She who must be obeyed was a rag doll which was used by the Nurse to the family of Rider Haggard.
The Doll was 'brought out of some dark recess in order to terrify' the young Haggard and his siblings into behaving.
The name suggested itself to Haggard when he sat down to write the novel 'She': subtitled 'a history of adventure' which had at its heart the character of a woman Ayesha, or She (aka She who must be obeyed).
In the novel 'She' was born over 2000 years earlier amongst the Arabs and had become a great sorceress, granted immortality she 'bathed' in the fire from the 'Pillar of Life'.
Writing in his autobiography Haggard commented that when he sat down to write his ideas were of the vaguest kind, the only notion was of an 'immortal woman inspired by immortal love'.
Suddenly it seems she is at it again.
God it appears should be encouraged to be herself or is that, as one respondent has commented in the debate, heretical?
I must admit that I find the whole issue of God's gender something that I cannot bring myself to get terribly worked up about, although I can see that for some people constantly having God referred to as Male and therefore by implication, expressing largely Male values, might in some circumstances somehow undervalue female values.
But of God is S/he does that somehow undervalue, underplay or make particularly less of the essential God-ness of God?
If God is a community of persons as expressed in the idea of a trinity, expressing fatherhood, son-ship, kinship and the nurturing of the spirit then why shouldn't that community of persons reflect not only colour but gender alongside sexual difference and preference?
Somehow, I cannot imagine Mary and Joseph, with all that had been given to them and expected of them and surrounded by animals, shepherds, Kings and the glory of Angels really being very bothered about whether God was He or She as long as S/he was God and continued to be faithful.
Apparently Swordfish are having a crisis at the moment, overfishing, global warming, poisoned seas I imagine there could be a number of reasons why Swordfish are struggling, but they have responded, they are fighting back and in doing so it seems they are using a strategy known as parthenogenesis.
Apparently female sharks have also managed to achieve the miracle of virgin birth whilst in captivity and with no male sharks nearby relaxing in a post coital triste.
So it seems the birds and the bees (although no examples of avian parthenogenesis have been recorded) are doing it so its possible to imagine Adam and Eve, Adam arrived fully formed first and when offered a magnificent, beautiful, loyal, faithful partner to undertake all his shopping, cooking and keeping Eden swept he asked how much?
An arm and a leg came the reply from the Deity.
What could I get for a rib? Asked Adam!
The fact is that as society develops and advances so human beings are shaped and reshaped in the imagine of the divine, just like Swordfish or caged Sharks.
St Paul captured the theological irrationality of our claims about the nature of the undefinable and the deep mystery at the heart of the revelation that is Christ in his letter to the Christians in Galatia.
If he commented you are baptised, if you have 'clothed' yourselves with Christ then there is no Jew nor Greek, there is no slave or freeman, their is neither male nor female because you are one in Christ.
The Doll was 'brought out of some dark recess in order to terrify' the young Haggard and his siblings into behaving.
The name suggested itself to Haggard when he sat down to write the novel 'She': subtitled 'a history of adventure' which had at its heart the character of a woman Ayesha, or She (aka She who must be obeyed).
In the novel 'She' was born over 2000 years earlier amongst the Arabs and had become a great sorceress, granted immortality she 'bathed' in the fire from the 'Pillar of Life'.
Writing in his autobiography Haggard commented that when he sat down to write his ideas were of the vaguest kind, the only notion was of an 'immortal woman inspired by immortal love'.
Suddenly it seems she is at it again.
God it appears should be encouraged to be herself or is that, as one respondent has commented in the debate, heretical?
I must admit that I find the whole issue of God's gender something that I cannot bring myself to get terribly worked up about, although I can see that for some people constantly having God referred to as Male and therefore by implication, expressing largely Male values, might in some circumstances somehow undervalue female values.
But of God is S/he does that somehow undervalue, underplay or make particularly less of the essential God-ness of God?
If God is a community of persons as expressed in the idea of a trinity, expressing fatherhood, son-ship, kinship and the nurturing of the spirit then why shouldn't that community of persons reflect not only colour but gender alongside sexual difference and preference?
Somehow, I cannot imagine Mary and Joseph, with all that had been given to them and expected of them and surrounded by animals, shepherds, Kings and the glory of Angels really being very bothered about whether God was He or She as long as S/he was God and continued to be faithful.
Apparently Swordfish are having a crisis at the moment, overfishing, global warming, poisoned seas I imagine there could be a number of reasons why Swordfish are struggling, but they have responded, they are fighting back and in doing so it seems they are using a strategy known as parthenogenesis.
Apparently female sharks have also managed to achieve the miracle of virgin birth whilst in captivity and with no male sharks nearby relaxing in a post coital triste.
So it seems the birds and the bees (although no examples of avian parthenogenesis have been recorded) are doing it so its possible to imagine Adam and Eve, Adam arrived fully formed first and when offered a magnificent, beautiful, loyal, faithful partner to undertake all his shopping, cooking and keeping Eden swept he asked how much?
An arm and a leg came the reply from the Deity.
What could I get for a rib? Asked Adam!
The fact is that as society develops and advances so human beings are shaped and reshaped in the imagine of the divine, just like Swordfish or caged Sharks.
St Paul captured the theological irrationality of our claims about the nature of the undefinable and the deep mystery at the heart of the revelation that is Christ in his letter to the Christians in Galatia.
If he commented you are baptised, if you have 'clothed' yourselves with Christ then there is no Jew nor Greek, there is no slave or freeman, their is neither male nor female because you are one in Christ.
Well of course there is still Jew and Greek, there are slaves and there are freemen, there are both male and female and why is that and the answer seems to be, in another phrase of Paul the Apostle, because the whole of creation is groaning and travailing ..... the future is not here yet, the kingdom has been implemented but not realised, we are at the same time forgiven and still living under the cloud of human sinfulness and kneeling at the mercy seat, which is where we are sustained by immortal womanhood inspired by immortal love, S/he is both our father and our mother.
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