The Making of Biblical Womanhood

A must-read for anyone curious about the role of women - and how it has devolved over time- in Christianity.

“Evidence shows me how Christian patriarchy was built, stone by stone, throughout the centuries. Evidence shows me how, century after century, arguments for women’s subordination reflect historical circumstances more then the face of God. Evidence shows me that just because complementarianism uses biblical texts doesn’t mean it reflects biblical truth. Evidence shows me the trail of sin and destruction left in the wake of teachings that place women under the power of men. Evidence shows me, throughout history, the women who have always known the truth about patriarchy and who have always believed that Jesus sets women free...isn’t it time for all of us to be free?”

Wow wow wow. I blew through this book in less than 24 hours because I could not stand to put it down. Barr has traced the history of Christianity and made a compelling argument that “biblical womanhood” has little to do with what the Bible says and much to do with what culture says. I had the privilege of reading an advanced, digital copy of this book but I look forward to purchasing a physical copy upon its release.

"Biblical Womanhood" is not, in fact, biblical.

This is the key message that flows throughout Baylor University historian Beth Allison Barr's informative and engaging "The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women Became Gospel Truth," due to be released by Baker Academic & Brazos Press in April 2021.

If you know me, you won't be surprised that I embrace this key message.

It's a key message that acknowledges historical truths, truths of which Barr is well aware, and yet it's also a key message that faces passionate rejection to this day by many within conservative evangelical circles.

The simple truth is that "Biblical Womanhood," or the belief that God designed women to be submissive wives, virtuous mothers, and joyful homemakers, is less about biblical adherence and far more about the ways that human civilization creeps its way into church teachings and church polity and church practice.

To read "The Making of Biblical Womanhood" is to take a journey through not only biblical history, but also Beth Allison Barr's own journey. She weaves together beautifully historical truths and personal testimony, taking us through precise historical moments that perpetuated the continuation of biblical womanhood while also giving us glimpses, at times quite painful ones, of her own journey within evangelical complementarianism and the moments that finally made it all fall apart for her.

I certainly do not understand what it feels like to be a woman in ministry. However, as a person with a disability who has served in ministry I do have some understanding of the societal blinders that cause the gifts of many to be rejected or minimized. Because of a body that seldom acts like I wish it would act, I have a very clear understanding of what it feels like to have my ability questioned.

Over and over and over again.

I suppose I'm glad that, somehow, I grew up differently. It's weird, really. I grew up a Jehovah's Witness, a denomination that certainly did not embrace women in leadership roles. Yet, I also grew up with spina bifida, a disability that caused me to have well over 50 surgeries before I was 18-years-old and to be told repeatedly that I could never survive and never thrive. Quite honestly, I survived because of the skill and the strength and the passion and the tenderness of women. While I certainly had males who treated me, much of my childhood was spent around female nurses and aides who believed in me when no one else did.

I thrived because they refused to allow me not to thrive.

Once I was away from the Jehovah's Witnesses, though I should say kicked out for the first of what would be two experiences with churches telling me to leave, I began to realize there was a different kind of God I'd never experienced. By my early 20's, I joined a small interfaith church led by a former nun who would mentor me and whose church would eventually ordain me.

It was the first of several experiences of women in ministry that made me study and learn and seek to understand. Just this past year, as I entered a hospital for what would be my third amputation, I recall the steady presence of Rev. Anastassia, an incredible minister whose presence stays with me even as she has departed for a pastoral position on the East Coast.

"The Making of Biblical Womanhood" made me shout. It made me ache. Like Barr, I understand what it's like to stay someplace because it's familiar and safe and family and the alternative is scary.

I also understand what it's like to kick myself for doing so.

"The Making of Biblical Womanhood" is extraordinarily researched, yet it's equally as remarkable in its transparency and vulnerability and absolute presence. Barr refuses to hide behind her choices, acknowledging all those little difficult places in her journey that helped her finally reach this point of say "No more."

She shares the journey of her life, her college days and her marital journey including a journey with her husband that is best experienced through her own words but is quite revealing and memorable.

There are very few writers, Kate Bowler perhaps being one of the best, who can so expertly weave together such precise and comprehensive research along with rich, emotionally resonant personal testimony. The beauty and the power of "The Making of Biblical Womanhood" is that it does both in abundance.

"The Making of Biblical Womanhood" goes beyond the exploration of Greek grammar into the realms of ancient, medieval, and modern history to explore the cultural influences that created and continue to foster biblical womanhood. She weaves in stories from her own experiences as a Baptist pastor's wife and, appropriately so, explores the #ChurchToo movement and the abuse controversies that have plagued Southern Baptist circles and the broader evangelical movement.

