Till the Heart Sings: A Biblical Theology of Manhood and WomanhoodWm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004 - 260 pages This new edition of Till the Heart Sings, including a substantial foreword by Phyllis Trible, makes available again Samuel Terrien's rich, acclaimed study of the biblical witness to personhood. Sweeping yet selective in scope, the book argues that the Bible as a whole advances a theology of manhood and womanhood unique in the ancient world. This theology, which resides in the main thrust of Scripture, turns away from sexism and misogyny to confer upon woman as well as man the full stature of humanity. Terrien begins his argument where the Bible itself begins, with creation. He describes the first woman as "the crown of creation," in a mutual relationship with the first man. He then proceeds through Scripture -- including the prophets, the Wisdom literature, the Gospels, and the Pauline letters -- systematically showing that when the books of the Old and New Testaments are viewed in their historical growth, they reveal a theology of manhood and womanhood that runs counter to both traditional Judaism and Christianity and to modern religious attitudes and practices. In the course of his thorough analysis of Scripture, Terrien eloquently examines a host of themes bearing on the issues of gender and personhood, from the myth of the Garden and the eros-agape continuum in the Song of Songs to male overreaction to sexual mysticism and the Gnostic personification of wisdom. Terrien also explores matters related to marriage, homosexuality, and male and female priesthood, all with the aim of uncovering a truly biblical understanding of the relationship between the genders and between all people and God. "This is one of those rare books that ought to be read by anyone who deals with Scripture or sexuality. Seldom has this reader had the pleasure of reviewing a book that maintained such a high level of interest, insight, and scholarship from start to finish, or challenged in such a positive way so many accepted conclusions of both more traditional as well as feminist interpretations of biblical texts." Book jacket. |
Contents
Woman Crown of Creation | 7 |
The Lure of Infinity | 19 |
The ErosAgape Continuum | 29 |
The Gender of God | 51 |
Circumcised Male and Pollutant Female | 71 |
The Play of Wisdom | 87 |
From Sophia to Logos | 103 |
Jesus Woman and the Fatherhood of God | 121 |
The Ambiguities of the Second Generation | 175 |
Man and Woman in Christianity | 199 |
Principal Abbreviations | 225 |
Notes | 227 |
233 | |
251 | |
257 | |
259 | |
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Common terms and phrases
agapē androgyny apostle biblical theology Canaanite canonical century B.C. Christ circumcision cosmic covenant creation cult cultic cultural daughters death deity disciples divine fatherhood earth erōs ethics exile existential faith Father female feminine feminist flesh Garden Genesis Gnostic Gospel grace Greek Hebraic Hebrew Bible Hellenistic holy homosexuality human love husband implies interpretation Israel Jerusalem Jesus Jesus ben Sirach Jewish Jews Johannine Judaism language literature Logos Lord lover Luke male manhood and womanhood marriage Mary Magdalene masculine meaning metaphor misogyny modern moral Moses mother of Jesus motif myth ordination of women Paul poem poet presented priesthood priestly priests Priscilla prophets Prov religion religious render rites ritual Roman sacred sages Scripture sense Septuagint sexual Sirach Song of Songs Sophia story temple Terrien Testament theologian theology of manhood thou tion Torah traditional transcendence verb Wisdom at Play woman women worship Yahweh Yahwist