Mentor/s
Dr. Brian Stiltner Dr. Sandra Young
Participation Type
Paper Talk
Abstract
In this paper, I will be discussing how the use of the word father in the Bible has created and continues to create a church hierarchy in which women cannot hold authority equivalent to a man, thereby displaying that the propagation of Father God impacts how women function in today’s society. First, I explore the use of the word father in both the earlier and late portions of the Bible and the lines drawn to certain male traits. Often in the Old Testament and portions of the text that “advise,” we understand the disciplining authority of God, how God is the father that punishes and holds power over his children in the same way the church explains the father of a house can. In the New Testament, specifically the life of Jesus, we see an exclusivity on the knowledge of Father God. He is one that selects certain individuals to be the carriers and holders of sacred truths and dominion. Within these portions of the text comes frequent reference to the apostles, moments in which Jesus draws authority from his Father and through this knowledge and love, bestows it onto the twelve apostles. Moments like these in the Bible serve as primary reasoning for the sole ordination of men: because there were no female apostles and because the power comes from the father and women cannot biologically be fathers, they are barred from integral human experiences in the church such as performing transubstantiation as a stand-in for Jesus, performing reconciliation as a stand-in for God, and being able to make decisions with Papal infallibility. Thus, due to the use of the word father and the fact that linking God to the word father places a specific biology to our grand authority, we continue to create a society and a religious culture that women cannot represent the entity that we hold in our highest regard and consideration.
College and Major available
Biology, Theater Arts
Location
Session N: West Campus West Building W140
Start Day/Time
4-29-2022 1:15 PM
End Day/Time
4-29-2022 2:15 PM
Prize Categories
Best Multidisciplinary Research or Collaboration, Most Scholarly Impact or Potential, Most Creative
The Social and Hierarchical Implications of the Propagation of a Male God
Session N: West Campus West Building W140
In this paper, I will be discussing how the use of the word father in the Bible has created and continues to create a church hierarchy in which women cannot hold authority equivalent to a man, thereby displaying that the propagation of Father God impacts how women function in today’s society. First, I explore the use of the word father in both the earlier and late portions of the Bible and the lines drawn to certain male traits. Often in the Old Testament and portions of the text that “advise,” we understand the disciplining authority of God, how God is the father that punishes and holds power over his children in the same way the church explains the father of a house can. In the New Testament, specifically the life of Jesus, we see an exclusivity on the knowledge of Father God. He is one that selects certain individuals to be the carriers and holders of sacred truths and dominion. Within these portions of the text comes frequent reference to the apostles, moments in which Jesus draws authority from his Father and through this knowledge and love, bestows it onto the twelve apostles. Moments like these in the Bible serve as primary reasoning for the sole ordination of men: because there were no female apostles and because the power comes from the father and women cannot biologically be fathers, they are barred from integral human experiences in the church such as performing transubstantiation as a stand-in for Jesus, performing reconciliation as a stand-in for God, and being able to make decisions with Papal infallibility. Thus, due to the use of the word father and the fact that linking God to the word father places a specific biology to our grand authority, we continue to create a society and a religious culture that women cannot represent the entity that we hold in our highest regard and consideration.
Students' Information
Biology and Theatre Arts
Honors Student
2023