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Hebrews seems like unpromising material for feminist interpretation, although it is the only New Testament writing for which female authorship has been seriously posited. Mary Ann Beavis and HyeRan Kim-Cragg highlight the similarities between Hebrews and the book of Wisdom/Sophia, which share cosmological, ethical, historical, and sapiential themes, revealing that Hebrews is in fact a submerged tradition of Sophia-Wisdom. They also tackle the sacrificial Christology of Hebrews, concluding that in its ancient context, far from symbolizing suffering and abjection, sacrifice was understood as celebratory and relational. Contributions from Filipina (Maricel and Marilou Ibita), Jewish (Justin Jaron Lewis), historical (Nancy Calvert-Koyzis), and First Nations (Marie Annharte Baker) perspectives bring additional scholarly, cultural, religious, and experiential wisdom to the commentary.
Mary Ann Beavis has master’s degrees in religious studies and theology from the University of Manitoba and the University of Notre Dame and a PhD in New Testament studies from Cambridge University (UK). She is currently professor of religion and culture at St. Thomas More College, University of Saskatchewan (Saskatoon, Canada). Her areas of academic interest and expertise include Christian origins, feminist biblical interpretation, Christianity and Goddess spirituality, and religion and popular culture. She is the author of several single-author and edited books as well as many peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and book reviews. She is the founding editor of the Journal of Religion and Popular Culture.
HyeRan Kim-Cragg is Lydia Gruchy Professor of Pastoral Studies at St. Andrew’s College, Saskatoon, Canada. As a practical theologian, her main areas of teaching are religious education and worship. Influenced by postcolonial theory, feminist theology, and migration, her most recent book is The Encounters: Retelling the Bible from Migration and Intercultural Perspectives, co-authored with EunYoung Choi. Her most recent articles appear in Liturgy in Postcolonial Perspectives, Church in the Age of Migration: A Moving Body, and the journal Religious Education.
