The Making of Biblical Womanhood

This is such a valuable book and I am so glad I read it. I highly recommend it for anyone who either wants to learn more about the historical origins of the idea of “biblical womanhood” or who is reexamining what they may have been taught about it. It is well written (from the perspective of a historian / professor who knows her stuff), well-cited and thoroughly thought-provoking.

Here's the issue - I agree with most of the conclusions this author arrives at. Women should be teachers, women are not second-tier (and it's never taught that in the Bible), women are partners with their husbands, not “lower than”. The issue I have with this book is that the author thinks her genius that has uncovered these deeply hidden secrets - my girl, you just went to a toxic church. This is not a well-researched essay about Biblical Womanhood, but a memoir highlighting the flaws in the American church today.

The entire second chapter argues that “perhaps” Biblical text is misunderstood as a whole - nope, you just need to learn context before diving into scripture. Understanding the basic context that Paul and Peter wrote in their letters to various churches will completely change the way you read those passages. These men did not think women should be silent, and there's not some massive conspiracy from biblical translators to undermine women. You just need to get better teachers and pastors in your life.

If you grew up in a very “traditional” church or maybe left a toxic church, this might be a helpful book to reframe your mindset around feminity and patriarchy, but if you are in a healthy church, you probably already know all of this from regular Sunday services or perhaps just from observing how healthy Christians treat the women around them.

What this book really did for me is realizing how toxic Christianity has become so normal and loud. None of the things that happened to Barr in her church was justified or Christ-like in any way. I can't help but wonder if there's more to her stories or if her political views and past experiences tainted her view of this “research”. Overall, it's a skip for me.

“Complementarianism is patriarchy, and patriarchy is about power. Neither have ever been about Jesus.”

This is not so much a review as a list of things I want to remember prior to discussion with Jeananne.

• Phoebe the Deaconess, being demoted in different versions of the Bible
• Bible translations moving back and forth between gender-inclusive language and gender-exclusive language depending on the time period.
• And also people specifically creating translations to remove women's agency
• Rise of inerrancy, if you don't literally believe the beginning of the story (Creation, Flood), then you can't believe that the Jesus stuff is accurate either. And this is how Paul's words are used too.
• Evangelical heresy (Arianism) that Jesus was subordinate to God, and that's why women are subordinate to men. Triune God = Father Son and Holy Spirit all the same and all equal.
• The shifting of patriarchy as society evolves, to continue to keep specific groups of people out
• Medieval women preaching! Things have ebbed and flowed both pre- and post-Reformation. Women in the 1930s preaching!
• We all have different giftings, doesn't make sense that only half the people should be able to serve with theirs, or that only one group “gets” to be gifted with things like speaking, teaching.

This book made so much sense to me, and gave me so much. Dr. Barr is a medieval historian at a Baptist university about an hour north of me, and her framing was perfect and reasonable. I got this from the library but I think I need to get my own copy. Also I need to buy a different Bible translation for my Kindle, because it turns out the ESV was specifically translated in such a way as to cut women's roles as prophetesses, deaconesses and apostles out of the Bible.