Does God Have a Wife?

I realized I haven't written anything very deep or thoughtful lately. I guess I feel uninspired or haven't found anything worth trying to digest and process on here.
Well, I have found something that has been puzzling me for a while. I'm reading a book called Jezebel by Lesley Hazleton. It's a non-fiction telling of the story of the interactions of Queen Jezebel, King Ahab, and Elijah from a historical perspective. When I first picked it up, I thought it was going to be a historical-fiction novel, but I have been pleasantly surprised by how interesting and informational it is. I'm not very knowledgeable of the Old Testament, and knew nothing of Jezebel, except that people use her name like a weapon; but I was never sure why. This book has already helped paint a picture of her influence on history, as well as who she and her husband were. I'll wait to recommend it (or not) when I finish it...
Anyway, the reason I'm writing this blog is because of something the author said and I cannot, for the life of me, figure out if it is true. Here is the passage from the book that has me puzzled:

"As Jezebel was yet to discover, Yahweh did indeed have a consort-- a lesser version of Astarte known as Asherah.
We know of her from ancient inscriptions calling down teh blessings of 'Yehweh and his Asherah' as well as from the Bible itself. In Jeremiah she is known as 'the queen of heaven,' and her image -- a stylized Tree of Life-- was placed beside the main alter in the temples of Yehweh." (pg. 43)

Is Asherah real? Is it a myth? Who is she? I found a few verses that talk about her:

Jeremiah 44:18

18But ever since we stopped burning incense to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have had nothing and have been perishing by sword and famine.”

Jeremiah 7:18

18The children gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead the dough and make cakes of bread for the Queen of Heaven. They pour out drink offerings to other gods to provoke me to anger.

Is she a superstition? Or is there such thing as a queen of heaven? Is there a female spirit up there with Jesus? Or is it humans trying to create a balance in their mind-- thinking that God needs a female counter-part since we, as humans, have males and females? I'm so confused by this! Because in Jeremiah 44:18 it sounds like she was taking offerings and helping to protect people... but then in (actually, it's first) it says they are provoking God by giving offerings to other gods. Does the Queen of Heaven qualify or is she with God so offerings to her count towards God as well? And if she really does exist, how come it's never been talked about? Why is shes never mentioned? What does/will that do to my faith? to others' faith? What kind of impact would it have if she does exist and churches start teaching about her and praising her like they do God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit? Is that even possible to happen? I have so many questions flying through my head!
I know I need to do some more research, but I'm surprised I've never heard of this before! If anyone has any sort of insight, please help me out!

Guest Blog- Back from the Future

Well, I have officially guest-blogged on someone else's site! Thanks to Paul for his help and Jason for letting me do so! Go check out my thoughts on Jason Clark's blog!! So the question is: Can you live in the moment?

Women: Leadership Positions in the Church

Whew! We finally had our discussion in my Bible study about women! It's been 3 weeks since we said we would have this discussion... that's a long time to make me wait to state my opinion... wait, I did state my opinion-- just to everyone else! (Sorry Jill!!)
So I thought I'd share what the night was like and the discussion we had (I am being very deliberate about it not being a debate.)
Oh, and I want to say a HUGE thank you to Makeesha, Molly, and my mom for helping me with this discussion! I couldn't have done as well without your help!
And as a warning, because this was a discussion and also because I wanted to be respectful and loving towards my fellow Bible studiers, I did not express my true opinions about what they thought/believed. So, as a result, I need somewhere to vent about what they said. So be prepared. I have to be honest and say that I tend to be a little harsh and very sarcastic, so be prepared. Okay, that was my disclaimer!
Also, there are lots of different parts and they all tend to be a little long, so I'm going to break them up into different parts so everyone can read them a little easier and can comment on each idea. I'd love to get everyone's insight and ideas about each subject. So comment away!

Women in leadership positions in the church
So Cheyenne led into it very smoothly and the discussion was off and running. I was the only advocate for egalitarian marriages versus leader/submissive marriages. Needless to say, I did a lot of talking. I'm not very good about stating my opinion when I disagree with everyone (or even one person for that matter), so I must say I did a pretty good job holding my ground. I made sure to note that I understand that people have their own understandings and convictions of relationships, but I just don't agree with it.
We started with the discussion of women in leadership in a church... some interesting ideas came out. One defense of women not being head pastors was that women actually have the honor of not being a head pastor because it protects them from the spiritual warfare and temptations that go along with that position.....????? I don't even know. Women can't handle life being difficult? I understand that higher positions tend to be attacked more (not even on a spiritual level) but why would it be an honor to not have to deal with that? Oh, thanks, I don't have to deal with anything. I'll just sit here and look pretty! (Can you sense my feelings about this?)
Women are given just as many and the same gifts as men. Why should they not be allowed to live out that gift? Women are given the job as Sunday-school teachers, whether they like it or not. Women are not allowed to have authority over men... but when does a boy become a man? 5 years old? 13? 18? 21? When is it okay for a woman to teach a boy (but not a man)? And what about mothers? Once their son reaches 18, does that mean she no longer has authority as a parent? Can she no longer teach him anything? On the day of his 18th birthday, does he automatically become smarter than his mother? Wait, isn't that called adolescence? ;-) I'm 21 and I'm still learning things from my parents. I don't think they'll ever stop teaching me things! So does age and definition of a man/woman really determine when and how a person can be taught? And why can't women be up front? The girls said that there's nothing wrong with them being part of the leadership team or even as an elder/deacon, but just not the head pastor. But don't the elders have more power than the head pastor? So why can't they be up front teaching everyone? I went to a church in high school where the youth pastor was a man (big surprise) but his wife was a much more gifted of a teacher than he will ever be! However, she was never allowed to teach in youth group. Was it because her husband had the authority over the youth group? I never got ANY spiritual feeding from him, but came away a changed person when his wife taught in the main service! Gasp! A woman was a better teacher than a man? How can that be? God gifted her as a teacher, but her skill and gift were not allowed to be used to touch young girls' and boys' lives.
If someone has a gift God has given them, they should live life and follow through with that gift. If someone is called to lead worship, they should lead worship. If they have the skill to plan an instrument, but don't have a calling to lead worship or be in the band, they shouldn't be in the band. God may want to use them elsewhere or use a different gift. We should not assume that whatever talent someone has they should use it in the church. We should let people follow what God has spoken to them and into their lives. And we should definitely NOT prevent someone from using a gift that God has called them to use, no matter what their gender is. If a man has been called to lead Sunday school and a woman has been called to be head pastor, let them do so, taking assurance in the fact that they are walking in God's will and God will bless them and the church as a result. God wants what is best for everyone, so we must let Him do so. We need to leave our pride and our prejudice (wait, isn't that a book?) at the door and allow God to move in our lives and our church. It'll be amazing to see what God can and will do when we finally allow Him full access to our church and our lives!

