Spiritual Truth in the Age of Fake News

Spiritual Truth in the

Age of Fake News

Elizabeth Geitz

SPIRITUAL TRUTH IN THE AGE OF FAKE NEWS

Copyright © 2019 Elizabeth Geitz. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical publications or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher. Write: Permissions, Wipf and Stock Publishers, 199 W. 8th Ave., Suite 3, Eugene, OR 97401.

The Scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, Web addresses or links may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid.

Reflections on pages 13-14, 59-60, 78-79, 94-95, 102-103, and 152-153 first appeared in the author’s Spirituality Matters column in the Pike County Dispatch in Milford, Pennsylvania, and are used with permission of the editor.

In some instances, people’s names have been changed to protect their identity.

Resource Publications

An Imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers

199 W. 8th Ave., Suite 3

Eugene, OR 97401

www.wipfandstock.com

paperback isbn: 978-1-7252-5294-3

hardcover isbn: 978-1-7252-5295-0

ebook isbn: 978-1-7252-5296-7

Manufactured in the U.S.A. 03/05/20

Other Books by Elizabeth Geitz

www.ElizabethGeitz.com

I Am That Child

Soul Satisfaction

Gender and the Nicene Creed

Calling Clergy

Fireweed Evangelism

Entertaining Angels

To All Who Seek to Dwell in the Truth

And Pilate asked Jesus, What is truth?"

—John 18:38

Table of Contents

Title Page

List of Illustrations

Acknowledgments

Preface

Reader’s Guide

Feminine Imagery

Sexism

Racism

Heterosexism

Anti-Semitism

Xenophobia

Women Leaders

Survival

Epilogue

About the Author

Bibliography

List of Illustrations

Elizabeth Geitz, Hen Protecting Her Chicks. 2010, photograph of altar mosaic in Dominus Flevit Church, Mount of Olives, Jerusalem. 8x10. Geitz Collection.

Christ as a mother giving birth to the Church on the cross, detail from a French Moralized Bible, circa 1240, Bodleian Library, Oxford, England.

Suzanne Schleck, Mary Magdalene Announcing the Resurrection to the Disciples, 2002, egg tempera and gold leaf on gessoed board, 11x14, Pennsylvania, Geitz Collection. Original in the Albani Psalter, ca. 1123. Herzog August Biliothek, Wolfenbüttel.

Acknowledgments

I stand on the shoulders of countless women—from biblical women of faith and courage who risked it all to transcend the expected norms of their day; to Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who with twenty-six other women published The Woman’s Bible in 1895; to the mentors in my personal life —my mother, Dorothy Bradley Rankin; Dr. Thayer Beach; the Rev. Dr. Margaret Guenther; Sister Lorette Piper; Sister Jane Mankaa; Annie Harris; and more.

I am truly grateful to Susan Keller and Dr. Kristen Murtaugh, my insightful editors; to Michael Elf, Esq., publishing advisor; and to Amy Ferris and Suzanne Braun Levine, who consistently encouraged me to write a book that sets the record straight on what the Bible says and does not say regarding key issues at this pivotal time in our nation’s history.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart to those who read the manuscript and offered invaluable suggestions—Beth Cole, Joseph Fonlon, Esq., Suzanne Braun Levine, the Rev. James Harlan, the Rt. Rev. John Pritchard, the Rev. Burl Salmon, Sean Strub, Bruce Thall, Esq., Rev. Dr. Darla Dee Turlington, and Canon Constance White. Without each one of you, this book would be far less than it is.

Last, but never least, I thank my children, Charlotte and Mike, who have been here with me each step of the way—from my first book published in 1993 to this, my seventh book. What would I ever do without you? I am so proud to be your mother.

To the women who read my first book of biblical reflections, Soul Satisfaction, and shared your profound connection with the material, here’s to you. Your stories have renewed my belief in the power of the written word to heal, to empower, and to teach. It was your pure joy of at last finding within the words of Scripture the abundant life God meant for you that urged me to write this more inclusive book dealing with the many different isms that still plague our world today.

