Authority Part 3: Fragment and Paraphrase

A continuation of the Philodemus Fragment -

I have suggested setting aside authentein in 1 Tim. 2:12, as proof that a woman should not have authority, because the evidence for the meaning of this word is very obscure. I have found and reproduced in images the Greek fragment and the English paraphrase for one of the two most cited pieces of evidence for authentein meaning "exercise authority". It is this fragment from Philodemus. My intent is to share this information with any who come here to view it.

The first two images here are from Philodemi Volumina Rhetorica pages 161 and 162 in the electronic version and pages 133 and 134 in the book.

The second two images are from The Rhetorica of Philodemus the preface and page 32 of the electronic version and page 304 in the book.

The fragment has over half of the words missing and it is clear that this is a rough paraphrase. In the third image the middle paragraph serves as a paraphrase for fragment IV.

Click on the images to enlarge.

In the preface, Hubbell writes that

"he is far from positive that the correct rendering has in all cases been attained. ... It would perhaps be more exact to call it a paraphrase than a translation. While it has been possible in general to translate almost literally, there are many passages where the papyrus is so fragmentary that nothing more than an approximation is possible, and the gaps must in some cases be filled entirely by conjecture. At times it has seemed best to condense some of the more prolix paragraphs."

It is evident by the amount of text which is reconstructed, and by relative length of the manuscript and the paraphrase, that this is one of the "more prolix paragraphs" and has been greatly condensed.

One suggestion might be to assign authentein the meaning which it had in astronomy and astrology texts in the second century - to dominate or domineer. This is the translation used by Jerome in the fourth century. I don't know if it is possible to find out what was used in the old Latin texts.

Authority Part 2: the Philodemus Fragment

I have been in a discussion of the meaning of authentein in 1 Tim. 2:12 on Denny Burk's blog and he has now decided to moderate out any further discussion on my part about the evidence for authentein. I wish to post here some of the evidence and resources which I have collected.

Denny recommended that I read Grudem's book, Evangelical Feminism and Biblical Truth, to see the evidence for authentein meaning "exercise authority". I have done this and found that the reference to Philodemus is incorrect. I am posting the resources for this today and will pursue the discussion as I find the time.

Here is my comment #70 in full from Denny's post,

By way of explanation, Denny commented to me,

“Once again, I would direct readers to Kostenberger’s study. It’s very convincing.”

I don’t know if I have read the right article by Kostenberger. However, I read this one.

http://biblicalfoundations.org/pdf/Studies12.pdf

In the footnotes, Köstenberger provides the only two pieces of lexical evidence which he thins are relevant. He says,

41These two references are: Philodemus (1st cent. BCE): “Ought we not to consider that men who incur the enmity of those in authority (συν αυθεντουσιν) are villains, and hated by both gods and men”; and BGU 1208 (27 BCE): “I exercised authority (Καμου αυθεντηκοτος) over him, and he consented to provide for Calatytis the Boatman on terms of full fare, within the hour.” For full Greek texts and translations, see Baldwin, “Appendix 2” in Women in the Church, 275–76. (in the PDF page 13)

The first citation is a reference to Philodemus. However, authentein is definitely not translated as “those in authority” but as “powerful lords” or something of the kind. Several lines later, there is a reference to “those in authority” but not in connection to authentein. It seems there has been a mix up.

The second citation it the one that Grudem suggests should be translated as “compel”. Therefore, in spite of Köstenberger’s footnote, neither of these two citations gives the obvious meaning “exercise authority”. Whatever the meaning is, I would like to see it properly cited.

And here is # 69,

The Philodemus quote is a bit difficult, since it is, as I said, a fragment, and the phrase is a quote from an unknown source, so undated, I would presume.

But the phrase is “fighting with powerful(?) lords(?)”

διαμαχοντοι και συν αυθεντ[ου]σιν αν[αξιν]

Since anax is not in BDAG, I am guessing that it is not a Hellenistic term at all.

My guess is that it is a Homeric term, but that is just a guess. But maybe the word isn’t anax, it is reconstructed also.

The entire fragment is not translated but Hubbell gives a precis of sorts. It is all available on the internet, so you can translate this yourself and see if authentein has a positive or negative meaning. But it most certainly is not translated as those in authority, as Kostenberger claims. “Those in authority occurs further down in the piece.

I think that if this quote is being used to shore up the translation “exercise authority” then it should be properly translated, possibly by a secular and non partisan scholar. But I don’t really think that anything new will be revealed from a fragment.

Philodemi Volumina Rhetorica

and

The Rhetorica Philodemus.

Do you have the reference?

My guess is that it is a more or less neutral term referring to the exercise of sheer might in this case, a secular power with no moral right attached to it. That is a concession BTW, it could mean usurpers - who knows?

Comment # 75,

Denny,

Unless you can assure me that Andreas has corrected his citation of these two references, it is not worth my time and money to acquire the book. Basic accuracy must be attended to.

If you have the book, then it would be helpful at this point to cite how Andreas deals with Baldwin’s study.

I have to assume at this point, given your reluctance to respond, that there is no evidence to support the meaning “exercise authority” for authentein.

To whom will Jesus say,

“Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.” Luke 19:17

I claim that God gives authority to the one who is faithful in a very little.

You claim that God gives authority to the male.

Denny responded with,

Suzanne,

If that is your assumption, then your assumption would incorrect. The simple truth is that I have spent a lot of time going back and forth on this thread, and I simply don’t have time to keep it up. Yes, there are alternate translations of the passages you cite. I could get them for you and type them out, but I’m not going to. You can read them in the appendix 7 of Wayne Grudem’s book, Evangelical Feminism and Biblical Truth: An Analysis of More Than 100 Disputed Questions. What you’ll find if you survey the over 300 uses of this term (all of them are listed in Grudem) is that “exercise authority” is a possible rendering for some texts within the timeframe you’ve cited. Let me encourage you to investigate some of that evidence.

