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<\/span><\/h1>\n\u201cBiblical womanhood\u201d and \u201cChristic manhood\u201d are hot topics in theological circles these days, despite the terms not appearing in the Bible and a vast discrepancy in how people define them. In just the last year, books by historian Kristen Kobes Du Mez<\/a> and theologian Aimee Byrd<\/a> have made waves in the evangelical world\u2014both authors confront the conservative theology of complementarianism, which teaches that \u201cmen and women were created equally in God\u2019s image with distinct and complementary differences.\u201d<\/a> They examine this teaching\u2019s origins, trace its influence, and question its value to the church.<\/p>\n Enter historian Beth Allison Barr, professor of history at Baylor University<\/a> in Waco, Texas. Along with Du Mez, she contributes to the Patheos blog Anxious Bench<\/a>. Her new book, The Making of Biblical Womanhood<\/em><\/a>, approaches the topic of women in the church from both personal and historical perspectives. The first chapter offers a bit of a memoir to set the stage for why and how she came to care so much about the church\u2019s stance on women. The history, though, is what caught my attention. Almost every author I\u2019ve read focuses on theological<\/a> arguments alone without tracing how the church has implemented that theology. MBW<\/em> does both.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve read a dozen or more books on this topic over the last year as I research and write my own book on women in the church. Beth graciously sent a pdf very early in the editing stages so that I might glean insight, and potentially some great quotes, from her historical expertise. I then joined her launch team and continue to recommend MBW<\/em> to friends, pastors, professors, and any social media followers I might have. So I was thrilled when she agreed to the Q&A you find below.<\/p>\n BAB:<\/strong> I wrote it for two reasons, really.<\/span><\/p>\n First, because it was just time for people to know. I have known for so long, as both a historian and a Christian, that scholarship completely undermines \u2018biblical womanhood.\u2019 Yet \u2018biblical womanhood\u2019 continues to be the message we hear in evangelical churches;\u00a0 we continue to hear that the only way to be biblically faithful is to believe in \u2018separate but equal\u2019 gender roles. I wanted people to know the truth about where complementarian theology came from\u2014that it is made in history, not the Bible. I especially wanted people to know how it became written into the gospel. Even if I didn\u2019t change minds, I wanted evangelical Christians to understand that biblical faithfulness isn\u2019t tied to following \u2018biblical manhood and womanhood.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n Second, because I really felt called by God to write it.\u00a0 When my husband was fired, one woman, an artist, gave us a wooden block that she had painted black and written these simple words on it in white: looking unto Jesus. I have kept it always where I can see it. I know she gave it to me out of bewilderment\u2014not understanding what was going on\u2014but she trusted God was doing something. The words she wrote, looking unto Jesus, are really what I felt like we have done these past four years. It is so miraculous to me how our life, which seemed to be completely falling apart, began to be rebuilt in such an incredible way. When I received that email from Katelyn Beaty, asking if I would be interested in submitting a book proposal, all the pieces of my life seemed to fall into place. I had the academic credentials needed for a book like <\/span>The Making of Biblical Womanhood<\/span><\/i>; I had the solid evangelical pedigree to keep me from being booted immediately into the heretic camp; I had the lived experience of forty years in the complementarian world, including living through the worst of what it had to offer; and I even had a small social media platform through blogging as well as networks connecting me to so many Christian scholars and public intellectuals. God had given me all the tools I needed to make a difference for women, and I decided to take the chance.<\/span><\/p>\n BAB:<\/strong> It is for the people in my evangelical world who are willing to listen. I don\u2019t pretend that I will change the minds of the hard-line complementarian leaders who have built their reputations and ministries on maintaining patriarchy. This book isn\u2019t really for them, although they are welcome to read it. This book is for the women and men in evangelical churches who realize the disconnect between what the Bible teaches and what \u2018biblical manhood and womanhood\u2019 demands; those who are beginning to ask questions and don\u2019t know where to find answers. I want them to know that the reason the misogyny and sexism, even racism, that they have uncovered in their churches doesn\u2019t look like Jesus because it isn\u2019t from Jesus. I want them to know that they don\u2019t have to walk away from their faith.