Radical Womanhood: Feminine Faith in a Feminist World by Carolyn McCulley is a book I have wanted to read for a long time. I was able to read it over my summer vacation and was refreshed and challenged by Carolyn’s thorough research and Biblical answers to the lies of feminism. I started reading the author’s blog, Radical Womanhood, some time ago and have been blessed by her perspective and advice on living femininely as an unmarried lady.
“This is true liberation for women . . . and men.”
The best and most unique thing about this book is it’s excellent summary of the development of feminism in the Western world over the past 200 years. Carolyn carefully examines the lives of key feminists who have influenced the movement and points out their personal unhappiness, discontentment, and often immorality. If you are looking for research and facts about feminism, this is a great resource!
“The Mommy Wars” is a title of another chapter. I have been amazed at Christian women who vilify each other over differences in child-raising practices, but as Carolyn points out, what other parents are doing is not the main problem we should concern ourselves with. Instead, “The real mommy wars are not against flesh and blood – other mothers and their parenting methods – but against the one who seeks to destroy the next generation of those who would rise up to praise God.” That’s a quote I’m going to remember. The incredible importance of motherhood has been attacked in Western culture. We are reaping the consequences of decades of absentee mothers, mothers who sacrificed their children on the altar of “me first”. Carolyn points out that motherhood is spiritual warfare, an incredibly importance work of “training the next generation to be worshipers of God.”
Radical Womanhood begins with the story of the author’s own conversion to Christianity and away from a life of radical feminism. Her clear, precise explanation of the Gospel is a tremendous asset and foundation for the rest of the book. She clearly explains the Scriptural basis for femininity and womanly submission in the context of her own personal transition from a life of radical, 20th century feminism to a life of Godly, submissive femininity.
In this book, Carolyn boldly confronts the foundational lies of feminism. In the chapter entitled, “Men aren’t the problem”, she reviews the history of feminist attitudes towards men and concludes, ” . . . women do have a problem. But it’s not men. It’s sin. Sin warps everything, including the good that God has designed in being a man or a woman. Women sin against men and men sin against women, and everyone sins against God and falls short of His standard of holiness and perfection.” Feminism is not the solution. Degrading men is not the solution. Only the redemption of Christ can provide a solution.
There is much, much more to this book, but I will leave it to my readers to obtain the book for themselves and study the wealth of material that this book contains. This book is written for adult women (18+) and does contain some material not intended for young minds. However, the author clearly tells her readers which pages are not suitable for young girls to read, making it easy for mothers to direct their younger daughters towards the portions of the book that they could benefit from at their age. I would encourage every Christian woman to read this book in order to develop Biblical responses to the lies of feminism that constantly surround them. You can get it here.
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August 16th, 2009 - 12:24 am
I was very surprised to see that you posted about this book. I read it last month for my first time. Carolyn McCulley is a great teacher. I also love her book, Did I Kiss Marriage Goodbye?
There are so many crazy and interesting historical facts in this book – it simply blew my mind away. I wish I could hand this book out to every woman I know, young and old. There’s so much in this book to learn from.
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August 16th, 2009 - 9:19 pm
@warrior_poets - Yes, I’ve read “Did I Kiss Marriage Goodbye?” also. Good book, especially for singles my age
I like her practical viewpoint and advice on things.
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