Preface

Every morning the same words scream out of my newsfeed and bleed onto the screen. Fake News! That’s Fake News! In a few short years, the phrase Fake News has earned a place in widely read dictionaries, educational games have been created about it, and legitimate news articles have been written about it.

But Fake News is not new. Fake News began when people first interpreted the Bible to advance their own agenda, and much of that interpretation was not questioned until women were allowed to study in seminaries and rabbinical schools.

Walk into any church, synagogue, or mosque and, regardless of theological differences, you will hear one consistent theme. God is depicted and spoken of almost exclusively as male. Yet in Scripture, God is described as a woman in labor giving birth to creation (Isaiah), a mother bear protecting her cubs (Hosea), a woman searching for a lost coin (Luke), and more.

What is the best way to counter Fake News? With the truth. To do so, I have turned to the Bible, the #1 best-selling book of the year every single year.¹ Whether you view yourself as religious or spiritual or neither, the world we all live in has been shaped by a patriarchal biblical worldview, a worldview based on the false belief that some people are second-class citizens and the Bible says it is so.

To ground us in our topsy-turvy world, I have countered this ultimate Fake News with the truth of what Scripture actually says. While I bring a Christian voice to the discussion, these reflections are not meant for Christians alone. It is hoped that people of different faiths or no faith will relate to the truth they convey.

Today many isms are experiencing resurgence—not only sexism but racism, heterosexism, anti-Semitism and more. Instead of moving forward, FBI statistics demonstrate that America is moving backward. The year 2017 saw an almost seventeen percent increase in hate crimes reported to the F.B.I. compared with the previous year.² What was unthinkable a few years ago is now seared into our minds with a parade of white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia shouting anti-Semitic slogans.³ In a recent six-week period, there were attacks at a synagogue, churches, and mosques resulting in countless deaths.⁴ Unarmed African American men like Botham Jean are shot and killed in their own apartment for no reason.⁵ Hispanics were deliberately targeted in a Walmart massacre in El Paso, Texas in 2019.⁶ Female candidates for President of the United States receive tougher coverage and less media exposure than their male counterparts,⁷ and in 2016 LGBT Americans were more than twice as likely to be the target of a violent hate-crime than Muslims or African-Americans.⁸

It’s as if the progress made toward equality has been turned upside down. In this environment, Spiritual Truth in the Age of Fake News is needed more than ever. It is time to set the record straight on what the Bible actually says regarding the many isms alive and well today. It is time for the Fake News about the Bible to come to a screeching halt. It is time for us to claim our inheritance of spiritual truth for all people.

We need to shout from the rooftops that there has never been a divinely ordained hierarchy that puts men above women, whites above other races, Christianity above other religions, straights above gays, or rich above poor. These are human constructs that have long outlived their time and that are against the very words of Scripture. Yes, this is the ultimate Fake News. Now more than ever, let us educate ourselves and allow these ancient words in their original meaning to nurture our very being.

I don’t know about you, but I need to dwell in the truth. I need to proclaim that the Bible has been misused to support the very isms that are literally killing us.

Join me on this journey and, as you do, I pray that the spiritual truth our Creator wants for you will be yours. I pray you will find and be found by our Divine Mother, who loves you with an abundant and steadfast love, who never stops searching for you, no matter what.

Let her catch you. Come on! Turn the page.

Elizabeth Geitz

October 2019

1

. The words Scripture and Bible contained herein refer to the New Revised Standard Version of the Christian Bible composed of the Old and New Testaments. Completed in

1989

, this translation is one of the most accurate. The Old Testament in Christian Bibles is primarily based on the Hebrew Bible or Jewish Tanakh.

2

. "

2017

Hate Crime Statistics," para.

1

.

3

. Green, Why the Charlottesville Marchers, para.

2

.

4

. Andone, "In the past

6

weeks," para.

