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Perhaps the most helpful piece of this book to me was the way in which Held Evans reclaimed the Woman of Valor from Proverbs 31. She had become a bit of a joke to me and some of my friends, a shorthand for the church's unrealistic expectations for women. However by recognizing that we've made this ode I to a checklist, Held Evans allowed me to see the ways in which I honor my family by doing the tasks before me, from laundry, to grading, to driving the minivan all over Beaver County. Eshet chayil!
I mourn the fact that I will never get to meet Rachel Held Evans. Her upbringing was so similar to mine, and I truly enjoy her insights. Some realizations I'd already come to; others are an epiphany. This book is full of heart and curiosity and longing.
I know some saw it as trying to make fun of other women. Some took it as an attempt to tell women to step backward. It is neither. It's a woman who's trying her best to reconcile scripture through living it.
Bonus? It's funny. This is a book I might actually reread.
I know some saw it as trying to make fun of other women. Some took it as an attempt to tell women to step backward. It is neither. It's a woman who's trying her best to reconcile scripture through living it.
Bonus? It's funny. This is a book I might actually reread.
I will be the first person to admit that if I was not already an avid follower of Evan's blog I never would have picked up this book. Having been wounded by my conservative Christian upbringing, terms such as "Biblical Womanhood" still provoke a visceral negative response despite the fact I do identify myself as a Christian. However, knowing and respecting Evan's blog, I eagerly snatched this book off the library shelf and not so much read it as devoured it.
What I appreciate most about Evans is how much she wrestles with her faith. She identifies as Christian, she grapples with the Bible and Christian tradition honestly, and she allows disturbing parts of the Bible to be unsettling without trying to explain them away. Evans brings scholarship and humor to her writing allowing the read to be both informed by history and entertained by Evan's obvious humanity. Evans writes this books with humor and passion making her writing easy and engaging to read. At the same time the questions she poses and some of the conclusions she comes to are inspiring, unsettling and provides many different aspects to think and talk about.
Evans ultimate success with this book is her ability to depict who complicated it is to be female and Christian - in terms of society, Christian history, relationships and Biblical interpretation. And to her credit she never prescribes but rather presents the information and questions and allows the reader the space to question and journey along in their faith.
What I appreciate most about Evans is how much she wrestles with her faith. She identifies as Christian, she grapples with the Bible and Christian tradition honestly, and she allows disturbing parts of the Bible to be unsettling without trying to explain them away. Evans brings scholarship and humor to her writing allowing the read to be both informed by history and entertained by Evan's obvious humanity. Evans writes this books with humor and passion making her writing easy and engaging to read. At the same time the questions she poses and some of the conclusions she comes to are inspiring, unsettling and provides many different aspects to think and talk about.
Evans ultimate success with this book is her ability to depict who complicated it is to be female and Christian - in terms of society, Christian history, relationships and Biblical interpretation. And to her credit she never prescribes but rather presents the information and questions and allows the reader the space to question and journey along in their faith.
Who would’ve thought that the next book to blow up the Christian publishing industry would be Rachel Held Evans’ attempt to live for a year following all the Bible’s rules for women? But gender is the most divisive issue in the Evangelical church these days, with some questioning whether a person can even truly be Christian if they don’t hold to traditionalist/complementarian gender roles!
As a woman who’s grown up in the Evangelical Church, Rachel was captivated by A. J. Jacob’s Year of Living Biblically experiment and decided to take on an even harder task: doing it as a woman.
Her central question is near the heart of the gender debates:
Could an ancient collection of sacred texts, spanning multiple genres and assembled over thousands of years in cultures very different from our own, really offer a single cohesive formula for how to be a woman?
Since I’m a huge fan of Rachel’s blog and definitely an egalitarian when it comes to the gender debate, I wasn’t worried that I’d like the book.
I wanted to know if Year of Biblical Womanhood could move the gender conversation anywhere helpful.
