When Deborah Met Jael

by Guest, Deryn

• ISBN13: 9780334029588
• ISBN10: 0334029589
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-04-30
• Publisher: Scm Pr

Summary

When Deborah Met Jael defines and situates the significant elements that constitute lesbian readings of scripture. Deryn Guest explores the instability of the lesbian label and the concept of a "lesbian sensibility". The book further explores the social location of lesbian hermeneutics, noting in particular the adverse positions of lesbians socially, economically and religiously. The author also examines the non-negotiable principles that underpin lesbian readings of biblical texts. These include; upholding the dignity of the lesbian and the authority of experience; the need to operate via a specifically lesbian hermeneutic of suspicion and the principle of ensuring the views of grassroot lesbians are included. Finally the author evaluates strategies that have been used to date by lesbians reading scripture, identifying those strategies that are most likely to provide empowerment to contemporary lesbians.

Table of Contents

Identifying the 'lesbian' in lesbian hermeneutics	p. 1
Who is the lesbian in a lesbian-identified hermeneutic?	p. 9
Lesbian-identified hermeneutics in context	p. 59
Guiding principles for lesbian-identified hermeneutics	p. 105
Resistance : commitment to a hermeneutic of hetero-suspicion	p. 111
Rupture : commitment to the disruption of sex-gender binaries	p. 157
Reclamation : commitment to strategies of appropriation	p. 195
Re-engagement : commitment to making a difference	p. 231
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.