The new generation of theologians amidst dance steps and gender difference

Alice Bianchi, who is a thirty-year-old religious education teacher and PhD student in Fundamental Theology, has published two interesting works in the field of theology and biblical studies. The first focuses on the concept of difference in a theological context, and the second on female figures in the Bible. In La differenza che tiene in sospeso il mondo [The Difference that Keeps the World in Suspense] (Messaggero, Padova editions), she explores the concept of gender difference and attempts to articulate what Christianity makes of this difference. The author, who is on the Italian Coordination of Women Theologians’ board of directors, describes herself as coming “from at least three places: being Christian, being a theologian, and being a woman”. Using the metaphor of dance, she argues that “philosophical and theological reflection on the masculine and feminine should function reciprocally, but at the moment it somewhat resembles a dance led in reverse. Historically, in fact, it has been women who started this ‘dance’”. Moreover, they started it with a precise step, “that being male and female (that is, different) should not justify inequality and discrimination”.

Bianchi deals with this complex theme with an engaging narrative, while striving to maintain clear and accessible language.

Sconosciute: 50 donne nella Bibbia [Unknown: 50 Women in the Bible] (Paoline editions) recounts fifty female figures found in the Holy Scriptures, many of whom are often overlooked or mentioned only briefly. Some remain unnamed. Alice Bianchi, with profound knowledge of the texts, illuminates them, offers each a voice and a story, and highlights their roles and importance in biblical and historical contexts, while sometimes drawing acute parallels to the present day.

Here is the importunate widow, whose perseverance teaches the value of faith and justice; the wise woman of Tekoa who speaks with King David and influences crucial decisions; the female baker from the parable of the kingdom of God, who, like yeast, starts small and then grows silently, completely transforming the dough and people’s lives.

These are documented portraits, yet streamlined and swift. Many of the articles have been adapted and integrated, and appeared between 2021 and 2022 in the column La Bibbia racconta [The Bible Tells] of the diocesan weekly of Brescia, La voce del Popolo. These are delightful “sketches” of just a few pages that, however, the author insists, “can be claimed to be scientifically grounded, verified in Hebrew and Greek, relevant to the context”.