Beth Allison Barr theologically smashes the patriarchy, yet she does so in a way that is far from malicious and, in fact, is quite loving. She's simultaneously someone you'd love to sit down to have coffee with, yet you're acutely aware she's so intelligent that you'd probably not understand a good majority of what she's saying.

Until it clicks. And it will. It will because even in her writing she works to make things accessible and understandable. You can feel it in her teaching, as well. She knows what she knows, but she truly wants you to understand it. It's really quite extraordinary.

In all likelihood, "The Making of Biblical Womanhood" is my final book in what has been an active year of reading. It is a book I was excited to read and it's a book that not only lived up to my expectations but surpassed them. From beginning to end, I found myself engaged and informed, emotionally involved and even a little entertained. At times, I set the book aside so I could chew on her words for a bit. Likewise, at times I set the book aside so I could look things up and understand even more.

I already embraced women in ministry and leadership prior to reading "The Making of Biblical Womanhood," but Barr helped me develop a stronger academic and theological argument to support my beliefs and to inform others. She also challenged me to become an even better and more outspoken Christian, a Christian who not only believes in ministry and leadership for women and others but someone who actively engages and empowers those with gifts who are often left on the sideline by the Church.

There's so much that I loved about "The Making of Biblical Womanhood" and I look forward to sharing it with my circle and following Barr's teachings and writings for years to come.

Beth Allison Barr’s “The Making of Biblical Womanhood” is an eye-opening piece of literature that reveals the origin of the concept of womanhood. It was not thrust down from the heavenly archives as some might believe. To be exposed to the incredible construction of the concept (very human indeed) is convicting as it is revealing. And, all of the church will be healthier for understanding Beth’s academically-rich and personally revealed claims.

This book is about 150 years overdue. It is well-researched and beautifully written. I expect, despite being very fair in its criticisms, this book will strike a nerve, much like Kristin Kobes Du Mez' JESUS AND JOHN WAYNE. I hope readers will open their hearts to its truths. There is too much at stake not to.

Patriarchy and the subjugation of women have become part and parcel of evangelical Christianity in America. Beth Allison Barr analyzes this close relationship through an historical and theological context and reveals that, rather than uphold a centuries-old tradition of womanhood, strict gender roles and complementarianism are actually the result of specific cultural and economic moments in history.

Not only through questioning the translation and interpretation of specific biblical passages, but also through analyzing the writings and lives of specific women throughout church history, Barr illustrates the rich inheritance and influence women have in Christianity. I learned a lot about medieval women and was both fascinated and not surprised by the negative impact the Reformation and Enlightenment had on women (while simultaneously elevating men). In her words, we have a great cloud of female witnesses throughout the history of Christianity, and we would do well to remember these women. (Also I would love an anthology of some of the greatest women preachers, teachers, and writers of various denominations. Perhaps an idea for another book?)

I blew through this book in less than 24 hours because I could not put it down. It was everything I needed to read in this moment, and I will certainly be buying a physical copy and will forever reference it.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and Brazos Press for the eARC in exchange for my review.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for honest review. Let me just say, this is an amazing book. First of all, the combination of personal story with clear, easy to follow historical research makes this a compelling read. I didn't want to put it down - but had to, in order to process the impactful words Beth Allison Barr has written here. 

The way she paints a picture of patriarchy and complimentarianism becoming accepted as gospel truth in much of the modern church is moving and powerful. I am very familiar with this debate and much of its history, yet I learned a lot in this book - particularly about the role women played in the medieval church and the way Bible translations have been shaped and impact our understanding of the role of women. 

I have already talked to several people about this book and all I can say is - you HAVE to read this. So good.

Beth Allison Barr masterfully synthesizes the stories of women throughout church history to show how the Evangelical idea of "Biblical Womanhood" was born. She mainly focuses on three time periods: the early church, the medieval era (her area of expertise), and the 20th century to the present.

Barr's examples of women in ministry in the early church (and modern attempts to minimize, dismiss, or deflect from that work) will not be news to those who have been studying the debate over complementarianism. However, the work of these women in the biblical texts is so marginalized in conservative evangelicalism that Barr's treatment of the texts is vital to the conversation.

Barr often gives examples of medieval perceptions of Biblical figures and saints, demonstrating the comfortability of medieval thinkers relative to modern evangelicals regarding women's roles. However, she does not offer sufficient commentary on the veracity of legendary accounts or the validity of conflating Mary of Bethany and Mary Magdalene, for example.

