The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women Became Gospel Truth
Beth Allison Barramazon.com
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The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women Became Gospel Truth
The reason the teenage girls in our youth group were forced to put on baggy T-shirts wasn’t because Jesus cares that much about bra straps. It was because the leaders at that camp had confused nineteenth-century ideas about women’s purity (not to mention male culpability) with what it meant to be a Christian woman.
Beth Allison Barr • The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women Became Gospel Truth
The patriarchy that continues to appear in biblical text is a “mere accommodation to the reality of the times and culture; it is not a reflection of the divine ideal for humanity.”35 Patriarchy is created by people, not ordained by God.
Beth Allison Barr • The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women Became Gospel Truth
From my experience as someone who grew up Southern Baptist and remained in conservative evangelical churches throughout most of my adult life, inerrancy creates an atmosphere of fear. Any question raised about biblical accuracy must be completely answered or completely rejected to prevent the fragile fabric of faith from unraveling.
Beth Allison Barr • The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women Became Gospel Truth
Complementarianism is patriarchy, and patriarchy is about power. Neither have ever been about Jesus.
Beth Allison Barr • The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women Became Gospel Truth
As women’s activities were redirected into the household, women became less “collective, visible, and active” in the late medieval parish.
Beth Allison Barr • The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women Became Gospel Truth
Historically speaking, there is nothing surprising about biblical stories and passages riddled with patriarchal attitudes and actions. What is surprising is how many biblical passages and stories undermine, rather than support, patriarchy.
Beth Allison Barr • The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women Became Gospel Truth
Spacey’s character delivers a line I have never forgotten: “The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.” I haven’t forgotten the line, because I disagree with it. The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing Christians that oppression is godly.
Beth Allison Barr • The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women Became Gospel Truth
I do not see a conflict between my feminist identity and my cooking skills. I don’t have a problem with women, or men, taking pride in domestic prowess. What I do have a problem with is how we continue to teach the cult of domesticity to modern Christian women.
Beth Allison Barr • The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women Became Gospel Truth
Ironically, complementarian theology claims it is defending a plain and natural interpretation of the Bible while really defending an interpretation that has been corrupted by our sinful human drive to dominate others and build hierarchies of power and oppression. I can’t think of anything less Christlike than hierarchies like these.