Women in Joshua, Judges, and Ruth

The next three books of the Bible tell stories set in Israel during the period of tribalism and chaos before the establishment of the kingship under Saul, David and Solomon.  Joshua tells of the conquest of Israel, and Judges of a series of heroes and (for our purposes more important) heroines who arose to defend the Jewish tribes against their pagan enemies.  Ruth, the first book of the Bible dedicated to a private family, surprisingly makes the hero of that story a mother-in-law, a class of persons who remain marginalized and reviled to this day! 

The Pentateuch, we saw, contained some 65 stories or pieces of legislation involving women.  These three books contain thirteen more such stories, including a whole book premised on the warm friendship between two women.

Women in the Torah

We continue our series on "How Jesus Liberates Women."  We are presently going through the Old Testament, to see how the Jewish tradition saw females.  The first post on the Old Testament analyzed 23 passages in the Book of Genesis involving women.  We found a wealth of fascinating stories, beginning with the creation of woman ("bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh"), the calling of Abraham and his wife Sarah, the love story between Isaac and Rebekah, sordid affairs and treachery of many kinds, polygamy, and then the final heroic figure of Joseph, the one man in the family who seemed to manage his love life reasonably well.  The overall impression, on my mind at least, is that women are no less heroic and no less involved in the establishment of God's kingdom in this world than men.  Indeed, while a few women so far are villains, and most are as flawed as the men, many are portrayed with sympathy.  I would say overall, the women come across better than the men, if one must make comparisons.  And they are no wall flowers.

We now look at the four other books of the Pentateuch.  About half of this material consists of stories, like Genesis, while the other half consists of laws and moral imprecations.  A total of 42 passages are cited and briefly analyzed in this post.  

Peter Boghossian's obscene satire dismantles the New Atheism

As author of one of the first (and best, some say) books critiquing the New Atheism, I have criticized Portland State philosopher Peter Boghossian on this site before, here and here, and here and here.  I found his book on how to broadcast atheism ignorant and over-the-top: I challenged him to debate what he calls "faith" even before that book came out, and he responded petulantly (See first link). 

The man is full of bombast, but I have to admit he has a certain style. 

Was Jesus Illiterate (II)?

It has become popular, among skeptics who admit he existed, to claim that Jesus could neither read nor write.  After all, they say, Jesus was a lower-class peasant or worker in an era in which 95% of Jews were illiterate.  Christians sometimes too easily go along.

Sean McDowell interviews me on Jesus is No Myth

Josh McDowell introduced me, and many others of my generation, to the idea that strong historical evidence can be found for the Christian faith. So it is a special privilege to be interviewed by his son Sean, a professor at Biola University and prolific author in his own right, about my new book, Jesus is No Myth: The Fingerprints of God on the Gospels:

http://seanmcdowell.org/…/is-jesus-merely-a-myth-interview-…

Problems with Ferguson's Presuppositions against Miracles

In my last post, I described several problems I perceive at least with the "short" version of the Minimal Facts approach to proving the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  (Which appeals to scholarly consensus to support those points.  But John Fraser, who has studied with Gary Habermas for several year, argues that Habermas, at least, does not really relying on authority so strongly as I was assuming.)  But the original question posed was actually in regard to Matthew Ferguson's critique of that approach.  So I posted that first thought experiment (it may not rise to the category of "essay"), in view of the danger of allying on this point with Ferguson, who of course is an opponent of Christian thought (and, in the past, of mine). 

So now let me critique part of Ferguson's argument.  

Problems with the "Minimal Facts" Approach to the Resurrection

Gary Habermas, whom I respect and count as a friend, has made a mark on scholarship in part by his exhaustive cataloguing of views which scholars have taken towards various facets of the Jesus story, and what can be made of what facts scholars generally concede.  (The oft-cited internet crank Richard Carrier implies that Habermas may not be accurately representing this data base, but I think that tells us more about Carrier than it does about Habermas.)  Habermas explains:

Valerie Tarico and David Fitgerald "Debunk" Jesus

Valerie Tarico, a Seattle psychologist, is fond of bad New Atheist arguments.  She doesn't know much about some of the subjects she posts on, but she is open to learning -- from non-scholars like David Fitzgerald -- whether someone named Jesus who didn't play for a Hispanic baseball team ever walked the Earth.

Here the two are on my birthday, blogging about how my favorite ancient political philosopher never lived.

I doubt she'll read this rebuttal and up her game on the subject.  As Geico would put it, that's not what a clearing house for bad Gnu arguments does.  But refuting such arguments is what I do.  So let's get started.

Genesis: "The Two Shall Be One."

I didn't plan to dedicate a whole post to the role of women in Genesis alone -- I wanted to feast on the the entire Torah in one meal.  But the banquet was too large for a single sitting.  Genesis includes both profound philosophical thinking on gender, but also a number of fascinating, and sometimes horrifying, stories.  It contains some of the most famous passages on sex in the Bible, which Jesus would later quote, and obscure stories that we often overlook, but merit consideration.  This is also the book of origins, a unique position which carries unique importance.

How Jesus Liberates Women: Does St. Paul lock them up again?

Friend of the Ladies?  

Over the past several years, I have been arguing in this forum that "Jesus Liberates Women."  My initial posts in this series came in response to posts by John Loftus claiming that Christianity has imprisoned women, and that that is his chief reason for now rejecting the faith he once preached.

The notion that Christianity is bad for "the laidees" is one of the standard hits against Christianity these days, not only among atheists, but also among New Agers and in the general culture.   It has become an "article of faith."  Weren't three quarters of those persecuted as "witches" female, after all?  Weren't women denied the vote in traditional America?  Doesn't Saint Paul tell women to shut up and ask their husbands what the pastor was yammering about after the service?

Comparing Scriptures on Women: 19 criteria

Let us summarize what we learn by reading what sacred Scriptures of various religions have to say directly about women.  This will also furnish a template for future analysis. 

How Jesus Liberates Women: Index of Arguments

Over several years I have argued on this site that the life, example, and teaching of Jesus Christ have liberated billions of women around the world in profound ways.  I am hoping to do some more research, and put the completed argument in book form before long.  But meanwhile, the series has grown so long that it may have become difficult to navigate.  So here I provide links to each article in the series to help the reader make easier use of this important material.  Six of the 42 articles listed are either incomplete, or have yet to be begun: and Lord willing, I will probably add more soon, as I intend to spend more time researching this subject early this year.