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n BAB:<\/strong> Really, there is one main point: \u2018biblical womanhood\u2019 isn\u2019t biblical. It\u2019s that simple. What we have been taught about the \u201cGod-given\u201d limits placed on women\u2019s leadership and roles stem from human culture, not from God.<\/span><\/p>\n But within that bigger point, I hope that evangelicals will approach scripture more judiciously and better understand how Bible translations impact their ideas about gender roles.\u00a0 I hope that evangelicals will stop settling for church histories and sermons and Sunday School lessons that leave women out of the narrative. I hope that evangelicals will come to realize that\u2014rather than a worrisome trend\u2014women as preachers, teachers, and leaders have always been a significant part of the Christian story.<\/span><\/p>\n If I can add one more: I hope evangelicals will begin to ask more questions about why they believe what they believe, and that they will realize the God we serve is big enough to handle all the questions we ask.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n BAB:<\/strong> Despite how pretty we try to make it with words like \u201cservant leadership\u201d and \u201ccomplementarity,\u201d the crux of biblical womanhood teaches that women are divinely designed to support men and that\u2014because of the way God made us\u2014women are lacking men\u2019s leadership capability. Women, in other words, are taught that we are less, whereas men are taught that they are better. History has shown us over and over how harmful this idea is for women. It places women perpetually under the power of men and excludes women perpetually from decision-making roles. We literally have no place at the table; or, at best, a place that is also less than that of men. Biblical womanhood teaches women to not question the authority of men and silences women who find themselves in dangerous and abusive situations. Ideas matter. And the idea of biblical womanhood teaches that women are less than men, which leads to men treating women accordingly.<\/span><\/p>\n BAB:\u00a0<\/strong>That it helps women. That it allows evangelical women and men to realize that complementarianism is not the divine order created by God. That women and men will know that they can continue to be biblical faithfully even if they begin to question or abandon complementarianism. That it will break the abusive stranglehold in so many complementarian churches that has silenced women and contributed to decades of spiritual and sexual abuse. That evangelical women who do feel God\u2019s calling to preach, teach, and lead will be free to do so. That, instead of forcing women into a one-size-fits-all mold, it will empower women to be who they have been made to be. More than anything else, I pray that <\/span>The Making of Biblical Womanhood<\/span><\/i> gives women hope for a better Christian world.<\/span><\/p>\n Listen to Beth discuss her book on\u00a0NPR<\/a>, Scot McKnight\u2019s Kingdom Roots<\/a> podcast, and Jackie Roese\u2019s Jackie Always Unplugged<\/a> podcast (among many others). Follow her on Twitter<\/a>, Facebook<\/a>, and Instagram<\/a>. Grab a copy of MBW<\/em> from any bookseller online or in your area.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cBiblical womanhood\u201d and \u201cChristic manhood\u201d are hot topics in theological circles these days, despite the terms not appearing in the Bible and a vast discrepancy in how people define them. In just the last year, books by historian Kristen Kobes Du Mez and theologian Aimee Byrd have made waves in the evangelical world\u2014both authors confront […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3129,"featured_media":7189,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[1287,1126,1658,1664,889,610,1661,1667,111],"class_list":["post-7177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-books","tag-author","tag-author-interview","tag-beth-allison-barr","tag-biblical-womanhood","tag-book","tag-leadership","tag-men","tag-patriarchy","tag-women"],"yoast_head":"\n~~~~<\/h1>\n
Why did you write <\/span>The Making of Biblical Womanhood<\/span><\/i>?<\/span><\/h2>\n
Who needs this book?<\/span><\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nWhat are the main takeaways you hope for the reader?<\/span><\/h2>\n
Where do you see biblical womanhood doing the most harm?<\/span><\/h2>\n
What is your greatest hope for the impact of the book?<\/span><\/h2>\n
~~~<\/h2>\n
Most book links are affiliate.<\/h5>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"