HE
WROTE:
The Holy Bible teaches that women, just as much as men, receive the diverse giftings of the Holy Spirit such as prophesying, teaching,
evangelism etc.:
"You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and
that I am the LORD your God and there is none else. And my people shall never again be put
to shame. And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all
flesh; your sons AND YOUR DAUGHTERS shall prophesy, your old men shall dream
dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male AND FEMALE
SERVANTS in those days I will pour out my Spirit." Joel 2:27-29
RESPONSE:
Notice how Shamoun barely quotes from the
Old Testament to prove his arguments, instead he focuses mainly on New Testament passages
that favor women, the Old Testament is replete with passages that degrade woman, and
destroys his whole argument!
The Jewish scriptures were composed by different scribes over a
period of 5,000 years; they deliberately wanted to show the superiority of their race:
Many Israelites did not want a God who
would be equally the God of all nations on earth. They did not want one who would be
impartial Holiness. They wanted a God who would be partial to them. So we read in
Deuteronomy of demands for a complete extermination of all non-Israelite peoples of Palestine
(Deut. 2:7) and as to the carrying out of that injunction read the harsh sentences of
Deut. 20:10-17. (The Interpreter’s Bible, p.
575)
The scribes altered the text of the Bible to remove the association
of Ishmael in the Covenant, despite the prophecies about Muhammad (Peace be upon him)
which they could not deface altogether (Isaiah 29:12, 42:1-10). We shall discuss the
Covenant of Abraham separately, insha-Allah.
Regarding the “daughters”
(Joel 2:27-29), the passage does not equalize male and female, according to the Bible.
The description “your sons and your daughters” refer to the
daughters who descended from Judah. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, Joel was only
speaking of the Daughters of Jerusalem, none else:
The son of Phatuel, and second in the list of the twelve Minor Prophets.
Nothing is known of his life. The scene of his labours was the Southern Israelite Kingdom of Juda,
and probably its capital Jerusalem, for he repeatedly refers to temple and altar. The
frequent apostrophes to the priests (1:9, 13-14; 2:17) also lead to the inference that
Joel himself was of priestly descent.
The
most difficult problem in the investigation of Joel is the date, and the many
hypotheses have not led to any convincing result. The first verse of the book does not
convey, as other prophetic books do, a definite date, nor do the discourses contain any
references to the events of the period, which might form a basis for the chronology of the
Prophet. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08419a.htm
The book does not give any information to establish a date of
certainty, but it is obvious that Joel was speaking of the Daughters of Jerusalem,
belonging to Judah. He was excluding the Northern Kingdom, and hence the females of each
tribe!
The Bible mentions the “Daughters of Jerusalem”
I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem,
by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till
he please. (Song of Solomon 2:7)
His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is
altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.
(Song of Solomon 5:16)
I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, until he please. (Song
of Solomon 8:4)
But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters
of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children. (Luke
23:28)
HE WROTE:
According to the NT, the fulfillment of this promise began at the Day of Pentecost when
the followers of the Lord Jesus were given the Holy Spirit:
"When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all
together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing
wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues
as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled
with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them
utterance." Acts 2:1-4
"But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his
voice and addressed them, ‘Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be
known to you, and give ear to my words. For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, since
it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was uttered through the prophet
Joel: "And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit
on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men
shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; even on my male servants and
female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall
prophesy."’" Acts 2:14-18
RESPONSE:
Once again, the prophecy refers to the Daughters of Jerusalem, not
women of the Northern tribes!
This does not prove man and woman are equal in the Biblical text.
Quite the contrary, the Bible has hatred for woman, (Lev. 15:19, 21:19, Zech. 5:7-8,
14:1-2, Judges 21:8-12)
Another problem is that Joel says “I will pour my Spirit on ALL
flesh”, the capitalized word must be taken
literally, to mean the entire world, yet Joel contradicts this possibility by saying:
“and MY people shall never be
ashamed” (2:29) identifying the Jewish race only,
and not Gentiles who will never receive the Spirit, (including woman)
The passage Acts 2:1-4 describes how the Spirit was “poured
out” on the disciples only; the text fails
to mention whether anyone else is “filled with the Holy Spirit”.
