Hawthorne didn’t take the baby. Ben stands dazed, trying to make sense of it all. Slowly his rounded shoulders straighten. He did not contribute to killing Kat’s baby. As he watches, the pregnant woman takes the baby from Kat and tucks it into the cot beside her bed. The tenderness of the moment expands his soul.
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The thin woman receives a text message. He hears her say, “I must go, I have a visitor arriving.” She kisses Kat then says, “Tomorrow, my dear, I will bring your father to meet his granddaughter.”
The elderly woman stands. “Come home with me, Jen. You can’t be alone tonight. I will be able to help you process what has happened but right now you need sleep. We all need sleep.” The visitors take a last look at the baby in its cot and troop into the corridor.
Ben feels foolish but holds his ground. The two older women pause and smile. Their eyes could penetrate the soul. The thin one says, “We create our own reality.” The short one follows in the manner of twins who finish each other’s sentences: “Be your best thoughts,” Then adds, “Kat is ready to see you now, Ben.”
Did she really say his name? How does she know it? He doesn’t care, he has love to declare.
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Table of Contents
Title & Copyright
Map of Pauline’s Property
1 — Famine in the land
2 — Eve
3 — Word of God
4 — Sky Clad Sabbat
5 — Rahab
6 — Ruth
7 — Sarah becomes Sarai
8 — Mabon Sabbat
9 — The nameless daughter
10 — The wife of Manoah
11 — The Levite’s concubine
12 — Diana and Tamar
13 — Wilkin’s rage
14 — Samhain
15 — What’s up, Kat?
16 — Vashti and Esther
17 — Psalms and proverbs
18 — Song of Songs
19 — Miriam and Huldah
20 — Gomer
21 — Yule Sabbat
22 — Genealogy
23 — Martha
24 — An issue of blood
25 — Acts
26 — Akaroa
27 — Litha Sabbat
28 — Journeys
29 — Revelation, Sarai’s
30 — Revelation, Pauline’s
31 — Visions
32 — Demons
33 — Angels
34 — Lilith
A note on the text
About this book and the authors
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A note on the text
Books that influenced Sarai in Christian Feminism:
Stanton, Elizabeth Cady (ed.). The Woman’s Bible (1895)
Swidler, Leonard. Biblical Affirmations of Women (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1979)
Schussler Fiorenza, Elizabeth. In Memory of Her (New York: Crossroad, 1983)
Trible, Phyllis. Texts of Terror (Fortress Press, 1984)
Russell, Letty M (ed.). Feminist Interpretation of the Bible (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1985)
Bal, Mieke. Lethal Love (Bloomington: Indian University Press, 1987)
Spong, John Shelby. Born of a Woman: a Bishop Rethinks the Birth of Jesus (New York: Harper Collins, 1992)
Newsome, Carol A. & Ringe, Sharon H (eds). The Women’s Bible Commentary (SPCK Westminster/John Knox, 1992)
Schussler Fiorenza, Elizabeth. But She Said: Feminist Practices of Biblical Interpretation (Beacon Press, 1992)
Fewell, Danna Nolan & Gunn, David. Gender, Power & Promise: The Subject of the Bible’s First Story (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1993)
General
Ringe, Sharon H. ‘The word of God may be Hazardous to Your Health’, Theology Today (49/3 1992)
Brenner, Athalya. The Feminist Companion to the Bible Series (Sheffield Academic Press, 10 volumes 1993–1997)
Isherwood, Lisa & McEwan, Dorothea (ed). An A to Z of Feminist Theology (Sheffield Academic Press, 1996)
Eve
Trible, Phyllis. ‘Genesis 2–3 Revisited’, God of Rhetoric and Sexuality (Philadelphia; Fortress Press, 1978)
Fewell, Danna Nolan ‘Reading the Bible Ideologically: Feminist Criticism’, To Each its Own Meaning (Westminster, John Knox Press, 1993)
Other Genesis women
Bird, Phyllis A. ‘Images of Women in the Old Testament’, Religion and Sexism (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1974)
Rahab
McKinly, Judith. ‘Living Theology in Aotearoa: Rahab. A Hero/ine?’, Otago University Distance Learning Programme BIBX 216/316, 2000
Women of Judges
Yee, Gale A (ed). Judges & Method: New approaches in Biblical Studies (Augsburg Fortress, 1995)
Ruth
McKinly, Judith. ‘A son is Born to Naomi. A Harvest for Israel’, Otago University Distance Learning Programme BIBX 216/316, 2000
Van Wolde, Ellen. Ruth and Naomi (London: SCM Press, 1997)
Miriam
Trible, Phyllis. God of Rhetoric and Sexuality (Philadelphia; Fortress Press, 1978)
Burns, Rita. Has the Lord spoken only through Moses? (Scholar Press, 1987)
Asher
Murphy, Roland E. The Tree of Life (New York: Doubleday, 1990)
Wisdom
Camp, Claudia V. Wisdom and the Feminine in the Book of Proverbs (Sheffield Almond Press, 1985)
Schussler Fiorenza, Elizabeth (ed). Searching the Scriptures, Vol 1: A Feminist Introduction (London: SCM Press 1993)
Gomer
Setel, T. Drorah. ‘Prophets and Pornography: Female Sexual Imagery in Hosea’, Feminist Interpretation of the Bible (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1985)
Fontaine, Carole R. ‘A response to Hosea’, A Feminist Companion to the Latter Prophets (Sheffield Academic Press, 1995)
New Testament
Moltmann-Wendel, Elizabeth. The Women Around Jesus (New York: The Crossroads Publishing Company, 1990)
Pearson, Helen Bruch. Do What You Have the Power to Do: Studies of Six New Testament Women (Nashville: Upper Room Books, 1992)
Further recommended reading
Schussler Fiorenza, Elizabeth. Jesus. Miriam’s Child, Sophia’s Prophet (SCM Press 1995)
Exum, J. Cheryl. Plotted, Shot and Painted: Cultural Representations of Cultural Women (Sheffield Academic Press, 1996)
Binger, Tilde. Ashera: Goddess in Ugarit, Israel and the Old Testament (Sheffield Academic Press, 1997)
Priests for Equality. The Inclusive Bible: The First Egalitarian Translation (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2007)
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About this book and the authors
Description
Sarai, a Biblical Studies lecturer, learns a great and terrible truth – a core knowledge she must impart to a successor. Will she choose society wife, Jen, or prostitute Kat? The lives of these two women collide in unexpected ways around Sarai, while in the wings lurk a coven of Wiccan witches, and the dark desires and dealings that threaten Jen’s husband, Wilkin. To what lengths will he go to get the heir he desperately desires?
