Bible Women by Elizabeth Fletcher

Bible Women author Elizabeth Fletcher

• wrote ‘Women in the Bible’, publisher Harper Collins
• taught Religious Education in high schools for 10 years
• developed Religious Education Curriculum (Secondary) for Australian secondary schools

What’s my background? Catholic schools and the University of Sydney, Australia. My first degree was in History and Modern Languages. Like many before me, I became a schoolteacher.

‘Women in the Bible’
by Elizabeth Fletcher

In an unguarded moment I agreed to teach Religious Studies, which is a University entrance subject in Australia.

What was I thinking? I was out of my depth. Students asked me questions I could not answer. So I went back to University and gained advanced qualifications in this subject.

It made me think more about what I believed.

What teaching resources did I use? Along the way I was surprised to find there were hardly any suitable textbooks for Religion classes, and certainly nothing suitable on the subject of women in the Bible. The books that did exist were scholarly and out of the reach of a normal student. Others were cloyingly sentimental.

Author of ‘Women in the Bible’

I approached Harper Collins with a book proposal. They accepted, and published ‘Women in the Bible’ in 1997.

Elizabeth Fletcher

Why did I stop teaching? After my husband died, I moved out of teaching into full-time writing. I wrote and edited a variety of Religion textbooks. Then I took on the job of developing the Religious Education Curriculum now used extensively throughout Australia.

But my chief interest was always Biblical Studies. When ‘Women in the Bible’ went out of print and the copyright reverted to me, I put the whole of the book on the Web as www.womeninthebible.net

Author of ‘Life of Jesus Christ’

My website reached far more people than my book did. I decided to devote myself to writing full-time for the Web. My most recent website is about the Life of Jesus Christ.

I am interviewed on national radio or talk-back programs whenever there is a ruckus about something to do with the Bible and women, as there was when ‘The Da Vinci Code’ was published some years ago. That silly book has quietly disappeared, but the Bible remains as popular as ever.

God blessed me with two grown-up children and five grandsons. I love them all.

What can you do to help in this task? Let me know if you have suggestions for the website.
I am always interested in feedback. Just use the email address womeninthebible@hotmail.com

Elizabeth Fletcher, Bible Women author