Are Men Better Than Women?

[Goodboy]

Are Men Better Than Women?

Why is God male?
The reason God is male has nothing to do with which is the better or higher gender. So women please don’t be offended, as it only has to do with reality and nothing else and here is why.

Adam (man) was the first and only human created directly by God.
Eve was created from Adam (man) and was not the first human.
God was not created from anything and is the first and only God.
To say God is a woman would mean that he was created from another God.

Why shouldn’t women be Pastors?
First let me just state that I believe that God always states what is best. Isn’t it best that a child has a married father and mother? Can an unmarried man and women living together raise a child? Yes, but that is not best. Can a single parent raise a child? Yes, but that is not best. So it is not so much that an unmarried couple or single parent cannot raise a child, it is just not the best way.

I believe the same thing applies to female pastors. Would a female pastor be better than no pastor at all? I could be wrong, but I think so. However it would not be the best thing. Meaning if there were a good male pastor around, then he should lead the church. So what is the logic to why women should not be pastors? Of course most of us know that Paul states this in the Bible and gives the reason for it which is that the woman was deceived, not the man. So then the question becomes, why was the women deceived?

I have no direct answer to that from the Bible, but I will give you what I believe to be the case. All of God’s intelligent creatures have emotions. Satan has emotions which ended up getting him in trouble. One of his emotions (pride) made him jealous of God. So he wanted to be like God and be worshiped. If Satan only had logic with no emotions, he would have never rebelled as this was a very bad decision. Satan now correctly believes that using someone’s emotions is the best way to deceive them.

So Satan used Eve’s emotions against her, telling her that eating the forbidden fruit would make her like God. Did Adam have emotions? Sure, but not to the same level as Eve or most women. Now Adam’s emotions also got him in trouble, as his love for Eve made him also eat the forbidden fruit. However, Adam would not have been deceived by Satan. So my point here is that strong emotions make one easier to deceive and most women have stronger emotions.

Am I saying that it makes men better than women? No not in the least way! God made women with strong emotions so they would give emotional support to their children. Also, while most men will not admit it, they want to get this emotional support from their wives. It is hard for a single man to give his child all the emotional support they require. Not impossible, just hard. It is also hard for a single woman to give her child the strength and leadership they require. Not impossible, just hard.

So most women have strong emotions which is great!
So most men have strong logical thinking which is great!
However, God made it so when a man and women are paired together they have all they need regarding both emotions and logic. Of course there are many things other than emotions and logic, but I just use those to make the point regarding deception.

Again, I have no bible verse to support this; it is just something that makes a lot of sense to me. So if you think this is a lot of malarkey, that’s fine. No offense taken!

Goodboy

 

[Kaatje]

Are Men Better Than Women?

Of course not, without Eve, Adam was help-less.

Okay, stop kidding.
Good post!

 

[Goodboy]

Of course not, without Eve, Adam was help-less.

Okay, stop kidding.
Good post!

While funny, that is kind of true!
When I got a divorce I had to figure out how I was going to eat?

 

[Tall Timbers]

When I saw the thread title my first thought was I hope this wasn't posted in the women's sub-forum

 

[Goodboy]

On a similar topic, was Paul's direction to Timothy of women not being Pastors directed to the church of his time or for all churches even in the future?

1 Timothy 2:12 But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.
1 Timothy 2:13 For Adam was first formed, then Eve.
1 Timothy 2:14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.

The reason I ask is because Paul's concern was that women might be deceived by Satan. Well back then there was no Bible to keep Pastors on the right tract. Also, the Bible helps us to know if a Pastor is speaking God's words, so we can challenge them. So maybe it is not as important now that women are not Pastors.

Again, this is a question on my part, not a statement. Just something I thought of.

 

[Eric Nicholas]

When I saw the thread title my first thought was I hope this wasn't posted in the women's sub-forum

I wish it were. Sigh.

 

[Work4Peanuts]

I've also secretly suspected that if women were allowed to be pastors, the men would just let them and would never step up to the plate so to speak. It basically forces the men to be the leaders that they were meant to be. It's not a job that can be shunted off.

 

[Spartan Sprinter]

Men were created in the image of God and women weren't , so long story short yes we are TEEE HEEE HEEE, (I now raise my protective shield for all of the coke cans that are going to come my way LOL )

 

[Work4Peanuts]

Men were created in the image of God and women weren't , so long story short yes we are TEEE HEEE HEEE, (I now raise my protective shield for all of the coke cans that are going to come my way LOL )

 

[Growing in Grace]

So Satan used Eve’s emotions against her, telling her that eating the forbidden fruit would make her like God.

Interesting thoughts Goodboy! I like your OP and I agree that we can't know what directly caused our first parents to sin. It is helpful to consider the many ways that satanic lies and temptation may trap us.