Fortunately, Rachel’s book is excellent. It’s a fun, easy read filled with warmth, humor and insight. And despite all the controversy already surrounding the book, everyone should read it. Christian Baptist Pop Fundamentalist retailer Lifeway has already announced they won’t carry it (apparently as a part of their slow march towards obsolescence), so go buy the book on Amazon or at your local non-insane bookstore.
Here are four reasons A Year of Biblical Womanhood is going to do more than just stir the pot.
1. Rachel’s Writing is Accessible
Seriously, this book is crazy fun to read. It’s 300-pages long, plus online bonus content (deleted scenes for a book?! Genius!), but it felt like 50. I tore through it and wanted more. I’ll read it again and again, with friends, in study groups. It’s good and it’s easy to read in the best way possible.
Rachel’s stories and style invite us safely into some emotional and complex issues. As a man who grew up in the Evangelical subculture, I was still able to relate to what Rachel shared, and I got a real sense of what’s at stake in when we discuss gender. Oh, and I laughed quite a bit.
Nothing’s quite as good for a heated conversation as plenty of laughter.
2. The book embodies its position on personhood.
Yes, she lived in a tent during “that time of the month”.
No one who is familiar with Rachel’s writings will be surprised about her position. She clearly lays out her background and biases in the introduction, so even new readers know early on where she’s coming from. But she takes her position seriously. She interviews women who live differently from her – Amish and Mennonite women, a Quiverfull daughter, a female pastor. In addition, every chapter ends with a profile of a woman in the Bible.
Instead of a dry essay about the varied nature of womanhood, Rachel gives us a rich tapestry of essays, interviews and stories that show rather than tell us the possibilities.
3. Team Dan and Rachel!
She praised Dan at the city gates.
But Dan really IS awesome!
As any good leader does, Rachel gives her husband Dan a voice in the book. Dan kept a journal during the experiment, and getting his reactions not only through Rachel’s eyes, but in his own words was instructive. Dan is clearly a thoughtful, godly husband whose manhood is in no way diminished by Rachel’s project, or her success.
In fact, as both Rachel and Dan present their marriage in the book, it’s hardly fair to call the success Rachel’s alone.
Rachel is clear that she could not do what she does without Dan doing what he does. They are truly one flesh, and even though this is not a book on Marriage, the picture of their marriage we find in the book is inspiring. Team Dan and Rachel demonstrates that an egalitarian marriage does not diminish the Gospel in any way. Rather, both partners are spurred on to embody Jesus’ good news more fully as a result of their mutual submission.
4. Masterful Scriptural Interpretation
Rachel is a teacher.
I’m happy to sit at her feet!
Image credit: David Li
The happiest surprise in A Year of Biblical Womanhood for me was how much of each chapter Rachel dedicated to masterful interpretation of Scripture. The surprise came not because I’d doubted Rachel’s abilities – any reader of her blog knows how good she is, but because I was expecting a more straight-forward memoir.
Rachel takes on the most difficult texts in the Scriptures, the texts used most often to silence women and deny them a full, equal place in the Church. She handles the texts with an obvious love for the Scriptures, and I marveled over and over at what light she shed on various passages for me.
Even if you don’t agree with her interpretations, you’ll find them compelling. Rachel demonstrates that it’s possible to take the Scriptures seriously even if you don’t agree with traditional readings of these troublesome texts.
So will A Year of Biblical Womanhood move the Evangelical conversation on Gender forward?
Support Rachel. Click here to get this book today!
If early reviews are any indication, Rachel’s not going to convince anyone already firmly entrenched in the Complementarian camp. Her book’s already been subject to the kind and quality of misrepresentation we last saw with Love Wins. If you approach this book looking for problems, I have no doubt you can find them (after all, we’ve used the Scriptures to justify all manner of atrocities, from slavery to genocide). Christians have a practiced history of finding what we want to find in any book.
But for those still trying to figure out exactly where they stand on Gender roles, those willing to approach A Year of Biblical Womanhood honestly and fairly, you’ll find beautiful example after beautiful example of how a woman can be biblically faithful, love God with all her heart, soul, mind and strength and lead with the best of them.
