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Silence and Survival: Re-Reading Bathsheba Through Womanist and Feminist Lenses
The story of Bathsheba, found in 2 Samuel 11-12 and 1 Kings 1-2, has long been one of the most contested narratives in biblical interpretation. The focus of dominant hegemonic readings has often fallen on David as king, focusing on his sin, repentance, and eventual restoration. Hegemonic readings have arguably sanitized David’s actions, interpreting them as a lapse in moral judgment, rather than an abuse of royal power. This attention on David has led to Bathsheba’s perspective becoming silenced or distorted. Such readings not only obscure the violence of the act but also perpetuate a theological culture that normalizes male dominance and female passivity. Bathsheba is frequently reduced to a…
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Cultural and Structural Barriers to Women’s Leadership in African Pentecostalism
IntroductionPentecostalism has emerged as one of the most vibrant and transformative religious trends in Africa, especially in Nigeria, where it has experienced explosive growth, redefining religious practices, social norms, and political participation.[1] As Pentecostal churches focus on spiritual empowerment, personal revelation, and charismatic authority, women are still faced with systemic limitations to leadership. Both cultural factors, involving patriarchal tradition, gendered expectations, and biblical literalism, and structural factors, including institutional structures, doctrinal limitations, and church hierarchies, are barriers to these.[2] The irony is that women are the largest group of Pentecostal followers and contribute significantly to expanding the church, yet they are not allowed to lead due to cultural views of…
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Summing up 2025: Interview with Dr. James Morris
Our last piece for this year—and a very special one!—is an interview with the first Editor-in-Chief for the Hub. How did you envision PTH from the start? What was your compass to decide where to lead or what to do? I got involved with Practical Theology Hub after BIAPT’s 2021 annual conference “Practical Theology as Ecotheology.” If I remember correctly, I had heard Owen Griffiths talk about the idea at the conference, and seeing the call for volunteers, I thought it was something that I could contribute to. I think my vision of PTH was very much mediated by Owen—it was going to be a publication that allowed readers and…
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The Awakening of the Invisibles: A Glimpse into the Practice of Laywomen in the Naḷakapānasutta
Despite significant progress in recent decades, gender inequality remains a pervasive global phenomenon. According to the United Nations (2024), at the present rate of change, it will take more than 137 years to achieve gender parity. This disparity manifests in distinct ways across social, economic, and cultural contexts, yet in much of the world, gender roles continue to be rigidly defined. Women are still predominantly responsible for household labor, childcare, and other domestic tasks—roles that are frequently naturalized and undervalued. The inequalities inherent in these socially assigned roles, combined with wage disparities, lead many women to prioritize domestic responsibilities over professional aspirations. For others, this prioritization is not a matter…
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Right Now The Best
In his 2022 album American Heartbreak, Zach Bryan (an American multi-award-winning country/rock singer-songwriter) presents a compelling critique of the prevalent ‘what is next’ culture. A culture that is focused on the future and is never satisfied with the present. In this context, people are always looking to and striving for the next thing, whether that be in a person’s career, personal life, social life, or material possessions. Bryan delves into the societal emphasis on the future, revealing how it comes at the expense of the present moment. This is one of the most honest songs that gets at one of the most corrosive effects of the current culture. Bryan (2022)…
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The Saintesses of Manga and Anime
If you happen to stroll through the manga section at a nearby Barnes and Noble or scroll through the anime options on CrunchyRoll, you will likely come across more than one tempting option that features a beautiful saint as the leading heroine living in a fantasy world and falling in love with a dashing duke. I have been an avid anime fan for about four years now, and I have frequented the manga section of my local bookstores more than once, I must admit. I’ve even downloaded the sensational app called Webtoon for a wider range of content (hint: if you like “Hell’s Paradise,” “Tower of God,” or “Solo Levelling,”…
