Mountain Athos Vs Women

[IceTea]

This mountain is located in Northern Greece. Women are not allowed to enter this mountain.

Is this one of the teachings of Christianity?

And don't you think it's against women rights?

[Kara]

Its a monastery, women aren't permitted so there is no temptation.

But there is a balance. Men aren't usually allowed into nunneries.

Here is a site about Orthodox Monastery and Convent etiquette for visitors.

http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/praxis/monastery_etiquette.aspx (http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/praxis/monastery_etiquette.aspx)

[IceTea]

But it's ok for example for Christian women to dress openly and show their hair,etc. Isn't this a more temptation?

[BliNd_MelOn]

I moved this thread to Religion, since its obviously what Ice Tea is aiming at.

Ice Tea, you like jumping from one topic to another.. Are you talking about the mountain where women are not allowed or now about not covering their hair?

Erm.. Many mulsem women DONT cover their hair.. Dont make this about "christians" :)

[Storm]

Ice Tea, no need to mix things !

Stick to your main point here. Further off topics will be deleted.

Thanks

[ToomuchaT]

I like IceTea way of approaching a point or "nailing a thumb" .. it's not jumping or mixing things.. it's a very clever way of tackling a problem.

[wudjab]

whats a thump ?

[ToomuchaT]

whats a thump ?


what is "whats" ?? .. Edited !!

[Jeff]

I kind of agree with ToomuchaT.

It seems to me Ice Tea is saying, "You seem to think that women are such a temptation to male monks that they shouldn't be allowed anywhere near them. If you think women are as tempting as all that, doesn't it make sense for them to dress more modestly for everyone, just as Islam advises? And doesn't the way the ordinary women dress in so-called Christian societies represent a worse problem?"

It is a clever question.

Yes, the problems with modesty in modern Western societies are a worse problem. But modern Western societies are not Christian. In fact, they tend in many ways to be anti-Christian.

Let me give you an example. My acquaintance, Dawn Eden, who goes to my church sometimes, was a secular Jew. She worked for the famous newspaper, the New York Post. When she converted to Catholicism, she was told by her editor that she couldn't admit to being a Christian and a Post employee publicly:


"Some people already think the Post is conservative, and we don’t need New York readers also thinking it’s a Christian paper and that there are Christians working there."

When asked by Gurley for comment, Gross said, "I don’t recall saying that. But I can’t swear that I didn’t. I mean, there’s no question people think we’re conservative." Gurley writes, "He added that he did caution her to cool it a bit in the future."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawn_Eden

If anything, modern Western culture is ANTI-Christian, it's certainly not Christian.

Monks are not just ordinary folks. They are Christians who want to live "the counsel of perfection." They take vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. And they live lives which consist of prayer, penance and work.

It's not that it's terrible to have women around (or for nuns, men). It's just that they don't allow it so they can focus their minds and spirituality on other things and not be tempted by thoughts--not just of sex, but of marriage and other good things related to it that they have given up for the sake of something even better, but very difficult.

Mount Athos is almost an independent country. It is called "a monastic republic". It is separate from the rest of Greece and is self-governing and consists of a federation of many monasteries. Its official name is The Autonomous Monastic State of the Holy Mountain. The monks are Eastern Orthodox, not Catholic.