Christians argue the prophecy referred to the Gentiles too (later
Christians) because, according to Matthew 21:43, the Kingdom of God would be taken away
from the Jews and given to another Kingdom, or civilization.
Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits
thereof. (Matthew 21:43)
According to our perspective, the prophecy speaks of the Kingdom of Islam,
because the Gentile nations corrupted the Gospel of Jesus, and constitute what is called Pauline Christianity, which is distinguished from the Nazarene
movement. Paul abolished the Law and corrupted the Gospel; his religion became
official by 392 CE.
How can Jesus predict the destruction of his own Gospel?
"The Christianity which
the nations claim to follow is the religion of Paul, who is admittedly
the chief and almost the only theologian that the Church recognizes. Because of his
betrayal of the Master's teachings, the vision of true Christianity has been so dimmed
that men have been able to defend war and a host of other evils, such as flesh eating and
slavery, on the authority of the Bible." (Christ
or Paul? Rev. V.A. Holmes-Gore)
What is the significance for our faith and for our religious
life, the fact that the Gospel of Paul is different from the Gospel of Jesus? The attitude
which Paul himself takes up towards the Gospel of Jesus is that he does not repeat it in
the words of Jesus, and does not appeal to its authority.... The fateful thing is that
the Greek, the Catholic, and the Protestant theologies all contain the Gospel of Paul in a
form which does not continue the Gospel of Jesus, but displaces it."
(Albert Schweitzer, The
Quest for the Historical Jesus)
“Paul abolished the Law, which was followed and preached
by Jesus (pbuh), and
corrupted the whole religion, giving it a new form. The main ambition behind all this
was, in his own words, “to win a larger number” of followers; the followers of a
new religion “the Pauline Christianity”. (Roshen Enam, Follow Jesus or Follow
Paul p. 69)
From the time Jesus left earth to the
second half of the Second Century, there was a struggle between two factions. One was what
one might call Pauline Christianity and the otherudeo-Christianity.
It was only very slowly that the first supplanted the second, and Pauline Christianity triumphed over
Judeo-Christianity. (Maurice Bucaille, The Bible, The Quran, and Science, p. 70)
So Matthew 21:43 is a prophecy about Islam, the Prophet Muhammad is
foretold in Zephaniah 3:6, Isaiah 29:12, 21-, 42, 60 and the New Testament contains
prophecies (John 1:25, 14:26)
Another problem is Joel 2:27-29 is a prophecy about the Day of
Judgment, and not the day of Pentecost! The fulfillment of the prophecy did not take place
on Pentecost; the signs described in Joel refer to the Day of Judgment, when God Himself
will speak the words of fulfillment.
Major and minor signs are recorded in the Hadith,
but the signs are too obvious in the Bible: clouds in the sky, smoke in the air,
earthquakes and wars. Yet the Prophet Muhammad gave very detailed signs about the Day of
Judgment which are not paralleled in the Bible, and coming true!
Joel repeats the “day of the Lord” several times.
Blow ye the
trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the
land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh,
for it is nigh at hand; (Joel 2:1)
And the LORD shall utter his voice before
his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth
his word: for the day of the LORD is great and
very terrible; and who can abide it? (Verse 11)
The sun shall be turned into darkness, and
the moon into blood, before the great and
terrible day of the LORD come. (Verse 31, etc)
HE WROTE:
Some of these followers were women:
"Soon afterward he went on through cities and villages,
proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with
him, and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called
Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's household manager, and Susanna, and many others, who
provided for them out of their means." Luke 8:1-3
"Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called
Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey away. And when they had entered,
they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and
Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus
and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. All these with one accord were devoting
themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus,
and his brothers. In those days Peter stood up among the brothers (the company of persons
was in all about 120)…" Acts 1:12-15
The Apostles Paul and Peter wrote regarding the gifts of the Holy Spirit:
"For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among
you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober
judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body
we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though
many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that
differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to
our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who
exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads,
with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness." Romans 12:3-8
"Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit;
and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of
activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the
manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the
utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same
Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one
Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to
distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the
interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who
apportions to each one individually as he wills. For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are
one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were ALL baptized into one
body--Jews or Greeks, slaves or free--and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the
body does not consist of one member but of many." 1 Corinthians 12:4-14
"The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of
you,’ nor again the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you.’ On the
contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those
parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more
presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor
to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the
members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer
together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of
Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first
apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping,
administrating, and various kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all
teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with
tongues? Do all interpret? But earnestly desire the higher gifts." 1 Corinthians
12:21-31
"The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.
Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers
a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As EACH has
received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s
varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who
serves by the strength that God supplies--in order that in everything God may be glorified
through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen." 1
Peter 4:7-11
RESPONSE:
First, let us respond to the passage Shamoun has quoted:
"Soon afterward he went on through cities and villages,
proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with
him, and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called
Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's household manager, and Susanna, and many others, who
provided for them out of their means." Luke 8:1-3
The charity practiced by these women is lawful in every religion, but the Economic
System of Islam establishes the most comprehensive form of charity, and the poor and
oppressed are recompensed for the suffering they endured, whereas the Secular governments
today make the poor get poorer, and the rich get richer. Islam has destroyed this form of
corruption.
Now for the verse itself, it fails to prove the equality
between man and woman, the Bible says that women who followed Jesus provided money to help
the movement.
Luke apparently had a special interest for women. But if one
compares Luke’s depictions of women with his depictions of men, as Jane Schaberg does in her article on Luke’s Gospel in The Woman’s Bible Commentary, Luke’s attitude toward women
becomes a bit clearer. There are ten named women in
Luke’s Gospel and thirty-nine named men (not including the seventy-six in the
genealogy). There are ten unnamed women in the
Gospel and forty individual men. In Jesus’ teaching in Luke women are mentioned 18 times, men 158 times.
(Bonnie Thurston, Women in the New Testament, p.
101)
The women folk of early Islam assisted the Prophet Muhammad, some did what many
Christian women didn’t do, sacrifice their life and wealth for the sake of God.
Muslim women, according to historical records, have become teachers of man. Aisha, the wife of Prophet Muhammad, is the narrator of over 2,000 Hadiths. She was also a great scholar of the Quran.
Muhammad’s (pbuh)
first wife Khadijah is considered a very virtuous woman who
gave vast portions of wealth for the cause of Islam.
The Holy Prophet (May peace of God be upon him) was
surrounded by the adversaries and adversities. His life was at stake. He was pelted,
disgraced and dishonoured by the infidels and was hit with the
sarcastic remarks. The discouraging treatment of the idol worshippers was all around. In
the midst of such a dark cloudy atmosphere, the
silver strong was only the personality of Hazrat Khadija (May peace of God be upon her). She was the source of
firmness and robust optimism. When the feeling of the Holy Prophet (May peace of God be
upon him) was wounded by the infidels, she appeared as the solace. It was due to the
constant encouragement of Hazrat Khadijah
(May peace of God be upon her) that the Holy Prophet (May peace of God be upon him) redoubled his efforts and girded up his loin with
vigor to spread the message of God. It was a woman behind the successful attempts of
the Prophet of God (May peace of God be upon him) to be the torch-bearer of the message of
Almighty. She was the ray of optimism in the midst of disappointments, the source of
courage in the arena of discouragement and the emblem of hope in the circle of
hopelessness.
Hazrat Khadijah
(May peace of God be upon her) was not only a partner of life, a life companion in
discomfort and affliction, but she was also a real friend in need and helplessness. She
was that lady whose caravan was the largest among the Arab Traders of Hejaz
but thereafter on some occasion, she had to face
hunger and thirst on account of the Mission dearest to her life. She was a woman of
great wealth famous for elegance and refinement of character but she had to face troubles
after troubles for the sake of Islam. She never complained of her trouble to her husband,
whenever such occasion arose, she was ready to give
her life for the cause of Islam. In the history of Islam no man or woman was parallel
to Hazrat Khadijah (May peace of
God be upon her) in any walk of life. (Muhammad Anisur Rahman, The Historical Role of
the Woman, 1985, p. 23)
Is there any woman who can dare compare with Khadijah?
Christianity fails to answer this question, if they retort to “Mary” then
behold, the Holy Quran contains a chapter specifically named after Mary,
bearing dedication to her, whose birth is recorded in the Quran
but not in the Bible, the birth of Jesus is recorded without any discrepancy or
contradiction.
