been shamed”, but “became again a virgin. Seemed, I said, because it was never defiled.” Because the soul endured unwilled sufferings, they are not real defilements. Philo makes Simeon and Levi the heroes of the story, while Dinah remains in her virtue (94). Parry also quotes Calvin: “Dinah is ravished, because, having left her father’s house, she wandered about more freely than is proper. She ought to have remained quietly at home as both the Apostle teaches and nature itself dictates; for to girls the virtue is suitable which the proverb applies to women, that they should be…keepers of the house” (107). Calvin goes on to condemn Simeon and Levi, but he obviously had a problem with the “loose” Dinah. Perry asks whether …show more content…
How are we to read these stories, and does it matter whether one is an atheist, a feminist, a humanist or theologian? Bible scholar Seibert feels that it is imperative to read the Bible critically. He cites Susan Thistlethwaite’s essay “Every Two Minutes” that recounts an exchange between her and a battered wife. A Maryland woman who had been abused for many years told her that when she complained about her attacks and injuries, her husband would retort that ‘your bones are my bones—just like it says in the bible’. “While it is easy to fault this man for misquoting and misinterpreting Genesis 2:23, his assumption that the Bible authorizes the use of violence against women is not easily dismissed” (129). Seibert states that while these biblical stories may be archaic, much of the violent ideology lingers on today (135). He quotes Cheryl Anderson:
“Reading the Biblical laws today, it seems obvious that they contain problematic elements that do not provide direct and immutable guidance about how to treat in our own context, the poor, females, or anyone who is of a different race, ethnicity, or religion. Whether we realize it or not, though, the same underlying attitudes can shape our own attitudes toward comparable groups in the contemporary context. The interpretive impact of these laws does not remain locked away in the ancient Near East”