The Bible was a significant barrier to support for women’s rights for much of the 19th century. Paul’s teaching about a wife’s submission to her husband & the opening chapters of Genesis were often cited by opponents of marriage reform & women’s suffrage. 1/6 #VPFAReligion

As Ben Griffin argues a popular women’s movement could not have developed in Britain without new historical approaches to scripture & interest in incarnational theology. The Revised Standard Version (1881-5) challenged the idea of a definitive text & translation of the Bible. 2/6

Running from Nov 1888 to Oct 89 the Bible Readings column of the WPP illustrates the role of the feminist press in disseminating these ideas to a wider female public. The editor argued that the Bible supports women’s rights by appealing to the teaching & example of Jesus. 3/6

All women readers were invited to contribute to the column. Readings invoked expert authorities on scripture & commented on the historicity of Paul’s teaching & translation of key passages. The column also shows the importance of esoteric forms of interpretation for women. 4/6

A new series of readings from July to Sept 1890 drew on Samuel MacGregor Mathers’ translation of The Kabbalah Unveiled (1684 tr. 1887) to argue that the God of the Bible is both male & female but that translators have systematically repressed the feminine side of the deity. 5/6

Letters to the paper confirm the importance of the Bible Readings in mobilising its readership. One reader told the editor that with the knowledge she had gained from the column she had been able to silence an Anglican clergyman who had argued for the inferiority of women! 6/6