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Kristina LaCelle-Peterson seeks both to affirm the central place of Scripture in the Christian life and to highlight the liberating nature of the gospel for both men and women. To do this the author considers the biblical ideal for human beings and then proceeds to offer a biblical foundation for each of the topics under discussion--identity, body image, personal relationships, marriage, church life, and language for God. Along the way she examines the cultural nature of gender roles and the ways in which they have become entangled with ecclesial expectations. This book will help women better appreciate themselves as women, gain a better understanding of their value in God's eyes, and recognize their potential for meaningful engagement in a variety of relationships and vocational callings.
Despite real progress, women continue to be silenced, wounded, and relegated to the sidelines in our churches. But we can learn to do better. Exploring the history and culture of sexism in our contemporary evangelical world, Heather Matthews offers simple, practical steps for how Christians can actively fight sexism in its many forms.
Offers a clear perspective on the issues Christian women face in the twenty-first century and shows how the Bible is a liberating and enriching book for women.
Results May Vary addresses the unspoken assumptions and unquestioned expectations about what it means to be a Christian woman in a complex world. Far from offering a simple checklist or selling advice, this collection of essays weaves together a rich variety of voices--from women of different ages, backgrounds, professions, disciplines, and life choices--speaking honestly about the unexpected yet grace-infused twists and turns of life that exude the faithfulness of God in every unanticipated detail. For young women in their twenties and thirties tackling post-college life, Results May Vary offers the wry and diverse stories of real women grappling with real-world issues like friendship, health, money, ambition, vocation, marriage, motherhood, sexuality, and spiritual life.
This book is a collection of ten essays, all focused on the realities of conducting feminist work within Christian universities and colleges, as well as churches. The purpose of this collection emerges from the contributors’ lives at the intersection of feminist ideas and the Christian contexts in which they work. The book’s focus is on the ways in which feminism continues to meet resistance from Christian institutions and communities. Within these contexts, the authors describe the ongoing challenges they face as feminists with their students, their colleagues, their pastors, their fellow congregants, their peers, and their own families. Scholars, clergy, students, and readers intereste...
Does Scripture exclude women from full participation in all forms of Christian ministry simply on the basis of gender? What insights can the church's "rule of faith," theology, Scripture, Christian history, and testimonies give women and men exploring this important issue today? In many Christian congregations and college classrooms, debates over the ordination and ministry of women create hurtful and debilitating divisions among believers. This new book by Shannon Smythe leans into those inhospitable places by inviting readers into a process of discernment that intends to lead them, and women especially, into a fresh awareness of their sacred calling to a ministry of the gospel. In Women in Ministry Smythe presents a carefully curated collection of thoughtful answers to common questions asked by those investigating this topic, inviting them to share in the communal practice of studying scripture together in dialogue with the church's theological traditions and the testimonies of faithful women. Readers are asked to reflect in deeply personal ways upon the truth they have found in their study, which then enables the Spirit to direct (or redirect) them forward in the ways of God.
Reexamining the story of holidays in the United States, Leigh Schmidt shows that commercial appropriations of these occasions were actually as religious in form as they were secular. The new rituals of America's holiday bazaar offered a luxuriant merger of the holy and the profane - a heady blend of fashion and faith, merchandising and gift giving, profits and sentiments. In this richly illustrated book that captures both the blessings and ballyhoo of American holiday observances from the mid-eighteenth century through the twentieth, the author offers a reassessment of the "consumer rites" that various social critics have long decried for their spiritual emptiness and banal sentimentality.
In 1975, Arthur F. Holmes published The Idea of a Christian College. At the time he could not have imagined his book would gather such a large following. This work's thoughtful yet accessible style made it a long-standing choice for reading lists on Christian college and university campuses across the country and around the world. Countless numbers of first-year students have read and discussed his book as part of their introduction to the Christian college experience. However, enough has changed since 1975 in both the Church and Academy to now merit a full-scale reexamination. In this book, Todd C. Ream and Perry L. Glanzer account for changes in how people view the Church and themselves as...
If God calls women to lead, what holds them back? Using social science research and interviews, Susan Harris Howell examines how gendered messages inside and outside the church pull men toward leadership and women away from it. As opportunities for women continue to expand, Howell provides compelling guidance for how we can remove obstacles that keep women from fully using their gifts.
I was an egalitarian Christian stay-at-home dad, caring for six children during my 20-year marriage. However, my in-laws, marriage counselors and church pastors were all complementarian. Their counsel to my wife and I was that I had sinned against God for not being the breadwinner of the family. This led to a grievous divorce. Therefore, I was inspired to research how the Bible was used to destroy families and communities, from colonial America to the present day. I also discuss the pushback that resulted from such biblical interpretation, including and especially the rise of feminism. Since it was an interpretation of the Bible that led to the dissolution of my marriage, the institution of biblical marriage is also scrutinized, especially in the context of divorce. Stay-at-home dads should have the Christian right to be caregivers of their children, if they choose to do so, without being threatened with divorce.