Overlooked by the Spirit-filled: Womanist Pentecostalism and the case of the Hellenistic widows

ABSTRACT

From its inception until now, Pentecostalism has thrived among Black communities, women and those experiencing socio-economic deprivation. Pentecostal theological ethicists have dealt in some ways with the themes of race, class and gender but often as single issues, meaning that Black women, who exist at the intersections, can be overlooked. Womanist ethics has a particular contribution to make to Pentecostal theology and Pentecostal studies since womanists centre the Spirit, as well as the lived experiences and faith of Black women in a world (and churches) marked indelibly by racism, sexism and classism. Given the centrality of the Bible in Black Pentecostal women’s spirituality, in this article, I examine the case of the Hellenistic widows in Acts 6 which illustrates the importance of Pentecostal womanism for critiquing the problems of race, gender and class, that shape even the Spirit-filled community not only in the early church but also today.

KEYWORDS:

• Womanism
• Pentecostalism
• gender
• race
• class
• widows

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Coleman, Ain’t I a Womanist, Too?, 42.

2 Williams, Sisters in the Wilderness, 23

3 Grant, White Women’s Christ and Black Women’s Jesus, 6.

4 Cannon, Black Womanist Ethics, 160.

5 Gafney, “A Black Feminist Approach to Biblical Studies,” 392.

6 Smith, “This Little Light of Mine,” 112–18.

7 Alice Walker was the first to use the term ‘womanist’ in In Search of Our Mothers Gardens, xi–xii.

8 Harris, Gifts of Virtue, Alice Walker, 125–38; and Coleman, Ain’t I a Womanist, Too?, 43.

9 Pierce, “Womanist Ways,” 24–34.

10 Thurman, Jesus and the Disinherited, 1.

11 Alexander, The Women of Azusa Street, Revised ed., 15–21; 22–36; 39–51; 96–105; 193–204.

12 Day, Azusa Reimagined, 74.

13 Ibid., 74–103.

14 Ibid., 53–4, 88–90, 96.

15 Pierce, “Womanist Ways,” 26.

16 Emphasis mine, ibid., 26–7.

17 Ibid., 30–4.

18 Gafney, “A Black Feminist Approach to Biblical Studies,” 392.

19 Harris, “Black Pentecostal Hermeneutics?” 213–14, 216–17; Butler, Women in the Church of God in Christ, 17–26; and Gilkes, “You’ve Got a Right to the Tree of Life,” 154–5, 164–7.

20 Weems, “Reading Her Way Through the Struggle,” 63.

21 Gilkes, “You’ve Got a Right to the Tree of Life,” 153–4, 159, 161–2; Butler, “Only a Woman Would Do,” 155–78; Toulis, Believing Identity, 139–41; and Weems, “Reading Her Way Through the Struggle,” 60–72.

22 Day, Azusa Reimagined, 4–5, 68–9; and Toulis, Believing Identity, 125. This is not only true for Pentecostals but often for Christians more generally, see Johnson, Prophetic Jesus and Prophetic Church, 4, 96–129.

23 Williams, “Acts,” 213–48.

24 Howell, “Towards a Womanist Pneumatological Pedagogy,” 87.

25 Harris, “Black Pentecostal Hermeneutics?” 202–17.

26 Wimberly, Soul Stories, 39.

27 Howell, “Towards a Womanist Pneumatological Pedagogy,” 92.

28 Martin, “Womanist Interpretations of the New Testament,” 55.

29 Pierce, “Womanist Ways,” 30.

30 For a womanist reading of this story see Smith, The Literary Construction, 102–13.

31 Schüssler Fiorenza, In Memory of Her, 162; Spencer, “Neglected Widows,” 728; and Smith, The Literary Construction, 114. See also Martin Hengel who argues that the influence of Hellenistic culture on Jewish Palestinian life can be traced back to 260–250 BC meaning that ‘from about the middle of the third century BC all Judaism must really be designated as “Hellenistic Judaism” in the strict sense, and a better differentiation could be made between the Greek-speaking Judaism of the Western Diaspora and the Aramaic/Hebrew-speaking Judaism of Palestine and Babylonia’. Hengel, Judaism and Hellenism, 103–4.

32 Keener, Acts, 221.

33 Schüssler Fiorenza, In Memory of Her, 162, 166.

34 Galpaz-Feller, “The Widow in the Bible,” 234–7.

35 Ibid., 232–3, 234, 238.

36 Keener, Acts, 222.

37 Spencer, “Neglected Widows,” 728.

38 Ibid., 729.

39 Smith, The Literary Construction, 118.

40 Sechrest, Race and Rhyme, 152.

41 Hengel, Judaism and Hellenism, 6–103.

42 Jennings, Acts, 59.

43 Schüssler Fiorenza, In Memory of Her, 161; and Spencer, “Neglected Widows,” 716.

44 Keena, Acts, 225.

45 Reid, “The Power of the Widows,” 73.

46 Seim, The Double Message, 122–123

47 Spencer, “Neglected Widows,” 729.

48 Smith, The Literary Construction, 114, 118–19.

49 Reid, “The Power of the Widows,” 85.

50 Spencer, “Neglected Widows,” 729–30. For a discussion of contrasting views see Smith, The Literary Construction, 116–17.

51 Smith, The Literary Construction, 1–10.

52 Day, Azusa Reimagined, 75–83, 88–9.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Selina Stone

Dr Selina Stone is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in Theological Education with Common Awards.