We can cite hundreds of quotations to prove our point that Islam grades women highly
and Christianity degrades women.
“…Soon the enemy cavalry found itself walled in
between Khalid’s troops and the Muslim army. Confusion
spread and they fled…
Now Khalid fell on the enemy
infantry. The shield of the cavalry being no more, the infantry was taken by complete
surprise. In utter confusion it fell back. But the mountain blocked the way. In despair
men ran back to the river. Here a water death awaited them. Most of the men had tied
themselves with iron chains to rule out the possibility of flight. The chains proved trips
of death. When a few of the men fell into the river, they also dragged their companions
into the watery grave. According to one estimate, one hundred and twenty thousand of them
were drowned in the river. The Byzantine rout was complete. The Muslim loss was three
thousand killed.
Muslim women played a notable role in this battle. They
formed a battalion which stood at the back of the army. They supplied water to the men. They also dressed
their wounds. They shouted words of courage when the army showed signs of weakness.
These words put a new heart into the retreating men. They dashed forth like lightning and
sowed death among enemy lines. (Prof. Fazl Ahmed, The Four Companions, 1995, pp. 78-79)
Shamoun has not read The Da-Vinci Code,
because he quotes verses which mention Mary Magdalene, who is described a
“harlot” who had intercourse with Jesus.
And the companion of the Saviour
is Mary Magdalene. Christ loved her more than all the disciples and used
to kiss her often on her mouth. The rest
of the disciples were offended by it and expressed disapproval. They said to him, "Why do
you love her
more than all of us?" (Dan Brown, The Da-Vinci Code, p. 246)
The “prominent women” of the Bible are very few compared to the great
influential Woman of Islamic history.
Islamic history is filled with virtuous women who sacrificed their life for the
advancement of Knowledge and the triumph of Islam, women who played roles in building the
moral and social context of society.
There is a big difference between Muslim and Christian woman, regardless of culture or
race, and depending upon religion. The former is shameless while the latter is modest.
Islam produced the
most honorable examples of women that can be leaders of women liberation even for the
fair sex of contemporary times. In many cases women were, in fact, teachers of religion
for thousands of men. How then can opponents of Islam claim that women suffered ignorance
under Islam? (Dr. Arafat El-Ashi,
Islam & Some Vital Issues, p. 11)
The revolution of Islam made tremendous headway in world
history and prevailed over the globe within the shortest span of time only because the
weaker-sex sacrificed their hearth and home, blood and bone, life and longevity for the
unabated victorious march of Islam through many centuries. The weak and the indigent took
the lead in every walk of life and displayed their valour and
prowess, faith and conviction, tenacity and consistency, unique and unparalleled, to vanquish the foe.
Triumph after triumphs, by leap and bounds, were achieved on
the land and in the sea, in Asia, Europe and Africa. The glorious records of history
maintained, the wonderful success attained in all battles fought between the Muslims and
the non-Muslims and the amazing achievement brought about were all due to the devotion, dedication and self-annihilation
of the women folk of early Islam.
(Muhammad Anisur Rahman, The Historical Role of
the Woman, p. 2)
Despite Shamoun’s ignorance of what
the Bible really says about woman (Deu. 25:11-12, Lev. 12:2,
15:19), the Bible praises children of adultery and children of incest, and detailed
stories of whores who are glorified in the Biblical text. Rarely does the Bible rebuke
women for dressing sexually; a good example of the Bible’s glorification of sexual
lust is Ezekiel 23, which records the story of two prostitutes. It seems God was
interested in giving the inspiration to the horny male writers!
The word of the LORD came to me: "Son
of man, there were two women, daughters of the same mother. They became prostitutes in Egypt,
engaging in prostitution from their youth. In that
land their breasts were fondled and their virgin bosoms caressed. The older was named Oholah, and her sister was Oholibah.
They were mine and gave birth to sons and daughters. Oholah is
Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem.
"Oholah engaged in
prostitution while she was still mine; and she lusted after her lovers, the
Assyrians-warriors 6 clothed in blue, governors and commanders,
all of them handsome young men, and mounted horsemen. She gave herself as a prostitute to
all the elite of the Assyrians and defiled herself with all the idols of everyone she
lusted after. She did not give up the prostitution she began in Egypt, when during her
youth men slept with her, caressed her virgin bosom and poured out their lust upon her.
