Half the Church by Carolyn Custis James: book review and giveaway

I was pleased when Zondervan contacted me about participating in a 'blog tour' for a book they were 'very excited about'.  I was even more pleased once I looked it up and saw that it might be something I'd be interested in.

So, what do I think now that I have read the book?

The first thing that struck me about this book was the inclusivity of its style.  Despite being written by an American author from within her own church context, James makes very clear from the beginning that the subtitle of this book is indeed a true reflection of its purpose: recapturing God's global vision for women.  At no point did I feel on the outside looking in.

She emphasises that within our context of freedom and plenty, some questions and discussions we tend to have about women and their roles here in the West are simply not applicable for women in different cultures and environments, lacking our resources and our choices.  But instead of shuffling past them and focusing on 'us' she chooses to take a fuller, more compassionate view, recognising women's importance throughout the world and what we can do to help those who have so much less than we do.  Indeed, the extremes throughout the world put our church debates in sobering perspective.

Part of this book springs out of her own reading of Half the Sky*, a book chronicling some of the horrors experienced by women and girls in today's world.  James constantly refers to some appalling stories of women and girls facing terrible choices -  or more accurately, no choice at all.

I warmed to her as it became clear that she was passionate about the plight of women throughout the world, those without any opportunities, those closed in by poverty and those subjected to abuse.  Her concern was not preoccupied by the insulated West.  One statistic she quoted I could not really get my head round: 

"It appears that more girls have been killed in the last fifty years, precisely because they were girls, than men were killed in all the wars of the twentieth century.  More girls are killed in this routine 'gendercide' in any one decade than people were slaughtered in all the genocides of the twentieth century."

 Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, Half the Sky, as quoted in Half the Church (emphasis mine).

But James' vision is wider than sharing with her readers the awful treatment of some of the world's daughters.  In effect, she contrasts this treatment with what she sees as the biblical picture of women: God's image bearers, equipped to lead by the mandate of Genesis 1.

James makes a lot of reference to the ezer of Genesis 2 - ezer-kenegdo being the phrase often translated a 'suitable helper' when referring to God's purpose in creating woman.   James ties this in with other uses of 'ezer' as a kind of warrior - sometimes used to refer to God himself as shield and helper.  Without a grasp of Hebrew I feel unable to critique this -  but it is certainly an interesting suggestion, and a recurring theme throughout the book.

I loved the way James' focuses on women's primary calling - to love the Lord our God with all our soul, mind, heart and strength.  I also deeply appreciated, that while identifying marriage and motherhood as very important callings, she emphasises that they are not what makes up our identity.  She talked about many women feeling they cannot start living their calling until they are married / have children - and I strongly agree that this is a negative thing we need to shake off  (for men too, I feel).  Our worth is not found in marriage and motherhood, as beautiful as these things are.  There are so many who do not fit that 'template', and I for one have always felt irritated by the common cultural assumption that we are 'incomplete' until we find the 'one' or experience parenthood.   It isolates and excludes a huge amount of people, and makes us feel somehow 'lesser' if we never reach these supposed ideals.

She underlines this further when talking about the 'Blessed Alliance' - which is how she refers to the relationship between man and woman.  And - wonderfully - she is not confining this to marriage but to male-female relationships in general - Christian women working with their brothers, their friends, to show God's image to the world and share the power of the gospel - together.  Is it me, or is so little talked about platonic or familial male-female relationships?

These are the two 'load bearing' pillars of the image bearers - our relationship with God, and the relationships between us.  Within the story of Genesis 3, both of these pillars are broken down - but in Christ they are restored.  This book contains no rants or diatribes, but shows a genuine longing for renewed and loving relationships between the genders.  It talks about the value men and women have as part of the body of Christ - and if half the body is not encouraged to use its gifts, then we are all weakened.  We bless each other by our gifts.  Men and women are not two 'halves' of an image bearer but each is one, and in Trinitarian likeness, one plus one = one.  We are called to that kind of oneness.

James does take a chapter to address what she calls the 'Big Debate' over the role of women in the church, and has some helpful things to say.  She reiterates what I've heard elsewhere - you cannot build an entire theology on disputable texts.  You have to examine what is indisputable  and go from there.  And in this way she looks at some examples of women in the bible and what she feels they tell us about our role as image bearers.  I love the way she avoids getting embroiled in specific issues and instead keeps her focus.

