God, the Maternal Father

May 25, 2013 By Sarah Moon

I’ve been working through Elizabeth A. Johnson’s She Who Is lately and finding it fascinating and challenging. Much of my journey from fundamentalism so far has been figuring out what I don’t believe about God. Johnson’s book, along with other feminist theology I’ve been reading, is helping me lay some foundation for figuring out what I do believe. In one section, she talks about a trend that I’ve frequently seen in the many mainline churches I’ve attended over the past 4 or 5 years.... Read more

Must Reads!

May 24, 2013 By Sarah Moon

Here are some important posts that you shouldn’t miss! Sorry folks – you can’t be a prophet and an oppressor at the same time. I don’t think we need space on Tony Jones’ blog. We need a blog of our own. Blogs of our own. Oh wait, some of us already have them! SO READ THEM. In a just feminism, girls and women aren’t fodder for jokes that “serve a higher purpose.” Where does your greed and exploitation of workers... Read more

Is there room for other perspectives in the evangelical conversation against purity culture?

May 24, 2013 By Sarah Moon

Today, @mslooola, who I follow on the Twitters (#FF her for more great tweets on the topic, by the way–can I do #FF on a blog? Is that cheating?), tweeted her thoughts on the recent trend of evangelicals calling out Purity Culture: Now, I have a lot of friends/acquaintances who are evangelical, who are speaking out against purity culture, and whose sexual ethic (regardless of their personal convictions on when you should have sex) revolves around consent, and respect for others’ autonomy and... Read more

On gaslighting.

May 23, 2013 By Sarah Moon

Trigger Warning: Verbal Abuse, Gaslighting He called me a slut. I remember it so clearly because it was so shocking. I was sixteen, and almost pathetically naive about sex, yet he called me a slut. My own father. I held onto that word, let it shape what I thought of myself. Let it fertilize my anger and bitterness toward my dad. I never talked to him about it, because he never admitted to doing anything wrong. He’d tell me I... Read more

What is a Rape Myth?

May 20, 2013 By Sarah Moon

This post is part of a series called “You Are Not Your Own,” focusing on rape and sexual assault in Christian relationship/dating books. Trigger Warning for Rape, Sexual Assault, and Victim Blaming Attitudes When I first started contemplating my research project, I thought I’d focus on rape myths. I thought I’d get a list of rape myths, read through the books I’d chosen to read for this study (Real Marriage by Mark and Grace Driscoll, I Kissed Dating Goodbye, by Joshua... Read more

Must Reads!

May 17, 2013 By Sarah Moon

Here are some recent posts that you shouldn’t miss! Those who are simply having fun with the footage of Ramsey might pause for a second to actually listen to the man. He clearly knows a thing or two about the way racism prevents us from seeing each other as people. Don’t be shitty. I do wish I had a dime for every email I get that says, “Please put a non-girly cover on your book so I can read it.... Read more

From the archives: It Won’t Be Their World Anymore: Universalism With Boundaries

May 17, 2013 By Sarah Moon

This post was originally published on January 31, 2013 at SarahOverTheMoon.com I really don’t know what I believe about the afterlife. Ever since I gave up the idea of an eternal hell, I’ve found myself able to embrace many different theories with some comfort. As a Christian, though, I find particular comfort in the idea of a future Kingdom of God. I am inspired and energized by the hope against hope that what’s next is some kind of Kingdom ruled... Read more

Tony Jones, Peter Rollins, and the trend of “don’t call me racist!”

May 16, 2013 By Sarah Moon

I’ve noticed a trend among white, straight, academic cis men in so-called progressive or emergent Christianity where calling someone racist, sexist, homophobic, etc. is a bigger problem than the existence of racism, sexism, and homophobia. Emergent Christianity is a broad term, and progressive an even broader one, so I don’t speak about all people from all movements that use these words to define themselves. I want to make that clear before I move on, because I appreciate and benefit from... Read more

Can you love others if you can’t love yourself?

May 15, 2013 By Sarah Moon

Trigger Warning for discussions of depression and suicide Today on Twitter, someone that I follow tweeted a familiar phrase. You’ve probably heard it before too. “How can you love others if you can’t love yourself?” I hear this line frequently. Often it’s from smart people, from people that I admire. From people who really, really think that they’ve got a good idea going here. But here’s the thing . . . It’s bullshit. Not only is it bullshit, but it’s... Read more

When rape is a bigger problem than “I don’t approve of rape”

May 14, 2013 By Sarah Moon

Trigger Warning for Rape and Sexual Assault This post is part of a series discussing research that I’ve done on rape and sexual assault in evangelical Christian dating books called “You Are Not Your Own.” One of the questions I had to answer often, from my professors, fellow classmates, and most recently from someone in the audience when I presented my research at an undergrad academic conference is “Why did you choose to study Christian dating books?” I have... Read more