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Disrupting Our Nativity: Two Medieval Differences

I love nativities. Every Thanksgiving my mother gives me a new nativity set to display. She gets them from the local Fair Trade store, so we now have scenes crafted by artisans in Kenya, Indonesia, Haiti, Guatemala, Vietnam, Peru, Nicagarua, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, India, as…

Beth Allison BarrDecember 26, 2018

American Religion Articles & Essays Featured

A Tale of Two Mennonite Pastors: Siblings, Gender, and How to Disagree

Today we welcome Regina Wenger to the Anxious Bench. Regina is a doctoral student in the Baylor History department, currently studying with Barry Hankins and Elesha Coffman. This post was born in her seminar paper for my graduate course, and I asked her to share…

Beth Allison BarrDecember 12, 2018

American Religion Baptist History Contemporary Connections Evangelicalism Medieval History

Why Evangelical Christians Are Afraid of Halloween

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…

Beth Allison BarrOctober 31, 2018

American Religion Articles & Essays Baptist History Contemporary Connections Evangelicalism

Here We Go Again: Willow Creek and Pastoral Accountability

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…

Beth Allison BarrAugust 8, 2018

American Religion Christian Patriarchy Contemporary Connections Evangelicalism Paul's Epistles

Paige Patterson Is My Fault, Too

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…

Beth Allison BarrMay 30, 2018

American Religion Christian Patriarchy Contemporary Connections Evangelicalism

Is There Hope for Evangelical Women?

My daughter and I were walking our new puppy when my phone buzzed. It was a twitter notification from my fellow blogger Chris Gehrz. He had tweeted about Beth Moore’s open letter. I stopped dead and started reading.This was a mistake. We had only had…

Beth Allison BarrMay 16, 2018

American Religion Baptist History Contemporary Connections Evangelicalism Featured

Scamming for God? The Tale of (Another) Huckster Preacher Kirbyjon Caldwell

Today I am pleased to welcome Jonathan Root to The Anxious Bench. Jonathan Root is currently a postdoctoral teaching fellow at the University of Missouri. He received his PhD in history in spring 2016 at Mizzou. His dissertation is a history of the relationship between…

Beth Allison BarrApril 18, 2018

American Religion Baptist History Christian Patriarchy Contemporary Connections Evangelicalism

Will Beth Moore Help Save Evangelicalism?

“Lord, I repent of ways I’ve been complicit in & contributed tomisogyny & sexism in the church by my cowardly and inordinate deference to male leaders in order to survive rather than simply appropriately respecting them as my brothers. Forgive me for being part of…

Beth Allison BarrApril 5, 2018

American Religion Christian Patriarchy Contemporary Connections Evangelicalism Women's History

Calling Out Sexual Harassment: The Implications Of Complementarianism

Meredith Stone, a Baptist female seminary professor, responded last week to John Piper. If you remember, John Piper recently posted the script of an interview on Desiring God. He argued that women should not teach at seminaries. Actually, that isn’t correct. John Piper argued that…

Beth Allison BarrFebruary 7, 2018

#ChurchToo #MeToo Activism American Religion Articles & Essays Christian Patriarchy Contemporary Connections Evangelicalism Featured

Jessica Hahn and Evangelical Silence on Sexual Abuse

We are so pleased to welcome back John Wigger to the Anxious Bench. John Wigger is Professor of History at the University of Missouri and author of PTL: The Rise and Fall of the Evangelical Empire of Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker. #MeToo #ChurchToo In…

Beth Allison BarrJanuary 16, 2018

American Religion