katieproctorbooks's review against another edition
4.0
This was a wonderful book— RHE in full humor and honesty mode, struggling with the Bible, asking big questions, learning so much about women and the church and herself. She made me laugh and made me tear up, too.
sarahstyf's review against another edition
5.0
This book was everything I needed and more. Evans was speaking right to me, filling me up, helping me discover how I could continue to pursue my goal of being a "Woman of Valor."
I recently got a tattoo that reads "Eshet Chayil." I feel the importance of that tattoo even more now.
I recently got a tattoo that reads "Eshet Chayil." I feel the importance of that tattoo even more now.
quitejessi's review against another edition
3.0
It's an interesting premise for a book, but I don't think it worked. One main reason: RHE is a blogger, not a scholar. On the flip side, I don't think this book would've worked if it was a biblical (or Jewish) scholar either because it wouldn't have existed. (Christian denominations and Jewish sects have all decided what is and is not mandatory to follow in the Bible's commands towards women. In the more orthodox Jewish circles, more is taken literally.)
As it was, it was a humorous but not serious look at the commands given for women in the Old Testament and New Testament. I enjoyed the vignettes of biblical women, and some of the applications given. These were the strongest parts of the book.
However, RHE realizes she doesn't have a definitive answer, and the book suffers for that. Because without a definitive answer, it's just one woman doing some things that people have recommended her to do (and sometimes not doing the things and having her friends do it for her).
I loved a few of her quotes, though:
"As a Christian, my highest calling is not motherhood; my highest calling is to follow Christ. And following Christ is something a woman can do whether she is married, or single, rich or poor, sick or healthy, childless or Michelle Duggar."
"When we turn the Bible into an adjective and stick it in front of another loaded word (like manhood, womanhood, politics, economics, marriage, and even equality), we tend to ignore or downplay the parts of the Bible that don’t fit our tastes. In an attempt to simplify, we try to force the Bible’s cacophony of voices into a single tone, to turn a complicated and at times troubling holy text into a list of bullet points we can put in a manifesto or creed. More often than not, we end up more committed to what we want the Bible to say than what it actually says."
As it was, it was a humorous but not serious look at the commands given for women in the Old Testament and New Testament. I enjoyed the vignettes of biblical women, and some of the applications given. These were the strongest parts of the book.
However, RHE realizes she doesn't have a definitive answer, and the book suffers for that. Because without a definitive answer, it's just one woman doing some things that people have recommended her to do (and sometimes not doing the things and having her friends do it for her).
I loved a few of her quotes, though:
"As a Christian, my highest calling is not motherhood; my highest calling is to follow Christ. And following Christ is something a woman can do whether she is married, or single, rich or poor, sick or healthy, childless or Michelle Duggar."
"When we turn the Bible into an adjective and stick it in front of another loaded word (like manhood, womanhood, politics, economics, marriage, and even equality), we tend to ignore or downplay the parts of the Bible that don’t fit our tastes. In an attempt to simplify, we try to force the Bible’s cacophony of voices into a single tone, to turn a complicated and at times troubling holy text into a list of bullet points we can put in a manifesto or creed. More often than not, we end up more committed to what we want the Bible to say than what it actually says."
kandi_the_book_witch's review against another edition
5.0
A beautiful memoir that challenged me on my journey out of fundamentalism. I have reread portions of it several times and always find something to laugh, cry, be angry about, and to celebrate. Must-read if you've been on a journey to figure out what it means to a woman in American fundamentalism/evangelicalism.
notesonbookmarks's review against another edition
4.0
Evans decides to live "biblically" for a year, according to what the Bible says about women. She spend each month focusing on a different virtue (homemaking, prayer, silence, etc.). This is a very telling commentary about how church's treat women in the name of Christ and where that treatment comes from
punywolf11's review
4.0
A thoughtful, funny, thought provoking must-read for every Christian woman or person interested in women of the Bible and church history. I'll be rereading it multiple times!
kbratten's review against another edition
4.0
Sometimes stuck in the weeds (Do I need to play by play of making bread?), often cherry-picking from various religious traditions in a way that you could argue compromises her whole purpose. But if on the whole, very thoughtful and positive. She calls out without feeling too critical, bears witness without being too preachy, inspires and encourages without being too self-important. I like Rachel Held Evans's approach of treating your faith as something to practice and interrogate. It's the anniversary of her death today, and I'm struck by how the world really is worse off without more voices like hers in the world.
captaincocanutty's review against another edition
4.0
I read this books a few months ago so forgive me if some of the details are fuzzy.
Overall I think the book is enjoyable to read. There aren't any parts where I was wishing she would hurry up or skip a certain part, it is very well paced.
The strongest and weakest point of the book was theology. When she does dive into it, for instance when she's discussing biblical interpretation with the Orthodox Jewish woman from Israel or the various Protestant preachers interpretations and why she disagrees are some of the most potent and intriguing parts of the novel.
A point she makes subtly and very convincingly is how the Bible is a 2,000 or so year old book, and does adapt to the society around us. For example when she took things rather literally and sat up on the roof for punishment or camped out in the yard, which are things 99% of Christians do not do, because those acts fit the society of hundreds of years ago instead of today. Instead the Bible functions as "more guidelines than actual rules", and are followed as it applies to individual circumstances, since the one-size-fits-all approach clearly does not work, or as some people wish to interpret it for others.
Overall I think the book is enjoyable to read. There aren't any parts where I was wishing she would hurry up or skip a certain part, it is very well paced.
The strongest and weakest point of the book was theology. When she does dive into it, for instance when she's discussing biblical interpretation with the Orthodox Jewish woman from Israel or the various Protestant preachers interpretations and why she disagrees are some of the most potent and intriguing parts of the novel.
A point she makes subtly and very convincingly is how the Bible is a 2,000 or so year old book, and does adapt to the society around us. For example when she took things rather literally and sat up on the roof for punishment or camped out in the yard, which are things 99% of Christians do not do, because those acts fit the society of hundreds of years ago instead of today. Instead the Bible functions as "more guidelines than actual rules", and are followed as it applies to individual circumstances, since the one-size-fits-all approach clearly does not work, or as some people wish to interpret it for others.