‘The Fruit of the Spirit ’Zine’ (A Look at International Zine Month)

Yes, today’s Independence Day, the 4th of July. I’m very happy to have my freedoms here in the United States, and I’m grateful to my ancestors who fought and survived multiple hardships so that I could live comfortably. But today I decided to write about International Zine Month instead of the American Revolution.

If you’ve been living under a rock for the last half century, you might be new to this concept. “Zines” are those amateurish mini magazines that we all made as kids that usually had a distribution limited to parents, siblings, and a few “bestest” friends. I remember my sisters and I publishing a few eons ago, and I never really thought I’d do that again until last July. I was teaching the kids’ class here at Alhambra Church of Christ. Some lessons were designed to reinforce the “Fruit of the Spirit” theme (from Galatians 5:22-23) that they had in Vacation Bible School (VBS). With some randomly assigned ClipArt and an industrial sized stapler, I became publisher once again. Introducing The Fruit of the Spirit ’Zine!

This is what the page layout looks like:

1. Title Page (with space for name) – Right (Front)
2. Fruit of the Spirit Verse (Galatians 5:22-23) – Left
3. Fruit of the Spirit Tree – Right
4. Love: Apple (Matthew 22:37-39) – Left
5. Joy: Pineapple (John 16:24) – Right
6. Peace: Peach (Psalms 34:14) – Left
7. Patience: Avocado (Proverbs 25:15) – Right
8. Kindness: Cherries (Proverbs 21:21) – Left
9. Goodness: Banana (Romans 15:14) – Right
10. Faithfulness: Limon (Proverbs 3:3-4) – Left
11. Gentleness: Grape Bunch (1 Peter 3:15) – Right
12. Self-Control: Pear (1 Corinthians 9:25) – Left (Back)

This year I taught a special “Great Women of the Bible” series, but didn’t have time to make another zine. Maybe later when I have some free time. (Ha-ha!) In the meantime, readers, I hope you enjoy my zine and share this craft idea with your kiddos. And Happy Independence Day!

Considering the Titus 2 Woman

Young girl reading in 1st century

bronze (Wikipedia)

In the Pauline Epistle to Titus, the recipient was charged with improving the lives and reputations of Christians on the island of Crete. This rested on the pastor teaching “sound doctrine” as to how everyone was to conduct himself or herself. Particular details were made concerning how church leaders, slaves, and men and women according to age were expected to conduct themselves. In short, Titus was responsible for turning lying, gossipy, drunk women into model citizens:

[Π]ρεσβύτιδας ὡσαύτως ἐν καταστήματι ἱεροπρεπεῖς, μὴ διαβόλους μὴ οἴνῳ πολλῷ δεδουλωμένας, καλοδιδασκάλους, ἵνα σωφρονίζωσιν τὰς νέας φιλάνδρους εἶναι, φιλοτέκνους σώφρονας ἁγνὰς οἰκουργοὺς ἀγαθάς, ὑποτασσομένας τοῖς ἰδίοις ἀνδράσιν, ἵνα μὴ ὁ λόγος τοῦ θεοῦ βλασφημῆται. – Titus 2:3-5 (NA28)

Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. – Titus 2:3-5 (ESV)

Our task today is to identify what exactly was expected of the Cretan women. Unfortunately, this passage isn’t exactly easy to for someone as Greek illiterate as I. However, with a lot of help from various language resources, I think I’ve managed to parse out the text:

• ἱεροπρεπεῖς (“befitting a sacred place”)
• καλοδιδασκάλους (“teacher of virtue”/“teaching good”)
• σωφρονίζωσιν (“making sensible”)
• φιλάνδρους (“husband-loving”/“man-loving”)
• φιλοτέκνους (“children-loving”)
• σώφρονας (“sensible”/“of sound mind”)
• ἁγνὰς (“pure”)
• οἰκουργοὺς (“working at home”)
• ἀγαθάς (“good”)
• ὑποτασσομένας τοῖς ἰδίοις ἀνδράσιν (“while being in the state of having been made subordinate to their own husbands”)

I’m still uneasy about how I’ve worded that last one!

When considering this list, we must keep in mind a few things: Scholars are constantly warning us layfolk not to get caught up in irrelevant details such as the number of things in a list or their relative importance. This is by no means an exhaustive list of godly characteristics for Roman-era Cretan women, or women today. And while their inclusion in the Epistle to Titus suggests that they were of some importance for the initial audience, we shouldn’t think that these should necessarily take precedence over other characteristics that Paul just so happened not to mention in this passage. Finally, it might be tempting to impose a ranking ordering, and many have done so, prioritizing loving one’s husband over being good. However, as scholars remind us repeatedly, that’s not the point of the list. All of these characteristics are important for living a blameless life, and one shouldn’t be neglected in favor of another that’s more to one’s liking.

Confronting the Past

Shameful by Rufino Tamayo (LACMA)

May’s selection for the Alhambra Civic Library’s Page Turners Book Club was Piper Kerman’s prison memoir Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison. Kerman had been involved in money laundering and drug trafficking, but had bowed out when it proved too risky. Years later, her past caught up with her when she was dragged into court, convicted, and sent to a women’s correctional facility.

What initially struck me about her story was how Kerman seemed rather surprised – and rather upset – that she was found out. After all, she’d had a chance to get her life back together: career, relationship, etc. And then she was made to pay for something she’d practically forgotten about. Now to spoil the ending: Yes, she eventually learns some valuable lessons about what damaging affects her actions had on others. But what it took was the painfully embarrassing process of having her crimes exposed.

While I’ve never had an experience as serious as Kerman’s, I felt like I could identify with her. Sometimes we think we can bury a not-so-spotless past under a pile of time, but there’s always a chance that our sins will eventually be uncovered for all to see. And even though it might be uncomfortable, or even shameful, there will likely be a sense of relief. We can confront our past, and feel the freedom that comes with no longer needing to run and hide.