Bloody Mary Bible Brunch: Sex and the Bible Ep. 6

Primary Sources: Jeremiah, scattered, but especially 3:1 and 31:31-37; Ezekiel 16, 23; Hosea

Secondary Sources: Battered Love, Renita J. Weems; Carnal Knowledge of God, Rebecca M. M. Voelkel, Chapter 3.

 

Outline

 

* Trigger Warning

 

I. What is the Metaphor?

   A. Jeremiah 3:1 -- notion of defilement of a wife, spoiled by another, etc.

   B. Chosen to elicit a "gut reaction" more than intellectual reasoning

   C. Plays off a system that is in place without explicitly endorsing that system

 

II. How bad is it?

  A. Ezekiel 16 & 23 -- graphic, explicit, weird talk about Egyptian genitalia 

  B. Hosea -- shockingly detailed & graphic, and bizarre story line

  C.  Amazingly bad

 

III. Is the metaphor wholly detached from the subject?

   A. Monogamy -- Monotheism connection

   B. Dominance - Submissive understanding of marriage & faith

   C. Maleness of religion as a source of organizing power

 

IV. Colonization & Displacement of Female Power 

   A. The use of rape and otherness as a tool of colonizing -- "savage" non-binary society, rape of slave women, etc.

   B. The quest among the prophets of YHWH to displace other forms of worship, including pantheons with strong female presence

 

V.  How much do we hate this?

   A. The sexual violence remains in our society today.

   B. The connection with supernatural theism

   C. These metaphors do not exactly support co-creation with God.