4.1 Stars Out Of 5
4.1 out of 5
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Quality:
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Value:
3.9 out Of 5
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Meets Expectations:
4.1 out Of 5
(4.1 out of 5)
76%
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Displaying items 16-20 of 25
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  1. gadfly1974
    Rochester, NY
    Age: 35-44
    Gender: male
    5 Stars Out Of 5
    Thought-provoking and entertaining
    October 27, 2012
    gadfly1974
    Rochester, NY
    Age: 35-44
    Gender: male
    I'm not a woman. But I have a brain and a soul, and I loved this book.

    It tells the story of a Christian woman's attempt to take the Bible literally and live out its commands in modern-day society.

    The results are at times hilarious and at other times thought-provoking.

    Quite often, both happen at the same time.

    I feel well-informed about the contents of the Bible. Like this author, I take my faith seriously. It informs my choices and influences by decisions.

    But I learned some fascinating new things about old verses. The scholarship in this book is just as high-quality as the storytelling.

    You've likely heard the hype and the controversy. Most of it is misguided. I give this book my highest recommendation. You will be challenged and you will grow in your faith.
  2. SarahKay1
    New York
    Age: 25-34
    Gender: female
    5 Stars Out Of 5
    Grace for the Womanhood Journey
    October 26, 2012
    SarahKay1
    New York
    Age: 25-34
    Gender: female
    Quality: 5
    Value: 5
    Meets Expectations: 5
    This is a book of honest questions — about what it means to be a woman who follows Christ, how we choose to interpret Scripture, how we limit and bless one another.

    This book is not a step-by-step devotional on becoming a better, more "biblical" woman (which we don't need another one of anyway). This book is the journey of one woman pressing in to what the "biblical" woman looks like and discovering instead "that there is no such thing." (pg 294)

    This book is full of surprises. Do you, after all, expect a "liberated woman" to find her voice in silence (chapter 11), strong roots in gentleness (chapter 1), and a tear-inspiring blessing in Proverbs 31 (chapter 4)?

    I was already a fan of Rachel Held Evans (and received an advanced copy of the book to review), introduced to her writing through her blog. Her honesty, wit, and occasional snark make for lively, delightful reading. I don't always agree with her. I am always challenged by her to think, to consider, to grow.

    My favorite experience with this book is the journey you take with the author. Searching for things like valor, modesty, submission, justice, and grace changes a person. You're rejoicing in the myriad of different ways women can express their faith, that there is no one mold to which we must conform.

    I finish this book simultaneously wanting to practice lectio divina and centering prayer, while beginning to live more justly, while working out my calling to creativity and communication, all while calling up multiple friends to bless them with the words eshet chayil ("woman of valor") for expressing faith and courage in whatever context they're living. The author is not the same at the end of the book, and neither should the reader be.

    In this book there is freedom to be who God is calling us to be.

    There is grace for those of us doing it imperfectly.

    There is laughter and delight for the journey ahead.
  3. Soul Munchies
    Atlanta
    Age: 25-34
    Gender: female
    5 Stars Out Of 5
    Terrific way to get you thinking
    November 16, 2012
    Soul Munchies
    Atlanta
    Age: 25-34
    Gender: female
    Quality: 5
    Value: 5
    Meets Expectations: 5
    I'm a huge fan of Rachel Held Evans and this book does not disappoint. Well-written and humorous, she takes tough passages in the Bible, related to women, and explores what modern life might look like if we lived those passages literally. I know there's been a lot of hoopla about how she misconstrues the Bible, but I didn't find that to be the case at all. She has done solid research and simply lays out a different way to view Biblical passages.

    This book would be a fantastic small group study for so many different reasons. You could decide to talk about the things she experienced, you could reflect on the Bible passages she includes, or - perhaps my favorite part of the book - you could look simply at the stories of overlooked women in the Bible included before each chapter.

