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I can see why this offends conservative Christian sensibilities. But it is hardly extreme. She sets out to point out that conservative Christians cherry pick verses and interpretations as much as they accuse those of us who have more moderate viewpoints. And she succeeds admirably, all the while, also learning to understand various standards of womanhood with less judgment.
Her chapter on parenting was the most refreshing for me. Most women without children don't have any reason to notice, let alone, engage in the "mommy wars." So it was refreshing to hear her struggles within the "war" without having the emotional baggage of children to skew her. It reminded me that these "wars" are made up and don't determine our fitness as a mother or a woman. This chapter alone made the book worth reading. As a moderate in so much of my life, including parenthood, I am often abused by women on all sides who take my lack of enthusiasm toward their "cause" as a sign of disapproval and therefore I am worthy of harsh judgment.
The other chapter that touched me was on social justice. Being a libertarian, social justice is something important to me. Creating fair playing grounds for people to grow and achieve is close to my heart. But so are free markets, and this chapter made me squirm a bit with the abuse by big corporations towards the poor. There is no excuse for slavery, but yet our consumerist lifestyle breeds the need for more for less. We, the consumer, are the problem. And that is a hard pill to swallow but one that needs to be. I have been purchasing fair trade coffee for about two years now but I can't ignore that I am part of the problem. She also gives a good road map for starting. You don't need to switch your lifestyle all at once, but rather pick a few things at a time.
The chapter on submission was thoughtful but using Debi Pearl's book, "Created to Be His Helpmeet," is a little unfair. This book is wildly out there even for many conservatives.
Ultimately, she concludes that most people looking for a Biblical standard of womanhood are trying to shortcut faith by creating rules as a substitute. Her use of scripture and various commentaries to support her arguments gives her message strength, which seems to be why so many Christian reviews have to attack her for how she argues and not her argument in and of itself. I found the book both humorous and endearing.
Her chapter on parenting was the most refreshing for me. Most women without children don't have any reason to notice, let alone, engage in the "mommy wars." So it was refreshing to hear her struggles within the "war" without having the emotional baggage of children to skew her. It reminded me that these "wars" are made up and don't determine our fitness as a mother or a woman. This chapter alone made the book worth reading. As a moderate in so much of my life, including parenthood, I am often abused by women on all sides who take my lack of enthusiasm toward their "cause" as a sign of disapproval and therefore I am worthy of harsh judgment.
The other chapter that touched me was on social justice. Being a libertarian, social justice is something important to me. Creating fair playing grounds for people to grow and achieve is close to my heart. But so are free markets, and this chapter made me squirm a bit with the abuse by big corporations towards the poor. There is no excuse for slavery, but yet our consumerist lifestyle breeds the need for more for less. We, the consumer, are the problem. And that is a hard pill to swallow but one that needs to be. I have been purchasing fair trade coffee for about two years now but I can't ignore that I am part of the problem. She also gives a good road map for starting. You don't need to switch your lifestyle all at once, but rather pick a few things at a time.
The chapter on submission was thoughtful but using Debi Pearl's book, "Created to Be His Helpmeet," is a little unfair. This book is wildly out there even for many conservatives.
Ultimately, she concludes that most people looking for a Biblical standard of womanhood are trying to shortcut faith by creating rules as a substitute. Her use of scripture and various commentaries to support her arguments gives her message strength, which seems to be why so many Christian reviews have to attack her for how she argues and not her argument in and of itself. I found the book both humorous and endearing.
I was kinda surprised at how flippant she was about her whole thing. It felt weird and not very interesting.
In A Year of Biblical Womanhood, Rachel Held Evans examines what the Bible says about women and does her best to take everything it says literally throughout her year of living Biblically, with each month focus on a different virtue found in the Bible.
This was a fascinating read. Rachel really digs into all that the Bible says about being a woman, and chronicles her successes and failures of living as a "Biblical woman". I really appreciate that Rachel acknowledged the complicated nature of doing so. The Bible is a complicated book. It may have been inspired by God, but it was written by men - men who added their own biases and cultural contexts to their writings. Thus, the Bible needs to be read with historical and cultural context in mind. And even doing so, you still find "stories of horror," as Rachel calls them, that need to be remembered - stories of women who were abused and neglected, who suffered at the hands of patriarchal society. The Bible is messy and complicated, and Rachel sits in this mess in her quest to find God and figure out what it means to be a Godly woman.
As Rachel examines the various virtues, she acknowledges that so much of what people consider to be "Biblical womanhood" are not found in the Bible, or not found up in the Bible in the ways people think. As she says, "More often than not, we wind up committed to what we want the Bible to say rather than what it actually says." She also talks about Biblical literalism and how so often the people who tout Biblical literalism practice selective literalism - taking the parts of the Bible that serve their agenda literally, but ignoring other parts.
