Is It Easier For A Woman To Love Jesus?

[Kris]

In one word, NO!! I am a woman and I have never loved Jesus but really have been basically terrified of him my entire life. I always used to pray for him NOT to return!

[seven77]

Is It Easier for a Woman to Love Jesus?: Perspectives

 

Girls:
--Jesus can fly. He is perfect. He'll never let you down or hurt you. Ever. Only Daddy SkyGod is allowed to do that. Any unresolved issues you have with Daddy SkyGod or your real life Daddy will be transferred to Jesus and/or the ONE in adolescense.

Teens, 20s, Singles:
--Jesus is your boyfriend and He is jealous. (From here on out, we'll call him Jealie-Jesus.) This is not a healthy relationship. Don't even look at other people (especially in a lustful fashion). Don't touch yourself either, that's evil. In fact, spend as much time as possible fantasizing about this ideal relationship with an invisible guy called Jesus and only wank to thoughts of Him until He brings you together with the ONE He made just for you.

After awhile, you'll get tired of not being able to scratch that itch or you'll meet somebody that gets you revved up in that special way and you'll get engaged and married. If you're "lucky", this will happen sometime between the ages of 18-24, sparing you the long stretch of time in your mid 20s-early 30s where you spend a lot of time alone with your secret collection of erotic literature and masturbatory aids. Because the guilt from indulging in such things will crush your soul and damage your relationship with Jealie-Jesus who is envious of your massaging shower head and the library of erotica on your laptop.

Engaged, Married and Single Past a Certain Age
--Jesus is your husband, boyfriend, and bestie all in one.

If you're engaged, you're excited. You're marrying a human man, so sex-ahoy!. But wait, you're also about to enter into this wonderful understanding of the mystical relationship between Christ and His church.

Once you get married, it's like ZOMG!. You get to have sex without guilt (well, maybe, if you stay strict vanilla, no swinging, no weird fetishes, no same-sex attraction hiding in your heart, no birth control depending on how deep you are into the trusting God thing). But it's so damn hard to keep your relationship with Jealie-Jesus going strong when you're involved in a real relationship with a flesh-blood-and-penis m-a-n. Oh no's! What to do?

Spend a lot of time in prayer thanking the Lord of All that He blessed you with that flesh-blood-and-penis m-a-n you call a husband of course! And if that husband of yours ain't a believer, well, you gots a problem. Best get down on your knees and praise Jesus by getting your dear husband to suck Jealie-Jesus off while you fondle his prostate with a Bible in hand. Everything's better when it's blessed by the Lord, ain't it?

Even a non-believing husband ain't as bad as being single, you tell yourself. Oh Jesus, I'm so glad I'm not an old maid! Who wants to be a dried up groomless bride?

Us old maids can still get off to Jesus once a week and I don't have to cook if I don't want to. All I gotta do is give 10% of my paycheck to the pastor and keep talking to Jealie-Jesus on a regular basis until He gives me THE CALL. Or something. Maybe He'll send me a text message with the name of THE ONE!!! in it. Squee! Without a husband, I'm nothing and boo hoo hoo, I'm a worthless shrew according to all of the good girls who got married before they knew what a clitoris was.

Lesbians, Asexuals, and other outlier ladies
--Jesus is your buddy ol' pal and maybe one day you'll find his male-bodied image-bearers attractive enough to reproduce with. If you never get there, that's ok. Just remember that if you build a life with someone of the same gender, you'll have to dump 'em and get with a guy if Jealie-Jesus says so. And all you asexual ladies who feel nothing, Jealie-Jesus isn't pleased. There ain't no difference between won't and don't in the Holey Word of The Lord, y'know.

Conclusion:

 

A woman's relationship with Jesus depends on where she is in life and whether or not she able to view him in a non-sexual romantic context. Difficult to do unless you've lost all relation to reality, imo.

[Blood]

I dunno, but in researching this, I came across an interesting article about how churches in America are dying.

 

somewhere between 4,000 and 7,000 churches close their doors every year. Southern Baptist researcher, Thom Rainer, in a recent article entitled "13 Issues for Churches in 2013" puts the estimate higher. He says between 8,000 and 10,000 churches will likely close this year.

 

That's an encouraging statistic.

 

That's great news. I can't figure out yet if the "mega-church" phenomenon represents the new normal in America Protestantism, or if it represents its last, desperate, dying belch. It certainly is a harbinger of the complete irrelevancy of religion in the 21st Century. 

 

I remembering going once to my uncle's church in the '80s or '90s. It was all old people like him. Their kids had moved away or didn't care. When my uncle's generation died out, the church closed. Eventually, some Latinos bought it and I believe turned it Catholic. 

