“The Two Breasts of the Father”: Does Your God Look Like You?

10/11/22 • 49 min

We talk to Dr. Susan Ashbrook Harvey about how gender shaped ancient thinking about God, women's church choirs, and the complex web of metaphors for the divine within Syriac Christianity.
Women Who Went Before is written, produced, and edited by Rebekah Haigh and Emily Chesley.
The music is composed and produced by Moses Sun. This episode was fact-checked by Jillian Marcantonio and George Kiraz.
Show notes: womenwhowentbefore.com/two-breasts-of-the-father/
Sponsored by the Center for Culture, Society, and Religion, the Program in Judaic Studies, and the Stanley J. Seeger Center for Hellenic Studies at Princeton University
Views expressed on the podcast are solely those of the individuals, and do not represent Princeton University.

Previous Episode

Fall Girl: Theology, Gender, and How Eve Ruined Us All

Dr. Elaine Pagels joins us to talk about manic pixie dream girls, lost Gnostic texts, and why being a heretic might not be so bad.
Stereotypes about women aren't solely a modern phenomenon. Two pervasive archetypes in early Christian writings were the devil's gateway and bride of Christ . Where did these labels come from? And what were some alternative perspectives found in gnostic texts like the Gospel of Mary and Thunder, Perfect Mind? We also ask, where did Eve go wrong? Who were the leaders Eustochium, Junia, and Marcellina? And how do the Pauline and deuteropauline letters differ in their takes on women?
Women Who Went Before is written, produced, and edited by Emily Chesley and Rebekah Haigh. This episode was fact-checked by Jillian Marcantonio. The music is composed and produced by Moses Sun.
Episode show notes: womenwhowentbefore.com/fall-girl
Sponsored by the Center for Culture, Society, and Religion, the Program in Judaic Studies, and the Stanley J. Seeger Center for Hellenic Studies at Princeton University
Views expressed on the podcast are solely those of the individuals, and do not represent Princeton University.

Next Episode

Was the Oldest Profession a Profession?

We interview Dr. Thomas A. J. McGinn about Roman prostitution, marriage laws, and a strange Cinderella story.
What was a paterfamilias and how did they determine a woman’s life? Were prostitutes merely doing their civic duty? Why did early Christians call the Roman government the pimp-in-chief?
Autonomy and agency are the overarching themes of this episode. We explore them in laws governing Roman women, how prostitution was legislated and profited from in Ancient Rome, why sex work isn’t the right term for the Roman world, and why even empresses weren’t immune from slander. Imperial Japan's “comfort women,” Marie Antoinette, and Iran’s headscarf laws are part of this story too. But we start with an actress named Theodora.
CW: This episode discusses themes of rape and sexual exploitation.
Women Who Went Before is written, produced, and edited by Emily Chesley and Rebekah Haigh.
The music is composed and produced by Moses Sun.
Episode show notes: womenwhowentbefore.com/the-oldest-profession/.
Sponsored by the Center for Culture, Society, and Religion, the Program in Judaic Studies, and the Stanley J. Seeger Center for Hellenic Studies at Princeton University.
Views expressed on the podcast are solely those of the individuals, and do not represent Princeton University.