(2021)
This book moves the conversation about biblical womanhood beyond Greek grammar and into the realm of church history--ancient, medieval, and modern--to show that this belief is not divinely ordained but a product of human civilization that continues to creep into the church.
Interweaving her story as a Baptist pastor's wife, Barr sheds light on the #ChurchToo movement and abuse scandals in Southern Baptist circles and the broader evangelical world, helping readers understand why biblical womanhood is more about human power structures than the message of Christ.'
Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation
Kristin Kobes DuMez, PhD
(2020)
'A sweeping, revisionist history of the last seventy-five years of white evangelicalism, revealing how evangelicals have worked to replace the Jesus of the Gospels with an idol of rugged masculinity and Christian nationalism ...
As acclaimed scholar Kristin Du Mez explains, the key to understanding this transformation is to recognize the centrality of popular culture in contemporary American evangelicalism ... books, films, music, clothing, and merchandise shape the beliefs of millions. And evangelical culture is teeming with muscular heroes ... who assert white masculine power in defense of “Christian America.”
Challenging the commonly held assumption that the “moral majority” backed Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020 for purely pragmatic reasons, Du Mez reveals that Trump in fact represented the fulfillment, rather than the betrayal, of white evangelicals’ most deeply held values.'
BUY Paperback - $12.93
BUY Kindle - $11.49
Where the Light Fell: A Memoir
Philip Yancey
(2021)
'Raised by an impoverished widow who earned room and board as a Bible teacher in 1950s Atlanta, Philip Yancey and his brother, Marshall, found ways to venture out beyond the confines of their eight-foot-wide trailer. But when Yancey was in college, he uncovered a shocking secret about his father’s death—a secret that began to illuminate the motivations that drove his mother to extreme, often hostile religious convictions ...
Yancey dives into his family origins, taking us on an evocative journey from the backwoods of the Bible Belt to the bustling streets of Philadelphia; from trailer parks to church sanctuaries; from family oddballs to fire-and-brimstone preachers and childhood awakenings through nature, music, and literature. In time, the weight of religious and family pressure sent both sons on opposite paths—one toward healing from the impact of what he calls a “toxic faith,” the other into a self-destructive spiral.
In piecing together his fragmented personal history and his search for redemption, Yancey gives testament to the enduring power of our hunger for truth and the possibility of faith rooted in grace instead of fear ... "I truly believe this is the one book I was put on earth to write,” says Yancey. “So many of the strands from my childhood—racial hostility, political division, culture wars—have resurfaced in modern form. Looking back points me forward.”'
BUY Hardcover - $24.99
BUY Kindle - $13.99
I'd love to hear all about your favorite books of 2021 ... be sure to include a link to your review!
Linda
I read so many books that came out this year its hard to say which I liked best but I will name three in no particular order:
ReplyDeleteThe Hope We Hold -Jeremy and Jinger Vuolo
Fault Lines-Voddie T. Baucham
Christianity and Wokeness- Owen Strachan
Regina, hi and Christmas Blessings to you!
DeleteI'm off to check out your recommendations! Thanks so much for kicking off our conversation today ...
I have been meaning to order that book by Philip Yancey for months now. Think I'll do it based on your review, Linda.
ReplyDeleteI've read lots of books, but don't know that I can choose a favorite. :)
Blessings!
Oh it's so good on so many levels, Martha. My favorite read of the year.
DeleteI have read many books this year, but don't really have a favorite! The Phillip Yancey book sounds interesting! I will add that to my list. Happy Holiday reading!
ReplyDeleteI'd love to get your updated Book Club List to share here again, Marilyn. Can't wait to get your take on what you've read this year!
Deletexo
I've just started reading The Making Of Biblical Womanhood and I'm also in the middle of listening to the audio version of the Philip Yancey book and loving it so far! I'm intrigued by the John Wayne one too. I need to think back over the books I've read this year but I hope to share a post in the next couple of weeks.
