The ‘Old Testament’ as the origin of the patriarchy
This article explores and compares two similar debates in Germany and Sweden during the 1980s, in which feminists blamed the Hebrew Bible, or ‘Old Testament’, for being the origin of the patriarchy. In Germany, the psychologist and pedagogue Gerda Weiler articulated the discourse in several writings...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | Danish |
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Donner Institute
2023-06-01
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| Series: | Nordisk Judaistik |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journal.fi/nj/article/view/125918 |
| _version_ | 1797800141176963072 |
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| author | Hanna Liljefors |
| author_facet | Hanna Liljefors |
| author_sort | Hanna Liljefors |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article explores and compares two similar debates in Germany and Sweden during the 1980s, in which feminists blamed the Hebrew Bible, or ‘Old Testament’, for being the origin of the patriarchy. In Germany, the psychologist and pedagogue Gerda Weiler articulated the discourse in several writings, which led to a scholarly debate on anti-Jewish tendencies within Christian feminist theology. In Sweden, the debate mainly became a media event, initiated by the author Birgitta Onsell. Instead of criticising the discourse, as in the German debate, other actors reinforced it, for example by highlighting Jesus as a feminist and a contrast to the Old Testament religion. The article further examines ideological consequences of the discourse, including the interdiscursive link to the notion of Judaism as responsible for the patriarchal moral that enabled the Holocaust, also expressed in the public sphere in Germany and Sweden.
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| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T04:30:37Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1438aa511f9d410c84887cd3d044488f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0348-1646 2343-4929 |
| language | Danish |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T04:30:37Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | Donner Institute |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nordisk Judaistik |
| spelling | doaj.art-1438aa511f9d410c84887cd3d044488f2023-06-19T15:14:57ZdanDonner InstituteNordisk Judaistik0348-16462343-49292023-06-0134110.30752/nj.125918The ‘Old Testament’ as the origin of the patriarchyHanna Liljefors0Uppsala UniversityThis article explores and compares two similar debates in Germany and Sweden during the 1980s, in which feminists blamed the Hebrew Bible, or ‘Old Testament’, for being the origin of the patriarchy. In Germany, the psychologist and pedagogue Gerda Weiler articulated the discourse in several writings, which led to a scholarly debate on anti-Jewish tendencies within Christian feminist theology. In Sweden, the debate mainly became a media event, initiated by the author Birgitta Onsell. Instead of criticising the discourse, as in the German debate, other actors reinforced it, for example by highlighting Jesus as a feminist and a contrast to the Old Testament religion. The article further examines ideological consequences of the discourse, including the interdiscursive link to the notion of Judaism as responsible for the patriarchal moral that enabled the Holocaust, also expressed in the public sphere in Germany and Sweden. https://journal.fi/nj/article/view/125918The Old TestamentPatriarchyThe Hebrew BibleAnti-JudaismGerda WeilerBirgitta Onsell |
| spellingShingle | Hanna Liljefors The ‘Old Testament’ as the origin of the patriarchy Nordisk Judaistik The Old Testament Patriarchy The Hebrew Bible Anti-Judaism Gerda Weiler Birgitta Onsell |
| title | The ‘Old Testament’ as the origin of the patriarchy |
| title_full | The ‘Old Testament’ as the origin of the patriarchy |
| title_fullStr | The ‘Old Testament’ as the origin of the patriarchy |
| title_full_unstemmed | The ‘Old Testament’ as the origin of the patriarchy |
| title_short | The ‘Old Testament’ as the origin of the patriarchy |
| title_sort | old testament as the origin of the patriarchy |
| topic | The Old Testament Patriarchy The Hebrew Bible Anti-Judaism Gerda Weiler Birgitta Onsell |
| url | https://journal.fi/nj/article/view/125918 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT hannaliljefors theoldtestamentastheoriginofthepatriarchy AT hannaliljefors oldtestamentastheoriginofthepatriarchy |