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Vindicating the Vixens

By Jeremy Myers
5 Comments

Vindicating the Vixens

I recently taught through the creation account in Genesis 1­–4 for my podcast, and in the process discovered that Eve is not actually presented in the text as being guilty for the alleged crime of leading humanity into sin by eating the forbidden fruit.

This means that every time you read a book or hear a pastor say that Eve led the world into sin, she is being wrongly condemned.

Yet throughout the centuries, Bible teachers and theology professors have continued to (wrongly) blame and scapegoat Eve for why sin came into the world.

As a result of this study, I began to wonder how many more of the “bad girls of the Bible” were actually bad. I began to think that maybe most of these women where actually just scapegoats for the sins of others.

Vindicating the VixensSo I was thrilled to be asked by Kregel Publishers to review a copy of Vindicating the Vixens, edited by Sandra Glahn. And since I earned my Th.M. from Dallas Theological Seminary, I was also thrilled to discover that many of the authors in this volume have graduated from or are currently teaching at my alma mater.

As a result, I knew that this book would be based on some of the best exegetical practices and scholarly material available today.

I was not disappointed.

The book looks at female characters in the Bible who have often been judged, condemned, marginalized, ignored, or ridiculed, and shows how these women are actually presented by the text as heroes to emulate or examples to be followed.

The book not only contains a chapter on Eve, but also looks at heroic women such as Rahab, Bathsheba, Hagar, Deborah, Vashti, and the unnamed woman at the well.

As I attempt to encourage and support my wife and three daughters to follow God into greatness and glory, I hope to encourage them to follow the examples of some of these great women of the Bible.

If you have women in your life (and who doesn’t?), do yourself and them a favor: buy and read this book.

You will not only learn what Scripture truly teaches, but will also learn to respect and value women for the central and critical role they play in God’s plan for this world.

God is Redeeming Books Bible & Theology Topics: Bible Study, Books I'm Reading, women

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Is God a wife beater?

By Jeremy Myers
9 Comments

Is God a wife beater?
http://media.blubrry.com/one_verse/feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/277822157-redeeminggod-is-god-a-wife-beater.mp3

Here’s a question for you:

Is God a wife beater?

The God that is often portrayed by many pastors and many Christian books is a God who wants to inflict pain on you for your sin.

His wrath is terrible. His vengeance fierce. His anger is poured out upon sinners.

And so when you sin, you better watch out, because God is going to get you!

When we remember that the church is referred to as the “Bride of Christ” and we recognize that Jesus represents God, this whole angry-God imagery makes people think of God as a wife beater.

wife beater God

And do you want to know where this imagery of God begins? It begins in the very beginning, when God sets out to inflict pain on Eve because she ate the wrong piece of fruit (Genesis 3:16).

Imagine you are walking through the park one day and you hear a man saying this to his wife:

I can’t believe you ate my pear! When we get home, are you ever going to get it! That was MY pear! I told you not to eat it! When we get home I am going to beat you so hard! I am going to pound you into a pulp. You have never have known such pain! I will inflict pain on you such as you have never imagined! And you know what? I’m going to beat our daughters too. They need to learn to mind me and obey me. They need to learn to do what I say. So I’m going to whip you good and then whip our daughters.

I believe if you heard this, you would call the police immediately. At least, I hope you would.

And yet, in Genesis 3:16, here is what God says to Eve:

I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children.

Why does God say He is going to “bring the pain”? Because Eve ate a piece of fruit she wasn’t supposed to. Yes, yes, I know there was more to it than this, but even still ….

It just doesn’t seem right for God to inflict pain on Eve for what happened, and not only on Eve, but on all women who follow after her as well.

The traditional way of reading Genesis 3:16 has God inflicting pain on Eve and all her daughters because Eve ate fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.

Does this sound much like a God you want to love, honor, and serve?

Well…

I’m going to try to resolve most of these issues in an upcoming podcast episode. This episode was supposed to be done this Thursday, but I’ll be honest … Genesis 3:16 “brought the pain” to me as well. So far, in the last two weeks, I have logged over 20 hours just studying this one single verse. Actually, I spent this time on just the first half of the verse, the part I quoted above.

I think I have a pretty good solution to the problem of God inflicting pain on women, which I will present in my podcast when it comes out, but I am not yet ready to record it. Hopefully by next week.

But guess what? There is still plenty you can listen to between now and then! I was recently interviewed by two different podcasts, and here the links so you can go listen to them. The “Life Uncut” podcast will have a “Part 2” later, so I will include it then. Make sure you subscribe to both of the podcasts as well, since both are fantastic.

Holy Soup Podcast

Holy Soup PodcastThom Shultz, CEO of Group Publishing, Interviews me about Biblical Illiteracy (and why I don’t think it is a crisis in the church).

Listen and subscribe Here

Life Uncut Podcast

Life Uncut PodcastA Discussion with Tom Walter and Jeremy Myers. This is only Part 1, and I imagine that Part 2 will be out next week.

