Respecting Scripture

What does it mean to respect scripture?  Is it somehow disrespecting scripture to try to live into its precepts?  By honestly asking questions of the text is it being dishonored?  What might we be missing if we never do this?

To start, there seems to be several veins of criticism surrounding this work, most of which appears to come from people who have not even read the book.

The biggest controversy has been called Vagina-gate by Rachel Held Evans herself.  This centers around the idea that the word vagina is used in the book and as a result of this, the largest Christian bookstore chain in the country has refused to sell it.  This controversy has taken on a life of its own and has the potential to overtake the actual book itself.  I have nothing here to say except, GET OVER IT!  This is so not the point.

The other vein of criticism seems to be that by undertaking this project, Rachel Held Evans is somehow "disrespecting" or making a mockery of scripture.  There is where I really have something to say.

There seems to be a sort of paranoia about questioning or even critically engaging scripture or the religious practice informed by it.  It is my theory that some people (by no means confined to fundamental or evangelical traditions) view the Bible as a sort of house of cards in which each layer is dependent on the others to stay upright.  If one layer is too closely examined or touched or even if you breathe on it, the whole house of cards might collapse.  The thinking goes that if order to preserve the integrity of the Bible, it must never, ever be questioned.  The really funny thing is that we (and this is the royal "we") seem to think that we actually have the power to "destroy" scripture.  That is fairly arrogant and downright wrong.  The Bible is the living, revealed Word of God and nothing that WE do can change that.

I have been tracking several news stories in which Rachel is criticized for making a mockery of the biblical precepts for the role of women.  I could not disagree more vehemently.  I think the most honest engagement with the Bible is admitting what parts make us uncomfortable or don't make sense, then sit with them.  It means we are thinking about them and living with them and engaging in conversation with them.  Sometimes that means sitting on a roof or sleeping in a tent or sewing your own clothes like Rachel Held Evans.  More often it means engaging in real honest conversation, listening to the preaching of the story of Christ on the cross as if your life depends on it (because it DOES) and not just blithely swallowing whatever you read or hear.

Rachel Held Evans says it really well, "I keep loving, studying, and struggling with the Bible.  Because no matter how hard I fight it, it will always call me back."  (294)

In the Lutheran doctrine of Sola Scriptura (Scripture Alone), Martin Luther says that the approach to studying scripture should be three-fold:

a. Oratio: prayer and reflection that puts you under the scripture (most of the time, we never make it past this point)

b. Meditatio: the intense anatomy of the text and examining the text's role in the story of Christ.

c. Tentatio: the opening up of your soul to scripture, and this can involve suffering.  The point at which the scripture truly works you and you can finally begin to preach it.

So, keep loving, engaging, and yes, even fighting with the Bible.  Let the text work you. 

Amazon Review

My review of Rachel Held Evans' book is up on Amazon.

The text is as follows:

I have to admit when I first heard about this project quite a few months ago I thought the whole premise was a bit crazy.  It was something sensational about addressing men and sleeping in a tent that had been overblown in the media.  I also hold very strong feelings about evangelical theology, complementarianism (gender roles) and a woman’s calling for ministry.  I will admit that before reading the book I had some preconceived notions about the whole premise, so I sympathize with readers who might feel the same way.  But the idea intrigued me.  So I gave it a chance and I found myself alternately laughing, shedding a few tears, and really critically thinking about the views that I hold and why I hold them.  I learned a lot from this book and I highly recommend it. 

 As a woman preparing for ordination in a mainline Protestant denomination I am forever confronting stereotypes of what women should and should not be doing in the church.  I know that I am blessed to be able to follow my call and feel deeply for my sisters in Christ whose voices are silenced in public ministry because of their gender.  The quote that sticks with me from this book pertains to calling.

