Are You Able To Discern Various Voices You Have Heard?

你能分別出所聽到的各種聲音嗎？

Another Look at Masculinity and Femininity

男人與女人之再思

詩篇 2 1 外邦為甚麼爭鬧？萬民為甚麼謀算虛妄的事？ 2 世上的君王一齊起來，臣宰一同商議，要敵擋耶和華並他的受膏者，3 說：我們要掙開他們的捆綁，脫去他們的繩索。

1 Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, 3 “Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles.”

The voice of defiance 挑战 ; 反抗 ; 蔑视 : the nations of the world

4 那坐在天上的必發笑；主必嗤笑他們。 5 那 時，他要在怒中責備他們，在烈怒中驚嚇他們， 6 說：我已經立我的君在錫安─我的聖山上了。

4 The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. 5 He rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, 6 “I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain.”

The voice of derision 嘲笑 : of God the Father

7 受膏者說：我要傳聖旨。耶和華曾對我說：你 是我的兒子，我今日生你。 8 你求我，我就將 列國賜你為基業，將地極賜你為田產。 9 你必用 鐵杖打破他們；你必將他們如同窯匠的瓦器碎。

7 I will proclaim the Lord’s decree: He said to me, “You are my son; today I have become your father. 8 Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. 9 You will break them with a rod of iron; you will dash them to pieces like pottery.”

The voice of declaration 宣告 God the Son

10 現在，你們君王應當省悟！你們世上的審判官 該受管教！ 11 當存畏懼事奉耶和華，又當存戰兢而快樂。 12 當以嘴親子，恐怕他發怒，你們在道中滅亡，因為他的怒氣快要發作。凡投靠他的，都是有福的。

10 Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. 11 Serve the Lord with fearand celebrate his rule with trembling. 12 Kiss his son, or he will be angry and your way will lead to your destruction, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him. The voice of decision 决定 the Holy Spirit

“Tell me what the world is saying today, and I’ll tell you what the church will be saying seven years from now.” -- Francis Schaeffer

“Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold, but let God re-make you so that your whole attitude of mind is changed.” --Romans 12.2, J.B. Phillips

1.Do you know what is a “culture”?

你知到什麼是文化？

“各美其美 [ 美 = 文化 ], 美人之美 , 美美与共，天下大同。”

--费孝通

1. 文化是生活的模式 Culture is a pattern of living.

2. 文化是適應的體系 Culture is an adaptive system.

3. 文化是個解釋體系 Culture is an interpretive system.

“全然的墮落” Total Depravity

1. Man’s natural state is a state of corruption and therefore, there was a total inability on the part of man to gain, or contribute to, his own salvation.

2. Not every man is as evil as he could possibly be, nor that man is unable to recognize the will of God. Or even give outward allegiance to the worship of God.

3. The whole personality of man has been affected by the Fall, and sin extends to the whole of the faculties—the will, the understanding, the affections and all else.

聖經的真理是包裝在文化裡頭 . Truth is wrapped in a culture.

道成肉身 Incarnation

在肉身中 彰顯神 . 在肉身中 遵行神的旨意 .

為 道成肉身 耶穌基督 作見証 . 成為 道成肉身 耶穌基督 的見証人 .

Proverbs 31 箴言 31

2.Do you know what is “feminism” and

what is “femininity”?

你知到什麼是女權主義？什麼是女性？

1st wave feminism (late 18th century)2nd wave feminism (1960s-1980s)3rd wave feminism (1980-c. 1990)

--To combat social and cultural inequalities.

--To work against the status quo in American society.

--Instead of blaming individual women for failing to adapt to women’s proper role, blamed the role itself and the society that created it.

“Women’s Liberation” 女子解放運動 (1964) The oppressed are all women in America.

Betty Friedan, founder of NOW.

Traditional family life as a “comfortable concentration camp” from which women needed liberation.

The women’s movement must concentrate on attacking marriage.

革命最后把自己的命都革掉了 無政府狀態

耶洗别的靈 The spirit of radical feminism: the spirit of witchcraft and rebellion, the spirit manifested in Jezebel.

“If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, together women ought to be able to turn it right side up again.”

“By the year 2,000, we will, I hope raise children in human potential, not God.” --Gloria Steinem

內在的過於外在的， 所是的過於所做的 .

Biblical notion of femininity is not an outward but an inward phenomenon—a state of being more than a state of doing.

彼 得 前 書 3 1 你 們 作 妻 子 的 要 順 服 自 己 的 丈 夫 ； 這 樣 ， 若 有 不 信 從 道 理 的 丈 夫 ， 他 們 雖 然 不 聽 道 ， 也 可 以 因 妻 子 的 品 行 被 感 化 過 來 ； 2 這 正 是 因 看 見 你 們 有 貞 潔 的 品 行 和 敬 畏 的 心 。 3 你 們 不 要 以 外 面 的 辮 頭 髮 ， 戴 金 飾 ， 穿 美 衣 為 妝 飾 ， 4 只 要 以 裡 面 存 著 長 久 溫 柔 、 安 靜 的 心 為 妝 飾 ； 這 在 神 面 前 是 極 寶 貴 的 。 5 因 為 古 時 仰 賴 神 的 聖 潔 婦 人 正 是 以 此 為 妝 飾 ， 順 服 自 己 的 丈 夫 ，1 Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, 2 when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. 3 Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. 4 Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. 5 For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves. They submitted themselves to their own husbands,

What it means to be a godly woman or a godly man.

Living fully in the image of God is living fully as feminine and masculine.

“Femininity and masculinity are constructed and reconstructed in a relational manner.”

Feminine qualities attributed to God: An intimate, relational life with us.

