The purpose of this forum is to facilitate communication and mutual support and edification among those who strive toward gender justice in Churches of Christ. If you would like to join the forum, send an e-mail (including your first and last name) from your primary address to forum@gal328.org.
Brent caught this story on NPR on his way home from work, a reflection from a Drew Theological Seminary graduate on the complexities of dressing as a female pastor. (Can you go sleeveless? Wear sandals?) I thought it was interesting enough to share here...I remember that the first time I ever met Katie Hays, one of my fellow ACU classmates asked her, "when you preach, what do you wear???"
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5522718
:::posted by Jennifer on 6/29/2006 07:41:00 PM
It is interesting to contemplate that three major American denominations are now led by women:
The Rev. Dr. Sharon Watkins of Bartlesville, Oklahoma was elected General Minister and President of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) at their general assembly in Portland, Oregon in July, 2005.
The Rev. Joan S. Gray of Atlanta, Georgia was elected Moderator of the Presbyterian Church (USA) at their general assembly in Birmingham, Alabama in June, 2006.
The Rt. Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, Bishop of Nevada, was elected Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church (USA) at their general convention in Columbus, Ohio in July, 2006.
This last has led to much recent news reportage about deepening divisions within the Anglican communion. With that in mind, our readers may enjoy reading "Women's Service in the Church: The Biblical Basis," by Dr. N. T. Wright, the Bishop of Durham, England. Wright is one of the giants of biblical scholarship in our time, whose academic rigor and steadfast devotion to the Bible have won him admiration and respect of both liberals and conservatives around the world. This essay is the text of a public lecture he delivered at a symposium on "Men, Women, and the Church" at St. John's College, Durham, on September 4, 2004.
Is the Episcopal Church (USA) out of sync with the worldwide Anglican Communion, or are they leading the way? On the subject of women in ministry, at least, here is one leading Anglican bishop who supports the American trend, building his case for women from careful reading of the biblical texts.
--Chris
:::posted by Christopher on 6/22/2006 10:02:00 PM
Hey, the blog springs to life!
Keith, I tried to respond to your post a couple of weeks ago, but something went haywire with the blogger software, and then I got distracted and never got back to it. Thanks for pointing out the gnostic passages you had in mind and for reminding me of some details in gnostic writings that I hadn't thought about for a long time.
Jen, congratulations! Okay, congrats also to Brent. We wish the all best for Clare.
--Chris
:::posted by Christopher on 6/22/2006 09:57:00 PM
Congrats from all the Gal328 family to Jen and Brent at the birth of Clare! Go check out the pics if you haven't yet.
:::posted by Chad on 6/21/2006 01:44:00 PM
P.S. Not to interrupt the discussion, but if anyone would like to see some pics of the brand-new Clare Madalyn Thweatt Bates, you can check out my blog.
:::posted by Jennifer on 6/20/2006 06:39:00 PM
Brent and I have been following the General Convention news pretty closely. Out of all the candidates (a total of seven) for Primate/Presiding Bishop, we both liked Schori the best. Although both of us are thrilled that she's a woman, and the first woman, to be called to this position of leadership in the Episcopal church, it was her consistent, visionary presentation of her beliefs that really impressed us (for instance, her statements on theology & science, her stance on social justice matters, and emphasis on the global community) and would have even if those statements had been articulated in a male voice...the fact that she is a woman is an added grace!
Here are some links if anyone would like to know more about her:
Video interview:
http://download.trinity-global.edgesuite.net/anon.trinity-global/ondemand/schoriH.asx?res=High
Press Conference and Q&A after election:
http://www.ecusa.anglican.org/74560_76182_ENG_HTM.htm?player=wmp
:::posted by Jennifer on 6/20/2006 06:32:00 PM
I've been going to an Episcopal church for a little over a year, but I haven't read enough about her to form an opinion on her. While its a good thing that they were willing to elect a woman I don't want to get excited just because she's a woman without knowing more.
:::posted by Indie on 6/20/2006 12:13:00 PM
So, anyone have anything to say about Katharine Jefferts Schori being appointed as the Episcopal bishop?
:::posted by TKP on 6/20/2006 08:12:00 AM
Hypostasis of the Archons has Eve giving life to Adam; witless male "ruler" gods lusting after and pursuing her (whereupon she turns herself into a tree), and a goddess "instructor" inhabiting the serpent to impart to Eve the secret knowledge about the fruit of the forbidden tree.
"Pistis" (Faith) and, from her, "Sophia" (Wisdom) are the source of everything good in the untitled text since called "On the Origin of the World." "Yaldabaoth" is the male god who emanates from them like an aborted fetus and becomes proud and claims to be the only god. Sophia sends her daughter Zoe/Eve to instruct Adam, give him life. In this version, the gods lust after her and she becomes the tree of knowledge (gnosis). Then they impregnate the image of the pure woman, Eve, that Zoe has created to be with Adam.
The Apocalypse of Adam tells the story from Adam's point of view to his son, Seth ... though their chief sin seems to be in sighing in front of God. (Now there's a concept ....)
The feminine "Barbelo" is the chief character in creation in The Apocryphon of John; one of the "Three": the Father, the Mother, the Son. They generate scads of celestial beings.
That's just a sampling from the Nag Hammadi codices ... it's pretty complex stuff, with hifalutin, ethereal concepts and a glorification of the feminine "gnosis." There's a capsulization and discussion of it on the same site.
But you're right, Chris; many of the Gnostic "gospels" denigrate women and relationships with women and certainly wouldn't be a source for Brown's The DaVinci Code.
:::posted by Keith Brenton on 6/04/2006 02:11:00 AM
Thanks for calling attention to the essay on your blog, Keith.
I like your effort to recapture the idea of a "Sacred Feminine" and express it in biblical terms. I would say that you are not really engaging Dan Brown but offering an alternative definition and perspective on one of his pet terms. For the record (and I'm sure you know it), the "Sacred Feminine" in The DaVinci Code is merely a revival of good, old-fashioned pagan fertility religions. It would be closer to the sort of worship of the Ashtaroth that the Bible condemns than to any metaphor of Israel as God's bride.
What Dan Brown taps into is the deep resentment and distrust of many Christian traditions because they have systematically repressed feminine voices in their communities through the centuries. Brown has touched a nerve on that point, and, unfortunately, many people are eager to grasp at his conspiracy theory as some sort of answer to that problem. Alas, Brown offers us a wildly erroneous picture of early Christian history, filled with blatant misunderstandings of such things as Gnosticism, and yet the small grain of truth in his whole book is that Christians have suppressed women. It's not that the Roman Catholic Church supressed the truth about Jesus being married. That's pure nonsense. But Christians in general have denigrated women, and Dan Brown offers what purports to be an expression of honor for women. Now whether a fertility religion really honors women is something we can debate, but for sure it isn't Christianity.
So I appreciate your effort to provide some other way to think about the positive things the Bible does have to say about femaleness.
I cannot think of any Gnostic texts that elevate the feminine as superior to the masculine, as you suggest. The Gnostic texts that come to my mind tend to denigrate femaleness. What texts are you thinking about?
~Chris
:::posted by Christopher on 6/02/2006 03:25:00 PM
archives