Rachel Held Evans writes, “A calling, on the other hand, when rooted deep in the soil of one’s soul, transcends roles…My calling is to love the Lord with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love my neighbor as myself…If love was Jesus’ definition of ‘biblical,’ then perhaps it should be mine.”  (295)

Being a Christian woman is NOT about following a certain set of behaviors, advocating an ideal that does not exist, and living up to the expectations of others.  It is about love.    

If you are looking for a book that prescribes, reinforces, or advocates some ideal of biblical womanhood or rigid gender roles, you will be disappointed.  This is not a how-to book.  If you are looking for a book that will challenge, inspire, and upend some of your assumptions of “biblical womanhood,” you will love this book.  Spoiler alert: there is no such thing as “Biblical Womanhood.”  Held Evans skillfully combines candid reflections on her project with journal entries from her husband Dan, as well as profiles of female characters in scripture, interspersed with the most intriguing biblical commentary that I have read to date (and as a seminarian, I read a lot of commentary).  Rachel Held Evans manages to critically examine biblical texts while still honoring the spectrum of women’s experience and we all come away better for her “experiment” in living biblically. 

Initial Thoughts on A Year of Biblical Womanhood

So last week I saw something on my twitter feed about applying to be a part of a book review and launch team for Rachel Held Evans' new book, A Year of Biblical Womanhood.  When I first heard about this book, which was probably at least a year and a half ago, when Rachel was in the process of "living biblically" for one year (something about not wearing mixed fibers and sleeping in a tent in her yard), I thought she was absolutely nuts.

I think I was reacting out of my love-hate relationship with the Bible.  I love it for what it is and for the richness contained therein, but I absolutely HATE how it is used as a weapon and a wedge between people.  But I was also intrigued by the whole idea.  So I applied for this group and was accepted, me and around 75 other people or so.

What does it mean to live biblically?  What does Biblical Womanhood mean?    Can you live biblically while still living with the full rights afforded to women in our culture (while admitting we still have a ways to go)?  What does this book say about gender roles?  What does it say about people who identify as queer or gender-queer?  How does this sort of approach to living into the texts inform my ministry?  And most importantly, what can I learn?

I have yet to start reading this book, that will happen this weekend after I finish reading Martin Luther's The Bondage of the Will, because I am cool like that.  And I have a particularly demanding professor for that course.  Stay tuned.

Kyrie Eleison...again

Tragedy has once again come to the Denver Metro area.  This is an unspeakable, horrific act of evil.  This is the sort of thing that you hear about in movies and on CSI and Law and Order and wish that it stayed there, not in the real world.     Unfortunately, evil has once again touched my community.

Last friday a 10 year old girl, Jessica Ridgeway, was abducted on her way to school in a northern suburb of Denver, the town of Westminster.  On Wednesday a body was discovered in the open space about 7 miles from her home.  Investigators described it euphemistically as "not intact" and DNA tests were required to positively identify the remains of this beautiful little girl, which was announced late this afternoon.  Evil.  Pure unadulterated evil.  There are absolutely no words for this.  The police have stated that there is a predator on the loose in the community.  This is not supposed to happen.  Stranger abductions and these horrific crimes are statistically incredibly rare.  But when something like this happens in your community, reality comes rushing in like a tornado.  There is something profoundly horrifying about a crime, against a child, on an ordinary friday morning in broad daylight.  In the three block span this girl walked alone.

The world is a little darker tonight.  Kyrie Eleison, Christe Eleison.  Pray for Jessica's family, our community, and all the brokenness in the world.

I keep holding out hope that one day (hopefully soon!) all that I am learning will collide together into a big glorious mess and it will all make sense.  That some day the Greek, the Hebrew, the post-colonialism, the theology of the cross, the mission theory, the Roman history, the CPE experiences, and the ministry praxis will form me into a pastor.

In the meantime, I am feeling a little discouraged.  I think I need to listen to it all, take in what I can, and leave the rest for later.  I am choosing to trust that if I am following this call, I will be provided with everything that I need to survive grad school.