In today's world, we have so much more awareness of what is happening around the globe to those created in God's image.  And, James enthuses, it's our calling to make a difference.

May we be remembered as a generation who caught God's vision, faced our fears, and rose up to serve his cause. - Carolyn Custis James, Half the Church

Much of this book I am still digesting.  Naturally there will be elements people will disagree with - but I think it a very worthwhile read, whatever your viewpoint.  I suspect there will be those who come from different contexts and don't recognise some of the issues she talks about, or have trouble with her frame of reference.  I, however, found it helpful and interesting.

On a personal level, on finishing this book I feel incredibly encouraged - about being a woman.  I've never actually confessed to feeling discouraged, but it is true.  Something about this book drove right through that discouragement, knocked it all to pieces and made me feel differently about myself.   It's given me the courage to step over something I had been deliberately ignoring and find a sudden sense of freedom and purpose.

I hesitate to use the word, because it feels a bit heavy with association and liable to be misconstrued but I feel, in this case, it is worth saying.

I feel empowered by this book.

And the fact I feel able to use that word says something in itself.

*The title 'Half the Sky' is based on the proverb 'Women hold up half the sky'.

***

Giveaway
Yes, Zondervan sent me an extra copy of this book - if you want to be entered for the giveaway please leave a comment on this post telling me why you'd like to have this book.  If it's too hard to choose, I will use a random number generator, but I think it would be great if we shared our thoughts anyway.  Comments must be posted by Wednesday 13th April. Giveaway is now closed - congratulations Red!

I received this book free from Zondervan for the purpose of reviewing. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.  You can find a list of other reviews here.

bible blogging and upcoming giveaway

This week my hands feel full of things - both concrete and abstract.  Events, appointments, chores, writing tasks are all crowding in.  Not much time for blogging!  I have, however, been trying to keep up with my daily posts over at Thirsty Ground.  For those of you interested in what I'm doing there, the BigBible Project asked me to share it with them - for my post on their site see here.

A head's up for those who may be interested: Zondervan have asked me to review Half the Church: recapturing God's global vision for women by Carolyn Custis James on Looking Deeper.

I'll be posting the review here next week - and, since they've sent me two copies, I'll also be hosting a giveaway.  If this is something you fancy reading, remember to stop by next week and leave a comment!

blogging, gender and Christianity (part 2)

Firstly, I'd like to say a few things about me.

I keep a blog.  This much is obvious.


I am a Christian.  The fact that I use this term to explain my belief and chosen lifestyle instead of merely as a label, is also fairly clear to readers of this blog.


I live in the United Kingdom.


I am married to a church minister.


My husband is a minister in a UK Baptist church.  I, too, have found my theological 'home' in the Baptist way of looking at things.


I have a degree in theology, and this is a continuing interest.  I have always longed to think and explore faith, life and meaning more deeply.  (This is part of the purpose of this blog, in case you hadn't guessed.)


I am hopelessly forgetful, so in order to remember all the things I learn I have to keep thinking about them.  My life needs regular littering with reminders.


I am a writer.


I struggle with Chronic Fatigue/ M.E., which impacts my way of life.


I have a variety of hobbies and interests, most of which fit loosely under the topics of expressing my creativity and exploring/enjoying the natural world.  Most, not all.


Is this the sum of my parts?  By no means.  This tells you nothing about what I'm like to talk to, my mannerisms, my views on specific subjects.  There is much, much more to me.


And amid all this, I am also a woman.

I've already stated in my previous entry that gender isn't something I'm particularly concerned with when reading blogs. If I'm honest, any disparity hadn't really occurred to me.  I think that we all have certain issues which act as triggers for thought and feeling.  I have not had any particularly painful discriminatory experiences as a woman, so I'm probably less personally sensitive to it.  (Although I still remember the shock and hurt of reading what some of the 'Church Fathers' have to say about women!) What I am sensitive to is being pigeon-holed and labelled.

Why?  It's probably partially the health thing.  I used to hate being known for being the one who was 'ill'.  I've carried that sensitivity through with me.  That, I admit.  So it will colour the way I look at things. I think if this post had another title, it would be 'Know Yourself' - but more than that, knowing that what is not an issue for you is  an issue for others, respecting that and listening to them in order to understand their point of view.

