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More on BOOKS: Singles reading List:	*BOOKS:* Women, Men & The Bible’ Author: Virginia Ramey Mollencott Reviewed by Betty Van Volkenburg As leader of SAM’s Lambs, a Single Adult Ministry at the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Webster NY, I am always on the lookout for interesting material for our weekly discussion groups. Sometimes our focus is on Relationships and sometimes on faith and the Bible. Recently while cleaning out one of my file cabinets I came across this book that I bought a few years ago at an Episcopal Finger Lakes Conference at Hobart & William Smith college in Geneva NY. The author was the main lecturer for the week and I had been inspired by what she had to say and also what she wrote in her book. Even though the book is several years ago it is still relevant, like the Bible that was written centuries ago and is still relevant. The Back Cover had these comments – Broad in scope, balanced in treatment, moderate in its demands, and above all, Christian in its perspective, it is a book of our times. The book represents an important corrective of the feminist and antifeminist literature which has flooded the market. She offers a creative and practical vision of total personhood. Virginia Mollencott's books have shown her to be a clear thinker, and now, in the role of a fearless prophet, she has tackled the 'feminine myths' and demolished their arguments by the Talmud and the Bible. This wide-ranging Bible Study makes an eloquent case for the Christ-inspired act and attitude of "mutual submission" between persons. It advocates abandonment of the destructive tendency of some men and women to value females only as wives, mothers, and servants. I liked how she had specific quotes from the Bible to prove her point that men were not created to dominate women, and that we were meant to be mutually submissive and loving. She also did a very good job of explaining the contradictions in the scriptures and how they are sometimes misinterpreted. As an ordained Episcopal priest, she has a good grasp on her subject, but as an English scholar and a Professor of English at a College in New Jersey, she has the skills to make her points in a logical, common sense way that we common folk can understand. This is a sample of some of the chapters: Chapter 1: The Christian Way of Relating A review of Jewish patriarchal culture and traditions, and some modern institutions and media that base their teachings and writings on those traditions. The final paragraph sums up the thesis – “it is vital to remember that Christian equality is never a matter of jockeying for the dominant position. Christian equality is the result of mutual compassion, mutual concern, and mutual and voluntary loving service. The Christian way of relating achieves male-female equality through mutual submission.” Chapter 2: The Carnal Way of Relating This chapter reviews how The New Testament has been misinterpreted and misrepresented in Christian churchs and by modern writers of so-called self-help books. “The evangelical minister who assumes that the wife must sacrifice her energy so that the husband’s energy may increase is teaching a carnal way of relating, a dominance and submission model that is antithetical to the teachings of the New Testament. Not surprisingly, he is also denying the realities of human experience.” Chapter 3: Is God Masculine? God as androgynous? Jesus as both feminine and masculine? “As soon as we take a close look at the creation narrative in Genesis 1, we begin to suspect that God must somehow contain feminine as well as masculine characteristics. Genesis 1:26-27 tells us: ‘Then God said, “Let us make man in our image and likeness to rule the fish in the sea, the birds of heaven, the cattle, all wild animals on earth, and all reptiles that crawl upon the earth.” So God created man in his own image; in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. ‘ It is important to realize that the word man is being used generically here, meaning “the human race.” We can be sure of that form from the pronouns which shift from the generic he, that includes both male and female, to the pronoun them, in order to make obvious that the reference throughout is to both the male and the female. “ This chapter is a review of our stereotypes that have evolved and how we may make changes in our language for more inclusive language and behavior. In the fall our group will be having an open discussion based on this book, and I am looking forward to hearing everyone’s opinion. If you live anywhere near Webster NY, you are invited to join us and share your opinions too, as well as getting to meet a good group of singles who enjoy warm fellowship together. Visit SAM's Lambs online - www.samslambs.org

Singles
The Magazine for Today's Single

BOOKS:

Women, Men & The Bible’
Author: Virginia Ramey Mollencott

Reviewed by Betty Van Volkenburg

As leader of SAM’s Lambs, a Single Adult Ministry at the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Webster NY, I am always on the lookout for interesting material for our weekly discussion groups. Sometimes our focus is on Relationships and sometimes on faith and the Bible.

Recently while cleaning out one of my file cabinets I came across this book that I bought a few years ago at an Episcopal Finger Lakes Conference at Hobart & William Smith college in Geneva NY. The author was the main lecturer for the week and I had been inspired by what she had to say and also what she wrote in her book. Even though the book is several years ago it is still relevant, like the Bible that was written centuries ago and is still relevant.

The Back Cover had these comments –

Broad in scope, balanced in treatment, moderate in its demands, and above all, Christian in its perspective, it is a book of our times. The book represents an important corrective of the feminist and antifeminist literature which has flooded the market. She offers a creative and practical vision of total personhood.
Virginia Mollencott's books have shown her to be a clear thinker, and now, in the role of a fearless prophet, she has tackled the 'feminine myths' and demolished their arguments by the Talmud and the Bible.
This wide-ranging Bible Study makes an eloquent case for the Christ-inspired act and attitude of "mutual submission" between persons. It advocates abandonment of the destructive tendency of some men and women to value females only as wives, mothers, and servants.

I liked how she had specific quotes from the Bible to prove her point that men were not created to dominate women, and that we were meant to be mutually submissive and loving. She also did a very good job of explaining the contradictions in the scriptures and how they are sometimes misinterpreted. As an ordained Episcopal priest, she has a good grasp on her subject, but as an English scholar and a Professor of English at a College in New Jersey, she has the skills to make her points in a logical, common sense way that we common folk can understand.

This is a sample of some of the chapters:

Chapter 1: The Christian Way of Relating

A review of Jewish patriarchal culture and traditions, and some modern institutions and media that base their teachings and writings on those traditions.
The final paragraph sums up the thesis – “it is vital to remember that Christian equality is never a matter of jockeying for the dominant position. Christian equality is the result of mutual compassion, mutual concern, and mutual and voluntary loving service. The Christian way of relating achieves male-female equality through mutual submission.”

Chapter 2: The Carnal Way of Relating

This chapter reviews how The New Testament has been misinterpreted and misrepresented in Christian churchs and by modern writers of so-called self-help books.
“The evangelical minister who assumes that the wife must sacrifice her energy so that the husband’s energy may increase is teaching a carnal way of relating, a dominance and submission model that is antithetical to the teachings of the New Testament. Not surprisingly, he is also denying the realities of human experience.”

Chapter 3: Is God Masculine?

God as androgynous? Jesus as both feminine and masculine?

“As soon as we take a close look at the creation narrative in Genesis 1, we begin to suspect that God must somehow contain feminine as well as masculine characteristics.
Genesis 1:26-27 tells us: ‘Then God said, “Let us make man in our image and likeness to rule the fish in the sea, the birds of heaven, the cattle, all wild animals on earth, and all reptiles that crawl upon the earth.” So God created man in his own image; in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. ‘

It is important to realize that the word man is being used generically here, meaning “the human race.” We can be sure of that form from the pronouns which shift from the generic he, that includes both male and female, to the pronoun them, in order to make obvious that the reference throughout is to both the male and the female. “

This chapter is a review of our stereotypes that have evolved and how we may make changes in our language for more inclusive language and behavior.

In the fall our group will be having an open discussion based on this book, and I am looking forward to hearing everyone’s opinion. If you live anywhere near Webster NY, you are invited to join us and share your opinions too, as well as getting to meet a good group of singles who enjoy warm fellowship together.

Visit SAM's Lambs online - www.samslambs.org