    Whether or not you agree with what she has to say, this book DOES make you want to dive into your Bible and really look at what it says about being a woman. There aren't enough books out there that do that. That alone makes this book worth buying and reading.
  4. Annette
    Texas
    Age: 45-54
    Gender: female
    4 Stars Out Of 5
    A Year of Living Biblical Womanhood
    November 14, 2012
    Annette
    Texas
    Age: 45-54
    Gender: female
    Quality: 4
    Value: 4
    Meets Expectations: 4
    *Review From A Well-Watered Garden Blog*

    Rachel Held Evans expressed both her questioning of Biblical womanhood and her mission through this quote,

    "This is why the notion of biblical womanhood so intrigued me. Could an ancient collection of sacred texts, spanning multiple genres and assembled over thousands of years in cultures very different from our own, really offer a single cohesive formula for how to be a woman? And do all the women of Scripture fit into this same mold? Must I?" page xx in the introduction.

    She then vowed to spend 1 year living out the Scriptures in the Old Testament and the New Testament pertaining to women.

    Rachel read and studied Scripture.

    She interviewed and studied women of different cultures, denominations, religions, races, in how they lived out their lives through Biblical womanhood.

    She made the decision to not "pick and choose."

    She began the year of living under Biblical womanhood October 2010.

    My View of Positive Points:

    There is a transformation that happens during the course of the book. If all that was read was the introduction and beginning chapters the reader would fail to find that Rachel grew both in character and in her spiritual growth. She had an attitude of teachableness that opened up the door for the Lord to reveal things in her own thought life, or character, that needed to be fine-tuned.

    Rachel is honest in her disappointments, faults, misconceptions, misunderstandings, wrong thinking, judgments, fears, anxieties. This book offers an honest and fresh story, not bringing us a person we cannot relate to that seems far up on a pedestal. Through her story (at least at some point) we can relate.

    She addressed in her introduction what her goal and mission was, and how she went about achieving them.

    Her focus was to be light-hearted and this came across in the book through various projects, for example the issue of calling her husband "master." On the other hand she could also be serious and contemplative about what she learned in her heart, "I don't know for sure, but I think maybe God was trying to tell me that gentleness begins with strength, quietness, with security. A great tree is both moved and unmoved, for it changes with the seasons, but its roots keep it anchored in the ground. Mastering a gentle and quiet spirit did not mean changing my personality, just regaining control of it, growing strong enough to hold back and secure enough to soften." page 16.

    She learned to be a better cook, to sew, she met people of other religions and denominations that dressed and or believed differently, she slept in a tent alone, she learned about the horrors of sex-trafficking, and traveled to Bolivia for World Vision. Her life branched out of "her comfort zone," and to think she thought she was already an independent type gal.

    Important questions were asked, for example: how are we interpreting Scripture? Are we using it for our own interests? Are we using Scripture to demean or judge others? Are we interpreting Scripture out of love for God's Word itself and for Him?

    My View of Negative Points:

    The evangelical women she interviewed or spoke about through their writings were on the extreme side of rigidity on adhering to the male dominant view. Personally I feel this is a small minority. I know of no one in my world that holds these views. I wish Rachel had interviewed Beth Moore, or Priscilla Shirer, or Kay Arthur, or Anne Graham Lotz. These are women of substance, integrity, and credibility, in the Christian community.

    I tried not to, but I cringed when she would use the word Bible belt, or fundamentalism, or evangelicalism. When I think about the word evangelicalism I envision a different meaning than what its become to many. The word is from the root word evangelize, in Greek it's euangelizo, meaning "to bring a message, announce good news." Mounce's Expository Dictionary. I disliked what I felt was a hurling of words in order to mock. Although I also feel she used these words as a call to arms so to speak, a way to radically change and or motivate others to question these cultural and traditional held beliefs.

    On page 260, "Like the rest of the bible, the Epistles were written for us, but they were not written to us." I agree the authors of the Epistles had no idea that future Christians for centuries would read their letters, but God certainly did. So I disagree with Rachel, the letters were written for us and to us. The Holy Spirit that led these people to write the Epistles and gave them the inspiration as to what to write, knew they would be read by us!

