Thread by @bethallisonbarr

So much scholarly evidence exists showing that 'biblical womanhood' isn't biblical. @scotmcknight's #BlueParakeet is a must read--kind, careful, & mind-exploding--for showing how we have gotten the Bible wrong on so many issues, including women in ministry 1/2

This is why I was so excited to have @scotmcknight
not only agree to read #MakingBiblicalWomanhood, but give it one of my favorite endorsements. Along w/ @laurambarringer, his #AChurchCalledTOV shows Christian patriarchy harms not only women but the entire culture of the church.

I only ever read white biblical scholars & theologians growing up in the church. The first time I read Clarice J. Martin I realized that if more white evangelicals read Black scholars like her, white biblical womanhood would simply fall apart. 1/2

I don't read Black scholars because they need me; I read Black scholars because I need them. The Christian world is much deeper & wider than the small world of white evangelicalism. Here 👆are a few of the Black scholars who first opened my eyes. Read & learn.

Y'all, today is an author we all know well.
@kkdumez has completely changed the conversation about evangelicalism (paradigm shift), including evangelical's embrace of patriarchy. The brilliance of her book is in its rock solid argument & empirical evidence...1/2

Trump was not an aberration; he was the natural progression of evangelical masculinity. Albeit not intentionally @kkdumez paved the way for the success of #MakingBiblicalWomanhood bc she clearly shows how evangelical gender roles are constructed. Get both her books (& next one).

Not only did my white evangelical church omit Black theologians & biblical scholars, it also omitted the history of Black women preaching, teaching, & leading. Y'all, Bettye Collier Thomas is eye opening, as well as @AntheaButler (who you will see again on this list). Read them.

Patriarchy is intertwined with racism and has been from the very beginning. We need to get rid of both. Bc neither have ever been about Jesus. Read Bettye Collier Thomas, @AntheaButler (& @JemarTisby who is coming up on my list soon).
#EndChristianPatriarchy Books Day 4

I was so nervous when I asked internationally-known NT scholar Beverly Roberts Gaventa to endorse #MakingBiblicalWomanhood. Her words mean so much to me. But her work, along w/ the work of so many scholars for so many years, really should have made my book unecessary... 1/2

Day 5 cont: As I wrote in #MakingBiblicalWomanhood, so much faithful scholarship exists showing that biblical womanhood isn't biblical, I am dumbfounded this is a battle we are still fighting. From @mbird12 to Gaventa, y'all, complementarian theology is just NOT gospel truth. 2/2

I am so grateful for the work of
@JemarTisby. His speaking at a conference in 2018 gave me the courage to sign the contract to write #MakingBiblicalWomanhood in 2019. His scholarship points the church toward freedom from racism by forcing us to recognize our own complicity...1/2

& since racism walks hand in hand with patriarchy ("interlocking systems of oppression," as so many have noted), we need to actively fight both if we are ever going to be free. Thank you @JemarTisby for endorsing #MakingBiblicalWomanhood as well as your courageous scholarship!

I almost missed today! But you definitely don't want to miss these books, y'all, bc there is so much historical evidence of women leading in the early church...from scholars like @kevinmadigan9 and Carolyn Osiek, to Dorothy Lee, Lynn Cohick, etc., just take up & read....1/2

The only reason we don't know this history isn't because it isn't there; it is because we have forgotten. I think it is way past time for us to start remembering.

Long before I had even considered writing #MakingBiblicalWomanhood, evangelical women were already fighting against Trinitarian heresies and more extreme forms of patriarchy within their own churches. Today I want to shout out two of these women:
@aimeebyrdPYW @RachelGMiller97

They have produced sound scholarship & shown amazing courage👆,more than earning my respect & friendship. They give me hope that theological differences can exist w/in Christian unity. Isn't that how it is supposed to be? Read them & be encouraged. @aimeebyrdPYW @RachelGMiller97

The damage caused by evangelical gender roles, including purity culture, are too many to count. I'm thankful for brave scholars & writes like @dr_jessjohnson and @sheilagregoire @racheljwelcher @LindaKayKlein in exposing the impact of dangerous teachings about women 1/2..

