Adam’s and Eve’s work, Orvieto cathedral façade, Orvieto, Italy

Blog Posts About Women, Gender, & Faith

The True Beauty of Women

By Beauty, Life In The Body, WomenOne Comment

Whatever is true…think on these things. The Thai branch of a Japanese lingerie company, Wacoal, doesn’t feature scantily clad models in their ads. Instead, they tell true stories with life-affirming messages that everyone can watch and appreciate. The ads emphasize women’s true beauty. And the men in the stories are the kind of guys who appreciate goodness, and are not necessarily sexually involved with the women whom they admire and whose stories they tell. Check out the “My Beautiful Woman” ad campaign.

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July 31, 2017
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On Feminism and Evangelicalism

By Gender & Faith, Justice, Life In The Body, WomenNo Comments

As part of my PhD research, I read Betty Friedan, heard Gloria Steinem in person, and spent a bunch of semesters exploring the history and teachings of feminism. And after I did so, I reached the conclusion that evangelicals in general need to pull back and regroup both in our representations of feminists and in our approach to reaching them. Just as there is not one “Christianity” but many Christianities (e.g., Orthodox, Catholic, Anglo-Catholic, Protestant, Lutheran, Armenian, Calvinist), there are many feminisms (liberal, radical, Marxist, socialist, lesbian, biblical, difference feminists [we are women—viva le difference! from men] and sameness feminists [we’re the same except for biology]), and more. Liberal feminists came out of the Equal Rights Movement. Betty Friedan was one of them. They are interested in equality, not to be confused with sameness. That is, they want the law to quit “seeing gender,” i.e., being biased against one sex…

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July 10, 2017
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My Thoughts on Gender

By Blog Interviews With Writers, Gender & Faith, Justice, WomenNo Comments

We Talk Different is a podcast on culture, race, ethnicity, gender, politics, and theology. Recently my friend Jurrita and I were featured on the podcast talking about gender and faith and race. You can get the scoop at iTunes. 5 The “Chrisitanity and Gender” Edition – 3.14.17 – Part II The WTD team wraps up their conversation with Jur… 3/13/2017 Free View in iTunes 7 The “Christianity and Gender” Edition – 3.7.16 – Part I This week the WTD Team brings in the real intelle… 3/6/2017 Free View in iTunes

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April 12, 2017
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Vindicating the Vixens

By Gender & Faith, Women, WritingOne Comment

On March 23 at DTS, I moderated a panel discussion with Dr. Glenn Kreider, Sarah Bowler, Sharifa Stevens, Dr. Timothy Ralston, and Karla Zazueta about women in the Bible whom we have either vilified or marginalized. Vindicating the Vixens (Kregel Academic, forthcoming) is the result of a diverse team of 16 male and female theologians who’ve partnered to take a second look at vilified and marginalized women in the Bible, and we got some of the contributors in Dallas together to talk about our findings. The church has often viewed women’s stories through sexist eyes, resulting in a range of distortions. In this panel discussion, three of us DTS profs and three graduates talk about the women we explored. Order Vindicating the Vixens.

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April 10, 2017
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Protestants at 500 Years: The Best-Known Female Reformer

By Marriage, WomenNo Comments

In this year, which marks the five-hundredth anniversary of the start of the Protestant Reformation, many are focusing on the male reformers. But Germany is also focused on some of the females.  Though quite influential, they are often forgotten. And we can learn much from their lives. I’m thinking of one in particular. Come back in time with me to about 1499 in what we know today as eastern Germany—then called Saxony. And picture a girl born to a noble family. When she turns five, her mother dies and her father sends her to a cloister.  There she receives a nun’s education. When she is about 24, she and some of her friends—aware of the reform movement and dissatisfied with their lives in the monastery—seek to flee. Like so many others, they haven’t  taken vows of celibacy due to calling, but due to a parent’s decision (sometimes for reasons of economic and/or convenience)—something which…

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January 31, 2017
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Spiritual Mothers: A Guest Post