Barr's argument is bolstered by her explanation of how the Protestant Reformation created a "cult of domesticity", leading the removal of women from ministry roles and public work and shoehorning them into wifehood and motherhood. Barr's examples of women in ministry post-Reformation (despite consistent efforts to suppress them) show how remarkably new the "orthodox" teaching of complementarity is to church history. By shedding light on how conservative evangelicals created the doctrine of inerrancy and resurrected Arianism in order to suppress the status of women in the church, Barr effectively hammers the final nail in the coffin of 'biblical womanhood'.

This book should be required reading for anyone in the evangelical sphere who has been led to believe that complementarianism is biblically faithful and has been the dominant teaching through church history. Patriarchy by any other name is still sin, and Christ's people should not lag behind the world in eradicating it.

What an incredible book! Part narrative theology, part medieval study of women, part egalitarian theology. Barr's voice and honesty about the past push readers to truly consider how the "complementarian" view of Christian's is actually worldly patriarchy wrapped in a priestly robe. The witness of history is clear: women shouldn't be dismissed and deserve an equal place wherever they are: at home, in a boardroom, teaching, preaching, or otherwise. I haven't ever read a study on medieval Christianity before, but Barr makes me want to read more. THANK YOU, for sharing your story and this reality about women in the Church.

I've always questioned the role of women in the church, but I never had a good source to turn to for historical context. Look no more, this book does just that. The author does an excellent job explaining the history, culture, and context as they apply to when key Biblical passages were written that related to women and the church. Not only did this book give me some data and clarity to start drawing my own conclusions, but it opens the door for others to do the same.

Honestly, where do I start? This book is so necessary for the evangelical church. As much as Bible literacy is an issue in the church so is historical and contextual literacy of our faith, traditions, and beliefs. This book will make you recon with your beliefs and when you read it, and you can either dig in your heels or examine yourself and the structures in place around you.

Women leading is a mark of church history, not some version of feminism trying to invade the church. It is clear throughout scripture, yet where do we learn about it when we learn about church history? We don't because women have been written out of the historical narrative and, to a degree, scripture as well.

There are so many issues that Bible scholars and church leaders want us to believe are unique to our time because feminism, but the truth is there is nothing new under the sun. Gender inclusive language along with women pastors and teachers have been around since medieval times and even before. What the evangelical church has turned to since the Reformation is a focus on family (no pun intended) and gender roles laid out in complementarianism. Biblical womanhood has become gospel truth not necessarily because it's true but because women's role in the home and church is now a marker of one's stance on inerrancy of the Bible and thus Christian orthodoxy. All of this has done a disservice to women and men in our churches because it has been laid upon patriarchal structures to keep women out of power and out of leadership which deprives the church of their gifts.

I hope that those who disagree with Barr will still read her book because this issue is too pervasive to ignore. Whether you are egalitarian or remain in complementarianism, there is truth and history to be learned form Dr. Barr that can be applied in your context. Whatever you choose, do not hold women back from serving the church well and in ways that mirror strong female leadership and service present in scripture.

I'll leave you with the words she leaves her readers with, "Go be free."

#EndChristianPatriarchy

I want every Christian I know to read this book. I want to hand it to all the women who've walked away from the church because of misogyny and patriarchy. Beth Allison Barr has given us a gift - there is such freedom in these pages. As I read it, I was sending quotes and screenshots to my friends because I was so excited by what I was reading. Barr pulls no punches and is unafraid to go after conservative evangelicalism's sacred cows. As she says at the end of the book, "Complementarianism is patriarchy, and patriarchy is about power. Neither have ever been about Jesus."

Huzzah! I cannot tell you how many books I read on theology and church history, knowing I can't recommend them to the majority of my friends. They could understand them but wouldn't take the time to do so. 

On the other hand, I read books that lean angry or cynical. The tone can feel disrespectful, which may get the point across but can leave my heart-that-aches-for-unity hurting. We can't come together if we alienate one another. 

Beth (of course your name is Beth), thank you for guiding women in a way that we can all read and enjoy. I learned so much from your story, from your professional insight, and from your lengthy list of references. 

Perhaps the highest compliment I can give, I'd recommend this book to anyone.

This book caught me off guard. Going into reading I would’ve stated that I have been developing a far more egalitarian view over the past few years but, while reading, I was forced to acknowledge different points of complementarianism which I hadn’t realized I still held. I continued to read, and I wrestled with the history the author was presenting, and I felt uncomfortable with what was written on more than a few occasions. Frankly, I’m still mulling over much of the information and struggling with the views of headship that I’ve always been taught and how it squares with the Biblical teaching. 

The book covers many of the same Bible verses which are often explored in the complementarian/egalitarian debate, but it presents the egalitarian argument in a much stronger way than I’ve normally seen it done. You are also walked through Christian history and presented with a history which you’re not often made aware of: A history in which women have played a much larger role than you find in the history books, and you’re left questioning the motivations behind why it’s not presented. Regardless of where you stand on this debate, this is a book which needs to be engaged with. I think one of the best things about this book is that, even when you’re being presented with information which you may not be comfortable with, you don’t really feel attacked, even though the case is presented passionately.

