Category Archives: Feminism

‘The Making of Biblical Womanhood’ – 5

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The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women Became Gospel Truth, by Beth Allison Barr, Brazos Press, 2021.

Chapter 5 is entitled, ‘Writing Women out of the English Bible.’  Barr’s main point is that some popular translations of the Bible (she singles out the ESV for particular mention) distort Scripture by projecting an unduly patriarchal view of the text.  This, she claims, is a relatively modern, ideologically-driven phenomenon: in the Middle Ages, the biblical text was presented in a much more gender-inclusive way.…

‘The Making of Biblical Womanhood’ – 3

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The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women Became Gospel Truth, by Beth Allison Barr, Brazos Press, 2021.

In chapter 3 of this book (‘Our selective medieval memory’), Beth Allison Barr might be supposed to be on pretty solid ground.  She is, after all, a medieval historian who has a special interest in women preachers of that period.

So who (myself included) is competent to doubt her when she claims that history is on the side of her particular version of egalitarianism?…

‘The Making of Biblical Womanhood’ – 2

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The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women Became Gospel Truth, by Beth Allison Barr, Brazos Press, 2021.

In chapter 2, Dr Barr asks: ‘What if biblical womanhood doesn’t come from Paul?’

She begins by noting that many have taken Paul’s teaching to be heavily patriarchal.  Complementarians look to 1 Corinthians 11 and 1 Timothy 2 to support their case.  But this, suggests Barr, is to misread the apostle.

If, writes Barr, instead of focussing narrowly on texts such as those just mentioned, and take more account of the broader sweep of Paul’s teaching, then a different picture emerges.…

Abortion used to be a feminist issue

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David Baker writes:

Once, abortion was a feminist issue. Alice Paul (1885-1977) denounced abortion as an evil forced upon women by men. A number of suffragists called abortion “child murder” in Susan B. Anthony’s publication, The Revolution. There are those who still bravely bear that flame today, with Feminists for Life of America, being one such organisation. Feminists for Life of America first revealed and shared many pro-life quotes from the first wave feminists and on its website you can read ‘pro-woman answers to pro-choice questions’…

Let the last words be given to feminist writer and bioethicist Fiorella Nash. …