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hopeful
informative
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
What a beautiful soul the world has lost. Eishet Chayil.
Admittedly, this is pretty far removed from my usual fare, but a girl can't read Kierkegaard and Boethius all the time. I'm in the middle of a Zizek theology book that is far too Ivory Tower even for me, and having seen things from Rachel's blog previously (that were very well done) I took the plunge and bought this when it went on the $3 monthly kindle sale (really only $1 for me, since I had some credit). It was worth $1 and a review.
While at the outset the book's project seems embarrassingly silly and pretty boring, Rachel did it just about as well as anyone possibly could. She needed a gimmick to sell a book to her publisher and more power to her for making it work. It's a nuanced exercise in systematically dismantling contemporary (American) evangelical notions of femininity. Along the way she interviews and consults with orthodox jews, polygamists, the amish, old order mennonites, quakers, and catholic monks, among many others. It's well researched, you learn a lot of cool things. It's funny. And well she succinctly proves (in case you were still blissfully ignorant) that most religious right notions of femininity are not from ancient jewish culture, but alas, transplanted from 1950s America.
That being said it is hopelessly irritating at points. The parts going on and on about the importance of buying fair trade chocolate come to mind. While the author is well-intentioned, it reeks of pretentious mainstream center-left politics at points. But the parts that are good are really good - like her re-claiming of female biblical characters throughout. This is something I think a wide-range of people would have a good time reading, even though most feminists and evangelicals would dismiss it outright and never bother I hope they don't because they have the most to gain from it.
While at the outset the book's project seems embarrassingly silly and pretty boring, Rachel did it just about as well as anyone possibly could. She needed a gimmick to sell a book to her publisher and more power to her for making it work. It's a nuanced exercise in systematically dismantling contemporary (American) evangelical notions of femininity. Along the way she interviews and consults with orthodox jews, polygamists, the amish, old order mennonites, quakers, and catholic monks, among many others. It's well researched, you learn a lot of cool things. It's funny. And well she succinctly proves (in case you were still blissfully ignorant) that most religious right notions of femininity are not from ancient jewish culture, but alas, transplanted from 1950s America.
That being said it is hopelessly irritating at points. The parts going on and on about the importance of buying fair trade chocolate come to mind. While the author is well-intentioned, it reeks of pretentious mainstream center-left politics at points. But the parts that are good are really good - like her re-claiming of female biblical characters throughout. This is something I think a wide-range of people would have a good time reading, even though most feminists and evangelicals would dismiss it outright and never bother I hope they don't because they have the most to gain from it.
challenging
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
challenging
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
If you’re researching women in the Bible and different perspectives this is a great book for researching! She explores Biblical topics each month and does extensive research. Worth reading!
The author takes a year and in each month tries to live by the rules of a biblical woman--which are confusing and contradictory. She visits the Amish in Pennsylvania, chats with a rabbi's wife, tries to make her own clothes...she is a Christian, so this isn't one of those "church people are so weird" books. Interesting analysis of the bible as it pertains to women.
I liked this book way more than I thought I would. I was initially turned off by the chattiness and the pictures scattered throughout the text.
But it was a thoughtful, well-researched, and thought-provoking read. It made me re-realize and re-question the complexity and many contradictions of what it means to be woman-as-Christian. Evans provides satisfactory answers to complexities and contradictions that I have struggled with for years.
It is a must-read for any recovering, searching or questioning Christian woman.
But it was a thoughtful, well-researched, and thought-provoking read. It made me re-realize and re-question the complexity and many contradictions of what it means to be woman-as-Christian. Evans provides satisfactory answers to complexities and contradictions that I have struggled with for years.
It is a must-read for any recovering, searching or questioning Christian woman.
Not at all what I expected and a really fascinating read. I definitely learned and grew because of it.
Rachel Held Evans is a funny writer who makes it feels like you're chatting with your best friend, plus I really loved the women in the bible sections. However, I read the book on my kindle and the editing really sucked. The font sizes would randomly change and there were too many instances of incorrect grammar; hopefully these will be fixed before her next book!