"A Year of Biblical Womanhood," by Rachel Held Evans

"A Year of Biblical Womanhood," by Rachel Held Evans

What is “biblical womanhood” . . . really?

Strong-willed and independent, Rachel Held 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 decides to try it for herself, vowing to take all of the Bible’s instructions for women as literally as possible for a year.
 
Pursuing a different virtue each month, Evans learns the hard way that her quest for biblical womanhood requires more than a “gentle and quiet spirit” (1 Peter 3:4). It means growing out her hair, making her own clothes, covering her head, obeying her husband, rising before dawn, abstaining from gossip, remaining silent in church, and even camping out in the front yard during her period.
See what happens when a thoroughly modern woman starts referring to her husband as “master” and “praises him at the city gate” with a homemade sign. Learn the insights she receives from an ongoing correspondence with an Orthodox Jewish woman, and find out what she discovers from her exchanges with a polygamist wife. Join her as she wrestles with difficult passages of scripture that portray misogyny and violence against women.

With just the right mixture of humor and insight, compassion and incredulity, A Year of Biblical Womanhood is an exercise in scriptural exploration and spiritual contemplation. What does God truly expect of women, and is there really a prescription for biblical womanhood? Come along with Evans as she looks for answers in the rich heritage of biblical heroines, models of grace, and all-around women of valor.

I wanted to read this book as I was curious about what exactly it entailed to live like a "Biblical Woman" would have.  When reading a book it should be an enjoyable experience, not a chore; unfortunately this was a chore for me.  It took me nearly a month to read, which is super long for me, and it felt like hard work to wrap my head around all the details.

It's unfortunate that all the publicity surrounding this book focuses on the author sitting on her roof, living in a tent during her period and calling her husband "Master," as there is a lot more to this book than that and I think if I were brought up in a more "relaxed" faith I think I may have enjoyed/related to this more. 

I did learn more about the women in the Bible, but one person's interpretation of Bible stories/verses etc, may not be another ones.  So I found myself wondering why she thought certain things meant what.  I have no examples to show you, as I didn't write notes when reading the book, and that I think would have been a good idea.  This book has left me having more questions than answers.

Would I recommend this book to you..........YES, as I think you will gain something by reading this book.  If nothing else it will make you think about some of the passages of the Bible that the author quotes.  Was it accurate in all it said........probably not, but if you go into this book with an open mind you may learn something new.

Stars out of 5 : 3 Glad I have read it, but wasn't sorry to see the last page of the book!

I will be donating my copy of the book to the local library.