing as I wish, generally treated as bad and unclean, and be forced to make up for a fictional woman's imagined trangression by bearing children. If I do not follow god's instructions on this subject, he considers it fair to strike me barren* or have me raped and/or tortured and killed (likely by a member of my own family).

In short, I call bullshit on your god and your book. I have a respect for myself which most christians - especially women - are conditioned to lack. Your religion casts pride as a sin, but there is no shame in having the pride I do - the pride to say that I am better than a servant, regardless of whether it's a man or a woman or god I am supposed to call "lord". Better than an object to be owned and bought and sold, better than a vehicle for creating "my lord's" children.

I am better than your bible. For that matter, you are better than your bible. I hope you will realise that some day.


(*This would be quite welcome - contraceptives are good, but I'd like ultimate assurance. Unfortunately, if Talen then did something to please god, he would probably make me fertile again in order to reward my husband with a son - which of course I have no say in, being his wife. Luckily Talen is considered almost as bad as me, since he is effeminate and gives me authority over him.)

As you can see (or maybe not, if we're new to each other) not much has changed. Except for the fact that I went back through the source and replaced the < i > tags with < em >.

I am, after all, still Fox :)