The Making of Biblical Womanhood
History is complicated. Maybe that’s okay.
It’s always been this way is a statement I have heard too many times to count.
The certainty behind those words in white American evangelical spaces has proven to be problematic. When we look to church history, we learn that things have not always been this way. Other times, we only have to think back a few years within our own contexts to see change, or fear preventing change.
I can’t think of an issue I’ve been told it’s always been this way about more than gender roles in the church. Until recently, I’ve been in conservative white evangelical spaces for most of my life. I know as well as anyone how complementarian culture can cast a long, dark shadow over churches.
It’s always been this way…
It’s easy to nod along with strict gender roles if you’ve been isolated to an inward-looking subculture. When one has nothing to compare their subcultural experiences and beliefs to, it’s easy to inappropriately universalize both. But how did we get where we are now?
Does the Bible really say women are never allowed to teach men? Should women only be homemakers or be strongly encouraged in that direction? Will society collapse if we don’t adhere to rigid — sometimes even cartoonish — gender roles, as is often implied in white evangelical spaces?
The Making of Biblical Womanhood excavates some of the roots of western Christianity and provides insightful answers. It shows us the why behind the modern white evangelical deference to domineering male leaders within a subculture that often disregards female perspectives and gifts. Story and history entwine beautifully in this book. Rather than provide a summary — seriously, just go buy it — I want to explore a few themes in the book and some of the conversation around it.
The Bible, untold stories, and history pose a serious challenge to the complementarian narrative
So many memories ebbed and flowed in my mind as I read The Making of Biblical Womanhood by Dr. Beth Allison Barr, Professor of History at Baylor University. After describing leaving a beloved church because her husband was fired for…