The Shiloh Project • 1st March 2024

Power Dynamics: Who Can Say No?

Princess O’Nika Auguste hails from Helen of the West, the Caribbean island of Saint Lucia. She is a PhD student in Biblical Studies at Dublin City University. Follow her on Twitter:/X @isletheologian.

The complex interplay of power dynamics is not limited by time; it is present in ancient history, in holy books like the Bible, and in our current world. Indeed, many stories that depict human interactions bear witness to the presence of complex power relationships across time and space. Two such

2nd November 2023

Access to Mental Health Care in Saint Lucia

lappthebrand • 2nd November 2023

Elitism Is Real In St. Lucia

I am fortunate that living in St. Lucia has protected me from racism in many ways. However, it has not saved me from Elitism. I grew up in a middle-class family where I had opportunities to travel, afford extracurricular activities, and attend a top secondary school, among other things. While I was fortunate to have a middle-class upbringing, I was not spared from elitism on the island.

But what exactly is elitism? According to the Cambridge dictionary, elitism is “the belief that some things a

lappthebrand • 12th August 2022

Are They Really Concerned Or Just Superficial?

Society is obsessed with the beauty industry and its ideals, like makeup, hair, nails, nice clothes, and thinness. In St. Lucia, this obsession is no less than in the rest of the world, and it is most evident when you come home from being abroad. It is not uncommon that the first comment someone will make to you is about your weight. If you’ve put on weight, people will comment that you must have been eating fast food daily. Or if you’ve come back “too thin,” in their opinion you weren’t fed at

Intersect Antigua • 2nd August 2022

Who am I? — Intersect Antigua

My authentic self is as strong and soft as the water in the oceans. It swirls and foams as it crashes into golden sand. It's coloring a mix of blues and greens from the things it hides and reflects. What do I hide, and what do I reflect? I conceal my queerness; often, when I tell others that I am bisexual or a lesbian, they either look at me with horror or as a sexual object.

Suppose I am not seen as a sexual object. In that case, I can expect to receive a response purely generated from the rel

ThePaintedLeaf • 3rd August 2021

The History Behind Our Love of Plants

We love plants over here, but we had to bring a scholar to give us a great summary about the history of our love of plants. Enjoy! If you are interested in religious history, or would like to read more of her work, you can head to her Facebook page or visit her Instagram page.

Thank you for contributing to our blog Princess!

The Origins of Houseplants by Princess O’Nika Auguste

Have you ever wondered why some people are obsessed with houseplants; yes, houseplants provide cleaner air and lift

Pop Culture and Theology • 13th November 2020

LUCIFER and the Female God

Lucifer ​is one of my favorite current television shows. It has everything that someone could want: humor, horror, magic, romance, and action. ​Lucifer ​focuses on Lucifer Morningstar, the Devil himself, who has abandoned his role as Ruler of Hell because he is bored and unhappy. He also leaves Hell to defy his father, God. In the television series ​Lucifer​,​ ​there are two creators of the universe—God and his ex-wife, Goddess. In the Hebrew Scriptures, there are hints of a female version of Go

Intersect Antigua • 30th October 2020

Colourism and Good Hair — Intersect Antigua

Colourism is the idea that light skin is better than dark skin, according to Alice Walker, an African American writer. In her book In Search of Our Mothers Gardens: Womanist Prose she writes that “Colorism is a global phenomenon, which affects all people of color, however, in the black diaspora because of the legacy of slavery and colonialism it affects black people more often” (Walker 290 1983). Good hair is the notion that hair, which resembles White, Indian, or any type of hair that is not Af

Pop Culture and Theology • 11th September 2020

Rape and Consent in Genesis 34 and RED TENT: Part Two

[Click here to read Part One]

Alice Ogden Bellis, in her book Helpmates, Harlots and Heroes: Women’s Stories in the Hebrew Bible, discusses a debate between three scholars: Meir Sternburg, Danna Fewell and David Gunn. These scholars debated about whether or not Dinah was raped. Gunn and Fewell do not believe that Dinah was some helpless girl. They believe that Simeon and Levi were selfish in their actions and did not care about Dinah at all. Sternberg disagrees and believes that Levi and Simeon

Pop Culture and Theology • 19th June 2020

Rape and Consent in Genesis 34 and RED TENT: Part One

We have been told the story of Dinah and how she was defiled by a Canaanite prince. However, in the popular culture hit miniseries, Red Tent, it was portrayed as a love story. A brutal rape has been turned into a romantic fairytale. It was highly unlikely for Dinah to have been in love with the prince since she hadno agency in the ancient world, as women were mostly property of their husbands and fathers.

