Response to the "Womanhood Project"

A non-Christian friend of mine posted a link on Twitter to an article reviewing a blog. And while that sounds like “a friend of mine’s cousin’s sister-in-law said,” the blog is real and the “experiment” is happening, and non-Christians are writing about it.  So what is it? Well, a woman named Rachel Evans is a Christian blogger. The article describes her as evangelical.

Here is what Rachel posted to describe what she is calling the “womanhood project,” a year long experiment that will become a book entitled A Year of Biblical Womanhood. “Starting October 1, 2010, I will commit one year of my life to following all of the Bible’s instructions for women as literally as possible. From the Old Testament to the New Testament, from Genesis to Revelation, from the Levitical code to the letters of Paul, there’s no picking and choosing.”

I have read her explanation of the project, her frequently asked questions, and several of her posts about the project, but I have not read every post throughout her experience. I plan to read them all, but only discovered the whole thing this morning). Initially, I have some serious concerns.

Author A.J. Jacobs wrote a book a few years ago entitled A Year of Living Biblically in which he set out to follow every rule in the Bible. Jacobs is an agnostic, and was writing mostly from the perspective of curiosity and humor. His book is really funny, and it made me appreciate even more the rigid system of law that Christ’s death and resurrection fulfilled. I am grateful that I don’t have to sacrifice lambs or stone adulterers! The wealth of laws in the Old Testament, when examined in such detail, serves its purpose of showing us how imperfect we are and how helpless we are to save ourselves. As Paul writes in Romans 3:20, “through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.”

My concern with Rachel Evans’ proposition is that it fails at the most basic level. You cannot say you are going to follow all of the Bible’s instructions as literally as possible—that effort in itself fails to follow the Bible’s instructions. For example, in following Levitical rules about clean and unclean (which she follows rigorously—sleeping in a tent, carrying around a pillow to sit on, etc.), she is disregarding the revelation to Peter: “But God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean.” (Acts 10:28)

To bind yourself to follow every rule and instruction in the Bible is to miss the entire point of the Bible. The whole New Testament, the whole good news of the Gospel is that we do not have to depend on our ability to follow rules. “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful humanity to be a sin offering.” (Romans 8:1-3)

I know that Mrs. Evans is not intending to say that we must all follow all of these rules. She admits that the project is intended as a “conversation starter.” Unfortunately, the conversation that has started is misleading to non-believers. The writer of the reviewing article, for example, came away with this belief: “All Christians pick and choose the parts of the Bible that suit them.” She also refers to the Bible as “a kooky ancient document;” Evans’ “experiment” is certainly not highlighting the relevancy or power of the Bible. If anything, her approach is confirming our culture’s view of the Bible as outdated and bizarre.

Plus, the whole concept is just exasperating to believers. For a self-described Christian to propose following the Bible’s instructions as a year-long project is so wrong-headed that I stutter when I try to respond. Christians are called to obedience every day, not as a short-term resolution based in will power. Our obedience does not come from our “trying.” It comes from the indwelling of the Holy Spirit; “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

There is a short and well-written article examining the interpretive problems in Evans’ method here. I encourage you to read it.