God’s task of Creation, as described in Genesis, involves separating light and darkness, earth and water, male and female … But that’s only the beginning of a story which aspires to a balancing and harmonizing of opposites.
The symbol of the tao in Chinese philosophy suggests such a balancing. The tao is a circle which is divided into two halves — one dark and one light — with a small point of lightness in the dark half and a small point of darkness in the light half. The dark half represents the principle of yin — the passive or feminine power of Creation. The light half represents the principle of yang — the active or masculine power of Creation.
The tao signifies not only the opposites in our universe — light and dark, expansion and contraction, masculine and feminine — but how these opposites complement one another and are essential to the balance of creation and the wholeness of living beings. This principle of balance — hot and cold, wet and dry — is viewed as central to physical and mental health in Chinese medicine.
Hence, yin and yang, male and female, are meant to stay in balance with one another. When societies deny the complementarity of opposites — as in the slavery or segregation of Black people by white people — they do so at great peril.
In ancient Greek and Roman cultures, male gods were revered as more powerful than female gods, as reflected in the male-dominated structure of their societies. The monotheistic and patriarchal religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam have likewise been shaped by images of God as masculine.
Riane Eisler, in her 1987 book “The Chalice and the Blade,” points to strong evidence of a culture in the Neolithic and early Bronze Age which was not male-dominated. In this Mediterranean culture which spanned hundreds of years there appears to have been a partnership and equality in male and female leadership roles. Archaeological artifacts suggest this culture venerated the Goddess, encouraging a spirit of cooperation, peace and nurturing of life which discouraged war making. Further evidence points to the invasion of this peaceful culture by nomadic tribes from the north who violently subjugated their captives. This invading culture venerated masculine gods who ruled through dominance and violence.
We have seen such a clash of cultures in our country’s history leading up to the current obsession in the Trump administration with the hypermasculine “alpha male,” most notably in the person of Pete Hegseth, the “Secretary of War.” As Trump’s point man in recent aggressions, Hegseth has glorified the use of violent force — what he calls “lethality” — and the need to create a muscular military which is purged of feminine influence, where women are increasingly challenged to measure up to male standards and to fend off the chronic threat of sexual assault. In his prayer services at the Pentagon, Hegseth invokes an unabashed Christian nationalism which he connects with the brutal campaigns of the Crusades.
We have witnessed and continue to witness the bully culture of this administration in its disregard for “the least of these,” its use of brute force and coercion against immigrants and political enemies, its homophobia and fear of the feminization of boys. Trump portrays himself as a kind of divine emperor dispensing not only justice (“I am your retribution”) but benevolent healing (“I alone can fix it”) and as a robed figure coming to the assistance of an ailing nation. He builds monuments to himself and uses the Bible and the flag to sanctify his eminence.
In the Christian Gospels, Jesus repeatedly rejects such bullying and idolatry, advocating a nonviolent approach to conflict resolution, valuing the stranger, the poor, the disabled, advocating love and forgiveness for one’s enemies rather than dominance, vengeance and hate. Contrary to the male practice of his time of shunning the company of women, Jesus invites women into his innermost circle, welcoming them as treasured companions on the Way. He encourages a sharing of resources rather than a greedy hoarding.
In most of the world’s religions, we continue to see male dominance and the suppression of female voices. A notable exception would be the earth-based Wiccan who have been persecuted for thousands of years, often burned as witches. All of us, whether identified as male, female, nonbinary or transgender, have both male and female in our makeup. There is an inherent androgyny in God’s Creation. It seems at the heart of our being there is a principle which seeks a harmonizing of opposites, a balancing relationship which, instead of threatening life, seeks to nurture, protect and sustain life — not through war but through cooperation.
As Paul writes in Ephesians 2:14-16: “For he is our peace who has made us both one, and has broken down the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing in his flesh the law of commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new person in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body …”
A graduate of Harvard Divinity School, Ben Tousley is a retired hospice chaplain who lives in Greenfield and attends Mt Toby Meeting of Friends in Leverett. He worked for many years as a folksinger and storyteller and taught as an adjunct professor at Springfield College School of Human Services. His book of poetry, “This Life,” was recently released.
]