Fred Clark: Reproductive healthcare in the gospels

[muriel_volestrangler]

First, the way that Catholic bishops and Republicans manage to read the story:

Gospel reading: Jesus rebukes an unclean slut

Luke 8:40-48 (Contemporary American Version)
And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any, Came behind him, and touched the border of his garment: and immediately her issue of blood stanched.
...
And Jesus said, “Somebody hath taxed me: for I perceive that mine religious liberty hath been threatened.”
...
And he said unto her, “Unclean slut, get thee hence, for thine womanly impurity hath constrained my religious liberty.”

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/slacktivist/2012/03/14/gospel-reading-jesus-rebukes-an-unclean-slut/

The traditional rendering, and Fred's suggestion of whom to point this out to, is in the next blog post:

This is a story from the Bible that tells us how Jesus responds to a woman who broke religious rules because she could not afford reproductive health care.

The Gospel of the Lord.

So if some Christian official, authority, scholar, author, activist, advocate, politico, pundit, pastor, priest, bishop, cardinal or pope tries to tell you that religious rules trump women’s need for reproductive health care, ask them about this story. Remind them of it.

Remind them that Jesus rather explicitly showed us otherwise.

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/slacktivist/2012/03/14/gospel-reading-jesus-rebukes-an-unclean-slut/

I'm no Christian, but I admire Fred Clark for his stances, writing, Christian knowledge, and keenness to call out hypocritical Christians who are keener on power and hate than helping people.

[LeftishBrit]

1. k&r