[Oe List ...] 5/15/22, Spong: An Evening with Barbara Walters

Ellie Stock via OE oe at lists.wedgeblade.net
Wed May 28 13:30:12 PDT 2014



 
 


          

    

      
            
        
          
            
            
            
          
          
            
 
            
          
          
            
 
            
          
          
            
            
            
          
          
            
 
            
          
        
      

      
                                    
        
          
            
              
                                
                  
                    
                      
                                                
                          
                            
                              
                                

                                
                              
                              
                                
                              
                            
                          
                        
                         
                    
                  
                
                                
                  
                    
                      
                                                
                          
                            
                              
                                                                                                                              
                            
                            
                              
                                
                                  
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An                                            Evening with Barbara Walters
                                          
She was born to                                            non-practicing Jewish                                            parents. Because her father                                            owned a series of night                                            clubs from Boston to Miami,                                            she grew up in the company                                            of show business                                            celebrities. She attended                                            Sarah Lawrence College in                                            Bronxville, New York,                                            graduating in 1953 with a                                            degree in English. The                                            “glass ceiling” was very                                            much intact in that year                                            largely determining what a                                            woman could do or be. By                                            refusing to accept those                                            limits, this woman, Barbara                                            Walters, was among the first                                            to smash those barriers.                                            Every woman in America is in                                            her debt today. Christine                                            and I had the pleasure of                                            spending one evening                                            recently listening to some                                            of her life story at Drew                                            University, the wonderful                                            school in my community that                                            enriches my life in so many                                            ways. Ms. Walters was the                                            featured speaker at the                                            Thomas H. Kean Lectureship,                                            named for New Jersey’s                                            former governor, who was                                            also Drew’s president for                                            six years.
                                          
The lecture hall awaiting                                            Barbara Walters’                                            presentation at Drew was                                            packed. The president of                                            Drew, Dr. Vivian Bull,                                            introduced her with typical                                            and characteristic grace.                                            Ms. Walters had earlier that                                            day been given a Drew                                            sweatshirt. Clearly this had                                            happened to her many times                                            before on other campuses,                                            but, professional that she                                            is, she made that Drew                                            audience believe that this                                            was the most elegant gift                                            imaginable, by interpreting                                            that sweatshirt as having                                            conferred on her alumna                                            status. The audience,                                            purring with approval, was                                            in the palm of her hand for                                            the rest of the evening.
                                          
This remarkable woman then                                            began to share with her                                            audience the insights she                                            had gained into many of the                                            people whom she had                                            interviewed. In one single                                            program, she had brought                                            together Anwar Sadat of                                            Egypt and Menachem Begin of                                            Israel. At some point in her                                            career all of the major                                            players in the Middle East                                            had been her guests,                                            including Muammar Gaddafi,                                            Saddam Hussein, Bashar                                            al-Assad and King Hussein.                                            When one focuses on Europe,                                            she has had one on one                                            interviews with Margaret                                            Thatcher, Boris Yeltsin and                                            Vladimir Putin. Crossing the                                            Atlantic to America, we                                            discover that she has                                            interviewed every president                                            and first lady of the United                                            States since Richard Nixon.                                            Moving into show business,                                            people ranging from pop star                                            Michael Jackson to classical                                            actress Katherine Hepburn                                            have sat opposite her on her                                            program. She traveled to                                            China with Richard Nixon on                                            the journey that opened                                            China to the West, a moment                                            that historians still refer                                            to as one of President                                            Nixon’s signal                                            accomplishments. In the sex                                            scandal that embroiled the                                            White House during the                                            incumbency of President Bill                                            Clinton, Ms. Walters                                            conducted an interview with                                            Monica Lewinsky that was                                            watched by 74,000,000                                            viewers, setting a record                                            that still stands for the                                            largest audience ever to see                                            a single television program.                                            She became such a cultural                                            icon that other shows would                                            caricature her with the                                            certain knowledge that the                                            audience knew her so well                                            that she would be                                            immediately recognized. One                                            thinks of Gilda Radner’s                                            take-off on her as “Baba                                            Wawa,” which set a mark for                                            Saturday Night Live’s                                            treatment of a celebrity                                            that was not approached                                            again until SNL’s Tina Fey                                            did her Sarah Palin takeoff                                            in 2008.
                                          
