[Worship] Fw: A Portrayal of Old Testament Women by Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Thu Sep 1 11:50:17 CDT 2022

FYI.

Dawn Hewitt
Office assistant
First Unitarian Universalist Society of Marietta, Ohio

From: Kenneth Walsh 
Sent: Thursday, September 1, 2022 11:54 AM
To: fuusm at suddenlinkmail.com 
Subject: A Portrayal of Old Testament Women by Elizabeth Cady Stanton

As a result of my outreach last year to UU Directors of Religious Education and related staff, several UU congregations asked me to do a service on the Women in the Old Testament with Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s commentary.

Interacting with UUs at services and at 2021 workshops (i.e., UUA General Assembly, Southeast UU Summer Institute and UU Mid Atlantic Community) has been a wonderful affair. I’ve decided to offer my 23-minute, Women in the Old Testament presentation to UU congregations as a part of a service, including an option for a Story for All Ages. The presentation is based on my book, Bible Stories for All without the Dogma, A Part of Cultural Literacy and Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s best seller, The Women’s Bible, which is available for free online.

I’ll discuss how women have been portrayed and not portrayed in the Old Testament using Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s commentary and how she came to write The Women’s Bible and the reactions to it. Topics include Eve, Sarah, Lot’s daughters, Deborah, Ruth, and Esther.

The following is an example of Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s wit and insight that you might also enjoy:

“Accepting the view that man was prior in the creation, some Scriptural writers say that as the woman was of the man, therefore, her position should be one of subjection. Grant it, then as the historical fact is reversed in our day, and the man is now of the woman, shall his place be one of subjection? The equal position declared in the first account (The Seven Day Story) must prove more satisfactory to both sexes; created alike in the image of God—The Heavenly Mother and Father.” Elizabeth Cady Stanton. The Woman’s Bible, p.40. (Project Gutenberg e-book version)

Instead of an offered honorarium, I suggested that the congregations purchase a half dozen copies of my book through the UUA Bookstore and make them available for sale to their members. I thought it would be a way to support the UUA Bookstore (I appreciate them carrying my books), save the congregation money, and provide additional resources to their members. 

Please let me know if you are interested in a Zoom service on Women in the Old Testament with Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s Commentary. I am also available to do a one-hour workshop on the same topic and on The Big Three Characters of the Old Testament: Abraham, Moses & David with Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s Commentary.

Sincerely,

Ken Walsh

Author, Bible Stories for All without the Dogma, A Part of Cultural Literacy

Member & Past President, UU Congregation of Columbia, MD

References: See book reviews in prior email below.

Rev. Paige Getty, Minister, UU Congregation of Columbia (UUCC), MD minister at uucolumbia.net

Robin Slaw, Director of Religious Education, Credential, UUCC dre at uucolumbia.net

  On Aug 31, 2021, at 5:42 PM, Kenneth Walsh <kenwalsh3 at icloud.com> wrote:

  Bible stories are a part of cultural literacy in Western civilization. Knowing these stories helps in understanding the many Biblical references in literature, art, law, and government. As a retired teacher, I am sharing my resources with UU educators who might be interested in supplementing their activities. They are free and do not require a registration. For security reasons I am not embedding a link in my email. To access my ethics and Bible resources, go to the well-known website of www dot Classroom dot Google dot com, click on the “+” sign in the upper right corner, and enter my classroom code jb7oyss.  Click the join a class button to join the class: Religious Educators. (Requires a free Google email address or email me for copies). 

  Alternative for just the videos: Search YouTube for ‘Bible Stories for All without the Dogma’ and scroll past the ads for the videos on Abraham, Moses, and David. Also search for ‘Women in the Old Testament Ken Walsh’ and scroll past ads for mine with Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s commentary. 

  You are welcome to contact me for additional information or to arrange bulk book purchases at a 40% discount. I hope you will enjoy my work! 

  Ken Walsh 

  Email: kenwalsh3 at icloud.com

  FB: kenwalshauthor. (Includes a Classroom.Google code with more resource files for academic teachers.) 

