Social Constructs (Sermon for Nov 2, 2014)
Nov 2, 2014 17:20:58 GMT -5
unix and friendofsophia like this
Post by rmcdra on Nov 2, 2014 17:20:58 GMT -5
“But let us not tell Adam, for he is not one of us. Rather let us bring a deep sleep over him. And let us instruct him in his sleep to the effect that she came from his rib, in order that his wife may obey, and he maybe lord over her." – On the Origin of the World
Simon Peter said to them, "Make Mary leave us, for females don't deserve life."
Jesus said, "Look, I will guide her to make her male, so that she too may become a living spirit resembling you males. For every female who makes herself male will enter the kingdom of Heaven."- Gospel of Thomas 114
There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. - Galatians 3:28
Growing up, I had the hardest time defining who I am. I was the strange kid who wanted to give flowers to other boys. I liked things that were considered “girly”. I would repeatedly watch the Rainbow Brite movie. The Little Mermaid was a personal favorite Disney movie. I was a Sailor Moon fan as far back as I can remember. Growing up in a small country town, this was kind of rough for me. With it being a small town, anything that deviated from the norm was grounds to be picked on. I was already “penguin foot” since my feet turn outward due to having arches in my feet that collapse when I step down. The last thing I needed was to be picked on for something else. So like most kids who were a little different I hid my interests from those close to me. My parents wanted to make sure I was “manly” enough and that is where I can recall where a lot of my criticism of being “girly” came from. “You’re going to send the wrong signals to people” or “You’re a boy. Those aren’t for boys.” It left me with a lot of questions and just having to accept that this is the way things are.
Now as I turn 30, I find myself understanding that maleness and femaleness are social constructs. Social constructs are basically a narrative of how things “ought” to be created by a society and maintained by adherence to it through social practices. Our concepts of maleness and femaleness are based on a combination of biological observations and social expectations. The concept of social constructs is an example of our creation myth inaction. Someone takes a little bit of truth that they do not fully understand and then creates a system enshrining this fragment as all that there is. Like maleness and femaleness, there are biological differences but what gets pointed at as differences have nothing to do with biological maleness and femaleness. While there are binaries that do actually exist, we often create false binaries that have nothing to do with reality but with making someone feel and believe that they are superior to others. As we see in our mythos, the Demiurge lied to Adam saying that Adam was superior to Eve. The Archons did not want Adam to know where he came from and they wanted to keep Adam, and by extension Eve, under their control.
Control is the root of it, in particular for those who know they do not possess true power. They hoard what little bit of truth they gather and try to keep it away from those they seek to control. They knew that Adam and Eve contained the seed of God and they wanted to subdue it. They created a system that kept them in power and put Adam and Eve in conflict with each other so they could not recognize that seed of God that they each possessed. Even after Christ came, some apostles still were ignorant of the truth that every person has the seed of God, that potential to be the image of God within each of us. They wanted to deny Mary her birthright. Christ told the apostle that he will make her male. While yes, this is a sexist comment; it illustrates how when it comes to understanding that there is neither male nor female, we still have not changed much. Still today, it is considered an insult to give feminine traits to a male and that maleness is what one should be striving, for what is considered normal and ideal; all the while the concept of maleness being something invented by us. Though the words are sexist, we should not miss the message that Christ came to make us all children of the Father-Mother. In the eyes of God, there is no nationality, there is neither rich nor poor, there is neither believer nor non-believer, and there is neither male nor female for we are all the image of God.
As we seek gnosis of the Father-Mother and to be part of the Fullness; we are going to go up against forces in our lives that seek to keep us stagnant. Truth is alive and a threat to those who base there powers on lies. Truth is constantly growing as we gain greater understanding and the moment we say we know it all is when we become dead inside. The archons are already dead and do not wish us to see that they are corpses. They seek for us to fight among ourselves with divisions that are ultimately an illusion for this is how they keep the illusion in place. They give privilege, gifts of perishable matter that makes the system more tolerable to one group and encourages the dehumanization of others. It keeps us distracted from seeing reality and growing with truths that we discover. We are all siblings of Christ and children of the Holy Father-Mother. We are not to accept thing just because that is the way things are. We are called to question, to test, and to grow. That which is true will withstand testing. We are to live our lives as who we are. This is how we come closer to God.
