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Beth Allison Barr, PhD

7 Jan, 9 tweets, 4 min read

Telling: "There are plenty of Black female theologians teaching &writing today on the same subjects as Barr, Du Mez and other. But the Black scholars don’t appear to merit any attention from these white males.”

The year of being threatened by smart women baptistnews.com/article/the-ye…

@MedfordMama

Although I do have to say in regards to @MedfordMama quote, I have discussed multiple times why my story is a white narrative. I was conscious that it is a white story, & I worked hard to include Black voices as well as point out I knew it was framed from a white perspective.

I also have worked hard listening to more Black women & accepting critique. I also spent an entire semester reading Womanist theory & learning more, & will keep learning. I also am glad so many more people are reading Bettye Collier-Thomas & Clarice Martin bc of my book.

I confess I really struggled with whether I, as a white woman w/ a white perspective, could tell such a personal narrative & try to include Black women in my story. I'm actually glad I didn't after having read so much Womanist theory bc I would have gotten it wrong....

I'm a white feminist Christian historian and my perspective is that of a white feminist Christian historian. I know I have learned so much more about Black feminism and Womanism, and I am going to do all I can to elevate their voices. Bc, as I wrote in #MakingBiblicalWomanhood...

as well as elsewhere, if white pastors/scholars had been listening to Black women theologians & historians, we would have a better church. They have done so much work for so long. I totally agree that a major failing of evangelicalism is that we haven't learned from Black voices.

Which is a point I made in my #EndChristianPatriarchy thread over Xmas:

@CandiceBenbow

And there is @CandiceBenbow's new book #RedLipTheology which is out next week. So if you have read this thread to the end, I recommend you preorder her book now. Bc it is time to not only read Black women theologians, pastors, writers but it is time to forefront their work too.

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More from @bethallisonbarr

Beth Allison Barr, PhD

@bethallisonbarr

3 Jan

I've seen a few folk write that I set up complementarian strawmen in #MakingBiblicalWomanhood. I would ignore this, as it isn't true, but folk seem to really misunderstand the term "strawman". So let me explain my methodology👇🧵

Strawman is a term used when someone intentionally misrepresents an argument so that their take-down is easier to make. Here is a clear, quick overview of strawman arguments: grammarist.com/rhetoric/straw…

As a teacher of history, one of my jobs is to simplify complex topics so that students who have very little knowledge of the topic can get a basic understanding. This doesn't mean the simplified explanation is all there is to it; it is just an entry point.

Read 21 tweets

Beth Allison Barr, PhD

@bethallisonbarr

24 Dec 21

My New Year's Resolution for 2022, BTW, is to not put up with theobros.

I've been handling college classrooms as well as evangelical youth groups (and their parents) for more than 20 years....1/2

Not to mention I'm a pastor's wife who has lived through the traumatic firing of my husband (and came out stronger), the crisis of a church secretary embezzling all our small church savings, and the crisis of covid on a small church.

Plus I'm a mom.

I can handle theobros.

@scott_m_coley

(and I didn't even mention what it took to get my PhD and become a full professor, but you can go read @scott_m_coley for this--he explained it very well: faithphilosophyandpolitics.org/author/scoley4…)

Read 4 tweets

Beth Allison Barr, PhD

@bethallisonbarr

1 Dec 21

@scotmcknight

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

@scotmcknight

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.

Read 37 tweets

Beth Allison Barr, PhD

@bethallisonbarr

21 Nov 21

@JonathanLeeman

I wrote #MakingBiblicalWomanhood to help the women who live every day in situations just like @JonathanLeeman described 👇 🧵

The women who are met with patronizing attitudes and gaslighting techniques when they try to get help from abusive husbands.

The women who are told that believing God calls women to lead and serve in the same ways as men is sinful and will lead them astray from gospel truth.

Y’all, these women are my audience. My heart breaks every day for them because I lived in their shoes for so so long. Because I know the Bible doesn’t teach what they are being taught,

The gospel is bigger than this. Jesus is better than this.

Read 4 tweets

Beth Allison Barr, PhD

@bethallisonbarr

17 Nov 21

@ASChurchHistory

I'm reading an article published @ASChurchHistory Journal from 2004. It is by Valerie A. Karras and is titled "Female Deacons in the Byzantine Church." It is a fantastic example of how much scholarship exists on women as leaders that evangelicals just don't know.

such as:

Valerie A. Karras, "Female Deacons in the Byaznatine Church," Church History 73:2 (June 2004), 272-316.

Ute E. Eisen, Women Officeholders in Early Christianity, trans. Linda Maloney (Collegeville, Minn.: Liturgical, 2000).

and

Roger Gryson, The Ministry of Women in the Early church, trans. Jean Laporte and Mary Louise Hall (Collegeville, Minn.: Ligurgical 1976).

Karen Jo Torjesen, When Women were Priests: Women's Leadership in the Early church and the Scandal of their Subordination," (Harper, 1993)
&

Read 5 tweets