Here's something I posted on the Sophia network:
I am currently trying to develop a resource to help women explore what the bible says (or more to the point doesn't say) about what it is to be a woman. The idea is to provide activities that will help women to deconstruct gender steryotypes and messages they have recieved from society, their communities and their familys and then reconstruct an understanding of their unique personhood by looking at proverbs 31.
So with this mission I set off into the land of google and am feeling just a little battered and bruised. Normally when you google a bible verse you get a number of online bibles, sermons, commentries. Google proverbs 31 and you get website after website dedicated to helping women be the perfect little 1950's housewife. There are even Proverbs 31 dolls on the market that come with cooky cutters, a recipie and bible lesson!
Is it just me or are many of these websites/talks/ministries compleatly missing the point?
Am I compleatly mad or does the most basic reading of the passage even in a not so great translation imply that this women was the social (v11, v31), economic (v11, 14, 16,24, v31) and political(v26, v31) equal to men? Did she not go out to work (14, 16, 24)? And when she did who was looking after her family? Could she have got childcare? Was she not a breadwinner (14,16)? Did this challenge her husbands sense of masculinity(v11)? Did she not understand that the personal is poltical?(v20,31). Not to mention the fact that the whole chapter is the teaching of a women to a national leader.
This woman also clearly looks after her household (15, 21, 27) and cares for her children (28).
We should value the work of all persons whether it is economicly rewarded and valued by our society or not. Some of the work this women does is income generating some is not. The author makes no distinction in terms of the praise due.
And as a closing thought this women is not praised for 'intelligently submitting' to her husbands 'servant leadership' but for intelligently submitting to the LORDS life-giving, empowering, self-giving, soul healing, kingdom building, soul wining, entrancing, joy making, creative,(I could go on) Authority.
I'm on a mission to really get to know all the women of proverbs 31, and for that matter the men who are not threatened by them!
Thoughts welcome.
I am currently trying to develop a resource to help women explore what the bible says (or more to the point doesn't say) about what it is to be a woman. The idea is to provide activities that will help women to deconstruct gender steryotypes and messages they have recieved from society, their communities and their familys and then reconstruct an understanding of their unique personhood by looking at proverbs 31.
So with this mission I set off into the land of google and am feeling just a little battered and bruised. Normally when you google a bible verse you get a number of online bibles, sermons, commentries. Google proverbs 31 and you get website after website dedicated to helping women be the perfect little 1950's housewife. There are even Proverbs 31 dolls on the market that come with cooky cutters, a recipie and bible lesson!
Is it just me or are many of these websites/talks/ministries compleatly missing the point?
Am I compleatly mad or does the most basic reading of the passage even in a not so great translation imply that this women was the social (v11, v31), economic (v11, 14, 16,24, v31) and political(v26, v31) equal to men? Did she not go out to work (14, 16, 24)? And when she did who was looking after her family? Could she have got childcare? Was she not a breadwinner (14,16)? Did this challenge her husbands sense of masculinity(v11)? Did she not understand that the personal is poltical?(v20,31). Not to mention the fact that the whole chapter is the teaching of a women to a national leader.
This woman also clearly looks after her household (15, 21, 27) and cares for her children (28).
We should value the work of all persons whether it is economicly rewarded and valued by our society or not. Some of the work this women does is income generating some is not. The author makes no distinction in terms of the praise due.
And as a closing thought this women is not praised for 'intelligently submitting' to her husbands 'servant leadership' but for intelligently submitting to the LORDS life-giving, empowering, self-giving, soul healing, kingdom building, soul wining, entrancing, joy making, creative,(I could go on) Authority.
I'm on a mission to really get to know all the women of proverbs 31, and for that matter the men who are not threatened by them!
Thoughts welcome.
No comments:
Post a Comment