Among Women

Among Women by Carol M. Perry SU

A review by a reader and friend.

Sister Carol Perry gave me this book as we were having dinner.

When I finished reading the book, I started to write her a thank you note, but decided it could be both a blog and a note to her for this is an exceptional tome of women in Bible history along with Sister Perry's extrapolated thoughts as a religious scholar.

It is inspiring, comfortable, astute, and informative and as I went from story to story, I learned more about the "Good Book" than I ever expected. Sister Carol Perry's knowledge of the Old and New Testaments are exemplary and her ability to translate ancient stories into modern understanding is a gift to the reader.

I am not a bible reader per se; I read it fully once because I thought I should. I've also read the Koran, the Bhagavad Gita, the Upanishads, and other religious texts, for the same reason. Even though I was reared in the Christian tradition, what I remembered of the Bible's Old Testament was minimal. Not anymore.

In reading the book, I was reminded of the ritual affectations of the ancient Jewish tribes. They had their arguments, intrigues, and assignations among themselves and they had their wars, plots, intrigues and slaves from other cultures and regions.

Slaughter and pillaging seemed more pronounced in those days, but then I read headlines today out of the Middle East, and it may not be so different. Despite the admonitions of the Prophets and the dictates of love in the sacred books of all faiths, humankind cannot stop some from believing their faith is better than another's, and they are willing to kill to prove it.

Thank you, Sister Carol, for the stories of Biblically catalytic women in the Bible. Each of us, whether male or female must acknowledge the other in ourselves to be humanly and spiritually complete. "Among Women" is a gem.