Out of the Garden : Women Writers on the Bible
edited by Celina Spiegel and Christina Buchmann, 1995 The bible has influenced the thinking of many people, including women, including feminist women, even including feminist atheist women. The authors of
Out of the Garden are all women, all feminist, and with one exeption atheist/agnostic. Some see the bible as a symbol of patriarchal oppresion, some see it as inspiring, and some find it to be good writing material. As the writers vary, so their essays vary. Some are scholary, some are autobiographical, some are fictional works based on the bible.
Although most of these works can be enjoyed by almost anyone, I took issue with two themes. The first is the angry rant. Angry rants are not fun reading, especially when they last more than a page and have no point. My second problem is more specific to me; many of the writers use God's Name in ways that make me as a religous person uncomfortable. Some of the writers are ignorant of major points usually made about the piece that they are analysing, but this allows them to come up with interpretations of pieces whose usual interpretation I had taken for granted. The pieces are only about what is included in the Hebrew Bible.
Happy reading.
