Saturday, August 22, 2009

David and the she bear

There has been quite a hullabaloo about Elisha and the two she bears who mauled 42 children. But to whom are King David and his mighty men compared? A she bear.

    They are enraged, like a bear robbed of her cubs in the field. 2 Sm. 17:8.


I was going to say that almost nothing is more dangerous than a she bear. Then I realized how wrong I was. A cougar is probably considerably more dangerous. Here is a good clip of a mama cougar taking on a bear.



Someone suggested that I blog about whether or not vulnerability is a predominantly feminine characteristic, and protectiveness a predominantly masculine characteristic. I would have to ask for clarification on the species. Do essential gender characteristics cross species and orders? That is, is there a similarity in masculine qualities that applies to God and humans, but not to animals, or is there supposed to be some consistency? Or did God create animals so that we would understand that essential gender characteristics flip flop back and forth by species? Or are we just barking up the wrong tree altogether?

Enough pseudo philosophy - enjoy this little clip.

5 comments:

Peter Kirk said...

I wouldn't want to get in the way of a she-human robbed of her cubs, I mean children, either.

believer333 said...

Or did God create animals so that we would understand that essential gender characteristics flip flop back and forth by species?

From personal observation, I would say that all general fleshly associated characteristics flip flop around in the animal kingdom and there is no consistency at all. Then I have to note that as humans and spiritual beings in the image of God, full of a special creativity, humans have always been able to choose to be whatever we wanted. We can behave like wolves, monkeys, lions, black widows, etc. you name it.

Thus the idea that women must behave in certain vlunerable or protective ways to be considered feminine just doesn't fly in reality. Same goes for men and masculinity. It is the attempt at boxing people into controlled types that injures people.

Frankly, anyone who tries to take a mother's child from them is going to have trouble. It's difficult to say who is going to be more protective or defensive, mother or father.

Doug said...

I believe it is well known that it is the worm (also known as the dragon) that is the mightiest of all animals; it was the only creature expelled from the garden.

And its most frightening form is the "bookworm" which reportedly can induce hypnotic states in the other beasts (some call it charming). Even more remarkable, the bookworm can even wield a pen, which if ancient customs are to be believed, is mightier than a sword.

believer333 said...

Good one Doug. :)

Suzanne McCarthy said...

Thank you, Doug. :-)