Description
Book SynopsisFrom prostitutes to polygamy, witches to widows, foreigners to slaves, the Bible is full of texts about women who have been classified as other and pushed to the margins of society. In the academy, feminist, liberation and post-colonial theologians have challenged the disparaging categorization of these biblical women and redefined them as sacred insiders, whose contributions to Judeo-Christian history offer ongoing lessons about the inclusive nature of God. Letting the Other Speak: Proclaiming the Stories of Biblical Women helps pastors, Christian educators, professors and theological students bring the stories of six controversial biblical women to congregations by surveying historical and contemporary exegetical work on each passage, modeling exegeting a congregation in preparation for moving from text to sermon, and providing two sample sermons, one prophetic and one pastoral, for each text.
Trade ReviewKemp Hartman empowers us to listen anew to God’s voice speaking through the voices of others. Her scholarly reflections and sample sermons related to six biblical women bridge the gap between theory and practice, ourselves and “others,” biblical and current contexts, prophetic and pastoral possibilities in preaching. -- Dawn Ottoni-Wilhelm, Bethany Theological Seminary
Tracy Hartman has written a clear, vivid and theologically sophisticated work that integrates biblical exegesis and contextual understandings of preaching. Her keen intellectual work is complemented by engaging sermons that give us new insight into the scriptures, the experience of women, and the mystery of God. This is an excellent piece of homiletical scholarship, equally useful to the seminary classroom and the ministry of busy preachers. -- Thomas H. Troeger, Lantz Professor of Christian Communication, Yale Divinity School
In an engaging and pioneering book, Tracy Hartman leads us to encounter six key stories of women in the Bible as Others. a brilliant move, Professor Hartman offers two sermons on each passage—one from a pastoral point of view for those who need the encouragement of the story, and one from a prophetic point of view for those who need to become agents of social transformation. I know of no better practical introduction to Otherness and to the ways in which it can bring preaching alive. -- Ronald J. Allen, Christian Theological Seminary
Table of ContentsForeword Acknowledgments Chapter 1: We See What We Want to See Chapter 2: Three’s Company: Hagar in Genesis 16 and 21 Chapter 3: Three Strikes and You’re In: Rahab in Joshua 2 and 6 Chapter 4: Who Needs eHarmony.com? The Story of Ruth Chapter 5: Well Done, Medium! The Medium at Endor in I Samuel 28 Chapter 6: Jesus, What Were You Thinking? The Canaanite Woman in Matthew 15:21-28 Chapter 7: Well, Well, Fancy Meeting You Here Chapter 8: Moving Beyond the Sermon Bibliography Index About the Author and Contributors
