How thrilled I was to read the beautifully written article in the March issue of The Christian Science Journal, "Biblical women: portraits of our heritage." Having just emerged from Biblical studies in a seminary myself, I feel at home with this kind of refreshingly straightforward manner of scholarship.
It is noteworthy that the author pays close attention in her Biblical portraits as to whether or not the women characters have names. Many women today are turning away from the Bible because they find there only the voices they hold responsible for shaping their conditions today. The Bible has ceased to hold any authority for them because of the role it played, and still plays, in subordinating women. It is important to expose this role. But through the work of today's feminist Biblical scholarship, we are also finding the lost voices of these women as they are evoked from the Bible pages—just as the author of the Journal series does with Ruth. By naming them in this way, we are empowering and transforming ourselves, men and women.
A big thank-you to the innovative spirit of the Journal in including this article, as well as for the continuing series "Experiencing the Gospel of Mark."
