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Why are 'messengers', 'prophets', 'avataras' always male?

Vinayaka

devotee
Premium Member
This is an extension from Salix's thread on the gender of god.

Personally I don't believe in any of the ideas in the title, and one of the reasons is that they're always male, which seems a very human thing, and not a godly thing. So those of who do believe in God descending to a man, etc., can you give a reason and defend it for Christ, Muhammad, Baha'ullah, Krishna, Rama, always being male. Would it have been so hard for your God to have come to earth is a female body for once?
 

`mud

Just old
Premium Member
0365[1].jpg


:p
 

JustGeorge

Imperfect
Staff member
Premium Member
I am not terribly knowledgeable on the topic, but I believe the religion of Strega witchcraft has Arcadia, who is viewed as a messianic figure.
 

Saint Frankenstein

Here for the ride
Premium Member
As far as I know, there's no special reason why Christ is male, but I know Catholics use that as a reason why women can't be priests (an argument I always found lacking). There have been female prophets mentioned in the Bible, iirc.
 

Revoltingest

Pragmatic Libertarian
Premium Member
This is an extension from Salix's thread on the gender of god.

Personally I don't believe in any of the ideas in the title, and one of the reasons is that they're always male, which seems a very human thing, and not a godly thing. So those of who do believe in God descending to a man, etc., can you give a reason and defend it for Christ, Muhammad, Baha'ullah, Krishna, Rama, always being male. Would it have been so hard for your God to have come to earth is a female body for once?
Men are more authoritative, with larger bodies, deeper voices, & beards.
(Not the gay kind of beard.)
Women lose credibility with that rising inflection & valley girl accent.
 

epronovost

Well-Known Member
I am not terribly knowledgeable on the topic, but I believe the religion of Strega witchcraft has Arcadia, who is viewed as a messianic figure.

The religion of Stregheria was created in the 70's by a man named Leo Martello and further developped by another man goin by the name of Raven Grimassi in the 80's. In his writtings, he does reference support the existance of 1899 folklore character Aradia of Tuscani, some sort of messianic witch who taught magic to poor peasant to revolt against the Catholic Chruch. I'm not sure that an obscur character in a new religious movement derived from a folk story written by a another a century ago counts as a female messianic figure if only due to her lack of importance even in Stregheria.
 

ChristineM

"Be strong", I whispered to my coffee.
Premium Member
This is an extension from Salix's thread on the gender of god.

Personally I don't believe in any of the ideas in the title, and one of the reasons is that they're always male, which seems a very human thing, and not a godly thing. So those of who do believe in God descending to a man, etc., can you give a reason and defend it for Christ, Muhammad, Baha'ullah, Krishna, Rama, always being male. Would it have been so hard for your God to have come to earth is a female body for once?

There have been prophetess, Hildah, Deborah, Miriam for example

And my favourite Goddess is painted as a woman

images (10).jpeg


But to answer the OP, what self respecting guy is going to listen to a woman???
 

JustGeorge

Imperfect
Staff member
Premium Member
The religion of Stregheria was created in the 70's by a man named Leo Martello and further developped by another man goin by the name of Raven Grimassi in the 80's. In his writtings, he does reference support the existance of 1899 folklore character Aradia of Tuscani, some sort of messianic witch who taught magic to poor peasant to revolt against the Catholic Chruch. I'm not sure that an obscur character in a new religious movement derived from a folk story written by a another a century ago counts as a female messianic figure if only due to her lack of importance even in Stregheria.

Like I said, I'm not terribly knowledgeable on the topic.

Did the Gospel of Witches have any merit, then? Where did that stem from?
 

Onoma

Active Member
In Mesopotamia they had female and male priests, " nin " and " en ", respectively, and interestingly, you have - gala - priests with neither specific male or female gender identity

Egypt also had male and female priests
 

Vinayaka

devotee
Premium Member
I knew there were some less famous female figures who were considered as 'messiah' like, but the major ones all are male. Of course the Goddess has often been worshiped as the Supreme God, in Hinduism and elsewhere.

But no self-proclaimed 'prophet' female has ever risen to fame. I credit it to male ego, chauvinism, and I see no sense to it, or logical reason. Similarly there are no gay 'prophets' either, although there has been speculation to that effect.
 

JustGeorge

Imperfect
Staff member
Premium Member
I knew there were some less famous female figures who were considered as 'messiah' like, but the major ones all are male. Of course the Goddess has often been worshiped as the Supreme God, in Hinduism and elsewhere.

But no self-proclaimed 'prophet' female has ever risen to fame. I credit it to male ego.

Probably. Do you think there are a good number of female prophets that existed, that did not rise to fame, due to said egos?
 

Revoltingest

Pragmatic Libertarian
Premium Member
I knew there were some less famous female figures who were considered as 'messiah' like, but the major ones all are male. Of course the Goddess has often been worshiped as the Supreme God, in Hinduism and elsewhere.

But no self-proclaimed 'prophet' female has ever risen to fame. I credit it to male ego, chauvinism, and I see no sense to it, or logical reason. Similarly there are no gay 'prophets' either, although there has been speculation to that effect.
I thought that God picked'm?
Blame her ego.
 

Vinayaka

devotee
Premium Member
I thought that God picked'm?
Blame her ego.
They say 'God picked me" yes. But if 'God' was that smart, he'd pick a talking dog, just to show off his miraculous power. Even I would probably sit through a dog's speech.

I guess a corollary question is 'Would you listen to a woman 'prophet'?"
 

Windwalker

Veteran Member
Premium Member
They say 'God picked me" yes. But if 'God' was that smart, he'd pick a talking dog, just to show off his miraculous power. Even I would probably sit through a dog's speech.

I guess a corollary question is 'Would you listen to a woman 'prophet'?"
But according the scripture, God did make a donkey talk:

27 When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it lay down under Balaam, and he was angry and beat it with his staff. 28 Then the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth, and it said to Balaam, “What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?”

29 Balaam answered the donkey, “You have made a fool of me! If only I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now.”

30 The donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?”

“No,” he said.

31 Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell facedown.
It's a cute story. Of course there is a moral to it somewhere. The whole passage is found in Numbers 22:21-39
 

Unveiled Artist

Veteran Member
This is an extension from Salix's thread on the gender of god.

Personally I don't believe in any of the ideas in the title, and one of the reasons is that they're always male, which seems a very human thing, and not a godly thing. So those of who do believe in God descending to a man, etc., can you give a reason and defend it for Christ, Muhammad, Baha'ullah, Krishna, Rama, always being male. Would it have been so hard for your God to have come to earth is a female body for once?

One priest told me that because Christ is male, and Christ is god, god is male. That and the church is female so no homosexual marriage (rats), so the broom must be male. Also, males have political advantage.
 

epronovost

Well-Known Member
Like I said, I'm not terribly knowledgeable on the topic.

Did the Gospel of Witches have any merit, then? Where did that stem from?

The Gospel of the Witches has been published in 1899 by an occulist named Charles Godfrey Leland. He claimed to have written based on ancient scriptures passed on by his grand mother that she herself received from earlier ancestors (a common trope amongst new-pagans). Most folklorists and historians believe that the Gospel of the Witches is an original composition of Leland based loosely on some prior folk tales about witches and feys.

The Gospel of the Witch fairly important to pretty much all well known neo-pagan occultist religions like the Wicca and the Strega especially for the pseudo-history it offers more than for theological or philosophical reasons.
 
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