By Gender & Faith, WomenNo Comments

Today I’m happy to feature Kat Armstrong here as a guest post-er. Kat is a former student and savvy business woman (Baby Bow Tie) who co-founded Polished Ministries, an outreach to young business women. When I read this post she wrote on her own blog, I asked if I could run it again here:  My heart feels like it’s going to burst through my chest. I’ve tried working on other projects this weekend, projects I’m really excited about with looming deadlines, and yet I keep coming back to this keep-me-up-at-night message: We need all Christ-followers intentionally investing in younger generations now. Maybe it’s the Irish/Latino mix I’ve got in my blood, but I tend to get fired up about lots of things. But make no mistake, this is not your average Kat-plea to see again afresh the gospel of Christ, in general. This is urgent and specific. Although I am a…

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November 30, 2016
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7 Views on the Role of Women w/in the Inerrancy Camp

By Gender & Faith, Life In The Body, WomenNo Comments

My Engage blog post for October 25: I’m speaking at an event today at which I’m outlining seven different views on the role of women held by those who hold to the verbal plenary inspiration of scripture: 1. TRADITIONALISTS Believe women are more easily deceived than men, but also masters at deceiving. Women are ontologically inferior to men at created level. “Women are the devil’s gateway.” — Tertullian. Augustine, Aquinas, John Knox, etc. COMPLEMENTARIANS (spectrum of about 4 views) Women equal before God, but in some form of hierarchy w/ men/ husbands. Authority = the issue w/ several views on the public ministry of women: 2. Male “headship” – all men = “head” over all women. Speak of “male headship.” Innate. At creation. Head = synonym for leader. 3. Male “headship” in the church and home – husband head of wife + elders head over women in church and home…

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November 7, 2016
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Why Study Church History?

By Women2 Comments

A few weeks ago, Dr. Glenn Kreider (we both teach at DTS) and I were in Austin talking with Jennie Allen, founder of IF:Gathering, to film segments included in the new study they are offering—Anno Domini or “AD.” AD focuses on the Book of Acts and what followed—the 2,000-year history of the church, the bride of Christ. You can sign up for the free 8-week course. Below I spend about 30 seconds talking about why I encourage people to study this topic: The following video lasts about five minutes, and we talk more in depth about the value of understanding our history.  This is the intro to lesson one. I hope you’ll consider joining in. Click here and scroll down to get started and read the encouraging responses to this video.

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October 17, 2016
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A Great Film

By Arts, Beauty, Justice, Life In The Body, Marriage, WomenNo Comments

Defying the Nazis: The Sharps’ War tells the story of a US couple’s courageous private war against the Nazis in 1939. The Sharps, a Unitarian minister and his wife, are two of only five Americans honored as Righteous Among the Nations in Israel’s Yad Vashem. You can watch their story online at PBS until October 5 by clicking on the above link. This film is the latest from Ken Burns, known for his style of using archival footage and photographs in documentaries. Defying the Nazis is an incredible story of great personal sacrifice. In this film you will see many similarities to the current social environment in America. How does an unlikely candidate rise quickly to power? How does racism thrive? Why don’t people care for refugees? Is national security more important that children’s lives? We’ve been here before. When you finish, read Auden’s poem, September 1, 1939. We must love one another or die.

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September 30, 2016
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On the ESV’s New Rendering of Genesis 3:16 (“Contrary Wives”)

By Gender & Faith, Marriage, WomenNo Comments

In light of the volumes written about recent changes in the ESV, I thought I’d offer a few reflections on the interpretation of this text (Gen. 3:16), especially because the verse is foundational to many people’s understanding of gender roles. First, the change: Previous ESV translation of Genesis 3:16: Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you. New text of Genesis 3:16: Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you. First, an underlying reason for some of the mistrust: The ESV committee had pretty conservative complementarians on it. I’ve identified about five different kinds of complementarians, and many on this committee are at the traditionalist end. And here’s the rub: They included no women translators. And no egalitarians. In a world growing more aware of the blindness inherent in homogenous groups, this seems odd—especially coming from people who acknowledge…

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September 29, 2016
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