BOTTOM LINE: Yes, Rachel is leading the conversation on Gender forward. This is a landmark book that should positively shape the conversation for years to come.
As a woman who’s grown up in the Evangelical Church, Rachel was captivated by A. J. Jacob’s Year of Living Biblically experiment and decided to take on an even harder task: doing it as a woman.
Her central question is near the heart of the gender debates:
Could an ancient collection of sacred texts, spanning multiple genres and assembled over thousands of years in cultures very different from our own, really offer a single cohesive formula for how to be a woman?
Since I’m a huge fan of Rachel’s blog and definitely an egalitarian when it comes to the gender debate, I wasn’t worried that I’d like the book.
I wanted to know if Year of Biblical Womanhood could move the gender conversation anywhere helpful.
Fortunately, Rachel’s book is excellent. It’s a fun, easy read filled with warmth, humor and insight. And despite all the controversy already surrounding the book, everyone should read it. Christian Baptist Pop Fundamentalist retailer Lifeway has already announced they won’t carry it (apparently as a part of their slow march towards obsolescence), so go buy the book on Amazon or at your local non-insane bookstore.
Here are four reasons A Year of Biblical Womanhood is going to do more than just stir the pot.
1. Rachel’s Writing is Accessible
Seriously, this book is crazy fun to read. It’s 300-pages long, plus online bonus content (deleted scenes for a book?! Genius!), but it felt like 50. I tore through it and wanted more. I’ll read it again and again, with friends, in study groups. It’s good and it’s easy to read in the best way possible.
Rachel’s stories and style invite us safely into some emotional and complex issues. As a man who grew up in the Evangelical subculture, I was still able to relate to what Rachel shared, and I got a real sense of what’s at stake in when we discuss gender. Oh, and I laughed quite a bit.
Nothing’s quite as good for a heated conversation as plenty of laughter.
2. The book embodies its position on personhood.
Yes, she lived in a tent during “that time of the month”.
No one who is familiar with Rachel’s writings will be surprised about her position. She clearly lays out her background and biases in the introduction, so even new readers know early on where she’s coming from. But she takes her position seriously. She interviews women who live differently from her – Amish and Mennonite women, a Quiverfull daughter, a female pastor. In addition, every chapter ends with a profile of a woman in the Bible.
Instead of a dry essay about the varied nature of womanhood, Rachel gives us a rich tapestry of essays, interviews and stories that show rather than tell us the possibilities.
3. Team Dan and Rachel!
She praised Dan at the city gates.
But Dan really IS awesome!
As any good leader does, Rachel gives her husband Dan a voice in the book. Dan kept a journal during the experiment, and getting his reactions not only through Rachel’s eyes, but in his own words was instructive. Dan is clearly a thoughtful, godly husband whose manhood is in no way diminished by Rachel’s project, or her success.
In fact, as both Rachel and Dan present their marriage in the book, it’s hardly fair to call the success Rachel’s alone.
Rachel is clear that she could not do what she does without Dan doing what he does. They are truly one flesh, and even though this is not a book on Marriage, the picture of their marriage we find in the book is inspiring. Team Dan and Rachel demonstrates that an egalitarian marriage does not diminish the Gospel in any way. Rather, both partners are spurred on to embody Jesus’ good news more fully as a result of their mutual submission.
4. Masterful Scriptural Interpretation
Rachel is a teacher.
I’m happy to sit at her feet!
Image credit: David Li
The happiest surprise in A Year of Biblical Womanhood for me was how much of each chapter Rachel dedicated to masterful interpretation of Scripture. The surprise came not because I’d doubted Rachel’s abilities – any reader of her blog knows how good she is, but because I was expecting a more straight-forward memoir.
Rachel takes on the most difficult texts in the Scriptures, the texts used most often to silence women and deny them a full, equal place in the Church. She handles the texts with an obvious love for the Scriptures, and I marveled over and over at what light she shed on various passages for me.