"Therefore I handed her over to her lovers, the
Assyrians, for whom she lusted. They stripped her
naked, took away her sons and daughters and killed her with the sword. She became a
byword among women, and punishment was inflicted on her.
"Her sister Oholibah saw
this, yet in her lust and prostitution she was more
depraved than her sister. She too lusted after the Assyrians—governors and
commanders, warriors in full dress, mounted horsemen, all handsome young men. I saw that
she too defiled herself; both of them went the same
way. (Ezekiel 23:1-14)
There are plenty of glorified prostitutes in the Bible. The next
example is from Ahmed Deedat:
Read Genesis 19, verses 30 to the end and mark again in "red" the
words and phrases deserving this honour. Do not hesitate and
procrastinate. Your "coloured" Bible will become a
priceless heirloom for your children. I agree with Shaw, to keep the Bible "under
lock and key,'' but we need this weapon to meet the Christian challenge. The Prophet of
Islam said that "WAR IS STRATEGY,'' and strategy demands that we use the weapons of
our enemy. It is not what we like and what we do not like. It is what we are forced to use
against the "ONE BOOK" (Bible) professors, who are knocking at our doors with
"the Bible says this" and "the Bible says that." They want
us to exchange our Holy Qur'an for their "Holy
Bible." Show them the holes in the "holiness" which they have not yet seen.
At times these zombies pretend to see the filth for the first time. They have been
programmed with selected verses for their propagation.
To continue: the
"history" has it that, night after night, the
daughters of Lot seduce their drunken father with the noble (?) motive of preserving their
father's "seed." "Seed" figures very prominently in this
"Holy Book": forty seven times in the little booklet of Genesis alone! Out of
this another incestuous relationship come the "Ammonites" and the
"Moabites," for whom the God of Israel was supposed to have had a special
compassion. Later on in the Bible we learn that the Jews are ordered by the same
compassionate God to slaughter the Philistines mercilessly — men, women and children.
Even trees and animals are not to be spared, but the Amonites
and the Moabites are not to be "distressed" or "meddled"
with because they are the seed of Lot! (Deuteronomy 2:19)
No decent reader can read the
seduction of Lot to his mother, sister or daughter, not even to his fiancee
if she is a chaste and moral woman. Yet you will come across perverted people who will
gorge this filth. Tastes can be cultivated!
Read again and mark Ezekiel
23. You will know what colour to choose. The "whoredoms" of the two sisters, Aholah and Aholibah. The sexual details here puts to shame even the unexpurgated edition of many
banned books. Ask your "born again" Christian visitors,
under what category will they classify all this lewdness? Such filth certainly has no
place in any "Book of God." (Is the
Bible God’s Word? p.50-51)
Let us quote the passages, the Ammonites and Moabites descended from Lot,
who had sex with his two daughters:
So both of Lot's
daughters became pregnant by their father. The older daughter had a son, and she
named him Moab; he is the father of the Moabites
of today. The younger daughter also had a son, and she named him Ben-Ammi; he is the father of the
Ammonites of today. (Genesis 19:36-38)
Then the LORD said to me, "Do not harass the Moabites or provoke them to war, for I will
not give you any part of their land. I have given
Ar to the descendants of Lot as a possession."
(Deuteronomy 2:9)
When you come to the Ammonites, do not harass them or provoke them to war, for I
will not give you possession of any land belonging to the Ammonites. I have given it as a possession to the descendants of Lot."
(Deuteronomy 2:19)
Amazingly, Ruth was a descendant from Moab!
And
Ruth the Moabitess
said to Naomi, "Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain behind anyone
in whose eyes I find favor." Naomi said to her, "Go ahead, my daughter."
