THE DIVINE FEMININE: TOWARDS A BIBLICAL GYNAECOLOGY

The book is divided into two parts. The first part is a search for the divine that is feminine. I try to show that God is depicted with features and functions that are characteristically feminine — at least that is how people have seen them—both in the Old and the New Testament (chapters one and two). This aims at providing a theological foundation for a gender-just and gendersensitive society. If God is deeply feminine, then by treating women in an unfair manner we are at the same time guilty of denying divine reality. In the second part, I endeavour to rediscover the divine in woman and see the image of God in her. I attempt to put together what the Old and New Testament say about woman. This is not easy, as both the Testaments consist of many books authored by persons with different points of view. In reading the Bible we need to attend not only to what the text says but also why the text says what it says. For this we must know not only the situation of the intended audience or reader, but also the background of the authors themselves. Only then we will be able to discern the message the text has for people today.