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If you’ve ever suspected there’s nothing new to be discovered in the field of biblical studies, think again. In New Testament Women for Progressive Christians, Volume 2, Donald Schmidt uses the latest, up-to-the-minute, ground-shifting biblical research to explore the story of Jesus’ encounter with Mary and Martha in John 11 – except maybe Martha wasn’t part of the original story at all! And so it goes. Like most ancient texts, the stories in the Bible – including those from the New Testament – are told from a male perspective, often for purposes that have more to do with supporting traditional male roles than representing the radical inclusiveness Jesus and the earliest Christian communities modeled. In this six-session study, in addition to Mary Magdalene, Schmidt explores the stories of the women at the cross and tomb, in the early church (Acts), and in the letters of Paul, to reveal characters too often distorted by layers of tradition.
Although women often play a crucial role in the most significant events in the Bible, they are typically cast as secondary characters who are less important than the male lead. Or they are are presented as bit players who aren’t even named. Yet these are strong women and we do an injustice to the biblical narrative and a disservice to ourselves if we gloss over them. This guide takes an intriguing look at some of the women in the New Testament (a second volume is planned), including Mary the mother of Jesus, Anna and Elizabeth, Mary and Martha, Thecla and Junia, the female disciples (including Mary Magdalene), and women who are healed or set free from their burdens – women who helped shape and were shaped by Jesus and the early Christian community. Outside of Ephesus, in modern-day Turkey, an intriguing discovery was made in 1906. It was of a cave, and inside was found a painting of a man and a woman. There were two especially significant things about the painting. The first was the identity of the pair; they were Paul and Thecla, a woman of the ancient church and probable travelling companion of St. Paul, at least for part of his ministry. The other significant fact was that Thecla’s eyes had been scratched out, and her hand – raised in the traditional stance to suggest one speaking with authority – had been smudged out. It is a telling image on a number of fronts, not least of which is the desire of some early vandal to attempt to remove the woman’s ability to see or speak. There has always been in Christianity a concerted effort on the part of men to silence women, to obliterate them, to remove their ability to speak or to act with any kind of authority. Yet when we look at the New Testament we can also clearly see the presence of women with Jesus, that they were integral to his everyday life and ministry. If we look a little harder, we will see that women played significant roles at the centre of the early Christian community, including as preachers and teachers.
Women make up over one-half of the world's population, yet throughout history women have been kept out of power; they have been oppressed and disregarded, and have often had their stories ignored. This is a tragedy not only for women but for all humankind, because we all have much to gain by hearing one another's stories, and by experiencing one another in all of our rich fullness – not from a preconceived notion that one group or sex is superior to another. This is important to note at the beginning, because history has largely been told by men. In particular, the stories we have preserved from ancient times tell things from a male perspective, and often ignore women. Thus, we often need to read between the lines and behind the words to really hear the stories of the women who played such a significant role in the events described in the biblical stories, and by extension, in our tradition. Of course there are real differences between women and men, just as there are real differences between men, and between women. We are not all the same; as individuals, we are all different from each other. Rather than a problem, however, we can see this as one of the greatest gifts God has given us – the wonderful and amazing gift of difference. The sessions in this study will invite you to explore the stories of some amazing biblical women, to get to know them and to learn from them. How might we live our lives in response to that?
What does the Bible actually say about women? This scripturally accurate book rejects harmful misinterpretations and reminds us of the dignity God places on His daughters, with a helpful guide for reflection and group discussion included. In the wake of the Me Too and Church Too movements, many of our loved ones are leaving the church or questioning Christianity because the Bible has at times been misused against them. How do we help our loved ones understand Scripture accurately? Apologetics for Women In this helpful look at God’s work of redemption from Creation to today, Wendy Alsup explores questions such as: • How does God view justice and equal rights for women? • What does it mean to be made in the image of God? • How have the centuries distorted our interpretation of how God views women? • How did Jesus approach the Old Testament and how does that help us read difficult passages today? • What is the difference between a modern view of feminism and the feminism that Scripture models? • How does the Bible explain the Bible to us? Using a Jesus-centered understanding to look at both God’s grand storyline and specific biblical passages, Alsup shows the noble ways God speaks to and about women in its pages. Most of all, she gives concrete tools for understanding Scripture to women who are questioning if the Bible is truly good for them.
New York Times Bestseller. With just the right mixture of humor and insight, compassion and incredulity, A Year of Biblical Womanhood is an exercise in scriptural exploration and spiritual contemplation. What does God truly expect of women, and is there really a prescription for biblical womanhood? Come along with Evans as she looks for answers in the rich heritage of biblical heroines, models of grace, and all-around women of valor. What is "biblical womanhood" . . . really? Strong-willed and independent, Rachel Held Evans couldn't sew a button on a blouse before she embarked on a radical life experiment--a year of biblical womanhood. Intrigued by the traditionalist resurgence that led many of her friends to abandon their careers to assume traditional gender roles in the home, Evans decides to try it for herself, vowing to take all of the Bible's instructions for women as literally as possible for a year. Pursuing a different virtue each month, Evans learns the hard way that her quest for biblical womanhood requires more than a "gentle and quiet spirit" (1 Peter 3:4). It means growing out her hair, making her own clothes, covering her head, obeying her husband, rising before dawn, abstaining from gossip, remaining silent in church, and even camping out in the front yard during her period. See what happens when a thoroughly modern woman starts referring to her husband as "master" and "praises him at the city gate" with a homemade sign. Learn the insights she receives from an ongoing correspondence with an Orthodox Jewish woman, and find out what she discovers from her exchanges with a polygamist wife. Join her as she wrestles with difficult passages of scripture that portray misogyny and violence against women.