“The holier a woman is, the more she is a woman.” --Leon Bloy

3.Do you know what is “stereotype” and

what is “archetype”?

你知到什麼是典型？什麼是原型？

20 那 人 便 給 一 切 牲 畜 和 空 中 飛 鳥 、 野 地 走 獸 都 起 了 名 ； 只 是 那 人 沒 有 遇 見 配 偶 幫 助 他 。 21 耶 和 華 神 使 他 沉 睡 ， 他 就 睡 了 ； 於 是 取 下 他 的 一 條 肋 骨 ， 又 把 肉 合 起 來 。 22 耶 和 華 神 就 用 那 人 身 上 所 取 的 肋 骨 造 成 一 個 女 人 ， 領 他 到 那 人 跟 前 。 23 那 人 說 ： 這 是 我 骨 中 的 骨 ， 肉 中 的 肉 ， 可 以 稱 他 為 女 人 ， 因 為 他 是 從 男 人 身 上 取 出 來 的 。 24 因 此 ， 人 要 離 開 父 母 ， 與 妻 子 連 合 ， 二 人 成 為 一 體 。 25 當 時 夫 妻 二 人 赤 身 露 體 ， 並 不 羞 恥 。

20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals. But for Adam no suitable helper was found. 21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. 23 The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” 24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh. 25 Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.

Equal, but interdependent.

平等 , 但彼此不可缺 .

Mystery: Must be handled not only with care but also with reverence and awe.

Adam’s rib 亞當的肋骨ע ָל� tsela’ (Strong H6763)‘ ֵצ� King James Word Usage: 41 side 19, chamber 11, boards 2, corners 2, ribs 2, beams 1, halting 1, leaves 1, planks 1

-- An entire side, essentially half, of a structure.-- God literally divided Adam in half to create a woman for Adam.-- Eve was every bit the man Adam was. “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created him.” (Gen 1.27)-- Eve began, literally, as half of Adam [“other half” or “better half”].

7 男 人 本 不 該 蒙 著 頭 ， 因 為 他 是 神 的 形 像 和 榮 耀 ； 但 女 人 是 男 人 的 榮 耀 。 8 起 初 ， 男 人 不 是 由 女 人 而 出 ， 女 人 乃 是 由 男 人 而 出 。 9 並 且 男 人 不 是 為 女 人 造 的 ； 女 人 乃 是 為 男 人 造 的 10 因 此 ， 女 人 為 天 使 的 緣 故 ， 應 當 在 頭 上 有 服 權 柄 的 記 號 。 11 然 而 照 主 的 安 排 ， 女 也 不 是 無 男 ， 男 也 不 是 無 女 。 12 因 為 女 人 原 是 由 男 人 而 出 ， 男 人 也 是 由 女 人 而 出 ； 但 萬 有 都 是 出 乎 神 。

7 A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but woman is the glory of man. 8 For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; 9 neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. 10 It is for this reason that a woman ought to have authority over her own head, because of the angels. 11 Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. 12 For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God.

“女人是男人的榮耀” “woman is man’s glory”

1. One who is uniquely his own glory.2. She is man’s glory because she “came from man” and was created “for him.”3. She is not thereby subordinate to him, but necessary for him.4. It is relational, not hierarchical.5. They might form humanity.6. “The unique relationships that are predicated on one being the source of the other’s existence.”7. He is her “head” (the source of origin) and she is his “glory”.

Equal, but interdependent.

平等 , 但彼此不可缺 .

God chose a means for creating the human race, male and female, that would make clear to all cultures and all generations their equal but distinct interdependence.

Love 愛 Initiator 發起人 , 起带頭作用的 Lead 带领 Provide 供應 Protect 保護

Love 愛 Responder 回應者 Affirm 肯定 Receive 接受 Nurture 孕育 / 培養

A disposition rather than a set of behaviors or roles.

--Mature femininity will express itself in so many different ways depending on the situation.

--The disposition of mature femininity is experienced as freeing, because it accords with the truth of God’s purpose in creation. It is the truth that frees (John 8.32).

路加福音 1:38 馬利亞說：我是主的使女，情願照你的話 成就在我身上。

Luke 1:38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

Receive = A spirit of submission

4.Do you know what is “power” and

what is “influence”?

你知到什麼是權力？ 什麼是影響力？

路加福音 1:38 馬利亞說：我是主的使女，情願照你的話 成就在我身上。Luke 1:38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

-- The exceptional women in history have been given a special gift because they made themselves nothing.

--Mary had no ambition for anything but the will of God. She was given power, as was her Master, because she made herself nothing.

Personal Non-personal

私人的 非私人的

Directive Non-directive

指導性的 非指導性的

5.Do you know what is “truth, goodness,

and beauty”?

你知到什麼是真善美？

There are two ways by which the soul is led to God, by authority and by reason:

“Authority invites belief and prepares man for reason. Reason leads to understanding and knowledge. But reason is not entirely absent from authority, for we have to consider whom we are to believe.”

--Augustine, On True Religion

The knowledge of God is participatory; hence it is reasonable to say that God can be known only in faith and love.

The knowledge of God “is buried from the eyes of everyone whose intellect has not matured within the flame of love.” --Dante’s Paradiso

“Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.” Only those who have been cleansed, purified, and transformed can know God.

“Knowledge of divine things without passion does not persuade the mind to disdain material things completely, but is like a mere thought of a thing known by the senses….for this reason there is a need for the blessed passion of holy love that binds the mind to spiritual realities [= God] and persuades it to prefer the immaterial to the material and intelligible and divine things to those of sense.”

--Maximus the Confessor

“The glory of God is man fully alive, and the life of man is the vision of God.” --Irenaeus

God is never more glorified than when men come alive to the vision of God.