So when we talk about something that constitutes one of my parts - be it health concerns, or indeed womanhood, I am quickly wary of labels.  The fact is, I don't want to make a big thing of it.  Making a big thing of it, for me, involves a kind of isolation.  You take the 'thing', the 'label' and suddenly the whole broad sweep of things gets lost.  I'm going to have to say it, although I hate cliches (interesting) - you can't see the wood for the trees.

For me, singling out women implies that they are an issue.  A problem.  Not simply one part of this weird and wonderful thing called humanity.  A humanity that together reflects the likeness of God.  And a faith that says we are all one in Christ Jesus.  (Remember - this is my perception, my explanation of what I struggle with.  I'm claiming nothing else.)

So why, I hear you ask, am I even posting about this?  Well, there was a conversation going on.  I listened to a few people.   I like discussing things, so I joined in.  It really is that simple.  I've learned enough about myself to know what my sensitivities are, and this takes away some of their power.  Therefore  I join the conversation out of interest, out of a joy of interacting, of thinking and chewing over an issue.  Of, yes that's right, looking deeper.  This is not a big issue for me, but it is a big issue for some.  Out of interest in and respect for their point of view, I am adding my voice.  There's no obligation to listen, of course!

I should add that  in no way am I saying that this is merely about personal sensitivity to an issue.   There do seem to be less women in the UK blogging about Christianity than men, and it's good to point this out and ask why.  I would love to read more blogs by women reflecting deeply on their faith and theology.  It's been great to discover new ones during this discussion.  Here, however, I'm merely bouncing my own thoughts around on my own blog.

Now, again there are various tangents and topics that skim through my mind.  I do still want to talk about denominations, because one thing I have noticed about the UK Christian blogosphere is that bloggers tend to 'cluster' in their denominations.  This, to an extent, is inevitable.  All these threads of commonality, be it gender, profession or belief will naturally cultivate certain groupings.  Humans, after all, have a tendency to congregate.  Coincidentally, tomorrow marks the start of the 'Week of Prayer for Christian Unity'.  So perhaps I'll do a separate post about that later in the week.  But what I would like to see is more crossover between blogs of different denominations, celebrating that which we have in common, explaining our differences and doing so with gentleness and respect.  More on that, later.

I also want to look at the nature of Christian blogs, because I wonder if the issue is not so much about UK women bloggers who are Christian but those who blog particularly about Christianity,  theological reflection, or church ministry.  Because the latter is far more specific, and it may be that there are plenty of UK Christian women bloggers, but just not so many who use their blogs as a place for theological reflection.  They have other topics that they choose to blog about..

Which takes me into the area of the purpose of blogging, audience and all kinds of things that would make this post too long.  But my point, if I have a point, is that there are so many factors.  It's interesting to me to dig a bit deeper and find out what they are.

Image from vectorstock.com

blogging, gender and Christianity (part 1)

Last week, Lesley Fellows posted on her blog about a possible lack of top UK Christian bloggers who were, in fact, female (her original post is here).  This seems to have sparked off a mild discussion in some parts of the local (mainly Anglican) blogosphere, so I thought I’d add some of my own thoughts.

Before I get into the subject, I will say that I am very aware that many of my readers do not in fact hail from the UK.  (Likewise not all my readers are Christian, although probably the majority are, due to my subject matter.)  Hence this post may feel somewhat inapplicable to some readers, but nevertheless please do feel free to join the discussion, however loosely, as I would love to hear your thoughts.

Firstly I thought I’d list some of the UK Christian Women Bloggers I read regularly (a bit of a mouthful and I’m not keen on labels.  Never mind.).

Obviously, there’s Lesley herself.  That's where the discussion started (inspired by a post from The Church Mouse, I believe).

Here are some others:

One of the first friends I made in the UK Christian blogosphere since starting this blog was Lynn, over at Help I Work With Children.  She’s been firmly on my blog list ever since.

Through Lynn, I found Laura Anne, over at Learning from Sophie.  Laura Anne is funny, honest and compassionate.  Another favourite.

I enjoy reading Rachel’s thoughts over at Re-vis.e Re-form.  Rachel is also on Lesley’s list.  I love theological reflection and Rachel has an accessible style – a sense of journey which I appreciate.

Another regular read is Angela, who writes at Tracing Rainbows.  She, like me, is married to a Baptist Minister and we have actually met, which was fun! I believe we’ll be seeing each other this year too. Angela writes cheerful, newsy posts which have proved popular with many.