  Background

  As a Unitarian Universalist for over four decades, I taught the Old Testament for 14 years at St. Ignatius Loyola Academy, Baltimore, MD, a tuition-free, Jesuit, inner-city middle school for boys from low-income families. Typically, fewer than ten percent of the students were Catholic and fewer than half attended church. Some attended a mosque. Some practiced no religion.

  While I initially taught the Old Testament stories from a historical perspective so as not to offend anyone, I gradually added universal lessons that all the students could identify with regardless of their religious background. Upon retirement I decided to write a Bible stories book for all, religious and non-religious, based on my classroom experience and additional research. 

  ·      Bible Stories for All without the Dogma, A Part of Cultural Literacy. 

  ·      The Ethics Seminar Guide, Contemporary Ethical, Moral & Responsibility Issues Based on Bible Stories. 

  ·      Available at the UUA Bookstore and other online sites

  I have also presented all of the following workshops at the UU Congregation of Columbia, MD, the Southeast UU Summer Institute, and the UU Mid-Atlantic Community. In addition, the UUA General Assembly carried the last workshop below, Old Testament Women with Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s Commentary. You can find them as noted above.

  ·      Bible Stories for All without the Dogma Series: o   Abraham o   Moses o   David

  ·      Old Testament Women with Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s Commentary

  Online Workshops                                                                                                                       Bible Stories for All without the Dogma Series: Abraham, Moses & David. These workshops are for non-Christians and Christians who would like to better understand Bible stories and their influence on Western civilization. Topics include polytheism, monotheism, concubines, sacrifices, slavery, the Ten Plagues, Passover, Exodus, the Ten Commandments, Saul, Goliath, the Davidic Covenant, Bathsheba, and Nathan. Also covers what was happening in the nearby civilizations to provide a context for the stories. 17-24 minutes each.

  Women of the Old Testament. Discusses how women have been portrayed and not portrayed in the Old Testament. Includes Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s commentary and how she came to write The Women’s Bible and the reactions to it. Topics include women in activist roles (Eve, Shiphrah & Puah, Deborah, Ruth, and Esther) and the portrayal of women in traditional roles (Sarah, Rebecca, and Rachel). 38 minutes.

  Book Reviews                                                                                                                                    “Bible Stories for All without the Dogma invites readers to engage with some of the foundational texts of Judaism and Christianity. Clear, inviting narrative, with helpful background information and thoughtful processing questions, helps us enter the worlds of such well-known biblical figures as Abraham and Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, Solomon, and to understand why these stories have been shared for millennia.” - Gail Forsyth-Vail, retired Director of Lifespan Faith Engagement, Unitarian Universalist Association

  “Ken Walsh’s Bible Stories for All Without the Dogma has been a popular course in our congregation for cultural literacy around the Christian Bible. Walsh brings stories to life through the use of history, geography, cultural studies, and ethics. Discussion questions on ethical decision-making and personal application of essential questions allow deeper consideration of the morality tales within the Bible. For people who wish to better understand the Christian Bible and the application of its stories to today’s world, this is the book for you.” - Robin Slaw, MBA, MAT, Director of Religious Education, Credentialed, Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Columbia, Maryland

  “Allusions to Bible stories are ubiquitous in our American culture, and yet many of us are ignorant of the stories themselves. Walsh’s dogma-free book is a welcome introduction to these time-tested stories that are relevant to persons of any faith or of none!” - Rev. Paige Getty, Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Columbia, Maryland

   “An absolutely absorbing, engagingly articulate, impressively informative, expertly written, organized and presented study, "Bible Stories for All Without the Dogma" is unique and an extraordinarily 'reader friendly' in tone, commentary, and style.” - Midwest Book Reviews

  “…even among the nonreligious, one must have basic biblical literacy to fully understand Western society. Biblical references…abound in Western literature, art, and music... The bulk of Walsh’s work walks readers through the major stories of the Old Testament in a straightforward, non-dogmatic way while providing brief historical and literary commentary for context. He also highlights important concepts and themes that run throughout the Old Testament that could be easily overlooked by those new to the Bible.” -Kirkus Reviews

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