1

.

5

. French, The Worst Police Shooting, para.

2

.

6

. D’Anna, This Anglo Came Here, para.

5

.

7

. Zremski, Study: Women Presidential Candidates, para.

2

.

8

. Ifill, LGBT Americans target, para.

1

.

Reader’s Guide

To read straight through or to savor slowly? To use for personal reflection or in a group? To share what you discover within these pages or not to share? What is the best way to use the book you now hold in your hands?

The answer depends on your needs. Spiritual Truth in the Age of Fake News is adaptable to a variety of settings—individually for reflection or to help process the daily news; in a book group; in a religious group; and more.

I love to read something inspirational or thought provoking with my morning coffee, so savoring one reflection at a time fits the bill. If this works for you, you might try the following:

Sit in a special chair or spot.

Slowly read the passage of Scripture at the top of each page. Read it in the context of the NRSV translation. If you don’t have a Bible handy, see https://bible.oremus.org.

Read the passage again. What phrase jumps out at you? What is our Creator saying to you through this passage? Spend some time listening. As you do, what flows through your heart and mind?

Now read the reflection. Meditate on the closing question. If you would like, journal about it.

Sit with your thoughts and feelings. Ask yourself if you’re called to action based on what you’ve read and experienced.

If you wish to explore the topic further, go to the footnote sources.

If you feel called to do so, share the True News with others.

If you prefer to focus on one topic, such as sexism, racism, or heterosexism, read the full chapter. Are you surprised at what you are reading in Scripture? What does your prior opinion of Scripture say about the world in which we live? What is your reaction to the many feminine images of God, the strong biblical women leaders, the biblical teaching on the many isms plaguing our world today?

If you’re not someone who likes to spend time in reflection but find yourself overwhelmed by deliberately misleading news reports when you read or hear something—stop. If it relates to a topic in Spiritual Truth in the Age of Fake News, go to that chapter. Read what the Bible has to say about the subject when accurately translated. Don’t simply accept what members of a religious group want you to believe. Study it for yourself by reading several reflections. If you feel called to do so, post part of the reflection on social media. (You have my permission. Just include a link to the book title and author’s name.) Counter Fake News with True News whenever possible!

If you’re in a book group, have members read the book in its entirety. Your discussion might focus on these questions:

What most surprised you? Ask each person and listen. Move to the next person without discussion.

Choose the chapter most often referenced. Have someone read a reflection from it aloud. Discuss. Read two more reflections from the same chapter. Discuss the closing questions.

If time permits, choose a second chapter and do the same.

OR ask each person in your book club to choose a reflection in advance that they would like to read aloud and discuss.

At the end of your gathering, ask each person if they feel called to action in any of the areas discussed.

Discuss how you might share this True News with others.

For Christian groups, Spiritual Truth in the Age of Fake News provides engaging material for Lenten and Advent Study Groups.

Choose one chapter for each session. Ask participants to read the chapter in advance.

Begin by agreeing on Group Norms. Suggested norms are:

Listen to each other without interrupting.

Give everyone a chance to speak.

Speak respectfully.

Keep politics out of the discussion (unless your group agrees it’s a good idea to include politics).

Ask each person to state in one sentence their reaction to the chapter. Proceed to the next person without discussion.

Read one reflection from the chapter aloud. Discuss it as a group.

Ask each person to reflect on the question at the end with one other person in the group. Have each pair share with the group, if desired.

Move to another reflection in the same chapter and follow the same procedure.

For Jewish groups, the eight days of Pesach or Passover provide an opportunity to reflect on the portions of Spiritual Truth in the Age of Fake News that relate to the exodus journey. For instance, a focus on the women who aided that journey, such as Moses’ mother, Jochebed; his sister, Miriam; and Rahab would be appropriate, as well as a reading of the reflections that deal with the Lord answering the cries of the enslaved Israelites. At any time, Jewish groups might want to engage the chapter on Anti-Semitism for clarity about this destructive