Black and White Bible, Black and Blue Wife by Ruth A. Tucker

Author:Ruth A. Tucker
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Zondervan
Published: 2016-02-01T00:00:00+00:00

8

standing against cultural misogyny

Assessing Ethnic Differences

When you have caught the rhythm of Africa, you find out that it is the same in all her music.

KAREN BLIXEN, OUT OF AFRICA

Only ever so dimly did I catch the rhythm of Africa. And it was Kenya that captured my heart. Beginning in the 1980s, I had the good fortune of enrolling in cross-cultural courses in Kijabe. Actually, I was the teacher, though being a student was my goal. For each of four summers, I taught two courses at Moffat Bible College.

During that time, I learned far more than I taught my students. I credit that in part to my gender. In a short time, I was able to elicit students’ opinions on various subjects—more so than seasoned professors. African students, at least back then, were often hesitant to offer an opinion that differed from that of the professor, particularly if the professor was a white male missionary. But challenging a woman was far less threatening. And if she was egging them on with controversial views, they couldn’t resist the challenge. I might look back and regret that they did not accord me the same honor they accorded my male counterparts, but I don’t—and I have no regrets.

A missionary who had previously taught at the school told me I should not expect class interaction. He advised me to be prepared to lecture for the entire session. I panicked. That simply is not my style. What was I going to do? And then came that first class. I can still picture the classroom. The eighteen students stared wide-eyed, not knowing how to act with this white American lady standing in front of them. It was a first for both of us. The course was church history, and I started slowly but soon was asking questions that related to their own experience and culture. Had they experienced persecution or known people persecuted for their faith? The lecture related to the second-century bishop Polycarp, burned at the stake for refusing to deny his faith. Soon we were dealing with church councils. What about African church councils? I wanted to know. I hadn’t flown eight thousand miles just to listen to my own voice.

The class quickly livened up, especially as a Kikuyu or Kalenjin student might be arguing a point of Kenyan church history with a student from another tribe. And oh how often we all broke into laughter and into clucking, as they so endearingly did. I pushed and prodded. In fact, in this course and my other courses, we got into some very controversial topics. What about the ordination of women? So opposed were they to some of my ideas that they began ganging up on me. What fun! They were thinking aloud about certain issues for the first time, and I was having the time of my life.

That they argued strongly against women’s ordination in class was not a sufficient rebuttal for certain students. They were determined to aim their guns, not just at me, but at anyone I may have influenced in the whole school.

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