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I learned so much from all of RHE's books, this one was no exception. I highly recommend for anyone struggling with the role of women in religion.
This was a fascinating read, especially while working on Fiddler on the Roof. Hearing about different interpretations of what Scripture mean and how different people follow and devote themselves to God was really beautiful.
challenging
emotional
informative
medium-paced
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
pg. 10 "We cause serious collateral damage to the advancement of our sex each time we perpetuate the stereotype that women can't get along. As Tina Fey put it, 'Girl-on-girl sabotage is the third worst kind of female behavior, right behind saying 'like' all the time and leaving your baby in a dumpster."
pg. 15 "Let nothing upset you, Let nothing startle you. All things pass; God does not change. Patience wins all it seeks. Whoever has God lacks nothing. God alone is enough. ~St. Teresa of Avila"
pg. 36 "Caring for the poor, resting on the Sabbath, showing hospitality and keeping the home - these are important things that can lead us to God, but God is not contained in them."
pg. 95 "Be a first rate version of yourself, not a second rate version of someone else. ~Judy Garland"
pg. 183 "War, famine, persecution, and instability bring us face-to-face with the sobering reality that the children we bring into the world are capable of being hurt by it. The blessing of parenthood carries enormous risk."
pg. 294 "When we turn the Bible into an adjective and stick it in front of another loaded work (like manhood, womanhood, politics, economics, marriage, and even equality), we tend to ignore or downplay the parts of the Bible that don't fit our tastes. In an attempt to simplify, we try to force the Bible's cacophony of voices into a single tone, to turn a complicated and at times troubling holy text into a list of bullet points we can put in a manifesto or creed. More often than not, we end up more committed to what we want the Bible to say than what it actually says."
pg. 295 - 296 "Far too many church leaders have glossed over these stories and attempted to define womanhood by a list of rigid roles. But roles are not fixed. They are not static. Roles come and go;they shift and they change. They are relative to our culture and subject to changing circumstances It's not our roles that define us, but our character.
A calling, on the other hand, when rooted deep in the soil of one's soul, transcends roles. And I believe that my calling, as a Christian, is the same as that of any other follower of Jesus. My calling is to love the Lord with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love my neighbor as myself. Jesus himself said that the rest of Scripture can be rendered down into these two commands. If love was Jesus' definition of "biblical," then perhaps it should be mine. .... Are we reading with the prejudice of love or are we reading with the prejudices of judgement and power, self-interest and greed? If you are looking for Bible verses with which to support slavery, you will find them. If you are looking for verses with which to abolish slavery, you will find them. If you are looking for verses with which to oppress women, you will find them. If you are looking for verses with which to liberate and honor women, you will find them If you are looking for reasons to wage war, you will find them. If you are looking for reasons to promote peace, you will find them. .... This is why there are times when the most instructive question to bring to the text is not, what does is say? but what am I looking for? If you want to do violence in this world, you will always find the weapons. If you want to heal, you will always find the balm."
pg. 15 "Let nothing upset you, Let nothing startle you. All things pass; God does not change. Patience wins all it seeks. Whoever has God lacks nothing. God alone is enough. ~St. Teresa of Avila"
pg. 36 "Caring for the poor, resting on the Sabbath, showing hospitality and keeping the home - these are important things that can lead us to God, but God is not contained in them."
pg. 95 "Be a first rate version of yourself, not a second rate version of someone else. ~Judy Garland"
pg. 183 "War, famine, persecution, and instability bring us face-to-face with the sobering reality that the children we bring into the world are capable of being hurt by it. The blessing of parenthood carries enormous risk."
pg. 294 "When we turn the Bible into an adjective and stick it in front of another loaded work (like manhood, womanhood, politics, economics, marriage, and even equality), we tend to ignore or downplay the parts of the Bible that don't fit our tastes. In an attempt to simplify, we try to force the Bible's cacophony of voices into a single tone, to turn a complicated and at times troubling holy text into a list of bullet points we can put in a manifesto or creed. More often than not, we end up more committed to what we want the Bible to say than what it actually says."
pg. 295 - 296 "Far too many church leaders have glossed over these stories and attempted to define womanhood by a list of rigid roles. But roles are not fixed. They are not static. Roles come and go;they shift and they change. They are relative to our culture and subject to changing circumstances It's not our roles that define us, but our character.
