Ruth Tucker recounts a harrowing story of abuse at the hands of her husband, a well-educated, charming preacher no less, in hope that her story would help other women caught in a cycle of domestic violence and offer a balanced biblical approach to counter such abuse for pastors and counselors.
Weaving together her shocking story, stories of other women, and powerful stories of husbands who truly have demonstrated Christ's love to their wives, with reflection on biblical, theological, historical, and contemporary issues surrounding domestic violence, she makes a compelling case for mutuality in marriage and helps women and men become more aware of potential dangers in a doctrine of male headship.
Table of Contents:
Introduction 1. Is There Common Ground Between Male Headship and Mutual Submission? 2. How do Adam and Eve Influence Gender Discussions? 3. Dear God, Are Boys Better than Girls? 4. What if Women Ruled the World? 5. What do Bible Stories Tell us About Marriage? 6. Should We Recognize Both His and Her-meneutics? 7. Was John Calvin a Feminist? 8. How Does the Rule of Thumb Apply Today? 9. Is the Husband Head of Home---from Kitchen to Bedroom? 10. Is There Such a Thing as Legitimate Rape in Marriage? 11. Why Do Women Stay in Abusive Relationships? 12. How Helpful is Marriage Counseling in Dealing with Domestic Violence? 13. Do Abused Wives Share the Guilt? 14. How Can we Sensibly Train our Girls---and Boys? 15. Howe Can I Redeem My Messy Soap Opera Life?
I first knew Ruth Tucker as a colleague when she was much closer to the beginning of the story she recounts in this book. Ironically (or providentially), it was when she joined a team of women scholars working on a volume whose subtitle was Facing the Challenge of Gender Reconciliation. In Black and White Bible, Black and Blue Wife, she recounts the messy but also redemptive details of her own struggle with domestic violence---a topic that, one way or another, affects us all. This is a very courageous account that should motivate readers to action, even as it may disturb them. -- Mary Stewart Van Leeuwen, professor (emerita) of psychology, Eastern University
Tucker s book is nothing less than a damning indictment of the church s tendency to justify or turn a blind eye to abuses happening within our own ranks. It is a prophetic call to re-think our theology of male and female. The church belongs on the forefront in the battle to root out and end abuse, to provide safe haven for the abused, and to see that abusers are brought to justice. -- Carolyn Custis James, author of Malestrom: Manhood Swept into the Currents of a Fallen World"
Ruth Tucker s historical and biblical scholarship has informed my own journey and that of countless egalitarians. In this book, however, her pedagogy is a story of abuse---her own. It is as powerful as it is personal, exposing the perils of a patriarchal reading of Scripture. Because Ruth s experiences are all too common, Black and White Bible, Black and Blue Wife is essential reading for pastors, seminarians, counselors, NGO workers, and indeed anyone who believes God speaks to us from the pages of Scripture. -- Dr. Mimi Haddad, president of Christians for Biblical Equality
Ruth A. Tucker (PhD, Northern Illinois University) has taught mission studies and church history at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and Calvin Theological Seminary. She is the author of dozens of articles and eighteen books, including the award-winning From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya. Visit her website at www.RuthTucker.com.
Zondervan
Pub Date: March 01, 2016
ISBN: 9780310524984
0.7" H x 8.3" L x 5.4" W
208 pages
paperback