(Ruth 2:2)
Other significant examples that portray women as “wicked”
At Barak's advance, the LORD
routed Sisera and all his chariots and army by the sword, and Sisera abandoned his chariot and fled on foot. But Barak pursued the chariots and army as far as Harosheth
Haggoyim. All the troops of Sisera
fell by the sword; not a man was left. Sisera, however, fled
on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, because there were friendly
relations between Jabin king of Hazor
and the clan of Heber the Kenite. Jael
went out to meet Sisera and said to him, "Come, my Lord , come
right in. Don't be afraid." So he entered her tent, and she put a covering over
him. "I'm thirsty," he said. "Please give me some water." She opened a
skin of milk, gave him a drink, and covered him up. "Stand in the doorway of the
tent," he told her. "If someone comes by and asks you, 'Is anyone here?' say
'No.' " But Jael, Heber's wife, picked up a tent peg and
a hammer and went quietly to him while he lay fast asleep, exhausted. She drove the peg through his temple into the ground,
and he died. (Judges 4:15-21)
What about the Song of Solomon? The book contains sex literature to
the utmost extreme:
Your
two breasts are like two fawns, like twin fawns of a gazelle that browse among the
lilies. (Song of Solomon 4:5)
I said, "I will climb the palm tree; I
will take hold of its fruit." May your breasts be like the clusters of the vine, the
fragrance of your breath like apples, (Song of Solomon 7:8)
A loving doe, a graceful deer— may her breasts satisfy you always, may you ever
be captivated by her love. (Proverbs 5:19)
The story of Amnon and
Tamar:
In the course of time, Amnon
son of David fell in love with Tamar, the beautiful sister of Absalom son of David.
Amnon became frustrated to the
point of illness on account of his sister Tamar, for she was a virgin, and it seemed
impossible for him to do anything to her.
Now Amnon had a friend named Jonadab son of Shimeah, David's brother.
Jonadab was a very shrewd man. He asked Amnon,
"Why do you, the king's son, look so haggard morning after morning? Won't you tell
me?"
Amnon said to him, "I'm in
love with Tamar, my brother Absalom's sister."
"Go to bed and pretend to be ill," Jonadab said. "When your father comes to see you, say to him,
'I would like my sister Tamar to come and give me something to eat. Let her prepare the
food in my sight so I may watch her and then eat it from her hand.' "
So Amnon lay down and pretended
to be ill. When the king came to see him, Amnon said to him,
"I would like my sister Tamar to come and make some special bread in my sight, so I
may eat from her hand."
David sent word to Tamar at the palace: "Go to the house
of your brother Amnon and prepare some food for him." So
Tamar went to the house of her brother Amnon, who was lying
down. She took some dough, kneaded it, made the bread in his sight and baked it. Then she
took the pan and served him the bread, but he refused to eat.
"Send everyone out of here," Amnon
said. So everyone left him. Then Amnon said to Tamar,
"Bring the food here into my bedroom so I may eat from your hand." And Tamar
took the bread she had prepared and brought it to her brother Amnon
in his bedroom. But when she took it to him to
eat, he grabbed her and said, "Come to bed with me, my sister."
"Don't, my brother!" she said to him. "Don't
force me. Such a thing should not be done in Israel! Don't do this wicked thing. What
about me? Where could I get rid of my disgrace? And what about you?
You would be like one of the wicked fools in Israel. Please speak to the king; he will not
keep me from being married to you." But he refused to listen to her, and since he was
stronger than she, he raped her.
Then Amnon hated her with intense
hatred. In fact, he hated her more than he had loved her. Amnon
said to her, "Get up and get out!"
"No!" she said to him. "Sending me away would
be a greater wrong than what you have already done to me." But he refused to
listen to her. He called his personal servant and said, "Get this woman out of here
and bolt the door after her." So his servant put her out and bolted the door after
her. She was wearing a richly ornamented robe, for this was the kind of garment the virgin
daughters of the king wore. Tamar put ashes on her head and tore the ornamented robe she
was wearing. She put her hand on her head and went away, weeping aloud as she went.
Her brother Absalom said to her, "Has that Amnon, your brother, been with you? Be quiet now, my sister; he is
your brother. Don't take this thing to heart." And Tamar lived in her brother Absalom's house, a desolate woman.