ReplyDeleteAlso, update on the Thanksgiving dinner: the green bean casserole was ok - I would eat it if I was given it but probably wouldn't choose to make it again. However one of the Americans said it was her favourite part of Thanksgiving dinner and it reminded her of home, so I'm definitely glad I gave it a try. And we didn't have the sweet potato with marshmallows, but sweet potato with a sweet pecan topping. It was very different from anything I've ever tried before but I liked it!
Or how 'bout sweet potatoes with marshmallows AND sweet pecan topping?!
DeleteI love that you and your American friends could share fresh traditions together. Did you get to offer them the haggis?!
I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the books as you read them, Lesley. Iron sharpens iron.
Meanwhile, Merry Christmas to you, friend. My heart joins yours there in Scotland ...
That sounds like a lot of sweetness, but it would probably be good! We haven't given them haggis yet - maybe for Burns Night in January... Hope you have a Merry Christmas too!
DeleteThank you very much for sharing your top three reads, Linda. That level of recommendation gives us great confidence in purchasing a copy for ourselves. Might have to get all three--eventually!!
ReplyDeleteIt's so much fun to exchange favorite titles, isn't it, Nancy!
DeleteMay you find some bookish treasures under your Christmas tree.
I am so glad you shared HOW you whittled down your list to three. I was wondering that and to find Beth Barr's book listed here as one of best as also on Lisa Burgess top ten list. How did I miss this book earlier? Just ordered it from the library thanks to your recommendations, Merry Christmas Linda!!
ReplyDeleteLisa does the best reviews, doesn't she, Jean! She's brought alot of good reading into my life.
DeleteI have yet to read her book, but I take belligerent exception with Du Mez' titular thesis that white evangelicism corrupted the faith and fractured the nation.
ReplyDeleteThis country is and has been far from perfect, but gleeful iconoclasm can do nothing but deepen the divides, throwing out the unassailable good with the unquestionable bad.
Explorers in a wilderness,
the vast plains broke by iron plow,
a crime against the world unless
you ask who could have freed Dachau.
Slaves laboured in the cotton fields,
a stain upon a hated nation
whose young came home upon their shields
in the name of liberation.
On that dreadful Yom Kippur
with Israel against the wall,
there was one friend, to be sure,
to throw a lifeline, save it all.
At times in this dark history
you just need John Wayne's cavalry.
You absolutely may take exception, my friend! And may I be the first person from Massachusetts to wish you, Barbara, and your 4-footed companions a wonderful Christmas despite the pain and suffering.
DeleteBless you ...
Always glad to get your recs, Linda.
ReplyDeleteBlessings!
Christmas blessings to you and your gang, Lulu!
DeleteBest memoir for me this year was Forty Autumns byNina Wilner. I never thought much about Germany after WW2 and saw such family unity in Nina’s story.
ReplyDeletehttps://smile.amazon.com/Forty-Autumns-Familys-Courage-Survival-ebook/dp/B01AFY3AG6/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Forty+autumns&qid=1639659767&sr=8-1
I'm off to check this out! You've never led me wrong!
DeleteBut meanwhile, I'm missing you, ol' friend. I hope you and the gang have a wonderful Christmas celebration together. God is good.
xo
Missing you too! Can’t wait to see Kory and Scoop, my other grand puppy. Hope your Christmas is full of merry
DeleteScoop! Love that name!
DeleteYay! I love your three picks, Linda! I concur with The Making of B.W. and also with Philip Yancey's book. I had such trouble picking my list this year; there were so many I could have chosen as my favorites, depending on the day. And just this week I've begun reading Jesus and John Wayne. I borrowed my sister's copy and am eager to read, read, read.
ReplyDeleteWe seem to resonate on books about 95% of the time! That makes me smile, Lisa! Yep, after the holidays are over, may there be plenty of time to curl up with all those books we're longing to page through.
Delete