Reconsidering John 4 After #ChurchToo
Caryn A. Reeder
An imprint of InterVarsity Press
Downers Grove, Illinois
P. O. Box 1400, Downers Grove, IL 60515-1426
©2022 by Caryn Ann Reeder
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from InterVarsity Press.
InterVarsity Press® is the book-publishing division of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA®, a movement of students and faculty active on campus at hundreds of universities, colleges, and schools of nursing in the United States of America, and a member movement of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students. For information about local and regional activities, visit intervarsity.org.
Scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are the author’s own translation.
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Cover design and image composite: Cindy Kiple
Image: illustration of a woman © lupashchenkoiryna / Digital Vision Vectors / Getty Images
ISBN 978-1-5140-0060-1 (print)
ISBN 978-1-5140-0061-8 (digital)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Reeder, Caryn A., author.
Title: The Samaritan woman’s story : reconsidering John 4 after #churchtoo / Caryn A. Reeder.
Description: Downers Grove, IL : InterVarsity Press, [2021] | Includes bibliographical references and indexes.
Identifiers: LCCN 2021047376 (print) | LCCN 2021047377 (ebook) | ISBN 9781514000601 (print) | ISBN 9781514000618 (digital)
Subjects: LCSH: Samaritan woman (Biblical figure) | Bible. John, IV, 4-42—Feminist criticism.
Classification: LCC BS2520.S9 R44 2021 (print) | LCC BS2520.S9 (ebook) | DDC 248.8/43—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021047376
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021047377
Preface: Why John 4, Yet Again? Why Now?
1 Women, Sex, and Sin in the Church
PART ONE: READING THE SAMARITAN WOMAN’S STORY WITH THE CHURCH
The Samaritan Woman in Early Christianity
The Samaritan Woman in Protestant Perspective
PART TWO: THE SAMARITAN WOMAN IN HER DAY
5 A Woman’s Life in Jesus’ World
6 Marriage from Beginning to End
7 The Samaritan Woman’s Story Reimagined
Conclusion: Reading the Bible After #ChurchToo
Why John 4, Yet Again? Why Now?
The lead pastor of a megachurch. A youth conference chaperone. A Sunday school teacher, the president of an evangelical Christian university, a Catholic priest, a youth pastor. Beginning in the fall of 2017, the #MeToo movement and its offshoot, #ChurchToo, have given women and men who have been abused by sexual predators and opportunists in Christian communities a platform to share their stories. The crisis is not new. But the tidal wave of revelations and accusations ...
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About The Samaritan Woman’s Story: Reconsidering John 4 after #ChurchTooMost Christians have heard a familiar description of the Samaritan woman in John 4: she was a sinner, an adulteress, even a prostitute. Throughout church history, the woman at the well has been seen narrowly in terms of her gender and marital history. What are we missing in the story? And what difference does our interpretation of this passage make for women and men in the church? Caryn A. Reeder calls us to see the Samaritan woman in a different light. Beginning with the reception history of John 4, she pulls back layers of interpretation entangled with readers’ assumptions on women and sexuality. She then explores the story’s original context, describing life for women and expectations regarding marriage and divorce in the first century. With this clarified lens, Reeder’s exegesis of the passage yields refreshing insights on what the Gospel says—and does not say—about the woman at the well. Throughout the book, Reeder draws connections between interpretations of this text and the life of the church. The sexual objectification of the Samaritan woman and minimization of her positive contribution has ongoing consequences for how women are seen and treated—including in the failure of many Christian communities to respond well to accusations of abuse. In the age of #MeToo and #ChurchToo, The Samaritan Woman’s Story offers a bold challenge to teach the Bible in a way that truly honors the value and voices of women. |
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