Heroes and how to avoid them
A sermon preached in May of this year at Evensong at Magdalene College, Cambridge
Conversations during an intensive study week on Genesis at Queen's in June.
Decades-long learning from Delores Williams' Sisters in the Wilderness.
A talk (and then article) on reading the Bible as a white woman, focused on the encounter of Jesus and the Syro-Phoenician woman in Mark 7, and in dialogue with the work of Silvia Regina de Lima Silva.
Reports from the Methodist Church in Britain and Church of England on safeguarding.
RIBLA past and present articles - on violence, resistance, silence, voices.
Abstract
This article begins by identifying how recent investigations into abuse within church contexts in England have identified as problematic a ‘culture of deference’ towards clergy and other leaders. It then moves to a critical reading of the actions of four ‘heroes of the faith’: Abraham, Sarah, David and Jesus. In conversation with previous studies published in RIBLA, it explores the following texts: Genesis 16 and 21; 2 Samuel 23.1–7; Mark 7.24–30). Drawing on the work of Gina Hens-Piazza (2003), it argues that if violence within the text is not named as such, it is difficult to name violence within our churches, communities, and nations. It notes moments of resistance within the text; and asks how these offer insights for how we might resist the violence of our leaders, heroes, and ourselves today.
Key words: abuse of power, rape, enslavement, whiteness, resistance.
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