The Garden and the Well: Scripture Misinterpreted - Released in honour of International Women's Day

About This Episode

In this special episode dedicated to women for International Women's Day, Reverend Canon Sue Ann Ward (Church of the Incarnation, Oakville) and the Venerable Jeff Ward (St. Cuthbert's Church, Oakville) takes on one of the church's most consequential and contested legacies: the misuse of scripture to diminish, shame, and silence women.

Flying solo without producer Che Marville for the first time, Sue Ann and Jeff bring characteristic warmth, theological honesty, and a willingness to confess their own past missteps as they examine stories the church has too often gotten wrong.

 

What We Explore

 The Myth of Eden: Why the story of Adam and Eve was never meant to be taken literally, what it actually says (and doesn't say) about Eve's role, and how the concept of "original sin"  largely shaped by Augustine has been layered onto scripture in ways that placed lasting blame on women.

The Woman at the Well: A close re-reading of John 4 and the Samaritan woman Jesus meets at Jacob's well. Sue-Ann and Jeff unpack why this woman was likely a victim of circumstance, not moral failure, and why she may be one of the most faithful disciples in the entire gospel.

The Woman Caught in Adultery: Where was the man? What does it tell us that he never appears in the story? It is also important to note that all the men who came out to stone the woman left in shame when Jesus challenged their self-righteousness.

Mary Magdalene: A disciple who stayed at the cross, who ran to the tomb, who was the first witness to the resurrection and who has been falsely characterized as a prostitute for centuries, based on nothing in scripture.

The Real-World Stakes: The conversation grounds itself in present-day consequences: human trafficking (93% of Canadian victims are women), gendered attacks on female politicians, and the #MeToo movement as a marker of slow, incomplete progress.

 

Key Takeaways

• "Original sin" and "the fall" do not appear in the Genesis 2-3 text. These were theological additions made much later.

• Genesis 1 and Genesis 2-3 are two different creation stories  and Genesis 1 ends with God calling humanity very good.

• Jesus, in encounter after encounter, treated women with dignity, engaged them as intellectual equals, and revealed himself first to a foreign woman at a well not to his inner circle of male disciples in John’s Gospel.

• Better scripture interpretation isn't just an academic exercise. It has direct consequences for how women are treated in families, communities, and institutions.

 

Come for the theology, stay for the spiritual nourishment.

Peace and blessings to you.

St Cuthbert's Anglican Church 1541 Oakhill Drive, Oakville, ON L6J 1Y6

Church: 905-844-6200 www.stcuthbertoakville.ca

 

Church of the Incarnation incarnationchurch.ca

Anglican church in Oakville, ON 1240 Old Abbey Lane,

Oakville ON L6M3Y4

 

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