What Will Evangelicals Say to Jesus?
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What Will Evangelicals Say to Jesus?

ByBeth Allison Barr

“White Jesus has blood on him.” Angela Tarango, Associate Professor of Religion at Trinity University, said this during the Conference on Faith and History’s 2019 panel for the American Historical Association meeting in Chicago last weekend. The panel (which I was so excited to have organized) featured Jennifer Graber’s excellent and provocative book The Gods…

Why Evangelical Christians Are Afraid of Halloween
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Why Evangelical Christians Are Afraid of Halloween

ByBeth Allison Barr

We carved pumpkins again this year. I still had to clean out the insides, but this time my daughter carved the triangle eyes. I had to help with the teeth. My son opted out of carving entirely, aside from helping keep our Whippet from eating the pumpkins. He claims he doesn’t like the icky feeling…

My First Sermon: The Faith of a Woman
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My First Sermon: The Faith of a Woman

ByBeth Allison Barr

I teach and research sermons. Two weeks ago, on September 11, I had the privilege of preaching my first sermon at Truett seminary. I am so thankful for seminaries like Truett which affirm and actively support women in ministry. Although my sermon text stands as I originally wrote it (including the section I just jotted…

Here We Go Again: Willow Creek and Pastoral Accountability
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Here We Go Again: Willow Creek and Pastoral Accountability

ByBeth Allison Barr

I was sitting on a picnic bench outside of the Navajo Nation capital when I read Scot McKnight’s tweet about Willow Creek. His comment that, “mismanagement, powermongering, threatening, and offering money for silence” should be themes “central to church leadership discussions” in seminaries really caught my attention. If you have followed my blogs for a…

Sorry, John Piper, (Medieval) Christianity Doesn’t Have A Masculine Feel
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Sorry, John Piper, (Medieval) Christianity Doesn’t Have A Masculine Feel

ByBeth Allison Barr

A carved image, about two feet tall, stands alone in a glass case in the Cluny Museum in Paris. At first it seems a typical image of the Madonna and Child. Both look straight ahead, holding the gaze of the viewer. Their matching golden robes fade so easily into the golden background that it is…

Paige Patterson Is My Fault, Too
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Paige Patterson Is My Fault, Too

ByBeth Allison Barr

For years, I attended complementarian churches. I kept telling myself that maybe things would change. I kept telling myself that I, as a woman who taught and had a career, set a positive example. I kept telling myself that complementarianism wasn’t misogyny. I kept telling myself that no church was perfect. I kept telling myself…