Is Patriarchy Actually Biblical? Medieval Historian Beth Allison Barr Responds

Luke Martin sits down with medieval historian and pastor’s wife Prof Beth Allison Barr (Baylor University) to explore how her research on women in late medieval England reshaped her views on “biblical womanhood”. Beth shares her journey from committed complementarian to outspoken critic, the personal cost of her husband losing his church job over a woman teaching Sunday school, and the backlash that followed her bestselling book The Making of Biblical Womanhood. They discuss Junia, women leaders in the early church, patriarchy and the fall, how to read Ephesians 5, and whether Christian faith can embrace elements of feminism. Beth also unpacks her new book Becoming the Pastor’s Wife and offers a hopeful vision of men and women serving together as full image-bearers of God in the church.

Beth Allison Barr (PhD, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, is James Vardaman Professor of History at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, where she specialises in medieval history, women's history, and church history.

The Making of Biblical Womanhood: https://amzn.to/41E8fYr

Becoming the Pastor's Wife: https://amzn.to/4mX8vtG

Marginalia: https://substack.com/@bethallisonbarr

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