For more than 40 years,                                            Barbara Walters stood at                                            that place in the media                                            world where the daily news                                            comes together with mass                                            communications. So                                            successful was Ms. Walters                                            in this arena that on one                                            occasion when she shared an                                            interview with Walter                                            Cronkite, the dean of                                            American newscasters, Mr.                                            Cronkite expressed great                                            anxiety, asking his staff                                            when the interview was over:                                            “Did Barbara get more                                            information than I did?” She                                            changed forever the sexist                                            perception that television                                            news required a male                                            presenter. Every female                                            television host on both                                            network and cable television                                            today is in her debt.
                                          
It was not always easy; no                                            struggle for equality ever                                            is. When Barbara Walters,                                            armed with her freshly                                            conferred English degree                                            from Sarah Lawrence College,                                            began to search for                                            positions in journalism, she                                            experienced the limiting                                            stereotype that the only                                            role in which prospective                                            employers could imagine a                                            woman filling was that of a                                            secretary. She was                                            frequently asked in job                                            interviews: “How fast can                                            you type?”
                                          
Yes, even Barbara Walters                                            had to start in that                                            secretarial role. After a                                            few months as a secretary,                                            however, she applied for and                                            got an entry level position                                            in television as an                                            assistant to a publicity                                            director for WRCA TV, the                                            NBC affiliate in New York                                            City. For this talented                                            woman, this opportunity was                                            the nose of the camel under                                            the tent. She was on her way                                            and what most believed was a                                            firm “glass ceiling” was                                            about to be challenged and                                            cracked.
                                          
She suffered many                                            indignities along the way.                                            In time she moved to CBS                                            News as a writer of news                                            copy, then to NBC’s “Today                                            Show,” once again as a                                            writer. At that time, the                                            working assumption in the                                            industry was that a woman                                            did not posses the necessary                                            “gravitas” to deliver the                                            news. The Today Show,                                            however, discovered that                                            they had a vast female                                            audience remaining after the                                            men departed for the “hunt”                                            each day. So the Today Show                                            decided to do a daily                                            “women’s segment.” Barbara                                            Walters became the writer                                            and producer for that                                            segment. In that role she                                            acquired the nick name, “The                                            Today Girl,” a title                                            conveying the same insult                                            black adult males felt when                                            they were called “Boy!”                                            Barbara Walters persevered,                                            however, and as a result.                                            her role on the Today Show                                            began to grow. By 1963, she                                            had achieved the status of                                            co-host with Hugh Downs, but                                            she was never given the                                            title or the salary her male                                            co-host was paid.
                                          
When Hugh Downs left in                                            1969, those responsible for                                            choosing his successor never                                            once consulted Barbara                                            Walters about his                                            replacement. In 1971 Frank                                            McGee was hired at twice the                                            salary that Barbara was                                            paid. With the help of her                                            lawyer, she did have a                                            clause added to her contract                                            stating that if and when Mr.                                            McGee ever left the program,                                            she would officially become                                            the co-host with the next                                            male lead. Frank McGee died                                            two years later and Barbara                                            Walters was finally                                            recognized with the title                                            and salary that made her                                            truly equal. The mountain                                            had been climbed and she                                            became the first female                                            co-host of a morning news                                            program in America.
                                          
In 1976, she became the                                            first woman co-anchor of a                                            network evening news                                            program, joining Harry                                            Reasoner on ABC’s Evening                                            News. Reasoner, who had                                            previously hosted this                                            program alone, resented her                                            intrusion. It was not so                                            much resentment of Barbara                                            Walters, but of the newly                                            perceived need to have both                                            a male and a female in the                                            anchor chairs.
                                          