For those who have been watching this thread, I am going to have to exit at this point. It’s becoming too time consuming. There are plenty of answers to the questions that Suzanne is asking, most of which are provided in the Grudem book I cited above. I hope that interested readers will take time to investigate this matter fully.

Thanks,
Denny

Denny then started moderating comments and I was unable to let him know that Grudem makes the same error. I did actually publish that error earlier in the discussion. I would be willing to continue this discussion if anyone asks for further references.

Authority Part 1

I propose that 1 Tim. 2:12 be removed from a discussion of authority until after all else has been explored. This is, first, because the word αυθεντειν in Greek had no connection with the word εξουσια the word which is usually translated authority. Second, the Latin Vulgate translated αυθεντειν as dominare, and Luther as herr sein, to be the lord. Third, in English this word was translated as "usurp authority" at a time when a usurpation was a serious crime.

I propose that the first basis of authority in the church be based on baptism. The following is from Luther's Appeal to the Ruling class.

To call popes, bishops, priests, monks, and nuns, the religious class, but princes, lords, artisans, and farm-workers the secular class, is a specious device invented by certain timeservers; but no one ought to be frightened by it, and for good reason. For all Christians whatsoever really and truly belong to the religious class, and there is no difference among them except in so far as they do different work.

We all have one baptism, one gospel, one faith, and are all equally Christian. For baptism, gospel, and faith alone make men religious, and create a Christian people. When a pope or bishop anoints, grants tonsures, ordains, consecrates, dresses differently from laymen, he may make a hypocrite of a man, or an anointed image, but never a Christian or a spiritually-minded man. The fact is that our baptism consecrates us all without exception, and makes us all priests.

When a bishop consecrates, he simply acts on behalf of the entire congregation, all of whom have the same authority.

Every one who has been baptized may claim that he has already been consecrated priest, bishop, or pope, even though it is not seemly for any particular person arbitrarily to exercise an office. Just because we are all priests of equal standing, no one must push himself forward and, without the consent and choice of the rest, presume to do that for which we all have equal authority. ....

Hence we deduce that there is, at bottom, no other difference between laymen, princes, priests, bishops, or in Romanist terminology, between religious and secular, than that of office or occupation, and not taht of Christian status. All have spiritual status, and all are truly priests, bishops, and popes. Bu Christians do not follow the same occupation.

I accept that Luther taught that women should be quiet and submissive and not teach. However, this is a discussion of the concept of authority in the abstract. Luther does not present a theory of authority that excludes women because authority is based on baptism. We now allow women to hold office in the secular world but not in the church.

On what basis is authority in the world and in the church differentiated? On what basis are offices of authority withheld from women, if all have authority through their baptism.

We say that women have the same gifts of teaching but may not hold the office because they do not have authority. However, a gifted women who is baptized has both baptism and gift. She ought then to have the occupation, but simply lacks being appointed by men as an office-bearer. And where does it say in the scriptures that a woman shall not bear office?

Council for Biblical Hierarchy

I do earnestly appeal to you brethren to restore the people to their proper position in God's appointed and good hierarchical design, so that in God's will they may fulfill the submissive role under the leadership and authority of a unelected ruler. The following are matters of great concern to the church.

Puritans seek to retain an evangelical base while at the same time modifying Biblical interpretation to be sympathetic to the concerns of the people's movement. However, in order to embrace both, Puritans need to compromise the Bible. Puritanism therefore has become a theological crossing point between conservative evangelical theology and liberalism ... Puritanism and Christianity are like thick oil and water, their very natures dictate that the cannot be mixed.

We uphold as truth that men were created by God as equal in dignity, value, essence and human nature, but also distinct in role whereby one man was given the responsibility of loving authority over the other men, and the other men were to offer willing, glad-hearted and submissive assistance to the one. Gen. 1:26-27 makes clear that men are equally created as God's image, and so are, by God's created design, equally and fully human. But, as Romans 13:1 says , their humanity would find expression differently, in a relationship of complementarity, with many men functioning in a submissive role under the leadership and authority of one man.

Passages such as Romans 13 and 1 Peter 2 exhibit the fact that God's created intention of appropriate absolute rulership and authority should now, in Christ, be fully affirmed, both in the state and in the church. Men are to submit to their ruler in the model of Christ's submitting to his father, leaving us an example, that we should follow in his steps. Monarchy, then, is seen to be restored in the Christian community as men endeavor to express their common humanity according to God's originally created and good hierarchical design.

Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, 14or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. 15 For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men.

Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. 19For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God. 20But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. 21To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. 1 Peter 2:13-21

1Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 3For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. 4For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. 5Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. Romans 13.

Behold, this day thine eyes have seen how that the LORD had delivered thee to day into mine hand in the cave: and some bade me kill thee: but mine eye spared thee; and I said, I will not put forth mine hand against my lord; for he is the LORD's anointed. 1 Sam. 24:10

Therefore, the monarch is the LORD's anointed. This holds true not only for the monarch that belongs to Him, but any ruler which God himself has allowed to have authority over you.

Now royal unction gives no grace, but a just title only, in Regem, "to be king" that is all, and no more. It is the administration to govern, not the gift to govern well: the right of ruling, not the ruling right. It includes nothing but a due title; it excludes nothing but usurption. Who is anointed? On whom the right rests. Who is ununctus " He that hath it not? Suppose Nimrod, who cared for no anointing thrust himself in, and by violence usurped the throne; came in rather like a ranger over a forest, than a father over a family. He was no anointed, nor any that so cometh in.

