Elisabeth Elliot, Beth Moore, Denny Burk

Last updated on: March 7, 2019 at 8:52 am by Scot McKnight

Elisabeth Elliot, Beth Moore, Denny Burk 2019-03-06T08:55:43-06:00 Scot McKnight

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

From Beth Allison Barr, featuring Beth Moore,

Which starts here…

In Let Me Be A Woman, Elliot draws a clear line in the sand. Women are different from men, and women should stop trying to claim equality with men. Women’s submission is the divine order of the universe and it is time for women to embrace it. As she writes: “It is a naive sort of feminism that insists that women prove their ability to do all the things that men do. This is a distortion and a travesty. Men have never sought to prove that they can do all the things women do. Why subject women to purely masculine criteria? Women can and ought to be judged by the criteria of femininity, for it is in their femininity that they participate in the human race. And femininity has its limitations. So has masculinity. That is what we’ve been talking about. To do this is not to do that. To be this is not to be that. To be a woman is not to be a man. To be married is not to be single – which may mean not to have a career. To marry this man is not to marry all the others. A choice is a limitation.”

Elliot’s words made quite a splash in conservative Christianity. The paperback cover states that more than 250,000 copies are in print, which I think has now been greatly surpassed. Elliot is quoted by John Piper and Wayne Grudem in Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, and I suspect her argument lies at the heart of their argument.

… and then goes here:

All of this was in the back of my mind yesterday when Chris Gehrz alerted me to a twitter conversation between Denny Burk and Beth Moore. Denny Burk asked Beth Moore to reject Rachel Hollis’s recent books which have exploded in popularity. (See Katelyn Beaty’s excellent review “Girl, Get Some Footnotes”). Burke wrote, “I’m here to beg you to reject Hollis’s teaching, because it’s both exhausting and damning.” Beth Moore gave an interesting response. “I think the larger conversation that needs to be had is the vacuum that conservative Christianity left for women that leaves it wide open to fill with brand answers. The whole thing’s hard to watch. We’ve yet to deal honestly with why these are best sellers among Christian women.”

Did you catch that? Beth Moore said the problem isn’t with Hollis; the problem lies with how conservative Christianity has failed women. Listen to how she continues. “Somewhere along the way, Denny, we have to reckon with the fact that we–myself included–went too far. We put limitations on women that exceeded what Christ demonstrated. We did it instead of wrestling with the tension between the Gospels & epistles. We’re watching a backlash.”

Beth Moore knows scripture. She is a Bible teacher and has been her whole life. She realizes that there is a disconnect between how conservative evangelicalism has prescribed women’s roles and how Jesus taught and treated women. In her very gracious way, she opened the door for Denny Burk to consider that maybe he has been wrong about women. Since the 1970s, conservative Christians have been forcing women into a very small mold–gracious and submissive wife and mother who support and submit to their husband (with chaste singleness as a second best back up plan). But maybe there is more for women? Beth Moore seems to realize that there is. Yes, Jesus calls women to be wives and mothers who love and support their husbands (I do this myself!). But maybe his calling isn’t limited to this. Maybe he calls women to more?? Indeed, Beth Moore’s later tweet seems to indicate this. “Women,” she writes, “you may get called all sorts of things if you take Jesus at His word. Let them call you what they want so long as Christ can call you faithful.”

Praise God, Beth Moore. Let me be a woman, indeed–let me be FAITHFUL to God in whatever way he has called me.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

March 7, 2019

Atheism is an Age Old Problem (RJS)

Next Post

March 8, 2019 Podcast Series Continues

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Acts of the Apostles Adam Advent Anabaptism Angels Anglican Apologetics Atonement Baptism BCP Prayers Bible Biblical Studies Birds Blogging Bloglossary Bonhoeffer Books Calvinism Christianity Church Church History Coffee Colossians Commentary Recs Conversion Creation Creeds Culture Death Ecclesiastes Economics Education Embracing Grace Emergent Emerging Movement Eschatology Essays Ethics Eucharist Evangelicalism Family Fasting Fathers Fellowship of Differents Footsteps Tour Fun and Whimsical Gospel Grace Happiness Heaven Hell Holy Spirit Irenaeus James Jesus Jesus Creed Job Justification Kingdom of God Law Lectures Lent Liberalism Love and Marriage Mabanteneni Manhood Mary Miracles Missio Alliance MissioLife Missional Missional Jesus Movies and Film New Perspective Northern Seminary OneLife Origins Project Orthodox Parables Pastor's Spouse Pastoring and Leading Pastoring and Preaching Patristics Paul Paul-John Tour Pharisees Pietism Political Theology Prayer and Formation Preaching Problems for Faith Psalm 119 Psalms Public Issues Purgatory Religions Resurrection Revelation Romans Rule of JCreed Science and Faith Sermon on the Mount Sports Ten Commandments Theology Third Way Top Ten Lists Translations Uncategorized Universalism University Ministry Way Out Weekly Meanderings Wisdom Women and Ministry Work Worship Writing & Blogging Youth Ministry

Select a Month July 2021 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 0000

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who was King Zedekiah, and what did he do to anger God and ensure Jerusalem's fall?

Select your answer to see how you score.

He rebelled against Babylon He killed Jeremiah He burned the scroll He built an idol