The woman’s guide to reading the Bible and staying sane: Part Four — Much of the pain that I experienced in facing the sexism in the Bible and its unrelentingly male focus was because I had been taught to assume that the primary voice speaking in the Bible was God’s voice and that God decided what the Bible would be like. If I…

The woman’s guide to reading the Bible and staying sane: Part Three — If we’re going to be honest about how the Bible views and portrays women, if we’re not going to ignore the difficult parts or treat them only as metaphors, where does that leave us? The Bible presents us with mixed and contradictory pictures of women. Sometimes, it is radically affirming…

The woman’s guide to reading the Bible and staying sane: Part Two — Esther’s story has been particularly beloved in recent years by parts of the charismatic revival movement. In particular, Esther spending a whole year being beautified before she was introduced to the king has been seen as an image we can use to understand how we might be prepared spiritually for…

The woman’s guide to reading the Bible and staying sane: Part One — I am a Christian and have been for as long as I can remember. And a pretty dedicated one at that. The Bible has been a constant companion for the whole of my adult life. I’ve read it, studied it, memorised bits of it, taken it with me on holiday…

Facing the misogyny of the Bible honestly: Part Eight — This is the last in my series, looking at the elephant in the room of misogyny in the Bible that people generally don’t talk about. So there is our elephant. I did warn you. It’s not a nice elephant. The Bible is not a pleasant book to read if you…

Facing the misogyny of the Bible honestly: Part Seven — So we come to the New Testament, where Jesus treats women with respect, and everything looks as if it’s going in a far better direction. Equality and dignity are on the horizon — and along comes St Paul, who messes it all up with a handful of verses that, when…

Facing the misogyny of the Bible honestly: Part Six — Amidst the carnage of the time of the Judges, there is a beautiful story of love and sisterhood. It’s the story of Ruth and her mother-in-law. Ruth must have lived during the time of the Judges because she is the great-grandmother of David. Her story stands like a beacon of…

Facing the misogyny of the Bible honestly: Part Five — There are two particularly grim stories, one in Genesis and one toward the end of Judges, which are virtually identical narratives. In the Genesis story, two angels are visiting Sodom in order to warn Lot that he has to leave the city. …

Facing the misogyny of the Bible honestly: Part Four — The laws that we looked at in part three of this series give us some insight into the way that women were viewed and the powerlessness that they suffered. Despite the fact that women are relatively absent from the pages of the Bible, we glimpse enough of their lives to…