1 Now the serpent was more cunning than any animal of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God really said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; 3 but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’” 4 The serpent said to the woman, “You certainly will not die! 5 For God knows that on the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will become like God, knowing good and evil.” Genesis chapter 3

Here's a different perspective and I'd love some feedback.

Satan told Eve four lies after drawing her attention to the forbidden fruit: 1) you will not die, 2) God knows your eyes will be open, 3) you will become like God, and 4) that knowing good and evil is what makes a person God.

But before the calculated lies were told to Eve, he introduced doubt.

Adam and Eve were created with mature bodies, but seem naive in many ways. Adam was with her during the temptation and didn't exercise loving authority to tell her to not listen to lies. Neither of them seemed to consider what God would think or feel.

What may have initially deceived Eve was Satan asking her “Has God really said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” She had no reason to question anything said by Adam or God before. Now she's getting tested, she's going to wrestle with the one command that God gave Adam (and likely Adam told Eve).

Satan enticed her when he made a ridiculous question that they could not eat from ANY tree of the garden. She seems to overreact by saying they can’t even touch the forbidden fruit, or maybe Adam told her that?? Anyhow, Satan wanted her to buy the lies and tricked her through doubt. (Maybe that’s how she fell for it?)

I don’t see love causing Adam to take a bite. He willfully ate. I'm guessing that they could have resisted and gone on to the Tree of Life where they would have been sealed by the Holy Spirit so that they would truly love??

 

[Goodboy]

Here's a different perspective and I'd love some feedback.

Satan told Eve four lies after drawing her attention to the forbidden fruit: 1) you will not die, 2) God knows your eyes will be open, 3) you will become like God, and 4) that knowing good and evil is what makes a person God.

But before the calculated lies were told to Eve, he introduced doubt.

You said: "Satan told Eve four lies after drawing her attention to the forbidden fruit: 1) you will not die, 2) God knows your eyes will be open, 3) you will become like God, and 4) that knowing good and evil is what makes a person God."

I would disagree that Satan told 4 lies. I would submit that he only told 1 lie.
1) You certainly will not die! - This was a lie.
2) For God knows that on the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will become like God, knowing good and evil. - This is one statement that is all true. Their eyes were opened knowing good and evil just like God does.


You said: "Adam was with her during the temptation and didn't exercise loving authority to tell her to not listen to lies."

I believe that Adam and Eve could communicate with the animals and that the Serpent spoke directly to Eve. Notice that the verse says that the Serpent said to the woman. Why did it specify to the woman rather than just saying what the serpent said? I don't think that Adam knew what the serpent was saying to Eve as it was not through words. This would explain why Adam did not stop Eve from eating the fruit or at least tell her the serpent is lying? Remember Adam knew she would die if she ate the fruit. Eve did not think she would die, as she was deceived.

Do you think that the ability to communicate without words is far fetched? Then how come we believe that Satan tempts us today.
1 Corinthians 7:5 Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.

1 Timothy 2:13 For Adam was first formed, then Eve.
1 Timothy 2:14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.

You said: "I don’t see love causing Adam to take a bite. He willfully ate."

Really? Have you ever truly been in love? Well I have and it can make you do some crazy things. Look at what women in the Bible have caused men to do. Some men in our time have killed themselves after their wife has died and the men I am referring to did not even have PERFECT love! I cannot even imagine what the perfect love that Adam and Eve had was like.

All that said, I do agree with your statement that Satan introduced doubt and that contributed to Eve being deceived. He made Eve think that God did not really want what's best for her. Same as what many Christians believe today, saying why won't God grant me this or that?

Well you did ask for my feedback. LOL!

God Bless!

 

[Ghoti Ichthus]

Men were created in the image of God and women weren't , so long story short yes we are TEEE HEEE HEEE, (I now raise my protective shield for all of the coke cans that are going to come my way LOL )

Man was the rough draft
Woman was the perfected final design

If in doubt, a self-portrait is a lot harder than drawing or painting someone else, whom you can look at directly, instead of in a mirror or copying from from a photo. Imagine how much more difficult a self-sculpture is than sculpting someone else

 

[Everlasting Life]

I appreciate this thread. I'm always comforted by the truth that the Lord's instructions are always for our good and our incredible blessings.

I also want to communicate how much I appreciate and been blessed by the differences in men and women. I both appreciate the softer side of women in my family and friends and also the masculine side of men in my husband, family and friends. Both are so very needed with their unique and varied differences.

 

[Andiamo]

Satan attempted to deceive Jesus, who was not only male, but God.

 

[Andiamo]

Men were created in the image of God and women weren't , so long story short yes we are TEEE HEEE HEEE, (I now raise my protective shield for all of the coke cans that are going to come my way LOL )

Dr Pepper from me.

 

[Goodboy]

I believe that Adam and Eve could communicate with the animals and that the Serpent spoke directly to Eve.

Do you think that the ability to communicate without words is far fetched? Then how come we believe that Satan tempts us today.
1 Corinthians 7:5 Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.