Listen and Subscribe Here

God is Redeeming Church, Redeeming Scripture Bible & Theology Topics: Genesis 3:16, violence, violence of God, women

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[#33] Genesis 2:20-23 – The Beauty and the Beasts

By Jeremy Myers
22 Comments

[#33] Genesis 2:20-23 – The Beauty and the Beasts
http://media.blubrry.com/one_verse/feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/258846744-redeeminggod-33-genesis-220-23-the-beauty-and-the-beasts.mp3

People say that a dog is a man’s best friend, but when God sets out to create a partner for Adam, he rejects all the animals in the world, even the dogs. It’s a good thing too, because then God creates the woman.

The creation of the woman is what we are looking at today as we consider Genesis 2:20-23, the Beauty and the Beasts.

Genesis 2:20-23

The Text of Genesis 2:20-23

So Adam gave names to all the cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him.

And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman, and He brought her to the man.

And Adam said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.”

In this discussion of Genesis 2:20-23 we look at:

  • Why the woman is not inferior to the man, even though she is a “helper”
  • Why God first brings animals to Adam, even though God knows Adam needs a woman.
  • Why the “rib” was not a rib.
  • What it meant for God to put Adam into a deep sleep.
  • How men and Women are equal, side-by-side partners in life.

Resources:

  • Boners in the Bible
  • Zevit, What Really Happened in the Garden of Eden
  • Walton, Lost World of Adam and Eve
  • Partner with Me
  • Subscribe and Leave a Review on iTunes

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God is Redeeming God Bible & Theology Topics: Eve, Genesis 2:20-23, One Verse Podcast, women

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The Day I Met Jesus

By Jeremy Myers
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The Day I Met Jesus

The Day I Met JesusFrank Viola and Mary DeMuth have written a fascinating and insightful book about five women from the Gospels. The books is titled The Day I Met Jesus. If you enjoy seeing Jesus from a new perspective, gaining insights into Scripture, or have an interest in how Jesus interacted with women during His ministry, I highly recommend this book.

Here is an interview with Frank Viola & Mary DeMuth about The Day I Met Jesus.

Why did you write this book?

Frank: Back in 2007, I got an idea to create a new genre of Christian literature. I call that genre “biblical narrative.”

The new genre would contain autobiographical fiction closely based on the Scriptural narratives and faithful to first-century history. It would also contain a nonfiction section that practically applies the narratives to our lives. Finally, it would include a discussion guide so that readers could better digest and apply the content.

God’s Favorite Place on Earth (2013) was my first book in this genre. In it, Lazarus tells the story of when Jesus came to His hometown Bethany and all the amazing things that took place there.

The Day I Met Jesus (2015) is the second book in this genre. I wanted it to tell the story of five women whom Jesus encountered, allowing each woman tell their own story. I also wanted to draw out practical lessons and critical insights from each narrative.

Because I’m not a woman, I couldn’t do justice to the stories on my own, so I asked the top female Christian fiction writer of our time — Mary DeMuth — to coauthor it with me.

Mary: I wrote it because I love stories, and I felt that some of these encounters with Jesus didn’t get the air time they deserved. By doing careful research and weaving more of a story arc into the five women’s encounter, I hope to show people that the “characters” of the New Testament are actual, breathing people with stress and dysfunction and hopes just like us. Frank pioneered the idea of this book, so all credit goes to him for imagining it. I’m grateful he asked me to be a part.

Tell us the story of how you two came to coauthor it.

Mary: Frank wrote God’s Greatest Place on Earth and had long wanted to do something similar with five women of the New Testament. He approached me about writing the fiction side of The Day I Met Jesus after he found out I wrote fiction as well as nonfiction.

Frank: When I began to think about a female coauthor for the project, I wanted it to be someone who (1) writes fiction (2) is a remarkable writer, and (3) believes in the classic tenets of the Christian faith (Jesus is divine and human, He rose again from the dead, Jesus is Lord and Savior of the world, etc.)

As I investigated authors who fit the bill, I quickly thought of folks like Francine Rivers and Karen Kingsbury. But then I discovered that Mary DeMuth wrote fiction. I had known that she was a non-fiction writer, but had no idea that she could “switch hit.”

I also discovered that she was an outstanding writer of fiction as she was of nonfiction. (I regard Mary to be the Mickey Mantle of Christian literature — she has enormous power from both sides!) So Mary ended up being the only name on my “short list.”

You feature five women from the Gospels. Why pick women in particular as your subjects?

Frank: Some of the most gripping, instructive, inspiring stories in the Gospels involve women. The longest recorded conversation that Jesus ever had was with a woman. And some of the most amazing things He said and did related to women. So I thought that a book in which some of these women told their own stories about Jesus would not only bring the Gospels to life in our minds, but it would also bring Jesus alive in our hearts.

