Category: Christian Patriarchy

Christian Patriarchy, Free Methodism, Gender Norms in Christian Co-Cultures1 Comment

Why Rhetoric Matters: The Power of Words to Liberate or Manipulate

freemethodistfeminist

It’s hard to explain to people who don’t study rhetoric why it’s important or for that matter what rhetoric is.  A basic definition is that rhetoric is the art of discourse. It is the study of speech. Words are powerful tools. They support ideology, stir passion and anger, and most importantly fuel action. We study the words of the present and the past to learn from our triumphs and our failures. A society that does not learn from its mistakes is a society that is guaranteed to continue repeating the same missteps. Perhaps this why I’ve turned much of my … Continue reading Why Rhetoric Matters: The Power of Words to Liberate or Manipulate

Christian Patriarchy1 Comment

“My Own Eyes Are Not Enough:” Towards a Theory of “Christian” Art Part I

freemethodistfeminist

By guest blogger Andrew Winckles Eighteenth Century Culture The question of what constitutes “Christian” art or whether there is even such a thing has, within the past thirty years, become a bone of contention in evangelical Christian culture.  With the advent of the “culture wars,” there has been an increasingly loud call from some sectors of evangelicalism for Christian’s to “take back” popular culture by creating explicitly Christian art. Films like Left Behind, Fireproof, and most recently Courageous have all attempted to insert a Christian voice into the public sphere. However, this debate over “Christian” art is of relatively recent … Continue reading “My Own Eyes Are Not Enough:” Towards a Theory of “Christian” Art Part I

Christian Patriarchy, Courageous, the Movie8 Comments

The Kendrick Brothers Have Ties to Christian Patriarchy Organizations

freemethodistfeminist

While the message in the Kendrick’s films appear to fit mainstream, Christian culture, it is important to pay attention to who these filmmakers chose to associate with. After all, if you give them money for their product then you are validating their connections to Christian patriarchy organizations such as Vision Forum. It remains to be seen if Sherwood Pictures will submit Courageous for consideration at the 2011 San Antonio Christian Film Festival. However, it’s highly likely, since their last film Fireproof was screened at the film festival in 2009 and won the best feature award.  A quick glance at the … Continue reading The Kendrick Brothers Have Ties to Christian Patriarchy Organizations

Christian Patriarchy, Courageous, the Movie26 Comments

“Courageous” Subtly Promotes Male Headship and Racial Stereotypes

freemethodistfeminist

My ideological critique of “Courageous” is written from the perspective of a Christian feminist who fully supports the belief in Biblical gender equality. As Benjamin Titus Roberts, the founder of the Free Methodist Church, said in his book “Ordaining Women”: “The greatest domestic happiness always exists where husband and wife live together on terms of equality. Two men, having individual interests, united only by business ties, daily associate as partners for years, without either of them being in subjection to the other. They consider each other as equals; and treat each other as equals. Then, cannot a man and woman, … Continue reading “Courageous” Subtly Promotes Male Headship and Racial Stereotypes

Christian Patriarchy, Courageous, the Movie5 Comments

“Courageous” Lacks Artistry and Preaches to the Choir

freemethodistfeminist

This is part of a series of articles I will be publishing this week on “Courageous.” A rhetorical critique will come out later this week as well as critique about the type of Christian associations the Kendricks have choose to align with. One star for decent action sequences and being better than my expectations (although they were incredibly low when I went to see it). The Kendrick brothers new movie Courageous is suspiciously similar to the 2004 film Crash, except that it’s a very poor knockoff. Running at 2 hours and 10 minutes, the film should have been a good … Continue reading “Courageous” Lacks Artistry and Preaches to the Choir

Christian Patriarchy, Gender Norms in Christian Co-Cultures2 Comments

Vision Forum: The Giant of the Christian Patriarchy Movement

freemethodistfeminist

While there are numerous organizations I would consider part of the Christian patriarchy movement one of the largest and most disturbing organization is Dough Phillip’s Vision Forum. Vision Forum’s influence is vast in evangelical and fundamentalist culture.  The organization has its own homeschooling curriculum, devotional materials for men and women, homeschooling conferences and the popular San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival, which is Phillip’s brainchild. Perhaps, the name of the film festival doesn’t ring a bell, but if you follow Christian media at all you have probably heard of movies such as Facing the Giants and Fireproof – both of … Continue reading Vision Forum: The Giant of the Christian Patriarchy Movement

Christian Patriarchy, Gender Norms in Christian Co-Cultures5 Comments

TLC and the Fundamentalist Family: A Look at the Quiverfull Movement

freemethodistfeminist

I have been waiting a few months for my study to appear in The Journal of Religion and Popular Culture about the TLC show 19 and Counting and the Quiverfull movement. The academic journal is open access, so everyone who reads my blog should be able to pull up this link. It provides a much more comprehensive overview of what the Quiverfull beliefs are and how the movement has been portrayed in popular culture. Click here to read the article. Continue reading TLC and the Fundamentalist Family: A Look at the Quiverfull Movement

Christian Patriarchy44 Comments

Taking a Critical Look at the Above Rubies Organization

freemethodistfeminist

While there are numerous organizations/movements associated with Christian patriarchy, one of the largest is the international organization Above Rubies.  Above Rubies was founded by Nancy and Collin Campbell over 32 years ago to encourage families to follow a very traditional, complementarian lifestyle. Above Rubies publishes a free magazine (donations requested but not required) once a month that contains articles about the joys of living simply, women who have given up work to stay home, and natural family remedies and family planning (or lack thereof). Nancy Campbell also has an e-newsletter she sends out about once a week. As a regular … Continue reading Taking a Critical Look at the Above Rubies Organization

Christian Patriarchy, Gender Norms in Christian Co-Cultures4 Comments

The Threat of Christian Patriarchy

freemethodistfeminist

The Christian patriarchy movement is a fast growing fundamentalist/evangelical movement that is not easy to define.  While mainstream media has     drawn attention to the Quiverfull movement and pop cultural representations of this lifestyle, such as the famous or infamous (however you want to phrase it) Duggar family from 19 and Counting, there are other branches of the patriarchy movement which are not well known nor well researched. Therefore, for the next few blog posts I’m going to try to break down the various organizations associated with the Christian patriarchy movement to help us better understand why mainstream Christian society should … Continue reading The Threat of Christian Patriarchy