Eve's Revenge:Women and a Spirituality of the Body by Lilian Calles Barger
Chasing Sophia: Reclaiming the Lost Wisdom of Jesus by Lilian Calles Barger, NEW!
If you haven’t read Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture by Ariel Levy you can listen to this interview on Fresh Air with Terry Gross. The book explores how and why many young women are now happily treating themselves like sex objects with Paris Hilton as the new role model. The interview is a great conversation starter.
If women talk three times more than men why do men dominate talk radio and television news and commentary? Is it because we don’t think women are as interesting or because their voices grate on our nerves? If women are so good at communicating why have they not had the public stages for most of history? Things to ponder.
Here is a story from Beliefnet about the work that Muslim women are doing to make sense out of the hodgepodge of Islamic belief and practice. Several other articles about Muslim women on the site are worth reading. Check it out.
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. This year it’s changing. With my father gone and my mother not well it’s time to create new traditions. Not sure what that will be. But what will remain the same is my thankfulness to God for my family, my friends, my health and a mind that keeps me busy. Hope you have a happy Thanksgiving.
Thankfulness for the harvest from the book of common prayer:
O ALMIGHTY God and heavenly Father, we glorify thee that we are once more permitted to enjoy the fulfilment of thy gracious promise, that, while the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest shall not fail. Blessed be thou, who hast given us the fruits of the earth in their season. Teach us to remember that it is not by bread alone that man doth live; but grant that we may feed on him who is the true bread which cometh down from heaven even Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour; to whom with thee, O Father, and thee, O Holy Spirit, be honour and glory, for ever and ever. Amen.
The US House of Representatives has elected Nancy Pelosi as the new speaker. It’s been a long time since there has been a woman’s first of this magnitude. As speaker Ms. Pelosi is third in line to the presidency. The closest any woman has gotten. Hopefully, any controversy caused by her election will be due to her politics and not her gender. I hope we don’t start hearing about her clothes and hair ala Hillary Clinton.
You may want to check out the White House Project a bi-partisan movement to advance women’s leadership including the presidency. We may be closer than you think.
In an interview published in The Sun Sam Harris author of The End of Faith: Religion,Terror and the Future of Reason promotes the idea that religion of all sorts is the cause and root of violence and intolerance in the world. This isn’t a new accusation and Sir Elton John nods in agreement. In the days of suicide bombers and colossal clerical failure it’s easy to forget that lack of religion doesn’t assure a kinder gentler world. Recent history is exhibit one. The 20th century slaughter of millions under Stalin is enough to make one understand the threat of state sponsored atheism. Humanity has a particular knack for taking any ideology, cause or end as a justification for violence against those it sees as standing in the way of a better world. Darfur comes to mind. Neither the religious or the non-religious are exempt. The opiate of the people may be our own delusional state that makes us think that under all the wars, conflicts and personal power agendas is a gentle savage waiting to be born; a savage who grows up to be a gentle rationalist who has no need for God for himself or anyone else.
Are Muslim women being trapped by the insistence of western media to picture them veiled and often equally alluring? See Slate report Veiled Babes. I personally know several Muslim women who do not wear the veil. In fact, I know only one who does, a minority among her co-religionists. We forget that there is still a tradition in Christianity for some form of veiling. I grew up around some of these women who would put on their doilies for church or otherwise. I think we need to be careful how we interpret the meaning of the veil for any individual woman. It may be a sign of gender based oppression or it may be a sign of true religious conviction. More often than not they are intertwined and difficult to separate. Painting Muslim women with a broad brush is not helpful for resolving the differences among cultures.
If it passed you by you can quickly catch up here. However, some things never change or they may even get worse.