All posts by: Wil

Biblical scholar in Hebrew and Hebrew Bible: special interest in translation textual plurality, (Septuagint, Dead Seas Scrolls, Samaritan Pentateuch, Aleppo Codex, Leningrad Codex); feminist, womanist and post-colonial biblical interpretation; prophets and prophecy in the Ancient Near East and ancient Israel Episcopal priest, product of the Black Church, author, blogger, preacher, teacher, lecturer, public speaker

Moses & His Lady (Who Is Also His Lord)

Shabbat B’ha’alotkha 25 May 2013/16 Sivan 5773 בְּהַעֲלֹתְךָ  בְּהַעֲלֹתְךָ “When you set up (the stuff)…” There’s a lot of stuff in this parsha. The purpose of this setting up in 8:1 is to give light, so too I hope will this drash. Let’s shine the light on some of the stuff in the text. First...... Read More
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Shackles

Savaging Women (and Men)

The festering scab of our rape epidemic has been ripped off (again), revealing the festering flesh underneath. Women and girls snatched off the street and held in chains for years as sex slaves; predators talking their way into the homes of struggling single mothers for access to their children; male soldiers and defense contractors raping...... Read More
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Rewriting the Bible, Me & the History Channel

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  • April 1, 2013
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I am a womanist, feminist, post-colonial, transgressive, progressive biblical scholar. I am liberal about the love of God and conservative about translation issues (like lexical fidelity). And I have been accused of rewriting the bible on more than one occasion, see Rewriting the Bible: the Gospel According to Liberals where I’m in good company. That is something...... Read More
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Crucifixion and Sexual Violence

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  • March 28, 2013
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On this Good Friday as on many before, I consider anew the full range of torture and humiliation to which Jesus of Nazareth was subjected, physical and sexual. The latter is so traumatizing for the Church that we have covered it up – literally – covering Jesus’ genitals on our crucifixes. But the Romans (and...... Read More
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Whitewashing Jesus’ Judaism

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  • March 25, 2013
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We begin with the simple historical fact that Jesus was a Jew… It is impossible for Jesus to be understood outside of the sense of community which Israel held with God… The Christian Church has tended to overlook its Judaic origins, but the fact is that Jesus of Nazareth was a Jew of Palestine when...... Read More
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How Patriarchy Almost Destroyed America

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  • March 23, 2013
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Olympus Has Fallen was a fabulous movie! I loved it. I didn’t realize that it was an Antoine Fuqua film until the end. but I wasn’t surprised. I have enjoyed most of his movies. There are always these twists that get me thinking…[SPOILER ALERT] The Secretary of Defense, Ruth McMillian played by Melissa Leo had...... Read More
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Father Tom and Wil

H.A.M. Hard As a Mother (In Israel)

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  • March 23, 2013
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[I prepared this meditation for the Logan Legacy Prayer Breakfast, celebrating the life and legacy of the Rev. Canon Thomas Wilson Stearly Logan, the longest lived priest of African descent in the Episcopal Church who died at the age of 100, at the request of the committee who assigned me the theme of “Engendering Prophecy”...... Read More
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Hannah, a sculpture al Mamilla Mall, Jerusalem

Erased By the History Channel

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  • March 22, 2013
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One thing for sure, the History Channel’s mini-series has people watching, talking and blogging. But are people reading the bible? Some are I think. I hope that this series leads to deeper and richer conversations with and about the text than are possible in any multi-media production. I’d like to see folk read the narratives...... Read More
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History Channel’s Satan and President Obama

Many viewers of the History Channel’s Bible mini-series saw and see a resemblance between the character of Satan and President Barack Obama. Comparison photos such as the one above are circulating on Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms. The History Channel denies any resemblance and any attempt to pattern the character after the President....... Read More
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King Jesus

Jesus’ Bible and the History Channel’s Bible

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  • March 17, 2013
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The third episode of the History Channel’s ratings-shattering series, The Bible, moves from the Israelite scriptures of Judaism and Christianity to the New Testament added by Christians to the canon we share with Judaism. I have previously responded to some of the issues of the series here and here and here. Today I’d like to reflect...... Read More
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