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WITNESS Book Review Page
The Second Eve: Understanding Biblical
Equality
by Bette Boersma,
published by Junia Press.
A fresh and honest look at the powerful scriptural support for women's
equality, told from the perspective of a woman who herself seeks to understand
and apply these truths to her own life. Like an old friend reaching out
to the reader over a cup of coffee, Bette's accessible and personal examples
fill the book with examples of real life situations of women in the Evangelical
Church. The clearly presented Biblical scholarship and the questions for
group learning makes this book a good choice for Women's Bible Study Groups.
It is a "must read" for Evangelical Women everywhere.
--Review by Rev. Karen Fitz La Barge, M Div
Midlife Crisis at 30: How the Stakes Have Changed
for a New Generation and What to do about it.
by Lia Macko and Kerry Rubin, published by Rodale.
Informative and insightful, this book looks at the culture of life choices
of the women of Generations X and Y and concludes that a number of life
stressors are now coinciding for women at age 30. Putting career first
and putting off relationships later, women who believe that they could
"have it all" --a meaningful relationship, family and challenging
career begin running into the roadblocks of the glass ceiling and begin
worrying about the husband and family that have never materialized all
around age 30. Raised within the relatively gender-fair playing field
of education, these women tend to internalize and ask what could be wrong
with themselves, while missing the point that culturally there is still
a long way to go for equal opportunity for women. The authors call to
band together to change public policy is a good suggestion, but one which
must overcome its cultural lethargy. Ultimately, the "dream team
of mentors" which the authors assemble at the end of the book fails
to inspire while detailing the life challenges of some successful women.
The book however succeeds overall in enlightening generation X and Y women
to the larger cultural problems that we are all facing together.
--Review by Karen Fitz La Barge, M Div
Anatomy of Inculturation: Transforming the Church
in Africa
by Laurenti Magesa, Published by Orbis.
Magesa's 286 Page book is a rich and honest look at how the Christian
faith has taken shape in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. A key question addressed
throughout the book is, "How have cultural groups appropriated and
perceived it in relation to their own spirituality and practical expectations?"
Magesa lightly touches on the role of women in the African church. His
book would appeal to many audiences --especially academics, church historians
and practioners. People wanting a better understanding of "how"
to bring about inculturation in a local congregation will find the chapter,
"Practical Models of the Church" particularily helpful. --Review
by Michelle R. Loyd-Paige, PhD
INGE A Girl's Journey through Nazi Europe by Inge Joseph
Bleier & David E. Gumpert, Published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
As a Protestant child born after WWII and brought up in America, the Anne
Frank story is my reference point to the Holocaust and its impact on the
children of that sad time. This story of ultimate survival despite war
years of deprivation and difficulty is finally told after Inge's death
at 53 by her nephew David. It is horrifying for us today to understand
how these lost children were shuffled around by bureaucracies in European
countries and seemingly abandoned by their family members. Though ultimately
assisted by caring members of the Swiss Red Cross to escape occupied France,
Inge's teen years were lived without any family except the other orphans
of war. As they reached 18 years of age she and her friends faced the
need to leave the protection of their orphanage to risk escape - with
some unsuccessfully ending up in German death camps. Inge never does find
her beloved mother, but eventually finds her sister and pathetic father
in America. She became a recognized nurse and textbook author, and was
a wife and mother, but always suffered with depression over the loss of
her friends. Inge physically and mentally became the prisoner of her years
of deprivation and lost a battle with her health. This story comes from
her own rejected manuscript, lovingly researched by her nephew after her
death. Details of a terrible time unknown to many of us, this is difficult
to read without examining our own lives and being grateful for teen years
within the arms of loving families. It is quietly powerful.
-- Review by Janet Magennis
Does Christianity Teach Male Headship? Equal-Regard Marriage and
Its Critics by David Blankenhorn, Don Browning, and Mary Stewart
Van Leeuwen, published by Eerdmans.
This book allows scholars to take different positions on this topic and
to explain that headship was assumed rather than proscribed in the Bible.
Lisa Sowle Cahill explains the position of Pope John Paul in a very accessible
way that helped me to better understand his philosophy of revering the
function of motherhood. An excellent brief summary of the various views
of this topic. --Review by Karen Fitz La Barge, M Div.
The Future for Women by Marchiene & Leigh, published
by Xlibris.
This book describes the traditional way that women have functioned to
work together and to change the world: Circles!
Using this idea, Marchiene gives structure to this concept and brings
nine questions for groups to consider. An exellent description of this
timeless process. A message from Marchiene
--Review by Karen Fitz La Barge, M Div.
Women in Christ by Michele M. Schumacher, published by
Eerdmans.
This book is a philosophical look at various new ways that feminism has
been defined. It is translated from French and is a compliation of articles
by well known authors such as Jean Bethke Elshtain and Anne-Marie Pelletier.
Because it is a translation, it is difficult reading. The section explaning
Pope John Paul II's view of feminism could be more critical rather than
accepting. --Review by Karen Fitz La Barge, M Div.
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