Faith and Feminism

Recently there's been some news surrounding the Billy Graham Rule. Politicians, clergy, and even civil servants are claiming the rule and citing the Bible in order not to be alone with female colleagues, but does this even have a Biblical base? Today on the podcast, New Testament scholar Laura Robinson talk about the rule and whether or not it's protecting or harming women.

Growing up in the church, I am sure many of us heard a lot about "Biblical" gender roles. You know, men should go out and provide for the family while women stay home and take care of the children... but where did this come from? On this episode of Faith and Feminism, I interview Marg Mowczko about Biblical Gender Roles and whether or not they're found in the Bible.

I will be honest, sometimes the Bible is really hard for me to read. There are stories upon stories of rape, violence, and genocide. But recently, I've read a book that helped me look at certain stories with a new lens. Rev Katey Zeh recently published a book called "Women, Rise Up" where I was able to gain new found appreciation of the holy resistance of women in the Bible. Shiprah and Puah, Mary Magdalene, Ruth, and many more show us what resistance looks like, both back then and now.

As I've interviewed more and more theologians I've discovered that New Testament scribes had more ability to alter the text than I originally thought. This week on the podcast, I got the opportunity to interview Elizabeth Schrader, a doctoral student at Duke University about how scribes took new testament texts and altered it for the purposes of lessening Mary's role in the New Testament.

*Turn it up, we had a problem with Bridget's mic so this podcast is quieter than normal. My church had raised me to believe that the Bible was infallible. As I've grown older my relationship with the Bible has changed, I still believe it's a Holy Book, but I must acknowledge the way humans have shaped it. On this episode of Faith and Feminism, I interview Bridget Jeffries and learn that New Testament scribes have been changing the sex of women to men in order to lessen the role of women.

Stephanie Tait, author of "The View From Rock Bottom" and I talk about living with lyme disease and how women are often not believed in the healthcare system. It turns out that this has some surprising roots with Freud's theory that many of the ills that befall women stems from the fact that they don't have a penis.

As a little girl, I was told over and over again that patriarchy was God's plan for humanity. Simply said, "God created men to rule and women to follow." What a load. This week on the podcast we are digging into Genesis with Chesna and searching for God's ideas about patriarchy.

Jenny Rae Armstrong's book "From Risk to Resilience: How Empowering Young Girls Changes Everything" releases today, and to celebrate we're giving you this bonus episode.

In mainstream Christian culture women are told they must submit— to husbands, to men, to authority. But what does the Bible say about this? This week on the podcast Chesna is taking us through Ephesians 5 and dissecting what Biblical submission means.

Because "Shove it" is not an appropriate response. (this is obviously a joke) This week we're diving into what Paul was saying in 1st Timothy 2 and it's juicy.