A deconstruction journey featuring reviews of books as a starting point for discussing larger issues within American Evangelicalism.
***I do not go into details concerning my abuse. I focus on how the rules of complementarianism kept me in an abusive dating relationship. But if this is triggering for you, don’t read it. I understand. I was once there, too.*** There is so much evidence in The Making of Read more…
Your salvation is not tied to your interpretation of gender roles (complementarianism). Period. What’s more, you can still believe in biblical inerrancy – the belief that the Bible is true, accurate, and “God-breathed” – and NOT subscribe to fundamentalist beliefs (more on that in a minute). Maybe you read that Read more…
Once The Making of Biblical Womanhood gets into the early modern period, we start to see more of the roots of “biblical womanhood.” Beth Allison Barr leads us through history, stacking the blocks that made our modern evangelical churches. Although I have a lot of thoughts about each of these Read more…
I almost didn’t write about this. I wasn’t sure if it would be helpful, or if it would come off as a complaint about sexist Bible translations. As you see, I reconsidered. Because the important thing is you need to know your Bible has a bias, no matter what translation Read more…
There were obviously big picture take-aways from The Making of Biblical Womanhood that impacted me; and yet, I found some incredibly important take-aways from smaller moments. Throughout the book, Beth Allison Barr recounts various anecdotes that tie into her point. Often, I found myself remembering a similar occurrence in my Read more…
I said in a previous post that Beth Allison Barr’s book is a history book. She therefore does not pass judgement on whether people were actually following God’s will; she simply tells us the sacrifices they made. As an historian, that’s great; as a believer…that’s unsettling. What if the sacrifice they Read more…
Beth Allison Barr and Aimee Byrd overlap in another significant area: putting difficult passages into historical context. Significantly, they both analyze 1 Corinthians 14:33-36, where Paul seems to tell women to be silent in church. They have different (although not necessarily contradictory) explanations for this passage that has caused such Read more…
Ok, now to get to the books. It’s been interesting to see how Aimee Byrd’s Recovering from Biblical Manhood and Womanhood and Beth Allison Barr’s The Making of Biblical Womanhood overlap – even when they aren’t expressly linked. The first instance of this is early on in their books – Read more…
Before we fully dive into Beth Allison Barr’s book, I think it’s important to restate what complementarianism is. It’s a word that gets tossed around – or sometimes not – and the definition in Aimee Byrd’s book isn’t necessarily what most people have been taught about complementarianism. But whether you Read more…
My blogs on Aimee Byrd’s Recovering from Biblical Manhood and Womanhood stopped abruptly. At the time, I was a little confused; I still had some things to say. However, I obeyed the Holy Spirit’s promptings – and I’m so glad I did. With each book I’ve read, we’ve gotten closer Read more…