So what really happened that first Easter Sunday? The simple answer is that no one knows… only a problem if one is trying to prove that each of the stories is factually accurate. If we suspend that attempt for a moment and read the Easter stories in the gospels for what they are – profound statements of faith – we may discover something much more powerful and lasting… Few stories in the entire pantheon of literature evoke as much emotion as the gospel accounts of the resurrection of Jesus. For many Christians, these are the quintessential texts, the ones that define Christianity, their personal faith, and the whole of human existence. That’s a lot to put onto a few simple stories! When using this study, therefore, it will be helpful to have a sense of where participants are coming from. Are they a mixed group with ideas that are all over the theological map? Do they tend to approach the stories as metaphor and take the stance that the resurrection could not possibly have happened? Do they take it literally and believe that things must have happened exactly as they are recorded? Do they feel that there is some point to reading these stories, even though they leave us with more questions than answers? People’s ideas may differ – slightly or greatly – and that’s okay. The point of doing this study is not so that everyone comes out with the same belief, nor is it to convince anyone, at any time, that they must believe one thing or another. The purpose of this study is to explore these powerful faith stories so that they might in turn inform and enhance our daily living.
“This may be the most influential book you will read this year.” —Lee Strobel, bestselling author of The Case for Miracles A Movement Seeks to Redefine Christianity. Some Think that It Is a Much-Needed Progressive Reformation. Others Believe that It Is an Attack on Historic Christianity. Alisa Childers never thought she would question her Christian faith. She was raised in a Christian home, where she had seen her mom and dad feed the hungry, clothe the homeless, and love the outcast. She had witnessed God at work and then had dedicated her own life to leading worship, as part of the popular Christian band ZOEgirl. All that was deeply challenged when she met a progressive pastor, who called himself a hopeful agnostic. Another Gospel? describes the intellectual journey Alisa took over several years as she wrestled with a series of questions that struck at the core of the Christian faith. After everything she had ever believed about God, Jesus, and the Bible had been picked apart, she found herself at the brink of despair . . . until God rescued her, helping her to rebuild her faith, one solid brick at a time. In a culture of endless questions, you need solid answers. If you or someone you love has encountered the ideas of progressive Christianity and aren’t sure how to respond, Alisa’s journey will show you how to determine—and rest in—what’s unmistakably true.
If the Bible isn't a science book or an instruction manual, what is it? What do people mean when they say the Bible is inspired? When New York Times bestselling author Rachel Held Evans found herself asking these questions, she embarked on a journey to better understand what the Bible is and how it's meant to be read. What she discovered changed her--and it can change you, too. Evans knows firsthand how a relationship with the Bible can be as real and as complicated as a relationship with a family member or close friend. In Inspired, Evans explores contradictions and questions from her own experiences with the Bible, including: If the Bible was supposed to explain the mysteries of life, why does it leave the reader with so many questions? What does it mean to be chosen by God? To what degree did the Holy Spirit guide the preservation of these narratives, and is there something sacred to be uncovered beneath all these human fingerprints? If the Bible has given voice to the oppressed, why is it also used as justification by their oppressors? Drawing on the best in biblical scholarship and using her well-honed literary expertise, Evans examines some of our favorite Bible stories and possible interpretations, retelling them through memoir, original poetry, short stories, and even a short screenplay. Undaunted by the Bible's most difficult passages and unafraid to ask the hard questions, Evans wrestles through the process of doubting, imagining, and debating the mysteries surrounding Scripture. Discover alongside Evans that the Bible is not a static text, but a living, breathing, captivating, and confounding book that can equip us and inspire us to join God's loving and redemptive work in the world.
Preaching the Manifold Grace of God is a two-volume work describing theologies of preaching from the historical and contemporary periods. Volume 1 focuses on historical theological families: Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Reformed, Anabaptist, Anglican/Episcopal, Wesleyan, Baptist, African American, Stone-Campbell, Friends, and Pentecostal. Volume 2 focuses on families that are evangelical, liberal, neo-orthodox, postliberal, existential, radical orthodox, deconstructionist, Black liberation, womanist, Latinx liberation, Mujerista, Asian American, Asian American feminist, LGBTQAI, Indigenous, postcolonial, and process. In each case, the author describes the circumstances in which the theological family emerged, describes the purposes and characteristics of preaching from that perspective, and assesses the strengths and limitations of the approach.