What makes the writings of the Eldredges and Dobson so powerful and so able to transfer their rhetoric across Christian co-cultural groups is how they avoid using language that is accepted by only one co-culture. Continue reading Gender Norms in Christian Culture Part II
he structure and influence of the Christian publishing market allows the writings of authors from various Christian co-cultures to exert great influence over Biblical interpretation, family life, and the self-worth of the Christian individual. Continue reading Gender Norms in Christian Co-Cultures Part III
I’m re-posting this entry since I now have more readers than I did when I originally posted it. It’s my manifesto for what I believe and what I research. Occasionally I’m asked why I call myself a feminist. Now that my blog is getting a few readers I’m getting this question more often. The concept of a “Free Methodist Feminist” seems like an oxymoron. Yet, I stand by this term. I am a feminist. While there are definitely some feminists who distance themselves from organized religion and view organized religion as just another way to enforce patriarchy, I don’t see … Continue reading What Makes a Free Methodist Feminist?
Two years ago, soon after our second wedding anniversary, my husband Andrew and I stood in the church sanctuary taking to friends after the service about our anniversary plans. “So, when are you going to have kids?” a friend asked me. I stood there dumbfounded wondering why everyone kept asking me this question. Both Andrew and I were finishing our masters degrees with plans to pursue doctorate degrees in the next year. “Um, not anytime soon,” I replied. Yet, even after answering the family planning question two years ago. I am repeatedly asked every year, around our anniversary, when we … Continue reading Caught between a rock and a hard place: The Christian feminist’s dilemma