[Blood]

Men do not want to go to church. I suspect most of them only do it because their wives force them. When women stop going to church, the church dies. 

 

But men of course love the "god" concept, because men love power and control. I think if there were churches for the manly Norse gods, men would want to go to church. 'Cause Thor is somebody men can admire and respect. Jesus? Not so much. 

 

My observation (as a man) was that women are attracted to the safety and security that a church brings: camping trips for the kids, all sorts of clean, safe, family-friendly social activities. Churches strongly promote the unity and stability of families. Look at how many Christian conservative groups have "family" in their name: the "Family Research Council," etc. 

 

I'm guessing women love Jesus because he was supposedly a compassionate and ethical man who "so loved the world" that he was willing to give his life for that love. They just ignore the parts where he sounds like an insane cult leader/control freak (which is most of it). 

 

True story: I dated a woman once to whom I asked, in a moment of frustration, what kind of man she was looking for. "I want a man like Jesus Christ," she told me, in all sincerity. So, yes, some women are literally in love with Jesus. No "earthly" man will suffice. 

[seven77]

As a woman, I can't tell you why most Christian woman love Jesus. I never did, although I tried. Maybe some of this is due to my being attracted to women and not really being able (or willing, as some in my old church told me) to fall in love with this perfect man called Jesus.

 

I do agree that many women are attracted to the security and safety of the church, especially during their 20s and 30s and if/when they have kids. I think that the emphasis on marriage, family, etc is what scares a lot of the younger guys away. At least the ones who aren't damaged headcases or joined at the rib with a woman. I know the ratio of single guys to single ladies at my old church was like .000001 to 5. There were only 2 single guys over 25 at my old church that I knew of. One was an aspiring ex-gay; the other had been through a nasty divorce and had sole custody of his two daughters. Single ladies? Probably at least 50, maybe more. Single mothers? Quite a few.

 

Most of the guys at my church had gotten married young to their first everything. They were (for the most part) nerds who were way into Star Wars, DC comics superheroes, and Warrior-Christ. A few of the guys were balls deep into fantasy football; some of them were waaaay into Call of Duty and/or Halo. There was a group for poker and Texas Hold 'Em enthusiasts too, and it was all guys.

 

More guys probably would go to church if it were centered around a badass god like Thor instead of a pantywaist who gets beaten to a pulp and nailed to a cross. Then again, I think that institution of church as it stands here in America is dying out. Nothing can make it cool or more relevant. People just don't give a shit about having their sins forgiven. Most people go because they're lonely. Or they're enticed by the megachurch and its indoor track, basketball courts, gym and endless array of groups, classes, programs and cradle to college ministries. In other words, amenities and communities are what draw people in, not Jesus and the promise of a new life.

 

That's why I have hope that more groups like the Sunday Assembly start to pop up in the future. That way we can have communities that aren't based on bullshit stories from a book that has outlived its usefulness.

[Blood]

"amenities and communities are what draw people in, not Jesus and the promise of a new life."

 

I wonder how many people who go to church really believe that if they don't go, they won't have an afterlife? It's just so pointless. Faith in Christ, i.e. doing nothing, is supposed to be all there is to a free ticket to heaven. The church is the most redundant and antiquated institution in the world, which, by its own precepts, doesn't even need to exist. 

 

People today forget that the promise of an afterlife -- not indoor track -- was the main draw to church for hundreds of years. You went to church because your little sect was the only one that knew the secrets of God. You went to church to find out those secrets. 

[Guest MadameX]

I've heard this idea, that Christianity is skewed towards the female's interests, ie serving to domesticate the men. It can help reduce philandering, encourage monogamy and support of a woman and children.

 

As far as a 'relationship' with Jesus, our female minds are particularly adept at relating to other agents, whether that be a human or a pet that we anthropomorphize, or a fantasy husband named Jesus. Men are, surprise surprise, just not as into the nuances of social relationships/emotional connection.

 

 

I do agree that many women are attracted to the security and safety of the church, especially during their 20s and 30s and if/when they have kids. I think that the emphasis on marriage, family, etc is what scares a lot of the younger guys away.

[Burny]

I've always told my wife that if Jesus wasn't a long-haired, kind hippie who supposedly was kind and gentle (ignoring some parts of his biography), but rather was a beautiful young women with endless passion I would never have de-converted...

Seriously though - I had issues with male closeness thanks to growing up in a repressive Dutch house / church and that certainly made it awkward for me to bond with Jesus and even pray to the Father.