Biblical Views: Are Feminists Biased About the Bible?

The title of this column, supplied by the editor, contains two words that need comment. “Biased” comes from the sewing term “bias,” meaning the angle on which a piece of cloth has been cut diagonally across the grain. Bias can also mean an angle of vision. In that sense, yes, feminists do have an angle of vision about the Bible. In general, their vision is angled from a viewpoint of the varied experiences of wo/men (a term coined by Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza for women and nonelite men). This is against the grain, so to speak, because the Bible is not written (and in the past has not been interpreted) from this angle.