Faith, Feminism, And The Forum Of Scripture [Hardcover]

Faith and feminism unite in these essays to explore the theology of the Hebrew Bible as testimony to the faith of ancient Israel and as a source for Christian theology and ethics. Each chapter in Faith, Feminism, and the Forum of Scripture approaches the Bible as a site of theological reflection in which multiple voices are heard (in chorus and debate), as a forum that invites readers to join the conversation and extend it. Acknowledging the patriarchal world of the Bible and the androcentric distortions of its views of both human and divine, they identify foundations and directions that point beyond the cultural frames of the texts. Individual essays present the possibility of an Old Testament theology that integrates feminist insights and concerns into the full range of theological subjects; discuss the theological anthropology of the Hebrew Bible and its root texts in the Genesis creation accounts; outline a proposed new understanding of the authority of the Bible consonant with its nature as a historical, multivocal, and multivalent document; and offer a critical and constructive appraisal of the Old Testament's contribution to current debate on the place of homosexual persons and relations in the church. How does biblical theology take different shapes in different cultural contexts? How is the Bible authoritative for the church? How does historical criticism helpfully inform feminist biblical interpretation? How does gender analysis inform both OT anthropology generally and OT texts about homosexuality in particular? Four essays by eminent senior scholar Phyllis Bird . . . address these and other important questions. Bird's theological sensitivity, consummate exegetical skill, and meticulously crafted arguments are evident throughout. A must-read for both church and academy. --Katharine Doob Sakenfeld, Princeton Theological Seminary Long recognized as a pioneer in feminist biblical hermeneutics who demonstrated the essential role of historical critical sl£¼