Talk about a breath of fresh air.
I ordered Jonalyn Grace Fincher’s Ruby
Slippers with some misgiving, especially when I noted the subtitle: How the Soul of a Woman Brings Her Home. I hoped this book wasn’t another worn-out
rehash of “the Proverbs 31 woman” or a trip down the “yellow brick road”
equating Christian femininity with Suzy Homemaker, June Cleaver, and “married
with children.” It isn’t.
Carefully integrating philosophy, psychology, theology, history, women’s
studies and “my own walk with Christ into a primer on the woman’s soul” (p.
193), Ruby Slippers is a much-needed
and long overdue look at God’s ideas about womanhood. It shows how women are unique bearers of the imago dei and celebrates the soul of a
woman within a thoroughly sound context of biblical truth.
Intelligent and incisive, Ruby
Slippers is alert, agile, and penetrating without being pompous or
trite. It avoids strait-jacketed “Christian
stereotypes” and clears out narrow definitions, presumptions and prejudices to discover
what makes women different and precious.
Through careful biblical exegesis, meticulous research, thoughtful
analysis with a well-rounded philosophical approach, Fincher shows us the real
soul of a woman and its inestimable worth as a unique reflection of God’s
nature.
Early on, Fincher issues “one important caveat: I am not claiming to
have the final words on women” or “an exhaustive index on femininity or the
only biblical model for Christian womanhood,” leaving the door open for further
discussion. She also provides “Soul
Care” questions at the end of each chapter for further thought.
In terms of writing style, Fincher’s is generally tight, crisp, and
lean. She shares personal anecdotes and
experiences and analyzes vast quantities of data through a biblical grid. The author also brings an essential that’s
often lacking in many “women’s ministry” paradigms and “women’s Bible study”
authors: demonstrable expertise and impeccable educational credentials. She’s done her homework and has the
background and qualifications to give this book gravitas. (Fincher holds a
double Bachelor’s degree in English and history from the
Sumptuously sprinkled throughout the main text are relevant observations
from such Christian luminaries as C.S. Lewis, Henri Nouwen, G.K. Chesterton and
Dorothy Sayers, to name a few. The
material bogs down momentarily in Chapter 2, Uncorking the Soul, with a somewhat overlong discussion of soul and
spirit, but it picks up steam thereafter.
The discussion on The Same Planet
in Chapter 3 regarding “gender roles”, “equal without being identical” and
“similar though not the same” is delicious.
Further on, Fincher masterfully deconstructs John Gray’s “men are from
Mars, women are from Venus” mythology, and the inadequate, incomplete “helper”
rendering of Genesis 2, among others: “… contrary to popular pagan myths,
contrary to Goddess Earth myths, and contrary to much Churchianity, God makes
Woman to provide and offer the hope, the ezer
for Man.”
Other myths put to rest include: “East of
More stand-out sections include Prescription
Lists, Corsets and Slippers that
Don’t Fit (pp. 14 – 18), Why the
Trinity Dignifies Women (pp. 156 -158), Natural
Femininity (pp. 102 -140), Learning
from Women (pp. 159 – 164) and Jesus
in Female Form (pp. 185 -186).
As beautifully and as nimbly crafted as the
Indeed, these Slippers are as
welcome as Glinda’s “Toto, too.” Five
stars.
Ruby Slippers: How the Soul of a Woman
Brings Her Home
By Jonalyn Grace
Fincher
Zondervan, 2007
ISBN:-10:
0-310-27243-2
Kristine Lowder
A multi-published author, Kristine Lowder has authored 12 books and contributed hundreds of stories and articles to a wide variety of publications, both electronic and print. She enjoys hiking, reading, camping and exploring the Pacific Northwest with her husband and their four sons. Visit her at: http://www.KristineLowder.com
View all writing pieces by Kristine Lowder