Aimee Byrd - Recovering from Biblical Manhood and Womanhood

What if I told you that so-called biblical manhood and womanhood was not really biblical? What if I told you that biblical manhood and womanhood was in fact an artificial construct of white, suburban, affluent, middle-class culture in the post-World War II era with its weird marriage of consumerism and patriarchy. Curious? Well, if youre up to it, follow Aimee Byrd down the rabbit hole, and she will deconstruct every mistruth that youve been sold about the Bible and women, and then shell give you a more biblical and genuinely Christian account of men, women, and ministry. But be warned! Once you go down this trail, there is no going back; you wont view marriage or ministry the same way ever again. This book could provide the gender reset that evangelical churches have needed for a long time. No, not a dour and dismal descent into liberalism but the beginning of a true recovery of the biblical vision of women as partners in the church of Christ and the gospel. Byrd is bringing down the #GenderReformation to crush biblical manhood under the weight of its interpretive incredulity, its pastoral irresponsibility, its refusal to listen to female voices, and its captivity to culture.

REV. DR. MICHAEL F. BIRD, academic dean and lecturer in theology at Ridley College, Melbourne, Australia

The biblical-manhood-and-womanhood movement has generated more heat than light because it has failed to recognize that its own pet theories of manhood and womanhood derive more from black-and-white TV of the 1950sthink of Timmys mom and dad in Lassiethan from the Bible. What makes this obvious are the many studies on what it was like to be a man or a woman in the time of Barak and Deborah, Ruth and David, or the Syrophoenician woman and Jesus, or Priscilla and Paul in their Greco-Roman world. We now know that the so-called manhood-and-womanhood movement is a set of cultural ideas imposed on the Bible itself. Byrd offers here enduring wisdom and wit about how we as Christians ought to relate to one another as coed colaborers.

SCOT MCKNIGHT, professor of New Testament, Northern Seminary

With a deep reverence for Scripture and a sincere search for truth, Aimee Byrd peels back the layers of culturally informed teachings on gender that keep both women and men from flourishing in Christ and in relationship with each other. This is the book that Christians who have been misled by popular notions of biblical manhood and womanhoodbut who still believe that maleness and femaleness are meaningful categories in the church, home, and societyhave been waiting for.

KATELYN BEATY, author, A Womans Place

Aimee Byrd has written a book that will impact the church-and-gender conversation for years to come. Recovering from Biblical Manhood and Womanhood doesnt only expose the emptiness of so-called biblical manhood and womanhood teaching, it presents a vision of true Christian complementarity defined by empowered women, sibling love, and union with Christ. Saturated in Scripture and rooted in a strong theological tradition, this is the book that Aimee has been working toward for years. I thank God that its here.

MARCOS ORTEGA, assistant pastor, Goodwill Church (EPC), founder of Reformed Margins and cohost of the Family Discussion podcast

I am not a prophet nor the son of a prophet, but I have a prediction. Many people who havent read Aimee Byrds book will praise her for positions she does not hold and criticize her for things she does not believe. But lets hope Im wrong. Why? Because it would be wonderful if all of us might listen attentively to a sister who is calling all believerswomen and mento grow in their love of Scripture even as she asks us to recognize our blind spots and problematic assumptions. Here is an author who cares deeply that our worship is biblical, trinitarian, and consistently leading to and promoting a holy communion of the saints.

KELLY M. KAPIC, author of The God Who Gives: How the Trinity Shapes the Christian Story

After years of vigorous and insightful interaction, egalitarians and complementarians today have too often retreated to their own tribes, even setting up requirements for membership unlike any in the history of the church. Fortunately, there are also several recent writers who defy simplistic categorization or labeling, who are calling on the church to consider new and healthy directions with respect to just what the Bible does and doesnt teach about being faithful Christian women and men. Aimee Byrd is one of these writers, and people from every perspective on the topic can learn much from her study of Scripture and of history as well as her personal experience.

CRAIG L. BLOMBERG, distinguished professor of New Testament, Denver Seminary

If there is a slippery subject in the church today, its biblical manhood and womanhood. Were confused by the disagreements, constricted by the rules, and seemingly helpless to discern whats true. This is why Aimee Byrds book is so important. Wading through the cultural murkiness, Byrd returns us to Scripture with theological rigor. I celebrate her strong voice and urgent plea to recover a better visionfor the good of the family and the church.

JEN POLLOCK MICHEL, award-winning author of Surprised by Paradox and Keeping Place

ZONDERVAN REFLECTIVE

Recovering from Biblical Manhood and Womanhood

Copyright 2020 by Aimee Byrd

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Zondervan, 3900 Sparks Dr. SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546

ePub Edition March 2020 : ISBN 978-0-310-10872-6

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