Theological Reading Group - Wrestling with Angels

Everyone is welcome to join this bi-monthly Theological Reading Group. We will be coming together on a Sunday to illuminate scripture through a selection of texts that span a breadth of history and textual types. There will be a theme for each session and collection of texts. 

Reading for 8 March 2026 (warning the reading for this session centres of physical violence done to women in the name of religion)

• Phyllis Trible, Texts of Terror - A single chapter of your choice (c.20 pages)

• The chapters outline themes such as slavery, rape (of multiple varieties), and murder, with Trible deconstructing the application of the Hebrew describing these acts of physical violence suffered by these women.

• We can often shy away from Biblical texts that do not affirm our world view: a great deal of modern theology selects scripture that encourages you to feel better about yourself. However, this is one of my favourite books owing to the fact that Trible does not remove the discomfort, but , instead, challenges it to better our understanding. By reading different chapters we are asked to be challenged by different subjects, which should make for an interesting conversation. 

• Christine de Pizan, The Book of the City of Ladies - Chapters 1-8 (16 pages)

https://www.scribd.com/document/658586162/Christine-The-Book-of-the-City-of-Ladies-Book-1-ch-1-11

• These chapters outline why Christine wrote the text and are particularly forefront in describing the landscape of misogyny women are harmed by via the writings of men - quite something for the C15th!

• Christine has an immensely approachable way of writing, dissecting the arguments of grand, often unapproachable theories of philosophy, with a straightforwardness that explains how women are being sold short. Ultimately,  she identifies how these theories have historically been abused to diminish the role of women in society and why it is important that this change.

• Nawal el Saadawi, The Hidden Face of Eve- Opening (5 full pages)

• This opening is a brutal anecdote from el Saadawi's own childhood on her experience of genital mutilation. This is an uncomfortable read. It may only be 5 full pages, but this is a truly graphic account of the horror el Saadawi was made to withstand.

•  It is worth people baring in mind that what el Saadawi describes is still, for large swathes of the world (particularly in Africa), considered to be a normal rite of passage. So, whilst we may be shocked by the account, this is still a very real reality for many. People might find this webpage enlightening re the prevalence of the practice today: https://data.unicef.org/topic/child-protection/female-genital-mutilation/

For a list of Themes and Texts for other Sessions

Text extracts will be made available here in due course (subject to copyright limits).

The group will be held at St Pancras, Euston Road while being held in partnership with St James's Piccadilly.

Each 2-hour session will remain grounded in scripture and discussion, stimulated by one pre-Reformation theological text, one modern theological text, and one non-theological text, typically a work of poetry. In each instance, pre-determined chapters will be scanned as a PDF and uploaded on the church websites in advance of the session. 

For each session, we will gather for coffee, tea, and biscuits at 13:00, with our discussion beginning at 13:15 and concluding no later than 15:00.

These sessions are an exciting opportunity to listen to and learn from each other respectfully. All are welcome, and each session will remain mindful of the Code of Conduct to ensure that we can discuss a broad range of works and themes in a way that is both stimulating and safe.