At 75 years of age after                                            being not only co-anchor of                                            the Evening News, but also                                            chief correspondent and host                                            for 20/20, she left ABC,                                            going out in a blaze of                                            glory. In her last year on                                            20/20 she interviewed                                            Hillary Rodham Clinton,                                            Fidel Castro and Martha                                            Stewart!
                                          
Ms. Walters lived in that                                            generation when for women                                            marriage, family and career                                            collided. Neither the world                                            of journalism nor the world                                            of business had yet fully                                            understood the conflict that                                            every modern professional                                            woman faces when she refuses                                            to sacrifice marriage and                                            the raising of children to                                            the demand of professional                                            success. Barbara Walters                                            exemplified that conflict.                                            She was married four times,                                            but only to three men, since                                            she was married and divorced                                            from the same man on two                                            different occasions. She had                                            only one child and that by                                            adoption. She opened the                                            doors, however, and today’s                                            professional women                                            increasingly live in a world                                            that understands far better                                            the issues that modern                                            career women face.
                                          
I look at my four                                            daughters, all of whom are                                            in demanding careers in the                                            fields of finance, law,                                            science and medicine. Two of                                            them know what it is to be                                            professionally engaged for                                            60-70 hours a week. They                                            have all made significant                                            sacrifices to be able to do                                            what they do. These                                            daughters have also seen the                                            world grow more                                            understanding of women.                                            Those who are married have                                            supportive husbands, who see                                            parenting as a joint venture                                            to say nothing of cooking,                                            vacuuming, shopping and                                            doing the necessary errands                                            that every household needs                                            to keep functioning. In her                                            generation, Barbara Walters                                            had none of these supports.
                                          
I look at the Christian                                            Church, traditionally a                                            bulwark of sexism, and I see                                            women being welcomed                                            increasingly into all roles                                            of leadership. There are                                            still barriers. The Roman                                            Catholic Church,                                            Christianity’s largest,                                            still regards women as                                            somehow biologically unfit                                            for ordination. In a church,                                            which claims papal                                            infallibility and in which                                            power flows from the pope to                                            the bishops to the priests                                            and finally to the laity                                            this means that until women                                            are ordained, they will                                            remain powerless in that                                            church. Separate but equal                                            is always separate, it is                                            never equal.
                                          
The attempt of males to                                            subjugate women, to force                                            them back into the                                            traditional boxes of male                                            oppression is seen today in                                            American politics in the                                            debate over funding                                            reproductive health issues                                            and in attacks on Planned                                            Parenthood. It is also seen                                            in male attitudes. Witness                                            the former CIA director                                            Michael Hayden suggesting                                            that Senator Dianne                                            Feinstein was “too                                            emotional” about her desire                                            to see the Senate’s report                                            on CIA abuse and torture                                            released to the public; Mike                                            Huckabee, a potential GOP                                            presidential candidate,                                            still wanting to lecture                                            women on “controlling their                                            libidos,” and Chris                                            Christie, New Jersey’s                                            governor, wanting to blame                                            his former assistant,                                            Bridget Kelly, for his                                            George Washington Bridge                                            problems, asserting that her                                            “personal life had impaired                                            her judgment,” and                                            gratuitously revealing                                            inappropriate details about                                            Ms. Kelly in the process
                                          
Thanks to people like                                            Barbara Walters, we have                                            come a long way, but sexism                                            is deep and real. I suspect                                            that if one of our major                                            political parties nominates                                            a woman for president, the                                            opposing party will seek to                                            destroy her, unable to cope                                            with that ultimate                                            transition in power.
                                          
They will fail because the                                            world has moved beyond that                                            mentality, but they will                                            still try. Sexism will                                            ultimately die. I give                                            thanks to Barbara Walters                                            for driving a few more nails                                            into its coffin.
                                          