Another point I should make about "The Fall" is that Eve was not at all shocked that the serpent communicated with her. This makes my point that Adam and Eve could communicate with the animals.

 

[Work4Peanuts]

This is speculation. It's easy to get heated up when coming at it from a human perspective."Women are worse because this", "Yeah, well, men are worse because this." And while I think some speculation can be fun, it's important to remember that it's basically our thoughts, and we (all of us, men and women) are frequently wrong.

There's a lot that the Bible doesn't tell us. Were Adam and Eve able to talk to animals? It seems to suggest it, because no one seems surprised when the snake talks, but perhaps animals couldn't talk, and Adam and Eve were just exceptionally naive when the snake spoke. They were made as adults, but they don't exactly come across as that mature, do they?
Why did Adam eat the fruit? Was it love? The Bible doesn't say. It feels nice to suggest that Adam did it for love. I can see why such an idea would appeal to men. It puts a positive spin on the whole disobeying the only commandment God gave, but the Bible doesn't say that, and it's dangerous to drift away from what the Bible does actually say. It does say that Eve was deceived and then she handed the fruit to him and he ate. We do know that Adam knew exactly what the law that God gave was. It is not apparent whether Eve heard that "you shall not eat..." from Adam or whether God told her after her creation as well, (and then she forgot exactly what was said) because the commandment she repeated back to the snake wasn't what was originally said.

So really, are men better than women? All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, men and women. If women are lesser than men (which the men in this thread are enjoying suggesting) then that fall from grace is even higher and more shameful.

The truth is, we all need Jesus. And Jesus made it clear that those of us who are in Him are to regard themselves as "lesser" than others.

"And whoseover will be your chief among you, let him be your servant: Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life as a ransom for many." Matthew 20:27-28.

Women and men are made differently. I prefer to think of it as complementary rather than better or worse, but God did give us heirarchy of authority based on gender in both the church and marriage. I do think that it's obvious that women in general, are weaker than men. It's why it feels like the men who are pretending to be women are a bunch of bullies when they absolutely dominate in women's sports. But if women are weaker and easier to be led astray, which the men are gleefully saying in this thread (and I'm not disagreeing) then how much more imperative is it for the men to step up and lead: to, in fact, be protective of them? I don't desire this role.

It's ok men, you can be "better."

 

[Ghoti Ichthus]

Adam might not have been paying attention or within earshot. With someone, is a subjective distance, which could have been arm's length, 10 feet away, 50 feet away, or something else. Since Adam and Eve were the only two people there, a longer distance could easily still fit the definition of being with one another. Or, Adam since was absolutely innocent and inexperienced, he had no idea of what was happening (temptation), or what to do to prevent Eve from sinning, or was totally shocked that Eve did what she did because all of this was completely outside of his experience and expectation.

Since Adam, as head of household, was given the instruction by God to not eat the fruit from that tree, I "assume" he was also charged with passing on/teaching the information to Eve.

Sometimes, I wonder if Adam embellished/added to the command to not eat that fruit because Eve claimed an additional rule/prohibition about it than what is recorded about what God told Adam.

Just as Salvation is simple and making it more complicated than it actually is through legalism, works, etc. can cause people to stumble or get completely turned off, something as innocuous as adding "don't touch" to the instructions might have made a difference since Adam and Eve were so innocent and inexperienced.

Recent events in my life also make me wonder if part of satan's strategy was to divide the family by planting doubt in Eve's mind about the veracity of what Adam had told her, as well as interjecting trust issues (questioning God's motivation and expressing doubt about the actual consequences). Eve may also have not had anything other than a theoretical understanding about what death actually is because creation was perfect and the only thing she had experienced up to that point.

15 And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
Genesis 2:15-17, KJV

1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
Genesis 3:1-6, KJV

 

[Work4Peanuts]

Adam might not have been paying attention or within earshot. With someone, is a subjective distance, which could have been arm's length, 10 feet away, 50 feet away, or something else. Since Adam and Eve were the only two people there, a longer distance could easily still fit the definition of being with one another. Or, Adam since was absolutely innocent and inexperienced, he had no idea of what was happening (temptation), or what to do to prevent Eve from sinning, or was totally shocked that Eve did what she did because all of this was completely outside of his experience and expectation.

Do you think he didn't notice the woman walking toward the "forbidden" tree? I suspect that he noticed it and was right behind her to see what would happen (once again, my own speculation.) If he did tell her not to touch it, and it wasn't just her mis-remembering the command, and if we accept that the hierarchy that God instituted of men and women was instituted before the fall, that would suggest that she disobeyed Adam before she disobeyed God's law. And if she disobeyed Adam without consequences would it have made her doubt the consequences that God would be required to enforce?

 

[Andy C]

It's ok men, you can be "better."

I asked my wife if men were better than woman, her response was

.