Repenting of Not Lenting: Forty Days of Femmevangelical

March 7, 2013 By Jennifer D. Crumpton

To Lent or not to Lent? ‘With whom’ is the question. I was raised Southern Baptist, and growing up we did not observe Lent. In some ways, probably mainly because I had never participated, it sounded exotic: 40 days of personal preparation and mysterious transformation of some sort before getting to celebrate Easter, a sober commitment required before sidling up to salvation. I came from a tradition of front-yard pictures in fluffy Easter dresses, a bunny that left elaborate baskets,... Read more

This isn’t about Beyoncé. It’s about sex.

February 7, 2013 By Jennifer D. Crumpton

What would it look like for women to truly, publicly, culturally claim our power over our female sexuality? Would it look like a typical male lap-dance fantasy? Would it look like holding it closer and more geared for our own fulfillment? Or do we even know? I’m ready to start trying to find out… [Warning: there are a couple of explicit links in this post.] In the last couple days, you may have read this and this, two profoundly thought-provoking... Read more

Sugar and spice and whatever Musburger likes… wait, remind me what we’re made of?

January 16, 2013 By Jennifer D. Crumpton

The first time I remember it happening to me I was probably six years old, and the bearer of the shocking news was the 1970-80’s television variety hit Hee Haw. Billed a family show brimming with widely popular songs and skits loosely based on rural Southern farm culture, the show at the time was as buzz-worthy and cloud-mind-shaping as Saturday Night Live has been for more recent generations. Hee Haw stands as my first memory of being “told” what it... Read more

The God Who Shows Up When God Disappears: Newtown, CT

December 17, 2012 By Jennifer D. Crumpton

The courage to take the anxiety of meaninglessness upon oneself is the boundary line up to which the courage to be can go. Beyond it is mere non-being. Within it all forms of courage are re-established in the power of the God above the God of theism. The courage to be is rooted in the God who appears when God has disappeared in the anxiety of doubt. — Paul Tillich, “The Courage to Be” Friday morning I was getting my... Read more

Bad Faith and a Good Scandal: Kathie Lee Gifford Brings the Gospel to Broadway

November 28, 2012 By Jennifer D. Crumpton

Kathie Lee Gifford is a bad follower of Jesus. Her humility and sincerity in describing her personal faith journey, one that began at age 12, is indicative of a woman who leads a rich, bold life of risks and rewards, successes and struggles, questions and … not answers, but something much more valuable: meaningful experiences. One who has tested traditional boundary lines and emerged more fluid yet more faithful for it. When it comes to right religion she is less... Read more

The Worst Lie of Election 2012: Women Are “Shiny Objects” of “Distraction”

October 29, 2012 By Jennifer D. Crumpton

Content Director’s Note: This post is a part of our Election Month at Patheos feature. Patheos was designed to present the world’s most compelling conversations on life’s most important questions. Please join the Facebook following for our new News and Politics Channel — and check back throughout the month for more commentary on Election 2012. Please use hashtag #PatheosElection on Twitter. Just as the repetitive, remonstrative, and sometimes shockingly disingenuous discourse of the presidential debates threatened to lull... Read more

In the Bosom of God: Holy Female Embodiment in a Male Fantasy World

October 3, 2012 By Jennifer D. Crumpton

I have not been able to forget the news story that recently kicked off the new school year for the nation: that American University assistant anthropology professor Adrienne Pine breast-fed her feverish, fitful baby in the classroom in order to avoid cancelling the first day of class. A debate about the appropriateness of this brief, covered act—of which the class of grown adults was forewarned—erupted immediately in the national news media after the school paper reported that some students were... Read more

Eve Up His Sleeve: The Political Spin on Original Sin

September 4, 2012 By Jennifer D. Crumpton

Why women of Christian faith – and all political persuasions – must speak out against politicians who use “’biblical authority” against our full equality. Despite the separation of church and state, politicians have long consulted their faith in policy making, and at times that’s where some of the best ideas for leading justly have originated. Politicians have also never underestimated what utilizing popular religious jargon can do to sway the outcome of an election. For the most part, this translates to... Read more

How Do Femmevangelicals Talk About God?

August 8, 2012 By Jennifer D. Crumpton

Femmevangelicalizing the “God-talk” challenge. A couple days ago, Tony Jones challenged progressive writers to write a post about God, citing a sweeping “God-talk problem” that leaves us stuck on “social issues, the church, culture and society.” If it is a safe assumption that the Bible is widely accepted and taught as the Word of God by most Christians, and said Word of God forms the general basis for Christians to formulate “what we think about God” and “who God is,... Read more

Would the ‘Biblical God’ Laugh at Tosh’s Rape Jokes?

July 29, 2012 By Jennifer D. Crumpton

How do women of faith fight the rape culture? Picture yourself and five of your girlfriends sitting around the table talking. Visualize the details of their faces, listen to their laughs, the familiarity of their voices. Hear each one talk about her career, her relationships, her dreams for her future. Now realize that one has been, or will be, raped. There is one who will leave that table and be attacked in the coming months or years. Or there is... Read more