Thoughts on Religion and Sacred Texts

Chronologically these papers are listed with the newest (and longest) papers first. Currently I've got short essays on early Judaism and early Christianity from a literary/historical viewpoint, and a research paper on women in modern Catholicism. Also, on my Societies and Subcultures and my Library pages there are a few more papers that deal somewhat peripherally with how religions reflect and are reflected by societies.

Please note these papers are not about spiritual matters per se, but rather on how religion is defined and experienced within a culture. Come on, guys, I'm an anthro major -- what did you expect? ;-)

"Gimme That Old Time Religion"	A textual interpretation for my popular culture sociology class of the movie Dogma.
Women and Catholicism: Coming to a New Understanding	This was a final paper written for my Women, Religion, and Society class. The research was both fascinating and personally illuminating.
Paul's First Letter to the Thessalonians and Corinthians	An assessment of Paul's prescriptions on celibacy, marriage and how women should conduct themselves.
Thoughts on the Disciple Jesus Loved	where I postulate freely that Mary Magdalene was both the disciple Jesus loved, and possibly the author of the gospel of John.
Women and the Early Church	A quick review of how women's treatment in the early christian church changed, as the fledgling church moved from "cult" status to being part of the societal "status quo."
Feminism and the Bible	Yet another attempt to find relevancy in the bible for women... ;-)
The Book of Tobit And The Saving Grace Of Women	A review of the Apocryphal Book of Tobit from an amusedly humanist/feminist/whatever-you-like-ist perspective.
The Diasporically Inspired Books of Ruth, Judith, Esther, and Daniel and Susanna	The title says it all. :-)
Quick Review of three Books of the Old Testament	A very short overview of the Books of Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes.

Highly Recommended Authors on Related Subjects

Bishop John Shelby Spong: if you can know a man by his works, then I would consider it a great honor to meet and talk with this man. He is the most tolerant and truly "christ-like" cleric I've ever read -- from any religion. I highly recommend his Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism, Born of A Woman, and Living in Sin? A Bishop Rethinks Human Sexuality, and I'm eagerly trying to find the rest of his works.

Elaine Pagels: so far I've found Adam, Eve, and the Serpent, and The Gnostic Gospels by her. Careful, well-researched, and thoughtful. I hope to find more of her work.

Dr. Uta Ranke-Heinemann: I've read two of her works: Eunuchs for the Kingdom of Heaven, and Putting Away Childish Things -- both truly excellent works of scholarship.

[Religion and the Bible] [Ethics and Morality] [Popular Movements]
[Applied Theoretical Interpretations] [Collie's Bestiary] [Societies and Subcultures]
[Odds'n'Ends] [The Library] [Role-Playing Games]

Let me know what you think about what I've written -- I'm always interested in communicating! ;-)

Last Updated: Thu Jul 13 2000