Another popular Baptist woman blogger, this time herself a minister, is Catriona over at Skinny Fairtrade Latte in the Food Court of Life - great title!

I also stop by The Vicar’s Wife on occasion – another popular blogger also married to ministry – this time in the Church of England.

I should probably mention Christian author Maggi Dawn while I'm here - who seems to have a cross-denominational, general appeal which I like.

Kathryn at Good in Parts is another Anglican priest.  Like The Vicar's Wife and Maggi Dawn, I usually pop in via her Twitter feed.

Although it's in a rather different category, I will also include Lythan at Slightly Squiffy.  In the main, this is a crafting blog, but she also writes posts relating to her ministry.  As I myself dabble in crafty endeavours, I am quite happy to stop by and read both!

There are others I’m aware of, but these are probably the ones I drop in on most regularly.  I'm also sure there are many lesser known blogs written by UK Christian women.  But as Lesley's post talked about 'top' bloggers, I'm assuming we're talking about the amount of women within the more well known, regularly updated and read UK Christian bloggers.

On the topic, I should say I sympathise with the view point of Fr. David, over at The Vernacular Curate, in that I don’t really think too much on the gender of the bloggers I read.  I read the blogs I like and identify with, blogs that interest me and inspire me.  Of course, naturally some of these are women.

Are UK Christian Women (untwist tongue, glare at label)  less likely to blog regularly than their male counterparts?  Possibly. I think some good points have been raised in this discussion.  The old problem of having the time has been raised - particularly when it comes to posting regularly. Some have suggested that blogging is still looked at as geeky in some circles – and geekiness and womanliness don’t mesh – or aren’t seen to mesh – very well.
 
I think this in part is generational.  Certainly there are those who have looked at me oddly or indulgently when I say I keep a blog.  But perhaps for someone a decade younger than me, this would be less of an issue.  So perhaps as the younger, more techno oriented generations get older, things will weigh differently.

I should also add - is this something that could be said of the blogosphere in general?  There is nothing in these reasons which is exclusive to Christian women.  And is it widespread, or weighed towards different topics?  How do women use blogs?  Is it a means of information, debate, or simply an outlet? (More on that in part 2, or possibly 3 - depending on how much I waffle.)

It’s an interesting cultural thing too.  There seem to be oodles of Christian women bloggers in the USA – is this simply because the USA is so much bigger?  Or have they managed to ditch the geeky association?  It also ties in with other factors – for example, many stay-at-home moms (SAHMs) keep blogs.

And it’s these other factors I want to draw out – to give my take and opinion on this.  However, to stop this post getting unwieldy and wearying to your eyes, I’m going to stop here and say – to be continued…

A few hints: remember my aversion to labels?  That will probably feature. What about subject matter? Purpose? Audience? And a word about denominations, too…

16 days...

Tomorrow marks the beginning of '16 days of activisim against gender violence'. November 25th is International Day Against Violence Against Women, and December 10th is International Human Rights Day, which is, as the website says "in order to symbolically link violence against women and human rights and to emphasize that such violence is a violation of human rights."

This is an issue that has always stabbed at my heart, particularly in the area of sexual violence, which, long term reader will remember, initially spurred my production of 'Fragile World'. We cannot escape the horrors of atrocities committed against, for example, the women of the Congo, appalling stories of mass rape, horrors that we cannot imagine, and frankly, do not want to. And yet, they exist. Can we really be silent in such a world as this?

And gender violence is not just a problem in unstable countries under specific threat of war or terrorism. Domestic violence is everywhere.  According to Rest0red, two women a week in the UK die due to domestic violence incidents. Globally, one in three women will suffer violence at the hands of a male partner. In the UK, it's one in four.

The website for '16 days' can be found here, providing links and resources to help raise awareness of this issue. This is what they say about the campaign:

The 16 Days Campaign has been used as an organizing strategy by individuals and groups around the world to call for the elimination of all forms of violence against women by:

• raising awareness about gender-based violence as a human rights issue at the local, national, regional and international levels
• strengthening local work around violence against women
• establishing a clear link between local and international work to end violence against women
• providing a forum in which organizers can develop and share new and effective strategies
• demonstrating the solidarity of women around the world organizing against violence against women
• creating tools to pressure governments to implement promises made to eliminate violence against women

Let's use our voices; let's not be silent. Spread the word and get active. Change the world.