In the beginning the very beginning, not the patriarchal, colonial beginning In the beginning was the Word which may have been a grunt, a vibration, a thought, a feeling a woman or man or a non-binary being In the beginning… Read More ›
Bible
On Ki Teitzei: Rules and the Importance of Religion by Ivy Helman
The Torah parshah Ki Teitzei, Deutornomy 21:10 to 25:19, contains 74 of the 613 commandments/mitzvot found in the Torah. These mitzvot cover a wide range of topics and concerns. For example, there are mitzvot about how to sow and harvest… Read More ›
Behaalotecha: Lessons and Questions for Feminists by Ivy Helman.
This week’s Torah parshah is Behaalotecha: Numbers 8:1 to 12:16. By now, much of what comes to pass should sound familiar. The parshah starts with another discussion of leadership and the priesthood. It then prescribes a second Pesach for those… Read More ›
What Can We Do to Weaken Privilege? by Elise M. Edwards
In my previous post, I talked about discussing the concept of privilege (male privilege, white privilege, and class privilege) with nuance. Earlier that week, I had led a workshop at a local church on “Fine-tuning Privilege,” using Peggy McIntosh’s 1989… Read More ›
Ruminations on Emor by Ivy Helman
This week’s Torah portion is Emor, or Leviticus 21:1 – 24:23. It details purity and the priesthood including whose funeral a priest can attend, who can marry a priest, bodily blemishes and temple services, and under what circumstances daughters of… Read More ›
Vayikra: No Temple Required by Ivy Helman
This week’s Torah portion is Vayikra (Leviticus 1:1 – 5:26). Vayikra is essentially one long discourse on animal sacrifice with an occasional grain or oil offering included. This killing of animals, their subsequent burning and the shared eating of their… Read More ›
Eve by Any Other Name… by Janet Rudolph
This title isn’t entirely true. Eve would need an exceptionally well thought out replacement for Her name to be as sweet as it already it. That is because Eve’s name is unique, multi-dimensional and integral to the Bible’s mysteries. The… Read More ›
Vayigash: Lessons from Joseph’s Behavior by Ivy Helman
Parshah Vayigash covers Genesis 44:18 to 47:27. It involves the reunification of Joseph with his brothers and his father, the immigration of Jacob’s entire family to Egypt and Joseph successfully leading Egypt through famine. In other words, the parshah provides… Read More ›
Unexpected Divine Encounters by Katey Zeh
As I finalize my manuscript for Women Rise Up, to be published with the FAR press in early 2019, I want to share this excerpt from my chapter on Mary Magdalene. The Spirit of God moves at unexpected times and places…. Read More ›
The Women of Lech Lecha by Ivy Helman.
The parshah for this week is Lech Lecha (Genesis 12:1-17:27). I’ve actually written about Lech Lecha on this forum before, concentrating on the parental aspects of the divine. See here. However, this time I want to look at the Torah… Read More ›
On Vayelech, Its Context and Theodicy by Ivy Helman
The Torah parshah for this week (to be read on 15 September) is Vayelech (Devarim/Deut. 31:1 – 30). September 15th is also Shabbat Shuvah (return), the Shabbat that falls between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. It is the time of… Read More ›
Lessons from Shofetim by Ivy Helman.