    Especially in the introduction, I felt her writing expressed itself more on an emotional level rather than by the Spirit who lives in her. For example: "Evangelicalism is like my religious mother tongue. I revert to it whenever I'm angry or excited or surrounded by other people who understand what I'm saying. And its the language in which I most often hear God's voice on the rare occasion that it rises above the noise." Page xviii.

    Am I glad I read this book?

    Yes, and I recommend it. It is packed with thought-provoking-type-questions. It is a great book for a book discussion group. It caused me to interview friends and relatives asking them how they felt about Biblical womanhood, and women's roles in the Church. It caused me to search Scripture, not in defense of Rachel, or myself, or other's who have written reviews of the book, but what possibly did I need to learn from this topic from God through His Word.

    This book should be considered a tool. It is not a quasi-theological-seminary-type textbook, nor was it meant to be. And this maybe exactly why so many have grasped a hold of it with warm reception. It is an approachable book from an approachable gal. She speaks the language of a generation of men and women who do not want to do as the earlier generations have done, just because its always been done that way. They want dialogue, response, and a new vision that holds realness.

    Finally in summing up, there have been misquotes and fabrications written from both sides on this book.

    It's been said Lifeway was not carrying the book because the word vagina was in the book. I don't believe this is accurate information. Lifeway does have the book for order. I've not seen it in their store, but it is available to order.

    I do not believe Biblical womanhood or women's roles in Church is a core belief or a morality issue. It is a cultural and traditional viewpoint.

    At this time women hold roles on church staffs across the board in Baptist Churches in Texas. As of yet there are no women pastors. There are women deacons in some Baptist Churches. Women are allowed to teach men, for example teaching in couples classes. Although Baptist's let the individual churches set their own guidelines on this, and it is the pastor who usually sets the tone.

    Thank you to Rachel Held Evans, Thomas Nelson Publishers for my free review copy in exchange for an honest review.
  5. Skotiad
    Gender: male
    2 Stars Out Of 5
    Which God are we talking about here?
    February 15, 2013
    Skotiad
    Gender: male
    Quality: 2
    Value: 1
    Meets Expectations: 2
    As other reviews have noted, the author has a reasonably good writing style, so it is easy to read. Unfortunately, her approach to the Bible is troublesome. I won't cover ground that other reviews have already discussed, but I will mention that she has a rather immature view of the rules in the Bible. She claims that rules (or "commandments," to use the biblical term) make us "guilt-ridden, exhausted, and confused." I read that over a couple of times and thought: Really? When you were a child, and your mom told you not to run with scissors, or not to put your hand on a hot stove, was Mom doing that to make you "guilt-ridden, exhausted, and confused"? I know Christianity is more than rules - but I can't accept the author's view that paying attention to the rules has no part in the Christian life. As a married woman, I think she should be glad for the rule "You shall not commit adultery," and doesn't see that rule as existing solely to make her husband "guilt-ridden, exhausted, and confused." God gave us rules because - surprise! - he is our loving Father and wants to keep us from harm. "You shall not steal" is there to prevent us from snatching a good bracelet without paying for it - it's also there to prevent someone else from stealing from us. So are rules a bad thing? I don't think so.

    "I'm not comfortable with a religion of rules, that doesn't fit my image of God." I can admire her honesty, but as someone claiming to be Christian, "my image of God" needs to be grounded in the Bible, not in my own wants and desires. Let's face it, not everything in the Bible makes us "comfortable," but our walk with God is supposed to be a challenge that is worth the effort. God is loving, as Jesus made clear - God is also Judge of what we do. If we say we love God, we have to obey God - just as a child has to obey its earthly parents.

    That's just my take on the book. Overall, I think she has an immature approach to the Bible, and maybe she's not even aware that she's trying to create a God to her own specifications instead of meeting the real God in the Bible. The real God is challenging and at times "uncomfortable," but at least he's real, and a god concocted in our own imagination isn't.
Displaying items 16-20 of 25
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