Has Womenkind surrendered its sacred duty? Does Sarai know the secret to the world’s survival or has a life of radical feminism driven her insane?
Set in pre-quake Christchurch, The League of Lilith is an explosive novel that builds relentlessly to a dramatic climax.
See reader response video here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=ZXev4nZhhCQ
Praise for the print edition:
“This is a page-turning book, an intriguing story of a nondominant culture that dips into the myth of Lilith and provides readers with another lens on patriarchal religion. Likable and unlikable, the characters are engaging. Powerful friendships among the women transcend barriers of class and race. The novel draws on current feminist Biblical interpretation in a way that is theologically sound without being didactic.
An
enthralling yarn, which would be ideal for book group discussion.”
Rev Dr Margaret Mayman, St Andrew’s on The Terrace, Wellington
“...a book that really captures my interest and engages my head and my heart... Do you recognise Lilith of the title? In Jewish mythology she was Adam’s first wife, having been created at the same time and from the same earth as Adam but who left Eden because she refused to become subservient to him. Alternatively, Lilith was regarded as a demon. Many of the writers who contributed to the development of modern-day Wicca express special reverence for Lilith, regarding her as the embodiment of the Goddess and protector of women but who subsequently became demonised due to the rise of patriarchy.
The League of Lilith interweaves themes of women, sexuality, pregnancy and childbirth with chauvinism, and contrasts contemporary attitudes to women with those of the Bible. The story concerns the lives of women from very different backgrounds and their male partners, whose paths intersect in a suspenseful chronicle of relationships. It explores ‘a world obsessed with power and control and the abandonment of the ancient, sacred duty of women.’ The multi-layered, interwoven story is beautifully structured and maintains a cracking pace, with different strands of contemporaneous action intriguingly counter-pointed, while passages of reminiscence inform the motivations of the characters.
The contrasting of Christian, Biblical and Wiccan stories, liturgies and values draws on academic, Biblical and feminist research but the authors neither preach nor denigrate any particular faith message. They also indulge in an occasional bit of fantasy. This is, after all, a novel and not a lecture. As they state, ‘...the scholarship is sound and we hope it gives people food for thought and leads some to realise there are enlightened ways of looking at Scripture, and of course, that caring relationships are the best of human values.’
The League of Lilith is a ripping good yarn but, at the same time, it can stand up proudly among the best of international fiction of relationships, religion and suspense. This is a book to enjoy reading yourself, and which would also make an ideal Christmas gift for someone who enjoys a good story along with concepts to ponder."
Shirley Dixon, published in Touchstone, November 2011.
About the Authors
Hokitika born Rosalie Sugrue is a wife, mother and grandmother. She is a retired teacher and ex-Dunedin motellier with a background in Bible study. Retired to the Kapiti Coast Rosalie has been active in the Methodist Women's Fellowship, National Council of Women, Victim Support and U3A. She is a lay preacher and has plays, poems, prayers, Bible puzzles and articles published in many church magazines.
Her latest writing ventures are:
Sophia & Daughters — a book of meditations and prayers centred round the extended stories of 29 wise women in the Bible. (Steele Roberts, 2013)
Ten Plays: Short, easy dramas for churches — short plays and meditations that are ideal to present in church. They encourage us to engage with Bible and historical characters, and explore important themes. (Philip Garside Publishing Ltd, 2013)
Troy Sugrue: born and raised in Hokitika; studied dance and music in Dunedin which lead to a decade of touring New Zealand in various bands. He is now married to Jayne with 3 sons, and the Creative Director for the Auckland based events and media company Madant.
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League of Lilith, The: A thriller with soul Page 43