~John Shelby Spong
                                          
Read the essay online here.
                                        
                                      
                                    
                                  
                                
                                                                                                
                                  
                                    
                                      
                                        
                                          
Question                                            & Answer
                                          
Patrick Turner, via the                                            Internet, writes:
                                          
Question:
                                          
I enjoy your writings very                                            much. The question I have                                            is: Why are the gospels                                            arranged in the order they                                            are rather than the order in                                            which they were written?                                            After reading a fair amount                                            of your writings and now                                            some of your new book about                                            John, (The Fourth                                              Gospel: Tales of a Jewish                                              Mystic) I began to                                            wonder if the gospels are                                            arranged as they are due to                                            their paralleling, to some                                            degree, the development of                                            Christianity? My point:                                            Matthew is the most Jewish,                                            then Mark not so much, Luke                                            more                                            Hellenistic/mythological and                                            finally John which is not                                            only advanced theology and                                            mystical, but can be read as                                            anti-Semitic, the very                                            opposite of Matthew. It is                                            possible that the council of                                            Nicea, which arranged the                                            canon, recognized John as                                            anti-Semitic and was unaware                                            of the theory you embrace                                            about this book being about                                            different factions within                                            Judaism? Did they want to                                            show two very different                                            points of view at very                                            different locations in the                                            canon?                                          
                                          
                                          
                                          
 
                                          
Answer:
                                          
Dear Patrick,                                          
                                          
                                          
                                          
Thank you for your letter                                            and your question. When the                                            Canon of the New Testament                                            was being drawn up, I doubt                                            if people knew the order in                                            which the books were                                            written. I also doubt that                                            they followed your                                            suggestion of moving from                                            the gospel that was the most                                            Jewish to the gospel that                                            was perceived as                                            anti-Jewish. I suspect it                                            had more to do with the                                            popularity of the various                                            gospels in various parts of                                            Christianity and with                                            accidents associated with                                            timing.                                          
                                          
                                          
                                          
If one scans early church                                            records, it is clear that                                            Matthew was the most popular                                            gospel; Mark appeared                                            truncated by comparison.                                            Indeed, it was thought that                                            Mark was a kind of “Reader’s                                            Digest” or shortened version                                            of Matthew. Matthew had a                                            birth story and a                                            resurrection narrative that                                            Mark did not have. Matthew                                            expanded the story of Jesus                                            being tempted in the                                            wilderness by giving content                                            to the temptations and by                                            supplying the biblical texts                                            that Jesus used to reject                                            those temptations. Matthew                                            drew the portrait of Jesus                                            as “The New Moses” and added                                            much teaching material that                                            Mark did not include. One                                            finds, for example no Sermon                                            on the Mount in any other                                            gospel.                                          
                                          
                                          
                                          
When John’s gospel emerged,                                            near the end of the first                                            century, it challenged                                            Matthew’s popularity and the                                            two of them became the most                                            influential of the gospels.                                            John’s star was destined to                                            rise in Christian history,                                            although a recent poll about                                            people’s favorite books in                                            the Bible still places                                            Matthew ahead of John with                                            Luke third and Mark bringing                                            up the rear. If we were to                                            put the gospels in the order                                            of their writing they would                                            line up Mark, Matthew, Luke                                            and John. The biggest debate                                            in scholarly circles today                                            is about the date of Luke.                                            Some scholars now advocate                                            dating Luke as late as 140                                            CE. I disagree with that,                                            but I am fascinated by their                                            arguments.                                          
                                          
                                          
                                          
Matthew also in the minds                                            of early church leaders best                                            reflected the transition                                            from the Old Testament to                                            the New Testament, which may                                            have been a factor in                                            letting it open the New                                            Testament. He wrote his                                            account of Jesus by wrapping                                            Jesus deeply into the Hebrew                                            Scriptures. “This was done                                            that it might fulfill that                                            which was spoken by the                                            prophets” was a familiar                                            line in Matthew.                                          
                                          