But on the other side; David, or he that first beginneth a royal race, is as the head; on him is that right of ruling first shed; from him it runs down to the next, and so still, even to the lowest borders of his lawful issue. Remember Job, Reges in solio collosat in perpetuum. It is for ever. God's claim never forfeits; His character never to be wiped out, or scraped out, nor Kings lose their right, no more than Patriarchs did their fatherhood. Lancelot Andrewes, 1610.

We learn by this that although God has created all men to be equal in dignity, only one has the administration of government. It is not based on the gift of leadership but the role of leadership. The monarch has the role of authority, and men have the submissive role.

The monarch ruleth over other men, as a father over his family, that common human dignity shall be expressed in all men by their partaking in the submissive role of Christ. For if men are not in submission to an authority over which they have no control, they will not share in the suffering of Christ and so they will be saved, but as by fire. Their works will be consumed, for they have had no part in Christ on earth.

It is seen then that "rule by the people, and for the people" is a preversion of the image of God who created humans, in all ways, to reflect the hierarchy of God's design. For if men do not submit to hierarchy, then they miss God's perfect plan. "Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves." Rom. 13:2

Men need to be called to repentance and must place themselves under the authority of the servant leadership of a monarch whom God has appointed. Men must give up pursuing leaders of their own appointing and humble themselves before God's will. For if men serve only a leader which they can later depose, they make a mockery of the perfect design of hierarchy which God intended for mankind.

Lundy Bancroft Quotes

Lundy Bancroft has long experience dealing with abuse and abusers. He associates abuse with wrong attitudes towards women. These are quotes from Why Does He Do That?

At least until quite recently, a boy has tended to learn from the most tender age that when he reaches young adulthood he will have a wife or girlfriend who will do everything for him and make him a happy man. His partner will belong to him. Her top responsibility will be to provide love and nurturing, while his key contribution will be to fill the role of "the brains of the operation,"using his wisdom and strength to guide the family. page 325

The sex role expectations to which boys and men have historically been subjected are captured powerfully by an article called "The Good Wife's Guide," from a 1955 issue of Housekeeping Monthly that includes such instructions as "Don't ask him questions about his actions or question his judgment or integrity. Remember, he is the master of the house and as such will always exercise his will with fairness and truthfulness,"and "Don't complain if he's late home for dinner or even if he stays out all night. Count this minor compared to what he might have gone through that day." This wife is further encouraged to make sure the children are quiet when he gets home, to keep the house perfectly orderly and clean, and not to complain if her husband goes our for evening entertainment without her, because she needs to "understand his world of strain and pressure." Our society's sex role attitudes have certainly progressed greatly over the past fifty years, yet the expectations laid out in this article are precisely the ones that I find in many of my abusive clients to this day; cultural values that run this deep take generations to unearth and dispose of. page 326

More to come.

What subordination in creation?

The following are 7 reasons Grudem believes male leadership is found in the creation order. There were three more, which I don't mention but they come from the NT and I don't want to use NT material to influence a translation paradigm for the Hebrew scriptures. (my comments added)

1. Adam is created first, so he is our leader. (He is?)

2. "In Adam we all die" means that Adam is our leader. (It does?)

3. Adam names woman and naming always expresses authority. (And Hagar names God.)

4. God names the human race "Man". (Or God calls Adam the "human". Either way. God did call the human race after Adam, for sure, and Adam means "from the soil". We are all of us dust.)

5. Adam has primary accountability for the sin. (And Saphira is accountable for her own sin.)

6. Woman is helper. She has a "helping role". (God also has a "helping role".)

7. The curse is a distortion of roles which are already established and known to be good and proper. The curse on the woman is that she has a "hostile desire to resist the fair and right leadership role of her husband."
(As far as I know, the curse introduced an altogether new dynamic. Eve labours to bear children and Adam labours the grow food.)

In every case above, the idea of male leadership is read back into the narrative. I have not yet understood how Adam has authority over the human race, or why the human race is called "Man", rather than the first man being called the "Human". And how does helping someone make them the leader? More likely if you help, you would say, "Here let me show you, now it's your turn, and I'll help." You lead and then you graciously stand back.

Leadership is a blessing but believing that you have authority over someone else because of your biology is not too brilliant, no matter how you cut it. Dr. Grudem even goes so far as to say that there should be "faint echoes" of this male/female difference with respect to leadership in all our male/female relations. That is, male leadership should enter into all male/female encounters.

It appears that the paradigm of male leadership is established outside the creation narrative and then the translator has brought the paradigm to the Hebrew and declared that adam means "Man" in Gen. 5:2. But a translator benefits greatly from learning the language first. A translator also benefits greatly from knowing how previous translators have translated a verse, apparently not done, in this case.

Read the rest of my post on this subject here.

C. S. Lewis on Equality

I am aware that C. S. Lewis was no big fan of the ordination of women. But that doesn't mean he has nothing to say that is useful to the desire women have to be treated as equals. This is from an essay he wrote on "Equality" 1943, HT J. Taylor,

I am a democrat [believer in democracy] because I believe in the Fall of Man. I think most people are democrats for the opposite reason. A great deal of democratic enthusiasm descends from the ideas of people like Rousseau, who believed in democracy because they thought mankind so wise and good that every one deserved a share in the government. The danger of defending democracy on those grounds is that they're not true. . . . I find that they're not true without looking further than myself. I don't deserve a share in governing a hen-roost. Much less a nation. . . . The real reason for democracy is just the reverse. Mankind is so fallen that no man can be trusted with unchecked power over his fellows. Aristotle said that some people were only fit to be slaves. I do not contradict him. But I reject slavery because I see no men fit to be masters. ("Equality," in C. S. Lewis: Essay Collection and Other Short Pieces, ed. by Lesley Walmsley [London: HarperCollins Publishers, 2000,] p. 666). Cited by John Piper.

