Just a Sister Away: A Womanist Vision of Women's Relationships in the Bible

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Summary: Exceptional Work !
Review: An excellent approach and personalization of women we have read about in the Holy Scriptures--but may have dared not think about beyond the verbatim of the written word. Yet, why not ? This is truly a work that must have warmed the very heart of God !

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Summary: Popular interpretations provide "pop theology".
Review: The popularity of JUST A SISTER AWAY, like many books published during the past ten years, is not necessarily a reliable indicator of insightful images of African American women, or valid evidence of reflective and exploratory interpretations of the Bible. Where is the global currency within these portraits of women in the Bible via African America? How can we sit along other sisters of the global community who may view us through these interpretations of Weems, that may not necessarily reflect the intentions or evidence of interventions of God? Through her own imagination and experiences, as she admits, her book consists of "creative reconstructions of the possible emotions and issues that motivated biblical women in their relations with each other". She continues by admitting her conjectures are based upon her own assumptions and perhaps from personal experiences. The difficulty I have in accepting this book as anymore than another tool of "edutainment" and "quick -fixed theraupy" is based upon the conditions we are currently facing in African America due to our avoidance of acknowledging and addressing these areas ignored within her assumption. Time, culture, lifestyles, and attitudes have tremendous impact upon how we interpret women of any era, particularly in the Bible, and how we find relevance within their stories for our generation and those yet to come. Weems, however, reduces the attention on God in her book and raises the issues facing a particular segment of oppressed women. There simply is no easy way to project their conditions upon ours. And why should we? We have enough difficulty in trying to relate to those within our own time period and hemisphere. Why impose upon a segment of antiquity, especially without addressing the class differences among the women in the Bible? Throughout my observations of and participation with modern African women, I have found that there is very little difficulty in their speaking for themselves, through a variety of communication modes (not always speech or writing). This stereotype of African women as victims of male dominance is true for some. But there are those who come from matriarchal societies where women remain powerful and independent, and they need not shout nor whine about it. This is also a part of the African American woman's experience, as well. If our female ancestors in America had spent time publicly complaining and justifying their shortcomings as reflected in some current literature, we would not have many of the institutions or benefits we enjoy, today. As written by Tatangi Mani, a Native American Chief, "Civilized people depend too much on man-made printed pages". Let us, like Mani, turn to the Great Spirit's book which is the whole of creation". Let us not forget the many ways God is revealed.There are African American women who speak from their experiences with God, and not necessarily as reactions to societal abuse, only. I am not minimizing the devastation and violence of humans towards one another, whether men or women. What I am emphasizing is that a higher view of Jesus' righteousness that is interpreted in how we live will reconstruct as Weems desires, much faster than participating in "artistic license". Art requires that we portray God to His people via life and methods of overcoming sin. Art, whether literary or some other,will be held accountable for its use as a vehicle of both human and divine expression. Currently, the image of African American women is under siege globally and such portrayals as those interpreted by Dr. Weems, whether justified or not, have grave consequences. This is not an issue of censorship, which is upheld by civil and constitutional law. This is an issue of communal consequences and long-range vision. This is also an issue of priorities. Where are the women who are addressing the problem of males and females who are incarcerated at the peak of their chronological years of productivity? Where are the artists who are addressing the problem of idle minds (theirs and their loved ones) that continue to resist being completely non-productive by participating in death-focused behavior? Where is the scholarship by women on issues that reflect the uniqueness-not weakness- of God through mere presence and productivity of women? Perhaps, we have had to come through a time in the history of America, when authors like Weems, and others, answered an immediate need during a pivotal era in African America and the lives of the women. Granted, we have benefitted from their candor and their insight. But now, let us move on and "get over" it. Forgetting and forgiving those things in the past, let us move on towards our higher calling and seize the opportunity for a corrected position and interpretation of African women of antiquity and modernity on the Continent and throughout the Diaspora.

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Summary: Womanist scholarship for non-womanists
Review: This book was assigned as a text for a narrative theology course at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley. I started it with great misgivings expecting a highly biased interpretation. Instead I found a well balanced retelling of Biblical stories about the relationships between women. Weems wears her scholarship lightly, writting a highly readable book. Her interpretation not only makes you reconsider relationships that she discovers but also gently encourages one to explore other aspects of the relationships.