Writer Claims God Is Sexual Assaulter in Adam and Eve Story, Shapiro Fires Back
Don’t cross political commentator Ben Shapiro, especially when it comes to religion.
On Thursday, Tamar Kolton, a rabbi and contributor for The Forward, drafted a piece titled, “The First Story In The Bible Was The First Case Of #MeToo.”
In the piece, Kolton compares the hallmark story from Genesis to the infamous case of former Olympic gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar who sexually assaulted over 150 young women.
“It’s time we all acknowledge an overwhelmingly powerful source of shame and silence — in the bible,” Kolton writes in her Op-Ed.
“The founding myth of Judeo-Christian religion, the story of Eve, granted generations of men permission to violate women. It teaches us that women are liars and sinners,” Kolton claims. “Even if ‘She’ is telling the truth, she deserved it.”
“Here is a young, beautiful, intelligent, naked woman living in a state of Grace. She’s hungry, so she does the most natural thing in the world and eats a piece of fruit,” she continues. “For following her instincts, trusting herself, and nourishing her body, she is punished.
“Her punishment? She will never again feel safe in her nakedness. She will never again love her body. She will never again know her body as a place of sacred sovereignty.”
In Kolton’s view, Eve is silenced by God in the same way that hundreds of young female gymnasts were silenced by a sexual predator.
God, who Kolton claims is a work of “fiction” and “man-made myth,” supposedly also serves as the “man-made figurehead of the patriarchy.”
Shapiro, an adherent to Orthodox Judaism, took issue with Kolton’s “intellectually execrable” comments and proceeded to lay into her in an Op-Ed of his own.
“The story of Adam and Eve has literally nothing to do with sexual assault,” Shapiro wrote in his response. “It has to do with Eve refusing to obey a Godly command not to eat from a certain tree at the behest of the snake, then telling Adam to do so as well, then lying to God about it. End of story.”
Shapiro continued: “There is simply no way to read the story of Adam and Eve and come away with the notion that Eve wanted to raid the fridge. The snake explicitly discusses with her the consequences for eating the fruit, and tempts her to do so by stating that she will become like God.”
The Harvard Law then provides full context for Kolton’s claim of God silencing Eve by referencing Genesis 3:13: “Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
“That’s not her being silent. That’s her answering. And it’s also Eve denying responsibility for her own actions, which is the point of the story. But Kolton apparently doesn’t read English, so she continues with her nonsensical point,” Shapiro states before providing another snapshot of Kolton’s work.
The Daily Wire editor-in-chief reminded his readers that the story of Adam and Eve isn’t a tale of sexual misconduct; rather, it’s a story of temptation and disobedience where both Adam and Eve suffer consequences for their actions.
“God commands Adam. He commands Eve. He punishes Adam. He punishes Eve. He punishes the snake. The end,” Shapiro wrote.
“And is God cruelly punishing Eve? Of course not. He promises to kill both Adam and Eve, and doesn’t kill either of them, because He is merciful … And then He comforts them by giving Adam and Eve clothing He makes for them in order to respect their own sense of modesty: remember, God never commanded them to make clothing,” he added. “They made clothing for themselves after eating from the tree.”
Shapiro concluded his defense of the Bible by taking one last parting jab at Kolton.
“Eve wasn’t sexually harassed or assaulted by God. She wasn’t a #MeToo victim,” he wrote. “The only victims in this piece are Kolton’s readers, who all lost IQ points simply by sticking around to read it.”
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