Refuting "the First Story in the Bible Was the First Case of #metoo"
Welcome. Today we are going to refute the claim that Eve was sexually assaulted. I regret not writing this long ago when it was popular, but it has come to my mind recently so I thought it would be best to do so now.
For those of you who don't know, the #MeToo movement is a cause that stands against sexual harassment and assault. Despite the good intentions of this movement, this cause has been abused by those with a different agenda such as Tamara Kolton, a rabbi, and psychologist in Birmingham, Michigan who claims that Eve was not in the wrong for eating the forbidden fruit and that God was the villain. Here is the link to her article. With that being said, let's see if her arguments prevail against the Bible.
"I want you to think about this. Here is a young, beautiful, intelligent, naked woman living in a state of Grace. She’s hungry, so she does the most natural thing in the world and eats a piece of fruit. For following her instincts, trusting herself, and nourishing her body, she is punished. Her punishment? She will never again feel safe in her nakedness. She will never again love her body. She will never again know her body as a place of sacred sovereignty."
Eve had plenty of food to eat. Genesis 1 29 and Genesis 2 16-17 says they had food to eat, and all that was prohibited was the fruit out of one tree that stood in the midst of dozens, maybe even hundreds of other trees. Let's put it this way; you go to a friend's house and they have a fridge full of tasty, nutritious food that will fill you up. They let you have free range to eat whatever you want. All they ask is that you leave that one piece of cake alone. How is that in any way cruelty? The scripture shows us that Eve ate the fruit because she was tempted to know the knowledge that God had prohibited. The knowledge that would bring about the downfall of almost the entire human race.
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 4-6The fact that this fruit looked good to eat and was edible was not the only thing that tempted her. She saw that it would "make her wise", so she took it. But all it did was make her a sinner. The actual eating of the fruit was not the sin, but the knowledge of evil was given to her simply by the fact that she disobeyed God.
And nowhere does it say she will never feel safe being naked or feel good about herself. That is an unfortunate thing that many women feel, but the scripture does not list that as a curse nor does it support feeling that way.
What have you done?” He God thunders. Eve wants to defend herself, but she is too ashamed to speak. Eve, our first mother whose name means the “mother of all living things,” is silenced, much the way the “patients” of Dr. Nassar were.
Except she was not silenced. The rest of that verse, Genesis 3 13, says, "And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat." She admits what she did and what the serpent did, and then in verse 14, it shows that God believed her and punishes the serpent before punishing Adam and Eve because it was the one who deceived them first.
The founding myth of Judeo-Christian religion, the story of Eve, granted generations of men permission to violate women. It teaches us that women are liars and sinners. Even if “She” is telling the truth, she deserved it. God told her not to eat that apple, or wear that skirt, or go out after dark, or be pretty, or desirous, or in that bar or on that street or in that car or born a girl.
It did not grant that. Men have used the scripture to do terrible deeds because we, as human beings, generally want to use whatever we can to support our own agendas rather than go by an abstract truth. A hateful bigot who has access to the Bible will try to use whatever verse he can to demonize another race when in reality that verse contradicts what he says. And the Bible does not teach that women are liars and sinners. It teaches that everyone is a liar and a sinner. Genesis 6 11-12, 1 Kings 8 46, and Ecclesiastes 7 20 prove this.
Also, Deuteronomy 22 25-27 provides protection for rape victims. And the idea that verses 28-29 says that rape victims must marry their husband is false when properly translated.
Tamara Kolton, who says she is a rabbi, no longer accepts the Bible as the word of God, yet still elevates our mother Eve to a divine status given her title as the mother of all living things. She is writing her book "Oranges for Eve: Walking The Way of the Divine Feminine” where I do not doubt that she will say such erroneous things about our mother again. All in the name of the #MeToo movement. A movement that can help the victims of such a heinous crime, but unfortunately it has been hijacked. If you have ever been sexually assaulted I encourage you to speak out. I pray that you will overcome this trial. I have had a few friends who were raped by the people they loved, yet they have overcome their struggle through perseverance and dedication. You can too.
Peace and blessings, and all praises to the Most High.