Mary: Women had significant, personal encounters with Jesus, a fact that we sometimes miss, particularly since so many stories revolve around the 12 disciples (who were men). I love that we’re elevating these stories, helping people reimagine just how radical it was that Jesus so beautifully interacted with these women.

Which one is your favorite and why?

Mary: For me, it’s hard to say. I love them all in different ways. This week, I’ll say it’s Mary of Bethany. She didn’t have a blatant “need” for Jesus. She was just downright faithful and often misunderstood. I think a lot of people can relate to that.

Frank: Mary of Bethany is my all-time favorite disciple of Jesus. This came home to me when I wrote God’s Favorite Place on Earth. (Mary was the sister of Lazarus, so she gets ample airtime in that book.)

I love Mary because she knew Jesus better than most, anticipating His reactions and even His impending death. She also paid the price for loving Him, for she was falsely accused by both her sister and the other disciples (on two different occasions), mostly out of jealousy. In both situations, Mary embraced the spirit of the Lamb, refusing to defend herself. But Jesus Himself rose to her defense on both occasions. He also gave her an enduring honor that He gave no one else.

Why would someone want to read the book?

Frank: If someone wants a good story to get tied up into . . . or if they want to see the Bible come to life in a compelling way . . . or if they want to experience Jesus Christ anew and afresh . . . or if they want to identify with people who were far worse off than they are, and see what Jesus did for them . . . or if they want to be given hope and encouragement in their situation . . . or if they are lacking love for the Lord and want that love to be rekindled . . . or if they want new motivation and fresh inspiration to follow Jesus more closely . . . or if they want to increase their faith and expectation in the Lord, they’ll want to read The Day I Met Jesus.

Mary: Someone would want to read it because it’s truly unique. It’s biblical narrative, but in short story form, but it doesn’t end there. After you’ve been absorbed into a page-turning story, Frank exegetes the wisdom from each encounter and helps you apply it to your life.The Day I Met Jesus

Tell us about the course that supplements the book.
Frank: The Day I Met Jesus Master Course is designed for those who wish to delve deeper into the themes set forth in the book. It includes a workbook and 20 audio messages delivered by Mary and I. In addition, it includes 8 bonus eBooks from Mary and I. It also includes a closed forum where people can access us both directly for Q&A and dialogue. People can check it out at http://www.thedayimetjesus.com/course

God is Redeeming Books Bible & Theology Topics: Books I'm Reading, Christian books, Frank Viola, women

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It’s tough being a girl

By Jeremy Myers
8 Comments

It’s tough being a girl

Pretty girlsJohn Eldredge and his wife have recently written some books which state that while men want to be warriors and need to know they are strong and wild, women need to know that they are beautiful: Wild at Heart: Discovering the Secret of a Man’s Soul and Captivating: Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman’s Soul.

I think this is true, but sometimes, especially in our culture, we have problems defining “strength” for boys and “beauty” for girls.

Which is partly why I was excited to learn about a campaign by Dove to help girls in our culture understand true beauty.

These following videos should be watched by every man, brother, husband, and father.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hibyAJOSW8U

Those women on the billboards? Not real. The women in the magazines? Fake and photoshopped. Your wife, your daughter, and your sister? The most genuinely beautiful women in the world. Have you told her?

This following video shows us what the females in our life are up against.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epOg1nWJ4T8

And one more…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bVAl73JvLM

So here is the question: How can we tell our wives and daughters they are “pretty” without encouraging them to follow the worldly definition of beauty?

In discussing this with my wife, here are some of her suggestions:

1. Love is more than words. It’s a cliche because it’s true. Don’t just tell your wife and daughters they are beautiful. Show them with hugs, kisses, holding hands, taking them on dates. If all you do is tell the women in your life they are beautiful, but never show them, they won’t believe you.

2. Affirm them in ways not related to beauty. Women, even though they strive to be beautiful, want to be more than just pretty. They want to be valued and know that they are contributing. Being pretty helps them feel valued. This seems to work in reverse. Since they feel valued when they know they are pretty, if you help them to feel valued, they will also feel pretty. So find what your wife and daughters like to do, and constantly affirm them in it.

3. Sometimes, a hobby or interest outside of self-beatification can help. Girls who love horses rarely spend lots of time brushing their own hair, but with brushing their horse. Girls who love art spend less time painting themselves than their canvas. Mothers are the prime examples. Good mothers are consumed with caring for their children and rarely have much time to spend on themselves. This is not to say that horse lovers, artists, and mothers are not beautiful! To the contrary, they are often the most beautiful. Why? Because self-focused attention creates fake beauty, while an outward focus allows true inner beauty to blossom and flourish.

If you have other suggestions on what true beauty is and how to help the women in our lives feel lovely, please post them in the comments section for others to read.

God is Redeeming Life Bible & Theology Topics: beauty, daughters, Discipleship, girls, pretty, wife, women

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