Even if you don’t agree with her interpretations, you’ll find them compelling. Rachel demonstrates that it’s possible to take the Scriptures seriously even if you don’t agree with traditional readings of these troublesome texts.
So will A Year of Biblical Womanhood move the Evangelical conversation on Gender forward?
Support Rachel. Click here to get this book today!
If early reviews are any indication, Rachel’s not going to convince anyone already firmly entrenched in the Complementarian camp. Her book’s already been subject to the kind and quality of misrepresentation we last saw with Love Wins. If you approach this book looking for problems, I have no doubt you can find them (after all, we’ve used the Scriptures to justify all manner of atrocities, from slavery to genocide). Christians have a practiced history of finding what we want to find in any book.
But for those still trying to figure out exactly where they stand on Gender roles, those willing to approach A Year of Biblical Womanhood honestly and fairly, you’ll find beautiful example after beautiful example of how a woman can be biblically faithful, love God with all her heart, soul, mind and strength and lead with the best of them.
BOTTOM LINE: Yes, Rachel is leading the conversation on Gender forward. This is a landmark book that should positively shape the conversation for years to come.
I’m 10 years late to this book, which I liked a lot. I had some discomfort about a non-Jew (and practicing Christian) participating in Jewish rituals, and yet I understand why she did for the project. I think I forget that when Jews and Christians say Biblical, we’re talking about a segment of the same text. The chapter on motherhood was beautiful and honest. The section on family purity and Jesus’s actions despite those laws was particularly interesting.
This is one of my favorite books I’ve read so far.
Evans spoke to me as a woman who was raised in a religion I have my doubts about.
This was a wonderful and beautiful look into the Bible in a way I’ve never seen or heard it spoken of before. Evans’ writing is pithy and funny and she tells a story relatable to many woman of today.
It is especially poignant knowing that she passed too soon after this. How lucky are we to have her thoughts and words in this way? She was one of a kind.
Evans spoke to me as a woman who was raised in a religion I have my doubts about.
This was a wonderful and beautiful look into the Bible in a way I’ve never seen or heard it spoken of before. Evans’ writing is pithy and funny and she tells a story relatable to many woman of today.
It is especially poignant knowing that she passed too soon after this. How lucky are we to have her thoughts and words in this way? She was one of a kind.
I went into this book skeptical and came out very entertained and enlightened. There were so many details that the author addressed that I would have completely missed. It has deepened my interest in pursuing some facets of Biblical Womanhood in the way she did, but it also helped me understand why some traditions are no longer carried.
Just meh. I am inspired to be more careful about my coffee purchasing habits after her month learning about justice, as well as read "Half the Sky".
Rachel's accounting of her searching out if there might be such a thing as "biblical womanhood" is honest, clever, touching, and very amusing. It's an extreme (and even ridiculous) project but she approached it with humility and a sense of adventure. I especially enjoyed the chapters on purity and valor as well as her husband's journal entries during the project. Rachel invites us into her experience with such openness that we can go through it vicariously with her. Good thing too because I would rather she do it than me!
For women (Christian or non) who worry about what the Bible has to say and offer you, this book is for you. It's a good start for those wondering if feminism and the bible are really compatible (spoiler: they are and in an even more radical way than one might think).
For women (Christian or non) who worry about what the Bible has to say and offer you, this book is for you. It's a good start for those wondering if feminism and the bible are really compatible (spoiler: they are and in an even more radical way than one might think).
For my 20th official book of the year this one was such a sweet surprise. Rachel’s experiment was fun and her experiences definitely felt familiar to some of my own from these early days of marriage. The delving into scripture and making time for God in her life. This is something I’ve missed but have been so unsure about how to pursue. So much about how the church acts out/interprets scripture harms people. And many teachers have bent scripture to their oppressive will. This is difficult for me to want to wrestle with. Anyway, this book came at a good time for me. I enjoyed how it helped to heal my heart.