Showing results by author "Beth Allison Barr" in All Categories

Biblical womanhood - the belief that God designed women to be submissive wives, virtuous mothers, and joyful homemakers - pervades North American Christianity. From choices about careers to roles in local churches to relationship dynamics, this belief shapes the everyday lives of evangelical women. Yet biblical womanhood isn't biblical, says Baylor University historian Beth Allison Barr. It was born in a series of clearly definable historical moments.

Women were there. For centuries, discussions of early Christianity have focused on male leaders in the church. But there is ample evidence right in the New Testament that women were actively involved in ministry, at the frontier of the gospel mission, and as respected leaders. Nijay Gupta calls us to bring these women out of the shadows by shining light on their many inspiring contributions to the planting, growth, and health of the first Christian churches.

Who is Jesus? What is he like? And who am I, encountering Jesus? These questions were just as important to Christians in the Middle Ages as they are today. And yet—as C.S. Lewis noted—the modern church tends to forget that people of different cultures and times also thought carefully about who Jesus was; and sometimes their ideas and emphases were different. Medievalist scholar Grace Hamman believes that we can deepen our understanding and adoration of Christ by looking to the Christians of the Middle Ages.

A feminilidade bíblica—a crença de que Deus criou as mulheres para serem esposas submissas, mães virtuosas e donas de casa alegres—permeia o cristianismo. Esse conjunto de expectativas molda a vida cotidiana das mulheres cristãs, desde suas escolhas de carreira, passando pelos papéis que assumem na igreja até as dinâmicas de seus relacionamentos. No entanto, a feminilidade bíblica não é nada bíblica, argumenta a historiadora e acadêmica Beth Allison Barr. Pelo contrário, ela afirma que essa concepção foi construída e moldada historicamente.