A Year of Biblical Womanhood
How a Liberated Woman Found Herself Sitting on Her Roof, Covering Her Head, and Calling Her Husband "Master"
- Women
- Christian Living
- Publisher: Nelson Books (Thomas Nelson)
- Published: 2012
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Publisher's Description
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Have you ever wondered what God truly expects of women? Is there really a prescription for biblical womanhood? Does the Bible's idea of womanhood have a place in modern Christianity? New York Times bestselling author Rachel Held Evans embarks on a year-long study of what it means to live by the standards of biblical womanhood. Strong-willed and independent, 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 decided to try it for herself, vowing to take all of the Bible's instructions for women as literally as possible for a full year. Along the way, Evans explores the rich heritage of scriptural heroines, models of grace, and all-around women of valor that we come to know in the Bible. She consults with women who practice these ancient biblical mandates in their own lives--from an Orthodox Jewish woman who changed the way Evans reads the Bible to an Amish community that taught her the true meaning of modesty. In A Year of Biblical Womanhood, Evans shares her courageous and often humorous journey of: exploring what a "woman's place" is according to the Scriptures applying the Bible's teachings to day-to-day life, sometimes to literal extremes focusing on virtues like domesticity, obedience, beauty, submission, and grace developing a "Biblical Woman's Ten Commandments" to serve as a guide for daily living Join Evans as she dives deep into the lives of the women we meet in Scripture and redefines what it means to live biblically.
Endorsements (13)
“Friends, Thanks so much for picking up A Year of Biblical Womanhood. I hope my misadventures in biblical literalism manage to tickle, inform, and surprise you a little, and I hope they inspire you to think about the Bible in a new way. I’m delighted that this special edition also includes a sample chapter from my forthcoming book, Searching for Sunday. Searching for Sunday is a book about church, and it’s perhaps the most personal and vulnerable one I’ve written yet. I write about growing up evangelical, about doubting everything I believed about God, about loving, leaving, and longing for church, about searching for it and finding it in unexpected places. The book tells my story, and the stories of friends and readers, through the imagery of seven sacraments—baptism, confession, communion, confirmation, holy orders, marriage, and anointing of the sick. The sample chapter comes from the Baptism section, and it’s about how God uses ordinary, imperfect people to introduce us to Jesus. Searching for Sunday officially releases April 14, but you can preorder it today at Barnes & Noble or on Amazon. And you can learn more at rachelheldevans.com. I’m grateful as always for your readership and support, and especially for the conversations that shape so much of the content of these books. They are truly collaborative efforts thanks to your continued engagement and input. Wishing you grace and peace on the journey of faith. Sincerely, Praise for A Year of Biblical Womanhood “Funny and fearless, Rachel Held Evans is twice the woman I’ll ever be.”
“A bittersweet cocktail of wisdom and absurdity that will charm you, entertain you, seduce you and, finally, instruct you! A Year of Biblical Womanhood is funny, droll, charming, and deadly serious, all in one set of covers.”
“Because I first heard Rachel’s voice in reaction to public tomfoolery about women’s roles in the church and society, I half-expected A Year of Biblical Womanhood to be sort of . . . reactionary. After all, how could a liberated woman covering her head and bowing in reverence to her liberated husband be anything else? Yet with her signature wit, Rachel Held Evans’ A Year of Biblical Womanhood offers a disarming treatment—aka ‘fair and balanced’!—of biblical womanhood. Specifically, readers will be equipped to read the texts more faithfully and to discern what faithfulness looks like for women and men today. Modestly cloaked in starched apron garb, Rachel Held Evans serves a feast to thoughtful men and women who are hungry for insight.”
“A Year of Biblical Womanhood will instruct as it delights, and delight as it instructs. Of course it’s about womanhood, an incredibly important subject for 100% of the population. But it’s about a lot more too—how we read and interpret the Bible, for starters, and how we—both men and women—grapple with issues like justice, charity, silence, and grace in today’s frenetic world. On top of that, Rachel is such a gifted writer . . . you’ll be warmed by her good sense, good humor, and keen eye for beauty and insight on every page.”
“A triumph! Rachel Held Evans has written a comprehensive, impeccably researched, heartfelt, whimsical, scripture honoring book about the role and experience of women in Christian society. This magnificent achievement should be required reading in every church, home, student ministry, college, and seminary in the world. Eshet Chayil!”
“Rachel Held Evans is my kind of woman, Christian, and writer. She cares too much about the Bible to read what it says without wrestling with what it means. Rachel’s new book is full of humor, humility, and truth.”
“A Year of Biblical Womanhood will challenge, amuse, inspire and entertain you. I applaud Rachel’s sharp sense of humor as she attempted the near impossible. I also appreciate her gut-honesty, willingness to try crazy things, and ability to admit when she didn’t have all the answers. A compelling story told brilliantly.”
“With curiosity, honesty, and humor, Rachel Held Evans takes readers along on her year-long adventure in Biblical womanhood that manages to be both hilarious and thought-provoking.”
“An unexpected, laugh-out-loud then turn the page and tear up, enjoyable and poignant read. By following Evan’s journey, you’ll see yourself and the women of the Bible in deeper and nuanced ways.”
“Rachel’s disarming and inviting sense of storytelling coupled with her sharp wit makes for delightful retellings of biblical stories. This peek into her courageous venture into a year of “biblical womanhood” ought to be required reading for all thoughtful evangelicals—male or female—whose response to Scripture is usually an unqualified nod of approval.”
“When Christians allude to “biblical womanhood,” they seem to mean someone safely feminine and clad in floral prints. In her project, Rachel Held Evans uncovers something far more mysterious, a picture by turns glorious and disturbing. Blending laugh-out-loud moments with serious cultural critique, Evans discovers that living the actual teachings of the Bible means surrendering idealized role-playing in favor of becoming an eshet chayil—a woman of strength and wisdom.”
“Rachel Held Evans is smart and funny and gutsy, willing to tackle the most sacred cows, willing to ask the trickiest questions. For all of us who have found the term “biblical womanhood” somewhere between confusing and crazy-making, her voice is one of intelligence and courage.”
“A Year of Biblical Womanhood is thoughtful, witty, and eye-opening, one of the most important books I’ve read in a long time. In detailing her “Old Testament” adventure, the always earnest Rachel Held Evans flexes her writing muscle by painting vivid scenes, inspiring prose, and offering well-played opinions doused with persuasive theology. A Year of Biblical Womanhood is a brave book, proving Evans’ knack for packing a powerful powerful punch while still managing to remain devout, humble, full of grace.”
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