Monday, November 8, 2010
Not Counting Women and Children (2010) Week 1
"Words do not disappear." So begins Megan McKenna's Not Counting Women and Children. As we begin our look at some neglected stories from the Bible, at words on the printed page and at words that pour out from within us, may we do so asking the Spirit to open our ears, our hearts and our minds so that we can hear the gospel as we have never heard it before. I look forward to your entries. Namaste.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
7 comments:
Chapter one of "Not Counting Women and Children" is what I would like to call an eye-opener. When reading the Bible one seems to over look certain things. Obviously a great example is the story of the feeding of 5000 men. I feel like what really came through to me while reading this first chapter is that society influences much of what we think.
McKenna proves a great point when she says that the story may be about the core group (women and children) not men (the so-called dominant group). I feel like she’s telling us that we have missed the big picture. Some of us were so appalled at the line "not including women and children" that we completely looked over-looked the point of the words written or said. Sometimes when reading the Bible or really any text at all, if we really pay attention we see that it is the little things that count, not to sound cliché but it’s true. Yes, bigger things matter but what really makes the story are the details, without them there is nothing.
The first chapter of "Not Counting Women and Children" was a great start to the book. It opened my eyes to the truth of the Bible. As she continued to talk about the fact that the important people were not the men, but in fact the women, children, and all the other types of people who were not counted. She reiterated that statement quite a few times throughout the chapter, which made it stand out to me. She made me think about how all the times that I have read that Bible passage I would think that the men were the important ones, when in fact they were probably the minority of the group, which is ironically how it is in the world today. The women out-number the men. She also made the miracle that Jesus performed seem much more realistic and true, at least to me. I feel that the fact that she pointed out that the baskets and food came from the women and others made it feel more of a miracle than if the food had came down from heaven.
Jenny: I totally agree with what you are saying. I also feel that society has changed the meaning of this passage without us even realizing it. Yes, points such as "not counting women and children" are over-looked and people don't ever realize that they exist.
Kathy: I agree completely with what you have stated. I think she kept reiterating the same thing to finally open our eyes. I really enjoyed the beginning of the chapter and the book turned out to be completely different than I thought it would be. I also agree that when she is describing the fact that Jesus was feeling so many things when John the Baptist was murdered it made him seem more real to me, I realized that he feels all the same things I do. She makes the scripture real or practical if you will; I feel like the smallest things (like making the baskets for the bread) are really the big picture.
Introduction:
The Introduction basically serves as a warm-up to what we are about to experience throughout the book. I believe that the first paragraph sets the tone. McKenna talks about how words, whether spoken or written, never disappear. The same is true for the words of God. Whatever He has stated or has been written cannot be changed or erased. Similar to the words, the events that will be brought up throughout the book cannot be changed. What was written is what will be there millions of years from now. The same goes for the treatment of the women and children throughout scripture and this book. What is stated is permanent, even though it may not be memorized by some, or famously quoted around the world. But, even then, the words are permanent, and can never be erased from history.
Chapter 1: Not Counting Women and Children
Similar to what has been stated by both Jenny and Kathie, this chapter was truly an eye-opener. It opened my eyes to see beyond the text, to explore the deeper meanings of the written word. Rather than be a skimmer and just touch the surface, to look inside myself, and the passage to better see what is being said. Just as McKenna said in the introduction, "Words do not disappear". Those words are forever in history.
Looking deeper into the first bible passage, The Feeding of The Five Thousand, right off the bat, I felt that the statement, "not counting women and children" was not a discriminatory statement. I felt that it was written with goodwill and not meant to exclude anyone. And I was please to see how many times McKenna reiterated that the women were actually the more important. I felt like this was an attempt to deflect negative attention from those who focused on the discriminatory allusion that the statement may have carried with it. I think that McKenna provided a very good deflection, while still reiterating the importance of the women, children, and those not mentioned.
In conclusion, I must say that, as of this chapter, this book is much different from other books that I have read. The writing style of McKenna differs from others that I have read. I also feel a much more personal connection with the author, seeing that I share views with her. I am very impressed.
Jenny: I agree with everything that you said. I do feel that this story is an eye-opener, as I said the same thing in my comment. I think that I most related to the sentence that talks about how some were so apalled by the statement, "not counting women and children", that they missed the bigger picture. I feel that in that sense, we both interpreted the book in the same manner.
Kathie: I, again, agree that the book was an eye-opener. I also noticed that the reiteration of the people not included in the passage portrayed a message. I, finally, agree that McKenna, through her words, was able to make the miracles seem more realistic, and that the smaller gifts (things), represent the big picture that we (most people) may over-look.
**I really enjoyed both of your interpretations**
I wanted to post my own comment before reading anyone else's because I don't want to end up copying someone without realizing it (even though we're probably all going to have similar answers). I think it's so smart of McKenna to have been able to read more into a comment that others just read and glance over without noticing its true meaning. Many people would read the phrase "'not counting women and children' and say, what?! How sexist can you get?!" However, she looked beyond what others thought was a disrespectful comment and saw it for what it truly was: a way for us to see life how it really was back then. Of course the men would be the center and protagonists on the story, men were the dominant gender at the time and, to a certain extent, still are today. It makes sense that the men were basically referred to as "the main mass" of people because they were more important than women. Because most people would get caught up in looking deeply into a comment such as " not counting women and children" and fail to see that it was merely telling us that the miracle that Jesus performered was actually much more significant than most have ever thought it to be.
Jenny: I agree with you that men were the dominant group & that McKenna makes a good point in her interpretation of the line. I do also feel like at times, we miss the point and it's almost because we look for an arguement.
Kathie: I also agree with you, she opened my eyes to certain little details in the Bible that I'd never noticed before and that I wouldn't have realized on my own.
Post a Comment