End of part one! There's more to come!

Fecal Reading and Bible-Dipping

"Finch's face reddened as his excitement grew. 'See? See the way the top of the coil breaks up out of the surface of the water? Holy Father!... Do you know what this means?...It means our financial situation is turning around, that's what it means. It means things are looking up. The shit is pointing out of the pot and up toward heaven, to God.'"
-- Augusten Burroughs, Running With Scissors, pg. 166-167

When reading the book, “Running with Scissors,” (which is a memoir, by the way—which means everything in the book actually happened!) the only thing you can say about it is that the people in it are absolutely insane. Not just weird and kinda crazy at times—they are completely, 100% insane. They eat dog food as a snack, let 13 and 14 year old children have relationships with 30 and 40 year old adults, eat candy off a 5 month old Christmas tree, and last but not least, believe God talks to them through their feces. This blog isn’t a review of the book. This is a commentary of the “insane” practices of Dr. Finch and his family.

While most of us don’t try to interpret the size, shape, and color of our feces, we do tend to use “insane,” surface-level, self-made ways of having God speak to us. For example, a much less insane instance in the story, one that could actually be part of people’s Bible-reading lives is this: Bible-dipping. The family in the story open their Bible and point to a random word to make their decisions or figure out what God is telling them about their lives.

"All the Finches did bible-dips. It was like asking a Magic Eight Ball a question, only you were asking God. The way it worked was, one person held the bible while another person thought of a question to ask God, like, 'Should I get my hair cut short?' Then the person holding the bible opened it at random, and the person asking the question dropped his or her finger on the page. Whatever word your finger landed on, this was your answer...In Thorne's Market Hope couldn't decide between a tuna or a turkey sandwich so, even though there was a line behind her, she pulled out her white bible. She did the dip herself, because she was in a hurry. 'Harvest,' she said...'Aren't turkeys grain fed? They are, I think. So that's pretty close to harvest... I'll take turkey. But on multigrain just to make sure.'"
-- Pg. 76-78

While all of the other practices of the Finch family would never be done by any normal or even slightly crazy person, Bible-dipping is actually a pretty common occurrence. I can admit that I’ve done something quite similar, by just randomly opening my Bible and reading whatever verse comes up first. I have to admit, God has talked to me by doing that, but I can count the number of times on one hand. However, it got me thinking about how small we make God. We make him manageable and simple—just open the Bible and He will talk to you. I believe the Bible is 100% true and God can speak through any verse at any time for any person, however, that is not usually the way He communicates. It also takes the work for the answers from God and gives it to ourselves. We are trying to find the answers on our own time with our own energy and random practices. It doesn't allow God to move in our lives as He pleases and with his perfect timing. It becomes all about us and fulfilling our own desires, not letting God fulfill us.

Another idea that is dealt with in the Bible-dipping is how far it’s taken. God should be the center of our lives and we should seek his guidance in everything. However, unlike the girl, Hope, who Bible-dips to decide what kind of sandwich to order, there is a point to where our free will comes into play.

God has given us free will. We can make decisions on our own, whether from personal taste/ character, or from past experience. Ordering a turkey sandwich instead of a tuna sandwich will not change your life. If you prefer turkey, order that—God has given that to you to enjoy. There is not a more “holy” meat or meal, and all food is good because God made all food. God has given it to us to enjoy. We have free will to choose what we like and dislike. If we have our lives completely consumed and focused on God, our actions will reflect the will of God. Our personal tastes, however, will not go away. God loves us and wants us to enjoy life. He didn’t create us to be robots, walking around unhappy and bored. He wants us to enjoy life, live it to the fullest. Enjoy and love the people around us. Love those who Jesus loves. Follow God wherever He leads. Don’t Bible-dip to find the answers—talk right to God and He will answer (in his own time, of course). And definitely don’t be examining your toilet for answers. God is big enough that He will answer you and you won’t have to search in your household appliances for the answers. We just have to be willing to receive the answer and do what He says. Our lives wont ever be boring or mundane if we walk in the will of God. God is crazy and chaotic and adventurous—it’s when we’re not walking in His will that life gets boring and purposeless. Sitting and listening to our incomprehensible maker is the only way to live!

Oh, and on another note, I highly recommend this book! It's definitely full of dark, twisted humor, but is incredibly interesting! If you like stories about crazy people, this book is definitely for you!