I had recently been reading about how Psalm 68 was song by the Parliamentary army during the English civil war. Men have had no qualms in understanding that God was on their side when they rebelled against the established church, or against the tyranny of a non-elected gov't. Slaves finally attained freedom and legal parity in western society, unions established fair bargaining with employers.

But women are not to have any part in this freedom. Each one is still to remain under the authority of their husband. Is this the way that men treat women as they themselves would like to be treated?

I am pondering two or three different options. Possibly many people are completely unaware that "Love your neighbour as yourself" is in the Bible. They think it comes on tea towels and is just one more liberal fuzzy wuzzy expression or non-Christian "nice saying". With the level of Biblical literacy out and about I would not be surprised.

Another thought is that in some circles men have clear in their head that a woman is not their neighbour. This could be corrected by someone pointing out that in the original languages, it says "Love your next one as yourself." And who is your next one?

But all I can think is that for those who teach unilateral submission of woman to man, they really think that there is a hierarchy of scripture texts and this one comes at the bottom.

Summary of the Colorado Springs Guidelines

In response to those wondering why an analysis of the creation narrative is so important, there are two reasons. First, a male authority interpretation of creation is a major argument preventing many from putting the subordination of women on the same level as the subordination of slaves. Many argue that the subordination of women is a fact in the pre-fall narrative and claim that those who believe that women should not be in subordination are going against the clear teaching of scripture. The post I have linked to above shows how weak the male authority interpretation of the creation narrative really is.

The other reason this passage is important is because of the Colorado Springs Guidelines. I have been able to understand where all the other guidelines came from and how misguided they are, but now I understand this one and I know how misguided it is,

3. "Man" should ordinarily be used to designate the human race, for example in Genesis 1:26-27; 5:2; Ezekiel 29:11; and John 2:25.

So, now finally, I have been able to discover the reason for each of these guildelines and I can show how contrary they are to a correct understanding of the Greek and Hebrew.

Sadly, these guidelines form the basis of the Statement of Concern against the TNIV, and the subsequent boycott. These guidelines continue to be taught at conferences, in books, journals and articles.

A. Gender-related renderings of Biblical language which we affirm:

1. 1. The generic use of "he, him, his, himself" should be employed to translate generic 3rd person masculine singular pronouns in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. However, substantival participles such as ho pisteuon can often be rendered in inclusive ways, such as "the one who believes" rather than "he who believes." (There is no difference in the status of gender marking between ἀυτος - "the same one as" and ὀ πιστευων - the one who believes". There is no linguistic justification for translating the gender in one case and not in the other. This guideline has no linguistic basis)
   
2. 2. Person and number should be retained in translation so that singulars are not changed to plurals and third person statements are not changed to second or first person statements, with only rare exceptions required in unusual cases. (In recording the sermons of Jesus, the gospels often record his commands in one place with a singular and in another with a plural. There is no scriptural defense for this guideline.)
   
3. "Man" should ordinarily be used to designate the human race, for example in Genesis 1:26-27; 5:2; Ezekiel 29:11; and John 2:25. (Historically the human race has been called Adam, Man and human. There is no scriptural basis for one over the other. The KJV uses Adam, some translations use "Man", and others "human".)
   
4. 4. Hebrew 'ish should ordinarily be translated "man" and "men," and Greek aner should almost always be so translated. (I refer to David E. S. Stein's article on ish and for aner, an article by Nyland, and one by myself. There is more than adequate linguistic justification for a gender neutral translation of these words.)
   
5. 5. In many cases, anthropoi refers to people in general, and can be translated "people" rather than "men." The singular anthropos should ordinarily be translated "man" when it refers to a male human being. (Then why does the ESV not translate anthropoi as people? And why is no translation allowed to refer to Jesus "a human"?)
   
6. 6. Indefinite pronouns such as tis can be translated "anyone" rather than "any man." (Good.)
   
7. 7. In many cases, pronouns such as oudeis can be translated "no one" rather than "no man." (Yes.)
   
8. 8. When pas is used as a substantive it can be translated with terms such as "all people" or "everyone." (Yes)
   
9. 9. The phrase "son of man" should ordinarily be preserved to retain intracanonical connections. (This can be done by ensuring the same translation in each case; it doesn't require "son of man".)
   
10. 10. Masculine references to God should be retained. (Yes)
    

B. Gender-related renderings which we will generally avoid, though there may be unusual exceptions in certain contexts:

1. 1. "Brother" (adelphos) should not be changed to "brother or sister"; however, the plural adelphoi can be translated "brothers and sisters" where the context makes clear that the author is referring to both men and women. (This relates to #2)
   
2. 2. "Son" (huios, ben) should not be changed to "child," or "sons" (huioi) to "children" or "sons and daughters." (However, Hebrew banim often means "children.") (The KJV, Tyndale, Luther tradition has established "children". Since there was no gender neutral term in Hebrew, the masculine term was used to apply to a mixed group. English has a gender neutral term - "children".)
   
3. 3. "Father" (pater, 'ab) should not be changed to "parent," or "fathers" to "parents" or "ancestors." (See #2. This would apply to human parents as both mother and father being the "forefathers" or ancestors. It is important to remember that God's promises were made to Eve, to Sarah and to "mothers" in the scriptures, not just the "fathers". )
   

In writing about Grudem's misunderstandings regarding the creation story, I can now more deeply appreciate where the disagreement which has torn apart fellowship between the translators of the ESV and those of the TNIV came from. It is a very sad thing and remains unresolved.

