Heads up! (Or, unfortunately, heads off…) One of the most evil women in biblical history shows up in the lectionary (Proper 10, Year B) this Sunday. Her name is Herodias; she’s married to the terroristic Herod, and she is the catalyst for the head of John the Baptist winding up on a platter. She is bloodthirsty, vengeful, selfish, ruthless—and a really bad...
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Sensual. Tender. Loving. Discerning. Clearly Mary of Bethany was Jesus' soulmate. How else might we describe a woman who sits at Jesus’ feet, listens carefully to his every word, pours expensive oil over said feet, then dries them with her hair? Jesus has no better friend; no better listener; no better soul partner. The setting: Martha’s small home in Bethany. A scant two...
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Just heard yesterday that Bible Women: All Their Words and Why They Matter has won a gold medal from Illumination Book Awards in the category of Bible Study. We're excited about this, and have lots of people to thank, especially those from Forward Movement, the Episcopal Church Women, and the research team. And those Bible women! It would seem they...
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In these post-election days—depending on your point of view, of course—things might seem widely out of control, depressing, exhaustive, nonsensical. It might have appeared that way, too, in ancient Israel, in about the year 1150 BC...
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What do we know about Bible women? Research conclusion #1: Bible women, especially those who speak, are surprisingly bold. Traditionally, the view of Bible women has been they are subservient and passive—but that is like saying the earth is flat, or environmental disasters have nothing to do with climate change. Shrinking violets they are not. Immoral or moral, most step up and say...
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After four years of research, and studying every page of the Bible, we can identify ninety-three specific woman in the Bible who spoke. Some of those are individuals (seventy-eight spoke individually), and the rest are in groups. Many faith communities are bigger. Most schools are bigger. A group that size would not fill the seats in the United States Senate. A...
Read MoreRead MoreEver wonder how many words in the Bible are said by women? Several of us have just spent almost four years researching that very question...
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