A calling, on the other hand, when rooted deep in the soil of one's soul, transcends roles. And I believe that my calling, as a Christian, is the same as that of any other follower of Jesus. My calling is to love the Lord with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love my neighbor as myself. Jesus himself said that the rest of Scripture can be rendered down into these two commands. If love was Jesus' definition of "biblical," then perhaps it should be mine. .... Are we reading with the prejudice of love or are we reading with the prejudices of judgement and power, self-interest and greed? If you are looking for Bible verses with which to support slavery, you will find them. If you are looking for verses with which to abolish slavery, you will find them. If you are looking for verses with which to oppress women, you will find them. If you are looking for verses with which to liberate and honor women, you will find them If you are looking for reasons to wage war, you will find them. If you are looking for reasons to promote peace, you will find them. .... This is why there are times when the most instructive question to bring to the text is not, what does is say? but what am I looking for? If you want to do violence in this world, you will always find the weapons. If you want to heal, you will always find the balm."
This book was overall enjoyable and did give me plenty to think about, but I found some portions of it to be a little too contrived. That is to say, while the whole experiment is contrived in some ways, Rachel Held Evans writing is more honest and open in some chapters than in others. In particular, I found the experiment for the Proverbs 31 woman to be such an obvious set up for failure that when it happens, I'm a little disappointed that it turns out exactly as one might predict - absurdly. But in other chapters we get to see the author really grow and learn. I would certainly recommend this book, but it actually wasn't quite as rewarding as some of the writing the author does on her blog.
One of my new favorite books. I enjoyed every second of it, and appreciate what Rachel has done to make room for women in the church.
It’s almost up for second library removal and I’ve made not progress. Time to admit it’s not the vibe for now
Thought-provoking and discussion-worthy in many respects. Plus does involve a “gimmick,” which others may hate, but I almost always love.
I was expecting this to be a female take on A.J. Jacobs' The Year of Living Biblically. And in some ways, it was. Evans took a year, breaking down months into different themes, to examine what exactly "biblical womanhood" means. This was laugh out loud funny at times, like Jacobs. She included the New Testament as well, however. And she had more of an agenda coming in---I suspect she WANTED to find, and did, that evangelical limits on what women can do are not necessarily "biblical" or the ONLY way to be a "biblical woman." But even so, I love the open-heartedness of this book. It's true that Evans seemed to have some biases when she started out--there were a few snarky comments about stay at home moms, seems to think fundamentalist polygamous sects are "Mormons" and at one point she wails that she looks like a homeschooler. But her largeness of spirit shows as she begins encountering different women and different ways to experience being a "biblical woman." She strikes up a friendship with an Orthodox Jew; visits an Amish woman; spends a contemplative weekened in a Catholic monastery, travels to Bolivia to meet women and families who have been helped by charitable programs; examines what it means to buy and eat responsibly, and she takes good and learns from every step, it seems. I didn't always agree with ALL her conclusions at the end, but I almost stood up and cheered, as she detailed what she learned about real biblical women, and what their experiences mean for us today; as she and her husband reflected on leadership and marriage, as she does a traditional Jewish ceremony at the end (during the high holy days) where she scattered bread pieces as she detailed her sins over the last year and asked for forgiveness (and forgave herself.) This book is enough to make one want to stand up and link arms with daughters of God all over the world and recognize our accomplishments and gifts. Perhaps she and I would even find a lot of common ground ourselves, although I am a Mormon, (mostly) stay at home homeschooling mom. Eshet chayil, indeed.