Simon Peter said to them, "Make Mary leave us, for females don't deserve life."
Jesus said, "Look, I will guide her to make her male, so that she too may become a living spirit resembling you males. For every female who makes herself male will enter the kingdom of Heaven."- Gospel of Thomas 114
There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. - Galatians 3:28
Growing up, I had the hardest time defining who I am. I was the strange kid who wanted to give flowers to other boys. I liked things that were considered “girly”. I would repeatedly watch the Rainbow Brite movie. The Little Mermaid was a personal favorite Disney movie. I was a Sailor Moon fan as far back as I can remember. Growing up in a small country town, this was kind of rough for me. With it being a small town, anything that deviated from the norm was grounds to be picked on. I was already “penguin foot” since my feet turn outward due to having arches in my feet that collapse when I step down. The last thing I needed was to be picked on for something else. So like most kids who were a little different I hid my interests from those close to me. My parents wanted to make sure I was “manly” enough and that is where I can recall where a lot of my criticism of being “girly” came from. “You’re going to send the wrong signals to people” or “You’re a boy. Those aren’t for boys.” It left me with a lot of questions and just having to accept that this is the way things are.
Now as I turn 30, I find myself understanding that maleness and femaleness are social constructs. Social constructs are basically a narrative of how things “ought” to be created by a society and maintained by adherence to it through social practices. Our concepts of maleness and femaleness are based on a combination of biological observations and social expectations. The concept of social constructs is an example of our creation myth inaction. Someone takes a little bit of truth that they do not fully understand and then creates a system enshrining this fragment as all that there is. Like maleness and femaleness, there are biological differences but what gets pointed at as differences have nothing to do with biological maleness and femaleness. While there are binaries that do actually exist, we often create false binaries that have nothing to do with reality but with making someone feel and believe that they are superior to others. As we see in our mythos, the Demiurge lied to Adam saying that Adam was superior to Eve. The Archons did not want Adam to know where he came from and they wanted to keep Adam, and by extension Eve, under their control.
Control is the root of it, in particular for those who know they do not possess true power. They hoard what little bit of truth they gather and try to keep it away from those they seek to control. They knew that Adam and Eve contained the seed of God and they wanted to subdue it. They created a system that kept them in power and put Adam and Eve in conflict with each other so they could not recognize that seed of God that they each possessed. Even after Christ came, some apostles still were ignorant of the truth that every person has the seed of God, that potential to be the image of God within each of us. They wanted to deny Mary her birthright. Christ told the apostle that he will make her male. While yes, this is a sexist comment; it illustrates how when it comes to understanding that there is neither male nor female, we still have not changed much. Still today, it is considered an insult to give feminine traits to a male and that maleness is what one should be striving, for what is considered normal and ideal; all the while the concept of maleness being something invented by us. Though the words are sexist, we should not miss the message that Christ came to make us all children of the Father-Mother. In the eyes of God, there is no nationality, there is neither rich nor poor, there is neither believer nor non-believer, and there is neither male nor female for we are all the image of God.
As we seek gnosis of the Father-Mother and to be part of the Fullness; we are going to go up against forces in our lives that seek to keep us stagnant. Truth is alive and a threat to those who base there powers on lies. Truth is constantly growing as we gain greater understanding and the moment we say we know it all is when we become dead inside. The archons are already dead and do not wish us to see that they are corpses. They seek for us to fight among ourselves with divisions that are ultimately an illusion for this is how they keep the illusion in place. They give privilege, gifts of perishable matter that makes the system more tolerable to one group and encourages the dehumanization of others. It keeps us distracted from seeing reality and growing with truths that we discover. We are all siblings of Christ and children of the Holy Father-Mother. We are not to accept thing just because that is the way things are. We are called to question, to test, and to grow. That which is true will withstand testing. We are to live our lives as who we are. This is how we come closer to God.
