Manny’s Reviews > The Skeptical Feminist: Discovering the Virgin, Mother, and Crone > Status Update

I think the Bible could benefit from a color-coding scheme that indicates which bits ought to be ignored and are only of historical interest. The layout normally used can be quite confusing even to experts. For example, the author of this book has read the Bible several times, plus numerous commentaries, and come away with the strong conviction that it's anti-female.

Why doesn't God get in touch with a good editor?

My impression is that there is next to no chance the author will change her mind. She's really thought this through.

If there is a God (which she does not believe), I would be surprised if she were not immediately welcomed into Heaven. Very few people I have read are as keenly interested in learning the truth about the nature of the Divine and as imaginative about investigating these questions.

I'm more impressed by the fine tuning argument. You might want to check out A Fortunate Universe if you don't already know the book. But interesting as it is, it's got nothing to do with the issues Barbara Walker is examining here.

In Deut. the verses leading up to 11-12 lay out the punishment that a woman can choose to inflict upon her husband's brother should he refuse to support her if she is widowed. 11-12 are also linked to a passage back in Exodus 21 that talks about the punishments for a man who assaults a pregnant woman. In context, it's not one-sided.

As Curtis points out, these verses are all part of the old Hebrew ceremonial law, which is clearly separated by Jesus in the New Testament from the moral law that applies to Christians.

Manny wrote: "I'm more impressed by the fine tuning argument. You might want to check out A Fortunate Universe if you don't already know the book. But interesting as it is, it's got nothing to do with the issues..."

Have you taken a deep look at some of the classical arguments? My bad to plug twice, but this also ties to my earlier recommendation of the Hart book. A robust conception of God (classically defined) must precede any meaningful theological dialogue, especially in discussing the manifold implications from Scripture.

A.E. wrote: "In Deut. the verses leading up to 11-12 lay out the punishment that a woman can choose to inflict upon her husband's brother should he refuse to support her if she is widowed. 11-12 are also linked..."

Forgive me for hijacking your status update here with a small mountain of text, but I would add a few further contextual observances:

1) that the verb form qal (Strong's H7112, קָצַץ) here may more directly denote "shearing" or "shaving" rather than the stronger "cutting" or "amputating". It appears as such in Jeremiah 9:26, 25:23, and 49:32. The gist may have been more public humiliation, as the potential testicular damage to the man was hugely shunned because it would sever him from the tribe.

2) that kap̄ (Strong's H3709, כַּף) most frequently means "palm", "round concave object", or "arch of foot" (as opposed to yāḏ, which means "hand" Strong's H3027, יָד). Given that Genesis 32:26, 32 use kap̄ in the context of the hip socket and Song of Songs 5:5 referring to the groin, it may be rather that this refers to shaving; even if it is not, the bare reading of mutilation seems unlikely.

A.E.'s final comment still rings true. Christians believe the law was a provisional code of conduct understood most clearly in its contrast with its Near Eastern neighbors and ultimately superseded by the "New" Testament. As children are reared first through generous parental oversight and "do's and don'ts", the adolescent probation of the Mosaic Law gave way to the ripened "New" law -- the fulfilled and matured understanding that comes through the New Testament of Jesus the Christ.

Thanks, Theo. Interesting insights into the original Hebrew text.

Barbara Walker deserves to be more famous. She's crazy in a really good way.

This looks like it could be an interesting exploration of psychical-spiritual concepts and criticism. I will look out for and look up Barbara Walker's work, thank you.

She comes across as a very interesting mixture of intuitive passion and logical analysis, and she writes well. Definitely worth read looking at.