World Vision and Gender Equity

All churches who teach the unilateral submission of women to men are undermining the efforts of World Vision around the world. World Vision recommends the following,

• Create programmes and raise awareness among men and women to acknowledge and alleviate the burdens of women’s triple role in their home, workplace, and community, and promote women’s equal participation in decision-making.
• Enhance the social support system to enable women to work outside of the home by providing free/subsidised and good quality day-care centres for infants and elders.
• Governmental and international agencies, NGOs, employers, and trade unions must ensure equal rights and equal pay for all women.
• Women in leadership must be encouraged to build their capacity, confidence, assertiveness, and leadership skills while increasing the number of female staff who serve as role models. At the same time, men must be made aware of the shared benefits of gender equality, enabling them to relate to and work positively with empowered women.
• Furthermore, World Vision suggests partnership with social institutions such as churches, council of elders, community leaders and other sources of influence to remove barriers that prevent women from full participation.
• Educate men and women on shared gender roles that allow familial and social equity leading to households and societies where both genders have equal opportunities and access to resources and decision making.

You might read this paper and be glad that you don't live under the conditions described within. Yes, but considering the comparative prosperity of North America, women still suffer from a shocking amount of violence and discrimination. Since this is the same within the Christian community as outside it, it is time for the church as a whole to make a stand against the denial of equal decision-making power to women around the world.

My sense is that a patriarchal culture within some parts of the church is fighting against the goals of World Vision. Let's pull together on this and better the lives of women and children here and around the world.

Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali

I recently read Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali, who is famous for creating the short film Submission about the experience of women in Islam. Shortly after this film was screened in Holland the producer, Theo Van Gogh, was murdered.

Ali has lived in Somalia, Kenya, Saudi Arabia and Holland. This autobiography is particularly enlightening in that it traces her life through many different types of Islam - traditional and cultural, religious and committed, secularized, both politically liberal and totalitarian. Ultimately Ali commits to the path of reason and rejects religious belief. Hers is a journey of experience, faith, dialogue, intense committment and struggle.

Ali describes the family love and cultural background which she grew up in with great affection. She also does not withhold any of the details of genital mutilation, beatings, forced marriage, unemployment, war and exile. Throughout she displays amazing and singlehearted committment to challenge and change. She aspires to follow in her father's footsteps and become a political leader. This book should tear apart many false stereotypes about women and Islam. The message is clear, that Islam oppresses women and the only route out is a modern state based on reason.

It is a controversial book from many perspectives but it contains a story that demands to be heard and responded to.

Here are a couple of reviews NY Times and Boston Globe.

Last year I read Sweetness in the Belly by Camilla Gibb, a novel with a similar cultural background.

PS. Submission was available on the internet at one time, but it has been taken down. Disturbing.

Know your left from your right

It's snowing and they are heading out for a long trip to drive to his parents' place for the weekend. The toddler is buckled into the backseat in his carseat but he is restless so the mother sits in the back beside him.

The father turns around and glances over his shoulder at the child to verify that he is buckled in but he can't see the whole picture from this angle.

"Is the seatbelt over his left shoulder?" he asks.

"No, it's over his right shoulder," his wife answers.

"It should be over the left."

"I don't see how it can go over the left."

"Just do it, will you."

"Okay, but it is rubbing on his chin."

"Look I'll have to do it. You are so incompetent," the husband gets out of the car and goes around to the back seat, opens the door and adjusts the seatbelt.

"Why can't you get it right the first time. Just do as you are told, why can't you."

"It was in that position, that is where I had it before but you told me to switch it."

"No, I told you to put it over the left side, for goodness sake. You can't even obey a simple order. Why not? "

"That's where it was."

"It wasn't - I saw it. What I asked was why you can't even obey a single order. Give me an answer right now."

"I tried to do as you said, I did what I heard you say."

"That isn't good enough. What I want to know is why you didn't obey me. You had better answer now."

"I'm sorry. I tried."

"No you thought you knew better. What will happen in an emergency, I wonder. If you can't give me complete and immediate obedience the children's lives will be a stake."

He cuffs her and her glasses go flying. She scrambles around in the snow to find them - they are broken. She goes into the house for tape to cobble them together.

Finally they leave, the child cries half the way and pukes up all over the back seat, the road is icy, they drive off the road at one point. Fortunately they don't hit anything and they get back on the road and continue unharmed.

Life is shit.

Denial of Decision-making power

I read the following on SoloFeminity. It does indeed say that the denial of decision-making power along with poverty and illiteracy causes women to become infected with HIV at a faster rate than men.

Did you know that girls in impoverished countries are less likely to receive adequate medical care or food, compared to boys? Here are some grim statistics I recently received from World Vision:

- Seven out of ten of the world's hungry are women.
- Nearly half of all girls born in the 50 least developed countries will never attend school, sentencing them to a life of poverty and disease.
- Due to poverty, illiteracy, and the denial of decision-making power, women are becoming infected with HIV faster than men in Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, and Latin America.
- Every six seconds a girl under five dies of preventable causes.
- Of the 800 million who lack basic work skills to rise out of poverty, two-thirds are female.

Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Another little girl has died. It's almost overwhelming to comprehend.

It seems to me that along with sending pharmaceutical drugs, North America should model an appropriate egalitarian stance on male-female relations. Christians should be ahead of the curve on this. Some are, and some aren't.

If we know to do good and don't do it, then we are contributing to the problem. We know that we should teach egalitarian values. If we don't do it, we are guilty - we become part of the problem.

