Another Response to a Negative Review of Rachel's Book

There are a lot of Biblical Womanhood people who have their bloomers in a twist over Rachel Held Evans book exploring the Bible and Womanhood. I mentioned one rebuttal to a negative review in a previous post. Here, my friend, Hannah is exploring and exposing the hypocrisy in another negative review.

So Why Is Mary Kassian Upset...?

Biblical Womanhood

There is lots of controversy over just exactly what Biblical Womanhood is. It seems there is no shortage of people who feel compelled to tell women what they are supposed to do and not supposed to do. And there is no shortage of people who want to tell women what they are supposed to be, what God's intention is for them and what creation order and natural order means concerning limitations and restrictions concerning women.

I have this memory of watching some informative show either on PBS or a National Geographic special or something. It was many years ago before there was satellite TV and over a hundred channels to choose from. This program was observing an African culture and in particular the marriage of a young woman. After the ceremony, the girl's uncles and other male family members were in her face lecturing her soundly concerning her duties as a woman. I couldn't understand their language, but the intensity of their speech could not be missed. I wouldn't be surprised if there was some shaming and chiding going on. The girl's head was bowed submissively and she nodded in agreement with them over whatever they were demanding of her.

The visual of that girl, head bowed, being berated by those grown and angry sounding men is the visual that I often get when I see certain preachers go on and on about "Biblical" Womanhood and how a woman is displeasing to God if she doesn't follow his interpretation of what it might be. And they all have their own version of it.

It's all so frustrating and confusing.

Now there is a lot of controversy over Rachel Held Evans's book, "A Year of Biblical Womanhood". This book is really rattling the cages of the powers that be who want to get into the faces of women and demand that they obey their version of Biblical Womanhood.

I've not read the book, nor do I plan to very soon due to time constraints. But this doesn't keep me from watching the controversy this book has stirred with a sad amusement as I remember that poor little African girl getting lectured within and inch of her life over her duty and position in the world by big, self-important men, standing over her on a mission to preserve their culture by keeping that girl in her place.

Kristen has read it and she recommends it in her thoughtful review: Book Recommendation

Also, someone new that I haven't met yet has written a rebuttal to a negative critique. He has written it in response to a supposedly kind and objective review from a "Biblical" womanhood pusher with a bee in her bonnet:
Biblical Womanhood:What Kathy Keller Missed

Shaking up the Patriarchs

The patriarchal empire builders have a serious threat on their hands.
Her name is Rachel Held Evans, if you are missing the hoopla. It's all over the Internet. Just Google her name and "A Year of Biblical Womanhood" and you'll get an idea.

Anyway, you can find info all over about it.
But I'd like to direct your attention to a comment may by Val over at TWW. I believe she nails it on the head why Piper, Driscoll, and The Gospel Coalition don't like her and why some even question her salvation etc.

Val's Comment on The Wartburg Watch

Read it and see if it doesn't make sense to you.

Men Judging Women...

...from the depravity of their own minds.

Let me specify because I do not want to imply, in any way, that all men do this.
But there is one man in particular who believes that he has great spiritual insight into the sin and wickedness of women and feels called to reveal that to his congregation concerning a certain Bible hero, Esther.

Rachel Held Evans is doing a good job of revealing the mishandling of Esther by Mark Driscoll. It's so good that I can't improve upon it and I'll leave her to it here: Esther Actually:What happens in the harem

But I want to draw one thing out that she says and quote it here:

"He rejects the story as given and replaces it with a story he wishes it to be, a story that lines up with some of his assumptions regarding salvation, election, gender, sin, and relationships."

This goes along with the quote from Nick Bulbeck that I've written about here:

"Driscoll isn't a teacher, he's merely adept at using the Bible as a sock puppet that always agrees with him."

Driscoll truly believes that he is getting to the heart of this story and that his revelations are Spirit led. The problem is that what he is really doing is revealing the depravity of his own views of women.
His misogyny is so thick that he projects his prejudices against all women onto Scriptures thereby making him completely incompetent as a Bible teacher when it comes to anything having to do with women.

But the worst part about all this is not his own depraved view of women. It is the silence of other male Bible teachers who must share in this depraved view of women because they never call him on it.