                                          
                                          
The gospels were placed at                                            the beginning of the New                                            Testament, although all of                                            them were written well after                                            the authentic letters of                                            Paul. I think it was done                                            this way because it was                                            believed that the gospels                                            described the life of Jesus,                                            while the epistles described                                            life in the Christian Church                                            after the time of Jesus.                                          
                                          
                                          
                                          
The Pauline Epistles were                                            organized according to                                            length for the most part,                                            that is why Romans is first                                            and Philemon is last. When                                            the Canon of the New                                            Testament was finalized                                            fourteen epistles were                                            attributed to Paul. Today                                            modern scholarship has cast                                            great doubt on the Pauline                                            authorship of half of them.                                            The genuine Pauline epistles                                            (and in the order in which                                            they appear to have been                                            written) are: I                                            Thessalonians, Galatians, I                                            Corinthians, II Corinthians,                                            Romans, Philemon and                                            Philippians. The epistles                                            that are generally dismissed                                            as the work of Paul today                                            are: II Thessalonians,                                            Colossians and Ephesians.                                            The epistles that are all                                            but universally dismissed as                                            Pauline today are I Timothy,                                            II Timothy, Titus and                                            Hebrews. I laid all of this                                            out in much greater detail                                            in my book: Re-Claiming                                              the Bible for a                                              Non-Religious World.                                            I hope this helps.                                          
                                          
                                          
                                          
My best,                                          
                                          
                                          
                                          
John Shelby Spong
                                        
                                      
                                    
                                  
                                
                                                                                                
                                  
                                    
                                      
                                        
                                          
Announcements
                                          
Bishop                                              Spong is a guest lecturer                                              at Pacific School of                                              Religion this Summer for 5                                              days.
                                            
                                            
                                            Topic: The                                                  Fourth Gospel: Tales                                                  of a Jewish Mystic
                                            
                                            Dates                                              and Times:  July 14-18 (1                                              wk), 9:00am-1:00pm
                                            
                                            PACIFIC SCHOOL OF RELIGION                                            PSR,
                                            Chapel, 1798 Scenic Avenue                                            Berkeley, CA US
                                            
                                            Credits: 1.5 academic                                            credits / 2.0 CEUs (20                                            contact hours)
                                            
                                            Course Number: NT-2221 (for                                            credit) or NT-0001 (for                                            CEUs)
                                            
                                            Description: This                                            class will lift the Gospel                                            of John out of the Bible in                                            general and away from the                                            other gospels, in                                            particular, so that it can                                            be studied in its own                                            integrity. We will identify                                            the unique themes found in                                            the Fourth Gospel and seek                                            to understand those themes                                            in the light of the context                                            of the history of the late                                            first century when this                                            gospel was being written.                                            This means we will spend                                            some time analyzing the                                            different patterns of                                            thought revealed in the                                            Fourth Gospel, from the low                                            Christology of the earlier                                            part of this book to the                                            higher Christology of the                                            latter parts. We will                                            speculate on the number of                                            authors that might be                                            revealed in the analysis.                                            The course will proceed by                                            breaking John’s Gospel into                                            its constituent parts and                                            studying each in turn.
                                            
                                            
                                        
                                      
                                    
                                  
                                
                                                              
                            
                          
                        
                         
                    
                    
                      
                                                
                          
                            
                              
                                                                
                                  
                                    
                                      
                                        
                                      
                                    
                                    
                                      
 
                                        
 

                                            
                                            
                                        
                                        
                                      
                                    
                                    
                                      
                                        
                                      
                                    
                                  
                                
                                                              
                            
                          
                        
                         
                    
                  
                
                
              
            
          
        
      
      
 
        
        
        
        
        
        
          
            
              
                
                  
                    
                      
                        
                      
                    
                  
                
              
            
          
        
         
            
    
    
  

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