So then, if you know the good you ought to do and don't do it, you sin. James 4:7

Birth Rate Trends

I am not sure what this is apropos of but ... birth rates are of great interest in watching international trends in the status of women, so read this post and the comments for some fascinating insights.

Jews in Baghdad

When I read the biography of Gertrude Bell last year, I was especially impressed with her accounts of the Jewish community in Baghdad in the 1920's. She remarked in particular on the fact that of all women in Baghdad - Muslim, Christian and Jewish, the Jewish women were the most literate and had schools available to them.

This site offers a history of the Jewish community in Baghdad, remarking about the period when Bell was there,

With British entry to Baghdad on February 3, 1917 (fixed as yom nes 17th Adar) there began a period of freedom for the Jews of Baghdad and many of them were employed in the civil service. When the state became independent in 1929 there was an increase in anti-Semitism, especially after the appearance of the German ambassador A. Grobbe in Baghdad (1932).

About educational institutions and medical services one can read,

Until operation "Ezra and Nehemiah" there were 28 Jewish educational institutions in Baghdad, 16 under the supervision of the community committee and the rest privately run. The number of pupils reached 12,000 and many others learned in foreign and government schools. About 400 students studied medicine, law, economics, pharmacy, and engineering. In 1951 the Jewish school for the blind was closed; it was the only school of its type in Baghdad. The Jews of Baghdad had two hospitals in which the poor received free treatment, and several philanthropic services. Out of 60 synagogues in 1950, there remained only 7 in 1960.

This site says that,

During these centuries under Muslim rule, the Jewish Community had it's ups and downs. By World War I, they accounted for one third of Baghdad's population.

For some reason Christians often give the impression that they have an edge on matters of literacy and philanthropy, that the recognition of the sacrifice of Christ, the son of God, is a necessary condition for altruism. This is not consistent with the teaching of the Torah, or the rest of the Hebrew scriptures where I read about the ideal Jewish woman, Prov. 31.

She stretches out her hand to the poor; yea, she reaches forth her hands to the needy.

She opens her mouth with wisdom; and on her tongue is the law of kindness.

Go here to read about the last Jews in Baghdad today. HT Evangelical Text Criticism

Baghdad was once one of the great cradles of Jewish culture and wisdom, but now, according to the Christian priest who has been looking after them, there are only eight Jews left in the Iraqi capital, and their situation is "more than desperate.

Continue reading.

Snow by Pamuk

There are many excellent reviews of Pamuk's Snow, and after reading the book, I read the reviews in this order, Margaret Atwood, to see what a Canadian woman would see in Snow. She calls it the Male Labyrinth Novel, and yes, it is one of the many political novels that I have read recently by men that falls into a genre. I might call it the oppressive politics as a bitter sweet love song; but the twists and turns, the farcical thriller aspects all complicate this. Why read other books when you can read a real author?

Michael McGaha's review adds considerably information about Pamuk and the real political circumstances of his career. Definitely read this review to see how it all fits together. Then I browsed a few other reviews, also good.

It is not quite the intricate tapestry of My Name is Red, but Snow is a more immediate political novel, taking the reader across the lines of race and gender into another reality. Personally, I like Pamuk because of his absorption in books and literature and poetry and history, but in this novel the women come into their own. The plot centres around the suicide of the "head scarf girls". Only a novel with a parade of individual characters can do justice to a complex issue like this. I will keep on reading Pamuk.

Shorts from Regent

This has been my first time back in a lecture hall for many years so I have been fascinated by the ubiquity of the laptop, the soft clatter of typing, the software and the mp3 recorders of various kinds. It was also my first time looking at an interlinear New Testament. Lots of firsts. But, Waltke and Fee use the old fashioned overhead and hand out lots of paper.

I was supposed to meet with Dr. Waltke two weeks ago, but it was put off because another women about my age was setting up a camera on a tripod outside his office door when I arrived. I could see that she wanted more than a few spare moments with the great man, so I said that I would wait. I chatted with her for a few minutes and found out that she was health professional researching breastfeeding and motherhood. She said that Dr. Waltke had confided in her that his memory went back to when he was a baby and he could remember breastfeeding, so she was going to interview him on this topic. Go figure!

When I did have my interview with Dr. Waltke a week later, the coffee shop line snaked through the atrium so we retreated to the staff hideout and a private thermos. To his consternation the thermos was empty. At first, I thought - how kind this man is to insist on my having coffee, but it soon became apparent that I wouldn't get a word out of him until he had his cup firmly in front of him. He went in and out a few times, looking either for whoever made coffee or making it himself, I wasn't sure which. This took some time. Finally, he returned with a full thermos and poured me a cup. He then poured himself a half cup and drank it black. He kept the thermos beside him and would only pour in half a cup at a time, so that it was always very hot when he drank it.

When this was all settled he leaned forward on his elbows and looked at me with great concentration and said, "I have a question for you first." I could not quite imagine what. "How do my course assignments compare with Gordon Fee's?" he asked. Well, all professors think alike, I thought. But I am just auditing so I couldn't answer his question.

Actually, I did find out the next day what was going on. In Fee's class, I sat beside a young man who had also been in Waltke's class. He commented, "I really want to take Fee's class -this is so great, I love it so much, I don't know what to do, but I am going to have to quit." Apparently he figured out that if he worked 16 hours a day for 6 days a week for 6 weeks, he would be able to complete the bare minimum of assignments for Waltke's 2 week course. So he was going to ask for a refund for his fees for Fee's class. I guess this trend was not going over well in accounting. It must have gotten back to Waltke.

