Unabridged Audiobook
This was a curious read. First, I’m very encouraged by the stories of women throughout history who have lived out their faith and fought against injustice. That is perhaps the greatest strength of the book: bringing to light “la lucha” that women throughout have fought. But one of my curiosities is how the author had not heard the stories of women in the Bible who are routinely depicted heroines of the faith within evangelical churches. I grew up and have spent the majority of my life in conservative churches and went to a conservative Bible college and seminary—churches and schools that maintain that the Bible affirms the equality of men and women while establishing roles in the church for each. I currently attend a church that affirms complementarianism. In these churches and schools, I have routinely learned about Timothy’s mother and grandmother and celebrate the contribution of Jewish and Gentile women throughout Scripture yet the author seemed like it was a fairly new revelation. The inclusion of Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba in the genealogy of Jesus is a Christmas staple that virtually every pastor shares every year. Ruth and Esther have always been portrayed as the main characters and heroines of their stories. (I’ve never heard anyone teach that Boaz is the hero.) The only story of a heroic woman in Scripture I wasn’t familiar with in the book was Rizpah. But the author presented most of the women in the Bible as characters never talked about in heroic fashion. I simply have not experienced that or seen it in the more conservative evangelicalism I move in. I felt great pity when Hering the author’s story about her seminary professor discouraging women to learn Greek and Hebrew unless they wanted to impress their husbands. A former pastor of mine, also a professor, encouraged female students to take Greek and Hebrew so they could know and translate and teach Scripture. There were 4 young women that I know took those languages because of his encouragement. So I’m curious as to what type of church community the author was in at first. It feels like it doesn’t represent evangelicalism as a whole. I’m also curious as to the decision to insist on using the feminine name of God “La Espiritu Santa”. God, though He has no physical gender, is referred to or calls Himself by the male pronoun or name over 900 times in the OT. And Jesus consistently refers to the Holy Spirit as a “he” or “him” (see John 4:24, 16:7-15). I’m not quick to label this heresy (as another reviewer did), but this decision is a curiosity. Despite my curiosities, I really appreciate the author’s challenge for the Western Church to get rid of dualistic thinking (see page 171-2).
~~tag-text~~