Esights Topics

Viewing Topic: Womanism

Jesus, Patriarchy, and the Wellbeing of Women

Herb Montgomery | October 1, 2021 “I see this passage through a justice-for-women lens where Jesus is more concerned about the wellbeing of women who could be divorced and sent away from their homes with no economic protection within a … Continue reading →

Taking Up Our Crosses, Injustice, and Abuse

Herb Montgomery | September 10, 2021 [To listen to this week’s eSight as a podcast click Episode 388:Taking Up Our Crosses, Injustice, and Abuse] “Oppressors throughout history have used the concept of ‘taking up one’s cross’ to prioritize themselves over … Continue reading →

Openness to Change

Herb Montgomery | September 3, 2021 [To listen to this week’s eSight as a podcast click Episode 387: Openness to Change] “In our present system, those whose difference causes them to be seen or treated as less-than should be heard. … Continue reading →

Peace, Be Still.

Herb Montgomery | June 18, 2021 “I need a Jesus that can challenge the great windstorm and the waves of deep homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia in the Christian church that threatens to capsize the lives of LGBTQ young people … Continue reading →

A Better Way to Tell Our Stories

“Classifying our flesh, bodies, and material world or nature as, at best, unimportant or disposable and, at worst, evil or something to be saved from has yielded deeply harmful, destructive fruit throughout Christian history . . . That disregard then led to a privatized, personal, individualistic form of Christianity that was complicit in the oppression of vulnerable populations. We encounter the fruit of this today whenever Christians speak negatively of social justice and related movements for a more equitable society . . . Are there better ways to tell our stories?” Continue reading →

The Good News of Forceful Nonviolent Resurrection

Herb Montgomery | April 2, 2021 “The good news was not that Jesus died, or even that he died for you. The good news rather was that this Jesus whom they killed, God has brought back to life! . . … Continue reading →

Reinterpreting the Easter Story

Herb Montgomery | March 19, 2021 “The central image of Christ on the cross as the savior of the world communicates the harmful message that suffering is redemptive. So what do we do with the passage from John’s gospel?” This … Continue reading →

Transparency and the Vilification of Darkness

What the passage from John describes is the desire to avoid the light of justice for fear of harmful actions toward others being exposed, actions that benefit some at the expense of others. We read about some hiding in the shadows for fear of being discovered, maybe held accountable, and most definitely being stopped. It’s about them coopting the darkness, which is not inherently evil, and using the darkness not for the life giving purposes of which it is intended, but to hide so they can continue doing harm. Continue reading →

Learning to Listen

Herb Montgomery | February 12, 2021 “I’m thankful for a woman who didn’t give up, but persisted in helping Jesus and his disciples see her need beyond their culturally conditioned prejudice. In that moment, she was teacher of the teacher. … Continue reading →

A Community of the Rejected

2020 has been a challenging year for many nonprofits. RHM is no exception. We need your support to impact lives and bring the faith-based, societal-justice focused resources and analysis RHM provides. Intersections between faith, love, compassion, and justice are needed right now more … Continue reading →

An Unjust Judge

The Social Location of Your Christianity Matters

A Cautionary Tale for Society

Herb Montgomery | October 16, 2020 “Seeing the man set free from his internalized oppression, the society around him refuses to get free of the same ‘demons.’ . . . When people get free of collective violence toward a marginalized … Continue reading →

Three Paths Toward Change Rejected

Herb Montgomery | July 31, 2020 “And in each of these versions of the story, Jesus announces the arrival of God’s just future (‘the kingdom’) but rejects three methods for bringing justice to fruition. We’ll look at each of them.” … Continue reading →

Biblical Inclusion Versus Biblical Exclusion

by Herb Montgomery | November 8, 2019 “What is our relation, as followers of Jesus, to the marginalized of our day? To what degree are we marginalized in our own lives? Are we standing in solidarity with others who are … Continue reading →

Social Sins, Social Justice, and the Jesus Stories

Herb Montgomery | April 19, 2019 “Understood in this light, Jesus’ story offers rich fields for exploration and discovery as we learn to hear a gospel that calls us not to simply be ‘a good person,’ but also to stop … Continue reading →

Salvific Teachings: Womanism and the Gospel

Herb Montgomery | September 7, 2018 “Notice that in this passage, which is not at all unique to the gospels, the ‘gospel of God’ is the announcement of the arrival of the reign or kingdom of God, who desires … Continue reading →

Vultures Around a Corpse

by Herb Montgomery | January 5, 2018 “Jesus was not a Roman citizen, and so when he taught nonviolence, he was not teaching from the social location of the Roman oppressor, but from the perspective of an oppressed Jew. Jesus’ … Continue reading →

Against Enticing Little Ones

“Our experiences determine not only the questions we ask, but also the answers we get back. Plain readings are not plain but are read through the lens of our own paradigms and fears. And this is one reason why it … Continue reading →

Speaking against the holy Spirit

by Herb Montgomery Featured Text: “And whoever says a word against the son of humanity, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him.” Q 12:10 Companion Texts: Matthew 12:32: “Anyone … Continue reading →