Wholly Woman, Holy Blood: A Feminist Critique of Purity and Impurity

(Paperback)

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Description

In this anthology, well-known scholars examine the relationship between blood and purity laws, especially as those laws have been passed down in the biblical literature and the Roman Catholic tradition. The various approaches to the issue of female blood and purity and impurity are discusses with contributions ranging from historical to postmodern criticism.

Reviews

"The title of this book aptly describes the theme that binds this collection of essays together: blood- and the way in which blood signifies gender-based religious values....the essays complement one another nicely and form a coherent whole while leaving the reader to draw her or his own conclusions....the book as a whole makes a significant contribution to the complex issue of purity in Jewish and Christian tradition, a subject that has only recently received adequate attention." -Pamela M. Eisenbaum, Journal of the American Academy of Religion (72/2), Summer 2004
"To equate female blood, menstrual blood, with holiness This is an audacious and long overdue academic undertaking. Read this book--it's refreshing in its transdisciplinary vigor and forward-looking suggestions for reading canonical texts." -- Athalya Brenner,Professor of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament,University of Amsterdam; Distinguished Professor-in-Residence, Brite Divinity School, Fort Worth, Texas * Blurb from reviewer *
"Wholly Woman, Holy Blood presents saddening as well as infuriating details about the effects of texts like Lev.12 and 15 on the roles of women in Western society and religion. Biblical, theological, historical, and liturgical studies combine to an insightful and rich interdisciplinary conversation that exposes the perniciousness of past and present patriarchal disdain for womanly maters and women as a group. Thematic and text-focused, this volume illustrates that we gain much by reading biblical texts within their extensive history of interpretation."--Susanne Scholz, Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Merrimack College, North Andover, MA -- Susanne Scholz * Blurb from reviewer *
"Wholly Woman Holy Blood is a dazzling collection. It is bound together by questions regarding blood taboos and women's relations to their religious communities. It is bound by its power to illumine the ordination of women and women's relations to childbirth and holiness. Engaging questions of purity, impurity, sacrality, and danger, the diverse authors exegete biblical texts, classical sources, and trajectories of Jewish and Christian interpretations of women and blood. The book in interdisciplinary in its scope, scholarly in its depth, integrative in its focus, and compelling in its fresh contribution."--Mary Elizabeth Moore, Director, Women in Theology and Ministry, Professor of Religion and Education, Candler School of Theology, Emory University -- Mary Elizabeth Moore * Blurb from reviewer *
"The essays in this volume converge on a powerful and complex topic...The authors write from a strong feminist perspective and underscore the negative valence given to women as a source of pollution in many of these traditions, while at the same time suggesting new readings of these traditional materials that link the blood of women to holiness."--Donald Senior C.P., The Bible Today, July/August 2003. -- Donald Senior C.P. * Blurb from reviewer *
"...[T]his volume presents a thought-provoking, multidisciplinary mix of essays that alternate among textual, historical, and (Christian) theological analyses. ...[T]he volume raises important questions and deserves critical attention, especially from feminist theologians, but also from those who study gender in biblical literature and in church history." -The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, Vol. 66, 2004 * Blurb from reviewer *
"For biblical scholars, the following articles are of importance." -Old Testament Abstracts Vol. 28, 2005 * Old Testament Abstracts *
"The book consists of ten articles authored by international scholars in the fields of biblical studies, ancient Near Eastern studies, church history, liturgies, theology, and women's studies....The stated hope of the editors is that the volume may definitely connect female blood and holiness' (xii). To a very large extent, the authors succeed in doing precisely that.... Overall, this is a book worthy of inclusion as required reading in biblical, theological, and women's studies courses." -Ritva H. Williams, Theological Studies, Vol. 65, No. 3, September 2004 * Theological Studies *

Author Bio

Judith A. Herbert is a Ph.D. student at Claremont School of Theology. Judith Ann Johnson is an independent research scholar working with Claremont Graduate Universitys Womens Studies in Religion and University of Global Ministries. Anne-Marie Korte is lives in Utrecht, the Netherlands, and is the editor of Women and Miracle Stories: Multidisciplinary Explanation.