Isn't it time for these 👆👆books to ride at the top of the best sellers list instead of the books that are causing all this damage? Go read @sheilagregoire @LindaKayKlein @racheljwelcher @dr_jessjohnson and make the church a better place for women.

I firmly believe that evangelicals continue to think biblical womanhood is gospel truth is because our world is too small. Last year I read @ProfeChaoRomero's Brown Church & I understood so much better how short sighted my white evangelical perspective really is... 1/2

As @cgehrz recently wrote, the Christian world is far bigger than we have imagined. Go read about that world beyond your evangelical church! Start w/@ProfeChaoRomero, my @anxious_bench colleagues Philip Jenkins & @MelissaMayBorja& Kwok Pui-Lan's Asian Women in Religion & Theology

Almost 8 months from publication, I have found @JohnFea1's endorsement of #MakingBiblicalWomanhood to be pretty accurate: it has shocked conservative evangelicals because we just weren't taught our history...1/2 #EndChristianPatriarchy Books Day 11

It is just time for evangelicals to learn that history, even the parts we don't like and that make us uncomfortable. Along w/@kkdumez & @JemarTisby, I can't think of anyone better to teach us a broader & more accurate view of ourselves than @AntheaButler
.
Read her & learn.

I didn't plan this, but today I am talking with @lucepeppiatt & bc I got behind on #EndChristianPatriarchy list, I'm also highlighting her work! Y'all, there is so much scholarship clearly showing we can read Paul differently. Lucy is one of my favorites, but she is not alone.

Y'all, the further I get from the publication of #MakingBiblicalWomanhood, the more I realize how right I was: evangelicals have recast church history to minimize women's leadership. 1/2

For days 13 & 14, I am emphasizing some of the many books written by sound scholars that show how much evangelicals have forgotten. Y'all, if your history of women in the church is based on 1 essay in Recovering Biblical Manhood & Womanhood, it is time to do yourself a favor 👇

I've said this so many times, but I am late to the game of fighting complementarianism. So many scholars have been writing for years--laying out the evidence for why 'biblical womanhood' isn't biblical. I'm so grateful for their voices & persistence in fighting for women....1/3

There is no way I can name all, but I'm grateful for @WilGafney, Ben Witherington, @carolynezer, Clarice Martin, @Mimi_CBE, Philip Payne, @MargMowczko. Just reading Gafney's Womanist Midrash will show you how small the white conservative evangelical perspective really is....2/3

I'm not trying to blow your book budget; I'm just trying to show you how much scholarship exists showing how absolutely wrong complementarians have gotten women. We have been blinded by our white conservative culture & refusal to listen. Isn't it time we just stop it? 3/3

I had only just begun to realize I could not support complementarianism when I ran across @rachelheldevans. I was amazed by her insight. Y'all, she was right, along w/ @SarahBessey. They were right about Mark Driscoll, & we refused to listen. Today is for their courageous work.

When I planned these posts over Thanksgiving, I had no idea Trump would be at FBC Dallas. Y'all, if we are going to end patriarchy, we have to end the systems it is intertwined w/: Christian nationalism & white supremacy. @socofthesacred @ndrewwhitehead @dukekwondc @robertpjones

I believe the Bible is divinely inspired & God's revelation of salvation. But, as I wrote in #MakingBiblicalWomanhood, biblical text is shaped by human hands as well as biblical interpretation....#EndChristianPatriarchy Day 19 1/2

Learning who translated our Bibles & the choices they made helps us understand why some emphasize oppression. Learn to read from more than 1 translation as well as from diff perspectives. @esaumccaulley, Lisa Bowens, & First Nations translation will help show you what I mean.

*why some emphasize oppression more than others, and some emphasize certain kinds of oppression more than others.

#MakingBiblicalWomanhood didn't get everything right nor is it the final word. But, y'all, it pulls together the scholarship that for decades has been showing how wrong complementarianism is. It also brings in the testimony of women.....1/2

My voice stands with a cloud of female witnesses, past & present, who testify that God calls us to preach teach & lead. History shows us that God calls women; it also shows how patriarchy limits & hurts women.

It is far past time for this to end.