Renita J. Weems

This book is so good, I put down my borrowed copy halfway through reading to order my very own copy. Renita J. Weems helps us reconsider the Bible through a womanist frame and looks at female relationships as a way for women to exercise spiritual practice. This is a rich, powerful, and accessible book. I feel both challenged and fed at once--definitely a must-read.

2.23 re-read: this was a book club choice, and I feel doubly glad to own this book. The chapter, "A Crying Shame" is the most show more poignant. But really, a holy fire burns in each of these chapters. show less

I read this for a "women in the bible" religion class in college. At the time, it was very shocking because I had been raised as a fundamentalist Christian. I'd never heard anyone question the bible before, and here this author was laying it all out and calling out the text for the sexism found there. I must say that that class, including this book (although I'm sure that was not the intent), really opened my eyes and paved the way for me leaving Christianity completely.

This book was easy to read but not necessarily easy to relate to for me in many ways. As one of God's "frozen chosen" I don't think I ever expected the kind of religious ecstasy that Rev. Weems was brought up to count as the norm (in a Pentecostal tradition). However, I think many of us do go through periods of spiritual dryness, in whatever way we think of it, and I tend to agree with her way of handling it - by just keeping on showing up, doing the practices, and remaining open to the show more holy. In college I had a roommate who was Reform Jewish, and she had a saying she had learned, "We will do, and we will hear." Notice that the doing comes first. I need to remember that saying often, and Rev. Weems' book expands on it in a Christian context. show less

This book was easy to read but not necessarily easy to relate to for me in many ways. As one of God's "frozen chosen" I don't think I ever expected the kind of religious ecstasy that Rev. Weems was brought up to count as the norm (in a Pentecostal tradition). However, I think many of us do go through periods of spiritual dryness, in whatever way we think of it, and I tend to agree with her way of handling it - by just keeping on showing up, doing the practices, and remaining open to the show more holy. In college I had a roommate who was Reform Jewish, and she had a saying she had learned, "We will do, and we will hear." Notice that the doing comes first. I need to remember that saying often, and Rev. Weems' book expands on it in a Christian context. show less