Ultimately, Rachel comes to the conclusion that there is no such thing as Biblical womanhood. The Bible simply doesn't present a single model for womanhood. Instead, all sorts of very different woman are praised in scripture.
Overall, this was a very interesting read. It really made me think about the Bible and what it says about women in new ways. Rachel's journey is definitely worth reading and engaging with. My only real complaint is that I listened to the audiobook and didn't love the narrator. I found her to be rather monotone in her reading.
This was a fascinating read. Rachel really digs into all that the Bible says about being a woman, and chronicles her successes and failures of living as a "Biblical woman". I really appreciate that Rachel acknowledged the complicated nature of doing so. The Bible is a complicated book. It may have been inspired by God, but it was written by men - men who added their own biases and cultural contexts to their writings. Thus, the Bible needs to be read with historical and cultural context in mind. And even doing so, you still find "stories of horror," as Rachel calls them, that need to be remembered - stories of women who were abused and neglected, who suffered at the hands of patriarchal society. The Bible is messy and complicated, and Rachel sits in this mess in her quest to find God and figure out what it means to be a Godly woman.
As Rachel examines the various virtues, she acknowledges that so much of what people consider to be "Biblical womanhood" are not found in the Bible, or not found up in the Bible in the ways people think. As she says, "More often than not, we wind up committed to what we want the Bible to say rather than what it actually says." She also talks about Biblical literalism and how so often the people who tout Biblical literalism practice selective literalism - taking the parts of the Bible that serve their agenda literally, but ignoring other parts.
Ultimately, Rachel comes to the conclusion that there is no such thing as Biblical womanhood. The Bible simply doesn't present a single model for womanhood. Instead, all sorts of very different woman are praised in scripture.
Overall, this was a very interesting read. It really made me think about the Bible and what it says about women in new ways. Rachel's journey is definitely worth reading and engaging with. My only real complaint is that I listened to the audiobook and didn't love the narrator. I found her to be rather monotone in her reading.
reflective
fast-paced
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
This book was a solid 3 stars until the final essay. That bumped it up to the 4 category. The strongest part of this book comes at the end of every chapter. Evans chooses a biblical woman and briefly gives their story with a bit of commentary and how it relates to the previous chapter. Honestly I could read an entire book about these women and there were times I wished Evans trusted her voice and her Biblical knowledge more, because she is clearly a good writer with a lot to say on the subject.
The closing chapter where she wraps up the project is fantastic and a great message for all on using the Bible to help further their faith. If you know a Christian feminist in your life grappling with how the Bible treats women (or rather how modern Christians treat the women of the Bible) then you need to give her/him this book!
The closing chapter where she wraps up the project is fantastic and a great message for all on using the Bible to help further their faith. If you know a Christian feminist in your life grappling with how the Bible treats women (or rather how modern Christians treat the women of the Bible) then you need to give her/him this book!
Quirky take on living life "Biblically."
Reminded me of [b:The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible|495395|The Year of Living Biblically One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible|A.J. Jacobs|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327977486s/495395.jpg|2325789] - as in, take a lot of the most extreme commandments (or the most extreme interpretations of certain principles) and make a book about it. How trendy.
I appreciated that it makes me look at the Bible in a different way and to think a little more deeply about it. Evans does know how to write, even if I don't always agree with her take.
"For those who count the Bible as sacred, interpretation is not a matter or whether to pick and choose, but how to pick and choose. We are all selective. We all wrestle with how to interpret and apply the Bible to our lives. We all go to the text looking for something, and we all have a tendency to find it." (pg. 296)
Reminded me of [b:The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible|495395|The Year of Living Biblically One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible|A.J. Jacobs|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327977486s/495395.jpg|2325789] - as in, take a lot of the most extreme commandments (or the most extreme interpretations of certain principles) and make a book about it. How trendy.
I appreciated that it makes me look at the Bible in a different way and to think a little more deeply about it. Evans does know how to write, even if I don't always agree with her take.
"For those who count the Bible as sacred, interpretation is not a matter or whether to pick and choose, but how to pick and choose. We are all selective. We all wrestle with how to interpret and apply the Bible to our lives. We all go to the text looking for something, and we all have a tendency to find it." (pg. 296)
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
A wonderful book that explores and confronts the Bible’s contents in a way that is neither patronizing or arrogant. This book is funny and was obviously made with an open and good heart and I hope one day to encompass the compassion Held Evans shows here.