Often when engaging in this debate there is the temptation to react in fear and pride but I feel that The Making of Biblical Womanhood will engage with you in a way that allows you to not get defensive, if you go into it willing to hear and engage.

So much goes wrong when we forget our history. Ignorance is the cause of so many problems. I love how Barr’s book brings the past into the future to show us how certain things aren’t always as straight forward as we’ve been led to believe. That patriarchy has always been around in different degrees and is a cultural construction, not a biblical one. Today that patriarchy is hidden in the name complementarianism. 

This book has introduced me to history of the church that I had never heard before, where women were actually praised for following God’s calling no matter where it took them. I was surprised to learn that most church histories where written by pastors and not historians. Not a great idea really because their education and focus is different. I loved how Barr (an actually historian) was able to show us that, while we are so anxious about setting down rules for women in the church today, the earlier churches were concerned about more important issues like making sure we have a right view of the Trinity and bringing people to Christ. 

I would highly recommend this book to everyone. It makes you question why you believe the things that you do. Is it because someone said “this is the way and no other” or is it really what the Bible says? Barr points out that Christianity brought freedom to the women in the Roman world because it was a radical change from their culturally oppressive (patriarchal) lifestyle. Are women in today’s church less free?  If so, we really have to question our interpretation of what it really means to be a “biblical woman”.

This book is SO IMPORTANT.

I grew up in an Evangelical Free church and the description Barr provides of how Evangelical women think of themselves is SPOT ON. We’re taught that it’s our divinely appointed nature that calls us to be submissive homemakers. But this book shows the various ways that the evangelical understanding of womanhood has been skewed - both intentionally and unintentionally - to reach a complementarian structure between genders rather than an egalitarian structure (which Barr argues is a truer reading within historical context).

The three key areas that I found to be most impactful were: 1. Barr’s analysis of commonly misunderstood and misused Pauline texts to show the inconsistencies in content and style which are easy to miss without historical context, 2. The history of women teaching, being deacons, missionaries, etc before the reformation and the way that history has been erased, and 3. The intentional effort to exclude gender inclusive language in the ESV translation of the bible - the accepted translation in all the churches I’ve attended - though gender inclusive language would be an equally valid translation. Barr also points out how the evangelical belief of biblical inerrancy compounds these issues.

Given how pervasive evangelical Christianity is in the US, and how harmful the ideas of complementarianism can be to Women AND Men, this is a very important book. It is well presented and argued, and I think everyone who has ever been a Christian should check it out.

I received a free E-ARC copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was really fascinated by the premise of Barr's book as someone who grew up in the middle of the Bible Belt but in a liberal household, who majored in religious studies in college, and who has devoured the work of Rachel Held Evans, Sarah Bessey, and Nadia Bolz-Weber, all women who are firmly rejecting the idea of patriarchy within the church. I really enjoyed Barr's perspective as someone who spent so much of her life living a complementarian lifestyle and submitting to the patriarchal ideas of the church, the SBC specifically. I don't know how many people who really need to hear this message will be willing to read this book, but it's really well written and compelling. I learned so much, and appreciated the way Barr wove her personal narrative through her research and perspective as a historian. 

My thanks to NetGalley and Brazos Press for an advance reader's copy.

This is an excellent piece of theological and historical analysis about the idea of "biblical womanhood" and how it came to be. I had already come to a number of similar conclusions about patriarchy and its role in conservative Christianity; but these opinions had been formed mostly from personal experience and intuition. I greatly appreciate now having Barr's research to fortify my positions, especially given how accessible this book is to the layperson. Highly recommended.

For 40 years, Beth Allison Barr believed “biblical womanhood” meant “God designed women primarily to be submissive wives, virtuous mothers, and joyful homemakers,” she writes in the introduction of her book, “The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women Became Gospel Truth.” But Barr’s training as a historian (she’s associate professor of history and associate dean of the Graduate School at Baylor University) convinced her otherwise. She shares her experiences as a Southern Baptist and pastor’s wife, combined with the history and impact of complementarian beliefs, in her book, which releases in April.

Read the rest of our coverage at Religion News Service at the link below.

Dr. Barr has accomplished what so often eludes academics: she has written a highly accessible, intellectually rigorous piece of scholarship. By interweaving her own memoir with the history of patriarchal oppression, she has crafted an empathetic guide to understanding both the past and its impact on us in the present.

This is a great book and very timely for 2021 - we ordered a copy because of high interest and think it will do well with patrons.