In Women and the Gender of God, author Amy Peeler points out that Jesus, born of Mary, is a human male. We're comfortable with his humanness. In times of struggle and suffering we cry out to Jesus. It is his very humanity that gives us courage, as humans ourselves, to approach him in prayer. After... Continue Reading →
Dethroning the Masculine Ideal
Recently this book, "The Representative Women of the Bible," published in 1907 caught my eye. It was high on the top shelf in the library - tucked between numerous modern and post-modern works about women. I've read so many books about women - written by women and written by men. The concept of woman, her... Continue Reading →
“Prepare Me to Be a Sanctuary” 1 Pet 1:15-16
A few months ago, the rural congregation where my husband and I serve, opened the worship service with the song, Sanctuary. The prayerful refrain is repeated three times making it easy to remember. It goes like this: "Lord, prepare me to be a sanctuary, pure and holy, tried and true.With thanksgiving, I'll be a living... Continue Reading →
Getting Our ‘He’s & She’s’ Together!
In a recent article in CBE, James Nichols tells of a professor who attempted to give equal time to both male and female pronouns in his lectures. It worked this way, "for each time he used male pronouns such as “he” or “his,” he would use an equal number of female pronouns such as “she”... Continue Reading →
Will the Real Adam & Eve Please Come Forth
Drawing of the so-called Adam and Eve cylinder seal impression, a 22nd century BCE post-Akkadian cylinder seal, once though to depict, from left to right: the Eden serpent, Eve, the tree of Knowledge, and Adam. The modern interpretation rather suggests that to be a worshiping scene with a god (horned, right), a worshiper (left) and a symbolic date palm and snake. The original seal, made from greenstone, is now in the British Museum.