Well done to those who survived Café Theology last night, which involved clips from Bridget Jones, Bridesmaids, Skyfall and The Bourne Ultimatum. The clips were long and the questions posed were many.
One of the books of the Bible I felt myself drawn to when preparing for the service, and which we considered briefly last night, was the Book of Ruth. It occurred to me a few months ago that Ruth is a book (and possibly the only one - but I would love to be proved wrong) that actually passes the Bechdel test. A reminder: to pass the Bechdel test, a film (or play, or book, or whatever) has to have two or more female characters who talk to each other about something other than a man. It's an interesting test to apply to films in particular in order to consider how women are portrayed.
The Book of Ruth is just four chapters long. It concerns an Israelite, Naomi, and her daughter-in-law, Ruth. Naomi's husband and two sons have tragically died, and she urges her two daughters-in-law to go back to their fathers' houses and find new husbands. Her other daughter-in-law obeys, but Ruth clings to Naomi and refuses to leave her. She speaks some of the most beautiful words in Scripture:
"Where you go, I will go;
where you lodge, I will lodge;
your people shall be my people,
and your God my God.
Where you die, I will die—
there will I be buried.
May the Lord do thus and so to me,
and more as well,
if even death parts me from you!”
The two women travel back to Naomi's home town, and soon encounter Boaz, a distant male relative. Ruth is allowed to gather grain from his field in order to feed herself and Naomi. Then Ruth approaches Boaz to ask if he will marry her so that her late husband's line might continue - and she and Naomi might be provided for. At the end of the book, Boaz marries Ruth and she bears him a son, Obed, the grandfather of King David.
The book is so unusual in focusing on the needs of vulnerable women, who had no means of providing for themselves without the help of male relatives. It is also unusual in focusing on a strong female friendship. Once Ruth's husband died, Naomi had no further claim on her loyalty, but Ruth loved her mother-in-law and refused to abandon her. When women appear in the Bible they are usually someone's wife, daughter or concubine. Here we learn a little of a friendship between two women who are not tied by their relationship to the men in their lives, but by their sacrificial love for each other.
One of the books of the Bible I felt myself drawn to when preparing for the service, and which we considered briefly last night, was the Book of Ruth. It occurred to me a few months ago that Ruth is a book (and possibly the only one - but I would love to be proved wrong) that actually passes the Bechdel test. A reminder: to pass the Bechdel test, a film (or play, or book, or whatever) has to have two or more female characters who talk to each other about something other than a man. It's an interesting test to apply to films in particular in order to consider how women are portrayed.
The Book of Ruth is just four chapters long. It concerns an Israelite, Naomi, and her daughter-in-law, Ruth. Naomi's husband and two sons have tragically died, and she urges her two daughters-in-law to go back to their fathers' houses and find new husbands. Her other daughter-in-law obeys, but Ruth clings to Naomi and refuses to leave her. She speaks some of the most beautiful words in Scripture:
"Where you go, I will go;
where you lodge, I will lodge;
your people shall be my people,
and your God my God.
Where you die, I will die—
there will I be buried.
May the Lord do thus and so to me,
and more as well,
if even death parts me from you!”
The two women travel back to Naomi's home town, and soon encounter Boaz, a distant male relative. Ruth is allowed to gather grain from his field in order to feed herself and Naomi. Then Ruth approaches Boaz to ask if he will marry her so that her late husband's line might continue - and she and Naomi might be provided for. At the end of the book, Boaz marries Ruth and she bears him a son, Obed, the grandfather of King David.
The book is so unusual in focusing on the needs of vulnerable women, who had no means of providing for themselves without the help of male relatives. It is also unusual in focusing on a strong female friendship. Once Ruth's husband died, Naomi had no further claim on her loyalty, but Ruth loved her mother-in-law and refused to abandon her. When women appear in the Bible they are usually someone's wife, daughter or concubine. Here we learn a little of a friendship between two women who are not tied by their relationship to the men in their lives, but by their sacrificial love for each other.
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