- Home
- religion
- political science
- Wo/men, Scripture, and Politics
Wo/men, Scripture, and Politics
Exploring the Cultural Imprint of the Bible
by Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza
Imprint: Cascade Books
In Wo/men, Scripture, and Politics, Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza, brings to bear years of trailblazing scholarship of feminist thought and hermeneutics onto the current political and cultural landscape. In this book, she seeks to articulate and use biblical interpretation as intervention into the failure of the democratic cultural-political imagination. Although such an intervention is often taboo for supposedly neutral academic scholarship, Schüssler Fiorenza argues that it is politically necessary because political argument today so often utilizes biblical rhetoric in the public square. e biblical-political analysis and suggestions of this book are developed in four chapters, each focusing on the role of the Bible in struggles over women's leadership in the present, touching on the cultural "double bind" of women in politics, sexual abuse, power, and the #MeToo movement. Schüssler Fiorenza's insights and arguments not only lead to the development of reimagined cultural biblical imprints of women in the political arena, but they also encourage her readers to add their own biblical examples to inspire them in their struggle for a biblical vision of "women in the public square." is is an insightful, challenging book written for our time by someone who has always seemed to be ahead of hers.
Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza, the Krister Stendahl Professor of Divinity at Harvard Divinity School, has been one of the leading scholars of feminist theology and interpretation for over three decades. She is author of many important and inuential works, among them In Memory of Her: A Feminist eological Reconstruction of Christian Origins (1983) and Changing Horizons: Explorations in Feminist Interpretation (2013). Schüssler Fiorenza is founding co-editor of the Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion and past president of the Society of Biblical Literature.
“As more and more women move into politics, progressive people ignore religious texts at their peril. Scriptural narratives shape election outcomes; conservative evangelical theologies, both Catholic and Protestant, delivered the votes for a presidential demagogue. Dr. Schüssler Fiorenza’s analysis exposes the dangers of patriarchal biblical studies and illuminates what feminist, theo-political-savvy faith traditions need to do to avoid a repeat performance. Her work creates a safer and more just world, especially for women and children.”
—Mary E. Hunt, Codirector, Women’s Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual (WATER)
“With this little book, so well conceived, convincingly argued, and crisply written, we are yet again enlightened and provoked by Schüssler Fiorenza. And, as always, around things that matter. This book is a reminder that Schüssler Fiorenza’s work charts, evokes, and models some of the major shifts—theoretical and psycho-political, sometimes painful and challenging—in modern critical work on the Bible. Ever the force to be reckoned with, this book carves out another rung in the deep well from which, no matter the intellectual-psychic space inhabited, one can draw inspiration, analytics, and perspective. Write on, Elisabeth!”
—Vincent L. Wimbush, Institute for Signifying Scriptures
“In recent times, there has been a marked rise in political biblical criticism—the appeal to biblical texts to address major developments in the contemporary world. This has been true of both the Right and the Left of the religious-theological spectrum, academic and ecclesial alike. This volume inserts the always lucid, always sophisticated, always incisive voice of Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza into this critical discussion. This she does by foregrounding the need for biblical imprints or codes toward the advancement of women in the public sphere. As always, any contribution on her part is most consequential and most welcome.”
—Fernando F. Segovia, Center for Latin American Studies, Vanderbilt University
Related Titles
