What is the ‘Women of Color Study Bible’?
We recently heard a woke DEI consultant and ELCA synod leader reveal that her favorite bible is The Women of Color Study Bible, and being a cataloguer of all sorts of weird and wonky bibles*, we had to investigate, especially given some of the testimonials about it:
It’s a shocking endorsement and makes one wonder what unrelatable bible she used before discovering this one. Published by Urban Spirit, a company that reimagines the entire biblical corpus as composed of black folk, this particular version is a KJV edition themed for a particular demographic: women of color. It is the updated and expanded second 2nd edition, with all the original articles and features found in 1st. A 2000 BeliefNet on the former explains:
The new “Women of Color Study Bible” offers a detailed look at women in the Bible _ Esther, Ruth and Martha, for instance _ who were probably dark-skinned and of African descent, the book’s editors said. It also features essays from 200 female pastors who use the Scriptures to examine such contemporary subjects as domestic abuse, single motherhood and sexism.
Some of the features include:
- “Women of the Bible” profiles unlock lessons from the lives of biblical women.
- “Insight” articles offer insight from God’s Word on issues of life, leadership and many modern topics- (these are written by dozens of black women pastors and ministers)
- The “Life Lessons” feature takes important scripture passages and briefly shares the ‘lesson’ to be learned.
- “To God” prayers tied to Scripture help guide your personal prayers.
- “From God” prayers encourage you to see yourself through God’s eyes.
- “Black Presence” notes reveal the African influence in Scripture.
Quotes scattered throughout the text offer “Wisdom of African American Women,” some of them not even Christian, and the 66 books have unique introductions and outlines detailing how many women and women of color are in each book, along with a snippet of the role women of color played in the chapters.
*
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About Author
Racism sucks in all forms, especially when forcing it onto God’s Holy and nonracist Word. Absolutely disgusting.
This is a warped presentation of the scripture, for it places the values of one sex and race above others. Making that its theme is worse, for that shifts the reader’s mind from the “weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy and faith” (Matthew 23.23).