The family life of daughters in ancient Israel is different from the equal life women in I

Pop Culture and Theology • 18th May 2020

Never Worn White

On March 5th 2020, one of my favourite pop singers, Katy Perry, released her song Never Wore White in which she reveals her pregnancy and where she discusses her relationship with actor Orlando Bloom. It is a beautiful song, but I believe that song is very problematic.

In the song, Katy sings “she never wore white” and is saying she wants to do it right and say I do. In my analysis, she believes wearing white is the right thing to do and maybe her eventual wedding to Bloom will last. Perry was

Pop Culture and Theology • 6th November 2019

Lady Gaga, Blood Mary, and Mary Magdalene

Lady Gaga’s second full-length studio album, Born this Way is a true gospel album. From the album’s title track focused around the message that we are all created by God as we are (regardless of race, sexuality or gender) to songs with titles like “Black Jesus+Amen”, Born this Way is replete with religious themes and images.

Some are more obvious than others. The provocatively titled “Judas” sees Lady Gaga take the roles both of Mary Magdalene and the woman caught in adultery. The song also ref

Pop Culture and Theology • 25th March 2019

Signifying and Scripturalization in Xena: Warrior Princess

Xena: Warrior Princess is a fantasy/historical fiction action and adventure show that aired on television from 1995 to 2001. Xena is a spinoff of Hercules the Legendary Journeys. Xena and Hercules both are based on Greek mythology although they divulged into other forms of mythology and history including Christian mythology and Christian Theology, Xena more so than Hercules. In the two last seasons of Xena, the show goes deeper into Christian mythology and theology with characters like Livia/Eve

Christian Feminism Today • 28th November 2017

Some Thoughts on Modesty | ViewPoint

We teach girls shame. “Close your legs.” “Cover yourself.” We make them feel as though by being born female, they are already guilty of something. And so, girls grow up to be women who cannot say they have desire. They grow up to be women who silence themselves. They grow up to be women who cannot say what they truly think, and they grow up—and this is the worst thing we did to girls—they grow up to be women who have turned pretense into an art form.

—“We Should All Be Feminists,” a TED Talk f

Christian Feminism Today • 17th August 2017

Being Womanish Is Not Bad | Articles

This article is dedicated to Dr. Margaret Aymer, who encourages me and reminds me that I am a strong, womanish, Caribbean woman. It was inspired by my memories of Caribbean culture and by Dr. Aymer’s article, “Outrageous, Audacious, Courageous, Willful: Reading the Enslaved Girl of Acts 12.”

In Caribbean and African-American cultures, girls perceived as mature for their age are often labeled womanish. The term can refer to emotional maturity, but it can also refer to girls believed to be promis

Christian Feminism Today • 27th March 2017

Was Esther a Post-Colonial Feminist?

In the biblical book of Esther, two women are given prominence: Vashti, the wife of the king of Persia at the beginning of the story, and Esther, who became the new queen after Vashti was banished for her disobedience to the king. Vashti had refused to parade her beauty before the drunken guests at the king’s party. Esther, on the other hand, was chosen to be the new queen as the result of an extensive beauty contest ordered by the king. (See Esther 1:1–2:18.)

Many feminists have ignored Queen

Christian Feminism Today • 10th October 2016

Sexual Assault: Ending the Silence | ViewPoint

After a jury found Stanford University athlete Brock Turner guilty in the sexual assault of an unconscious woman, there was a public outcry over the light jail sentence handed out by the judge. According to the judge, a harsher sentence for the young accomplished swimmer “would have a severe impact on him.” When the judge released Turner after serving only half of his already light sentence, there was more public anger. The judge’s decision has added fuel to current discussions about how serious