---------------

One afternoon I joined in a small discussion with John Stackhouse, author of Finally Feminist. Most of his books are on other topics, but this one did come up briefly. John described his upbringing in the Plymouth Brethren. He explained what it was like to listen to the ministry of all men, but only men. The Brethren used to depend on only one verse for the silence of women - 1 Cor. 14: 35. "It is a shame for women to speak in the church." In the assembly a woman's voice was never heard, not in testimony, singing or even as a Sunday School teacher. Women were silent. However, every single male had to participate in leading or ministering from the age of 18 on, regardless of gifts, inclination or training. John just rolled his eyes, trying to describe what it was like.

After the discussion with John, a pastor from the south came up to me and asked for a ride back to his car. He had arrived too late for the designated parking and had left his car on the side of a road about one mile away. He asked if I was driving east from the campus. Since I wasn't driving to Japan, I said yes, I was definitely heading east.

I got a little lost in a new campus suburb on the way out, driving around an endless crescent. Finally we emerged, a little disoriented, onto the road where he had left his car and I drove along it a little. He was explaining how he had rented a zippy Japanese vehicle but, for some reason, had had to exchange it for an small American model of mediocre performance just that morning. We drove along chatting when suddenly he looked around startled and started to moan that his car had been stolen. It was not where he had left it!

I quickly calculated the likelihood of a car of the make he had mentioned being picked out by a joyriding teenager - not very high, and had an inspiration. "No worries," I said, "All my girlfriends have had their cars stolen too. But, every time it has turned out that they simply forgot where they had parked. So we will drive around the block and find your car right where you left it." We did, and he was very grateful - as if I had made his car materialize out of thin air."Thank you, sister," he said.

P 46 Index

This is taken directly off the blog of Brandon Wason, Novum Testamentum Blog . He has moved his blog and I can't access this page any more by the usual method, so I have pulled this out of cache and reposted it so it doesn't get lost. I hope that's okay. Thanks for all your work, Brandon.

-----------------------

A New Way to Access Michigan's P46 Images

P⁴⁶ is without question one of the most important manuscripts for New Testament studies, and arguably the most important text of the Pauline Corpus. The manuscript itself was comprised of 104 leaves strung together into a codex. Today 86 of those original 104 leaves are extant and housed in both Michigan and Dublin. The reason for its importance is that it is the earliest extant collection of Paul's letters. The usual date ascribed to it is 200 C.E., though Aland notes that there is leeway on either side (Text 87). The order of the contents of P⁴⁶ is as follows: Romans, Hebrews, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Ephesians, Galatians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, and 2 Thessalonians. The Pastoral Epistles, in their present form, were not contained in P⁴⁶ as there was not enough space on the remanding leaves for them to have been included. Most scholars claim that 2 Thessalonians was counted, despite the fact that it has not been preserved over the centuries. Parts of Romans and 1 Thessalonians are also missing. 1 Thessalonians, if I recall correctly, does not contain an alpha in the title, thus some have argued that 2 Thessalonians was never included because the collater of P⁴⁶ only knew 1 Thessalonians as Paul's only letter to that group. Another issue with P⁴⁶ is how it handles the doxology in Romans by placing it after Romans 15:33 and before chapter 16. P⁴⁶ is generally categorized as belonging to (or preceding) the Alexandrian text-type, though there are some Western qualities about it.

As I mentioned above, part of P⁴⁶ resides in Michigan at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. They possess thirty of the 86 leaves, which they have made availabe on their website (which I blogged about in August). I often refer to the APIS (The Advanced Papyrological Information System at U Michigan) website to look at the very detailed images of P⁴⁶, yet their system is often very difficult to navigate. I finally took the time to list the contents of each of the leaves (front and back, thus sixty images) and link to them individually, which is what I have below:

• 3553 • Rom 11.36—12.8
• 3554 • Rom 12.10—13.1
• 3555 • Rom 13.2-11
• 3556 • Rom 13.12—14.8
• 3557 • Rom 15.11-19
• 3558 • Rom 15.20-28
• 3559 • Rom 15.29—16.3
• 3560 • Rom 16.4-13
• 3561 • Heb 1.7—2.3
• 3562 • Heb 2.11—3.3
• 3564 • Heb 2.3-11
• 3565 • Heb 3.3-13
• 3569 • Rom 16.14-23
• 3570 • Rom 16.23—Heb 1.7
• 3571 • Heb 3.13—4.4
• 3572 • Heb 4.4-14
• 3573 • Heb 4.14—5.7
• 3574 • Heb 5.8—6.4
• 3575 • Heb 6.4-13
• 3576 • Heb 6.13—7.2
• 3577 • Heb 7.2-11
• 3578 • Heb 7.11-20
• 3579 • Heb 7.20-28
• 3580 • Heb 7.28—8.8
• 3581 • Heb 9.10-16
• 3582 • Heb 9.18-26
• 3583 • 1 Cor 2.3-11
• 3584 • 1 Cor 2.11—3.5
• 3585 • 2 Cor 9.7—10.1
• 3586 • 2 Cor 10.1-11
• 3587 • 2 Cor 10.11—11.2
• 3588 • 2 Cor 11.3-10
• 3589 • 2 Cor 11.12-22
• 3590 • 2 Cor 11.23-33
• 3591 • 2 Cor 11.33—12.9
• 3592 • 2 Cor 12.10-18 (typo on APIS)
• 3593 • 2 Cor 12.18—13.5
• 3594 • 2 Cor 13.5-13
• 3595 • Eph 1.1-11
• 3599 • Eph 1.12-20
• 3600 • Eph 1.21—2.7
• 3601 • Eph 2.10-20
• 3602 • Eph 2.21—3.10
• 3603 • Eph 3.11—4.1
• 3604 • Eph 4.2-14
• 3606 • Eph 4.15-25
• 3607 • Eph 4.26—5.6 (typo on APIS)
• 3608 • Eph 5.8-25
• 3609 • Eph 5.26—6.6
• 3610 • Eph 6.8-18
• 3611 • Eph 6.20—Gal 1.8
• 3612 • Gal 1.10-22
• 3613 • Gal 1.23—2.9
• 3614 • Gal 2.9-21
• 3615 • Gal 3.2-15
• 3616 • Gal 3.16-29
• 3617 • Gal 4.2-17
• 3618 • Gal 4.20—5.1
• 3619 • Gal 5.2-17
• 3620 • Gal 5.20—6.8

