The Bible, the Church, and Spirituality
As part of my PhD coursework, I am currently enrolled in a class at TEDS called “Great Female Theologians,” taught by Fellipe M. do Vale. The class has been using Amy G. Oden’s In Her Words (1994) to read excerpts from women like Perpetua (c. 182–203), Macrina (324–379), Egeria (AD 4), Dhuoda (AD 9), Hildegard […] Read more…
by Bridget Jack Jeffries, PhD Student (Church History), Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (Jump to Series Index) Junia is a first-century woman mentioned in the New Testament, in Romans 16:7. Paul includes her on a long list of greetings to local Christians in Rome: Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow Jews who have been in prison […] Read more…
(Jump to Series Index) One would not expect a conflagration of controversy from the ending of Paul’s epistle to the Romans. The sixteenth chapter lacks the robust theology expounded on in earlier chapters, instead containing a seemingly innocuous list of salutations to local Christians at the church in Rome. Yet controversy is exactly what the […] Read more…
I’ve never understood how belief in traditional gender roles survives an actual reading of the Gospels. Case in point: when I thought about what the Bible specifically says about mothers (as distinct entities from fathers), this verse immediately came to mind: “As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out, […] Read more…
[Part 2: mother! Explained, Heavy Spoilers] There are two main theories on Darren Aronofsky’s provocative mother!: It’s a film about environmentalism. Jennifer Lawrence is Gaia / the Earth Mother / the Spirit of the Earth. The house is Earth. The people who assail the house, invited in by Javier Bardem (“Him” on the credits, but […] Read more…
[Part 1: Spoiler-Free Review] Darren Aronofsky’s mother! (yes, the title is uncapitalized with an explanation point) has been getting some well-deserved buzz in spite of a lukewarm performance at the box office. The film ekes out a 67% “certified fresh” rating among critics at Rotten Tomatoes, but received a rare F grade from audiences at […] Read more…
“Women are not called to public preaching!” I’ve honestly never understood people who take this position given that the Bible contains a very specific example of a woman preaching in public: There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her […] Read more…