When King David heard all this, he was furious. Absalom never
said a word to Amnon, either good or bad; he hated Amnon because he had disgraced his sister Tamar. (2 Samuel 13:1-22)
The story of Judah and the other ‘Tamar’
The very first book of the
Bible — Genesis — provides us with many beautiful examples. Open chapter
38 and read. We are given here the history of Judah, the father of the Jewish race, from
whom we derive the names "judea" and
"Judaism." This patriarch of the Jews got married and God granted him three
sons, Er, Onan and Shelah. When the first-born was big enough, Judah had him married to
a lady called Tamar. "BUT ER, JUDAH'S FIRST-BORN WAS WICKED IN THE SIGHT OF
THE LORD; AND THE LORD SLEW HIM.'' (Genesis 38:7)…
Continuing with this Jewish
history, according to their custom, if a brother died and left no offspring, it was the
duty of the other brother to give "seed" to his sisters-in-law so that the
deceased's name might be perpetuated. Judah, in honour of this
custom, orders his second son Onan to do his duty. But
Jealousy enters his heart. It will be his seed but the name will be his brother's!
So at the critical moment "HE SPILLED IT ON THE GROUND . . . AND THE THING HE
DID DISPLEASED THE LORD: WHEREFORE HE SLEW HIM ALSO." (Genesis
38:9-10)…
Now Judah tells his
daughter-in-law, Tamar, to return to her father's house until his third son Shelah attains manhood, when she will be brought back so that he can
do his duty.
Shelah
grows up and is, perhaps, married to another woman. But Judah had not fulfilled his
obligation to Tamar. Deep in his heart he is terrified. He has already lost two
sons on account of this "witch," — "LEST PERADVENTURE HE (Shelah) DIE ALSO, AS HIS BRETHERN DID." (Genesis
38:11). So Judah conveniently forgets his
promise. The aggrieved young lady resolves to take revenge on her father-in-law for
depriving her of her "seed" right. Tamar
learned that Judah is going to Timnath to sheer his sheep. She
plans to get even with him on the way. She forestalls him, and goes and sits in an open
place en route to Timnath. When Judah sees her, he thinks she
is a harlot because she has covered her face. He comes up to her and proposes —
"ALLOW ME TO COME IN UNTO THEE; AND SHE SAID WHAT WILT THOU GIVE ME,
THAT THOU MAYEST COME IN UNTO ME?" He promises that he would send her a goat
kid from his flock. What guarantee could she have that he would send it? What guarantee
did she require, Judah queried. "His ring, his bracelet and his staff" is the
ready answer. The old man hands these possessions to her, and "CAME IN UNTO HER, AND
SHE CONCEIVED BY HIM." (Genesis 38:16-18)…
Three months later, as things
were bound to turn out, news reached Judah that his daughter-in-law, Tamar, had played the
"harlot" and that she was with "CHILD BY WHOREDOM AND JUDAH SAID, BRING HER
FORTH, AND LET HER BE BURNT." (Genesis 38:24). Judah had deliberately spurned her as a "witch" and
now he sadistically wants to burn her. But this wiley Jewess
was one up on the old man. She sent the "ring," the "bracelet," and
the "staff'' with a servant, beseeching her father-in-law to find the culprit
responsible for her pregnancy. Judah was in a fix. He confessed that his daughter-in-law
was more "RIGHTEOUS" than himself, and "HE KNEW HER AGAIN NO MORE." (verse 26). It is quite an experience to compare the choice of
language in which the different Versions describe the same incident. The Jehovah's
Witnesses in their "New World Translation" translate the last quotation
as — "HE HAD NO FURTHER INTERCOURSE WITH HER AFTER THAT." This is not the last we will hear about in the
"Book of God" of this Tamar whom the Gospel writers have immortalized in their
"Genealogy of their Lord."