The Girls

The Girls is the only novel I have read recently about abundant and fulfilling love. The two girls, twins conjoined on the side of the head, not only negotiate an equitable and loving relationship, in which the stronger one does not dominate or make decisions for the other; but their relationship also serves as a metaphor for successful conjugal love. Romance and tenderness erupt in the most unlikely places and it is an important plot device that no character goes unkissed. Sad and funny but very satisfying. I loved it.

My Name is Red, War Trash, Kite Runner, Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress are books written by men about cultural and political themes. Swallows of Kabul and Half of Man is Woman are novels in which failed conjugal love serves as a metaphor for male impotence under a repressive political regime. They are satisfying to read simply because the authors, writing in a very different cultural and linguistic environment, are able to successfully communicate a universal message using the theme of conjugal love.

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan is a story of failed love and the kindness and tenderness of family and community. Memory Keeper's Daughter and Glass Castle are novels of triumph in a dysfunctional family.

At least that's my take.

Reading Habits

Kite Runner - 2005, US 1912 reviews, 4 1/2 stars; UK 236 reviews, 4 1/2 stars
Swallows of Kabul 2005, US 42 reviews 4 1/2 stars; UK 3 reviews 5 stars
Memory Keeper's Daughter 2006, US 588 reviews 3 1/2 stars; UK 36 reviews 3 1/2 stars
Glass Castle 2006, US 707 reviews 4 1/2 stars; UK 3 reviews 5 stars
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan 2006, US 339 customer reviews 4 1/2 stars; UK 20 reviews 5 stars
Suite Française 2006, US 203 reviews 4 1/2 stars; UK 21 reviews, 5 stars
Half of Man is Woman 1991, US 1 review 5 stars; UK no reviews
My Name is Red 2002, US 105 reviews 4 1/2 stars, UK 24 reviews, 3 1/2 stars
The Girls 2007 US 72 reviews 4 1/2 stars, UK 42 reviews 3 1/2 stars
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, 2002, US, 208 reviews, 4 stars; UK 13 reviews, 4 stars
Snow 2005, US 106 reviews, 3 1/2 stars; UK 22 reviews, 3 1/2 stars
Reading Lolita in Tehran 2003, US 317 reviews, 3 1/2 stars; UK 18 reviews , 4 1/2 stars
The Places in Between 2006, US 115 reviews, 4 stars; UK 17 reviews, 4 1/2 stars
Bookseller of Kabul 2004, US 113 reviews, 4 stars; UK 39 reviews, 3 1/2 stars
War Trash 2006, US no reviews; UK 2 reviews, 4 1/2 stars

I have decided to analyse my reading habits. First, novels represent about half of my reading time. I like it that way and I really don't know what to say to people who claim they have eliminated novels from their reading schedule. Some of these same people haven't eliminated watching sports on TV, of course. Oh well. Each to their own.

My favourite books are in this order, My Name is Red, a little long and difficult but if you love books and the history of books, it is wonderful. Next, War Trash, Balzac, Snow Flower, Half of Man is Woman, Swallows of Kabul, Places in Between. And so on.

I found Kite Runner just plain irritating with its formula plot and predictable ending, and the Glass Castle was very enjoyable but surely overrated. There are many books which I am extemely happy to read, and discuss but wouldn't rate as top literature. Memory Keeper's Daughter and The Girls, for example. I wouldn't miss them for anything but they probably will not be enduring tales. I would still recommend all of these books as a good read.

So how did I choose these books? The best books I have read recently, Swallows of Kabul and Snow Flower, were selling for a few bucks in a bin at Safeway. I hadn't heard of them but just from reading the back cover I was able to decide that these were books for me and I wasn't disappointed. Three cheers for Safeway. My Name is Red and War Trash were from the library. The Glass Castle and The Girls were recommended by a sister. I like the variety these books represent. I don't feel that I wasted any time on poorly written books.

So far this seems to me to be an appropriate way to chose books. Notice how poorly Snow, the Nobel prizewinner, fared in the Amazon reviews. I am reading it right now and won't comment yet.

Update: Here are some sites with book reviews.

Booklist online - features a book by Ha Jin
New York Times - Shadow of the Silk Road

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

I consider this book by Lisa See to be one of the more powerful and memorable books that I have read this year. This is the intertwined history of footbinding and nu shu, the 'secret' women's writing of China.

It is an emotionally realistic story of a female friendship, with a strong plotline, details of the men's work and study along with intricate descriptions of embroidery and cooking.

The strength of this story is that the author does not tell you what to think about footbinding. You are left to make up your own mind what you would have done in the situations described.

In a tragic reversal of fortune, the young girl from a higher class is fated for a life of poverty and sorrow. In the last few pages we learn of how she has concealed a lifetime of suffering from abuse and violence from her closest friend. The other girl experiences increasing fortune and attributes her own eventual security and dominance to her own moral strength rather than to an indifferent fate. The abuse is not only the physical damage the heroine suffers but the increasing isolation and depression she experiences from the misunderstanding and judgment of her close female friend.

Fortunately we are not left entirely bereft. Each character experiences in others mitigating tenderness and kindness if not love.