This is the first part of a series of reflections on the weekly Torah portions. For those of you unfamiliar with Judaism, we read the Torah in sections. There are 52 parshot (or portions), one parshah (portion) is read each… Read More ›
Did You Have to Make Her a Prostitute? by Elizabeth Cunningham
When I toured with The Passion of Mary Magdalen, opening by belting out the first paragraphs of the novel’s prologue in song, (ending with the line “when only a whore is awake!”) that question almost always came up. In celebration… Read More ›
Thus Saith Eve BOOK REVIEW by Katie M. Deaver
“I am the Queen of Sheba and I am not impressed.” This is the first line of one of the monologues from chris wind’s book Thus Saith Eve. This book features 18 stories of biblical women, and a 19th, Lilith,… Read More ›
Protecting the Children, Jesus Christ Superstar Style by Marisa Goudy
“Where is my mother? I am thirsty.” My four year old is crooning quietly to her dolls. She is making sense of the crucifixion through play, asking her Disney princesses to stand in for Jesus, the Marys, and “the bad… Read More ›
Ethics of Goddess Religion: Healing the World by Carol P. Christ
Nurture life. Walk in love and beauty. Trust the knowledge that comes through the body. Speak the truth about conflict, pain, and suffering. Take only what you need. Think about the consequences of your actions for seven generations. Approach the… Read More ›
The Blessing of Spiritual Direction by Elise M. Edwards
Five years ago, I moved to Texas from California. In that time, my spiritual practice and my feminist and womanist worldview has grown through contemplative practices. It’s ironic. “Everything’s bigger in Texas!” the saying goes, but in the presence of… Read More ›
I’m not proud to be Christian – and no one else should be, either by Trelawney Grenfell-Muir
I hear a lot of people talking lately about how they are no longer proud to be Christian. They point to the vocal conservative churches and leaders who support Trump, condemn and exclude LGBTQ people, oppress female bodies and sexuality,… Read More ›
A Feminist Retelling of Noah’s Ark by Trelawney Grenfell-Muir
My daughters came to me after Sunday School one day, concerned about a story they had heard in which God drowned almost everyone on Earth. So I sat down and thought about why a community might want to tell that… Read More ›
The Least of These, Are the Most of Us by Karen Leslie Hernandez
I’ve recently found myself in one of the most disadvantaged neighborhoods in San Francisco, helping provide over 2000 meals a day to those in need. Let me reiterate that number… 2000+ meals. A day. Not only does this number illustrate… Read More ›
Bible Study Back in the White House after 100 Years – And… They Still Hate Gays and Women! by Marie Cartier
So, I am perusing my twitter feed and I come across this headline: White House Bible Study Led by Pastor Who Is Anti-Gay, Anti-Women and Anti-Catholic The opening paragraphs read like my LGBTQ+ religious studies nightmare: “The first Bible study… Read More ›
The Doubt of the Empty Tomb and the Hope for Tomorrow by Katie M. Deaver
I recently had the opportunity to travel to my undergrad institution on a student recruitment trip. During this trip I was able to preach during the college’s weekday chapel service. Despite the fact that I have lived, studied, and worked… Read More ›
Meet the Bible Bitches: Interview with Rev. Laura Barclay and Sara Hof
What do you get when you have two ladies, one a Baptist Minister living in KY and one an agnostic living in LA, making jokes and talking about the Bible? Don’t know? You get the new and exciting podcast Bible Bitches!
Queen Esther from The Goddess Project: Made in Her Image by Colette Numajiri
Queen Esther An orphan child, who became a well respected queen, Esther, the Queen of Persia, was a woman of integrity, Wisdom and courage, a beautiful woman, truly supreme, favored by God, She had a awareness of dependability, steady strong,… Read More ›
Esther’s Choice — And Ours by Joyce Zonana
The Book of Esther tells a story in which women’s power is not so much repressed as asserted. The king who banishes one queen finds himself submitting to the will of another. Numerous women writers of various ethnic, religious, and racial backgrounds in the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries have found inspiration in the stories of both Esther and Vashti’s disobedience to an autocratic king.
The Spirit and Jarena Lee: Inspiration to Break Boundaries by Elise M. Edwards
I am so frustrated that we are still fighting to affirm women’s place in leadership. I’ve been thinking about this struggle in the context of church ministries (especially preaching) and social activism, seeing a stark contrast between the way institutional… Read More ›
The Trouble with Boaz by Katey Zeh
I’ve always been troubled by the story of Boaz found in the Book of Ruth. While there are plenty of biblical narratives that horrify me–Hagar, Tamar, and other “texts of terror” as Phyllis Trible called them–the story of Boaz is… Read More ›
David’s Loves, Jonathan’s Laments by Dirk von der Horst
LGBTQ+ people in biblical religions often turn to the story of Jonathan’s love for David as an example of biblical affirmation of same-sex love. The biblical narrative in 1 and 2 Samuel stresses Jonathan’s love for David from the moment… Read More ›
Bikini Season by Sarah Kiefer
I grew up in a suburban town stuck in the middle of rural Indiana. I drove through corn fields to get to school and on more than one occasion I did have to crawl through my sun roof to get… Read More ›
The Nature of Communal Pondering by Elise M. Edwards
Last week, I listened to an episode of Krista Tippett’s series On Being that featured an interview with poet Marilyn Nelson. I am not very knowledgeable about the world of modern poetry, but I am familiar with Nelson’s work. A… Read More ›