I do not want to bore you with
details, but the end verses of Genesis 38 deal with a duel in Tamar's womb: about the
twins struggling for ascendancy. The Jews were very meticulous about recording their
"first borns." The first born got the lion's share
of their father's patrimony. Who are the lucky winners in this prenatal race? There are
four in this unique contest. They are "PHAREZ and ZARAH of TAMAR
by JUDAH.'' How? You will see presently. But first, let us have the moral. What is
the moral in this episode? You remember Er and Onan: how God destroyed them for their several sins? And the lessons
we have learnt in each case was "REPROOF'' Under what category of Timothy will
you place the incest of Judah, and his illegitimate progeny? All these characters are honoured in the "Book of God" for their bastardy. They become the great grandfathers and great grandmothers
of the "only begotten son of God'(?) See Matthew 1:3. In every Version of the Bible, the Christians have varied the
spelling of these characters' names from those obtained in the Old Testament (Genesis
chapter 38) with those contained in the New Testament (Matthew chapter 1) to put the
reader off the scent. From PHAREZ in the "Old" to PARES in the "New,'' and
ZARAH to ZARA and TAMAR to THAMAR, But what about the moral? God blesses Judah for his
incestuous crime! So if you do "evil" (Er), God will
slay you; if you spill "seed" (Onan), God will kill
you, but a daughter-in-law (Lamat) who vengefully and
guilefully collect her father-in-law's (Judah's) "seed" is rewarded. Under what
category will the Christians place this "honour" in
the "Book of God?"
(Ahmed Deedat, Is the Bible God’s Word? p. 48-49)
The Gospel writers adopted Jesus into the lineage of Judah!
The book of the
generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of
Abraham. Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren; And Judas begat Phares
and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom;
and Esrom begat Aram; (Matthew 1:1-3)
The infidel Shamoun speaks highly of
“prominent women leaders” in the Bible, yet the Bible contains stories of rape,
adultery, fornication, incest, and murder of women!
And David smote the land, and left neither man nor woman
alive, and took away the sheep, and the oxen, and the asses, and the camels, and the
apparel, and returned, and came to Achish. (1 Samuel 27:9)
Then Menahem smote Tiphsah, and
all that were therein, and the coasts thereof from Tirzah:
because they opened not to him, therefore he smote
it; and all the women therein that were with child he ripped up.
(2 Kings 15:16)
And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city,
through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and
that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof. And to the others he
said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare,
neither have ye pity: Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children,
and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my
sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house. And he said
unto them, Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain: go ye forth. And
they went forth, and slew in the city. (Ezekiel 9:5-6)
"Samaria shall become desolate; for she hath rebelled
against her God: they shall fall by the sword: their infants shall be dashed in pieces, and
their women with child shall be ripped up." (Hosea 13:16)
There are dozens of Biblical stories where woman are raped, murdered,
and children taken as slaves. The Islamic scriptures are free from the injustice described
in the Bible.
The Bible
is full of places where married women were harlots and whores. (http://jesus-messiah.com/html/fornication.html)
"If a man divorces his wife and she
leaves him and marries another man, should he return to her again? Would not the land be
completely defiled? But you have lived as a
prostitute with many lovers— would you now return to me?" declares the LORD.
(Jeremiah 3:1)
But you, draw near, sons of the
sorceress, offspring of the adulterer and the
loose woman. (Isaiah 57:3)
You
multiplied your whoring also with the trading land of Chaldea,
and even with this you were not satisfied. (Ezekiel 16:29)
The Bible Praises Adultery
Therefore will I give their wives unto others, and
their fields to them that shall inherit them: for every one from the least even
unto the greatest is given to covetousness, from the prophet even unto the priest every
one dealeth falsely. (Jeremiah
8:10)
Now then, hear the word of the LORD. You say, " 'Do not prophesy against Israel,
and stop preaching against the house of Isaac.' "Therefore this is what the LORD says: " 'Your wife will become a
prostitute in the city, and your sons and daughters will fall by the sword.
(Amos 7:16-18)
The LORD said to me, "Go, show your love to your wife
again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the LORD
loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin
cakes." (Hosea 3:1)
The Biblical facts about the woman’s “leadership” are
well exposed in the book: The Harlot by the Side of
the Road, written by Jonathan Kirsch.
HE WROTE:
The body of Christ, the Church, includes women believers showing that
they too receive the same baptism and gifts of the Holy Spirit that all the other members
experience
.
RESPONSE:
How can the Church be the body of Christ? The Church is filled with
pedophile priests and child molesters:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/4218447.stm
http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/02/01/shanley/
http://online.recordnet.com/articlelink/013005/news/articles/013005-gn-7.php
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=35522
http://www.wcpo.com/news/2005/local/01/03/harmon.html
http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News/0,,2-7-1442_1655293,00.html