There are parts of the Bible that I have struggled with, and bits that seemed far removed from my life as a twenty–first–century woman. I have wrestled with them, but as I read, I came to know that God offers more liberation, more freedom, and more fulfilment than I could dare to imagine.
Equality for all people is a foundational principle in our culture and embedded in our law. The consensus is clear: all people are equally valuable. However, religion is seen as a stronghold that promotes inequality. There is a widespread belief that the Bible is sexist. Women fear that God does not want their good and instead, he wants to box them in and clip their wings. Our culture believes that they need to forget religion to achieve equality.
This, however, is not the case. The principle of equality is established in the first pages of the Bible, and its message exalts and dignifies both men and women. Bible teacher, conference speaker and author Karen Soole shares what she has discovered as she has read the Bible and grappled with it over many years.
She takes us through the Bible story from Genesis to Revelation and challenges the reader to decide whether God is offering life and liberation, or suffocation and oppression. It is an invitation to meet and know the God of the Bible, and to view his Word through the lens of his character.
Chapter titles include
Thirsty
Made in God’s
Image: Genesis 1
Made for Relationship:
Genesis 2
Messing up
the Design: Genesis 3
The Fallout
How the
Story Unfolds
From Bad to
Worse
Worrying
Laws
Wisdom for
All
The Broken
Bride
The Wife
Liberation
Although this book is about women, it is not ‘only for women’. These things matter to everyone. This book was written for men and women, although it addresses concerns that women face in particular. These concerns are relevant to everyone.
Endorsements
I am so grateful for this book. Karen Soole compellingly presents the Bible’s exalted view of women. She also tackles some of those passages in the Bible which many find most challenging. Reading it will fill both women and men with confidence in what it means to be a truly liberated woman in the 21st century.
William Taylor Minister, St. Helen's Bishopsgate, London
I wish this book had been around when I was first a Christian, wondering whether a fiercely independent, single,
domestically–challenged woman like me could thrive in a faith that some claim oppresses women. Essential reading for both women and men.
Anne Witton Content Director at Living Out
Liberated is a thoroughly biblical exploration of a difficult subject and brings a heady blend of warmth, humour and brutal candor. … This is an important apologetic that the church needs to read and reflect upon carefully, if we are to convince a watching world that ultimate dignity and flourishing is to be found in following Jesus of Nazareth.
Richard Cunningham Former Director, Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship (UCCF), United Kingdom
Karen shows us again and again that God values men and women equally and gives them both the task of being His image bearers in the world. And Christ Himself,
the supreme image of the invisible God, is the one we should look to, because ultimate liberation is found in Him alone.
Carrie Sandom Director of Women’s Ministry, Proclamation Trust
… shows how the Bible’s message contains better news for women than that coming from any other source. I hope both women and men will read and discover that the living God truly is a friend of women.
Karen oversees Women’s Ministry at Trinity Church, Lancaster. She is the chair of the Northern Women’s Convention and Women’s Ministry Director for Anglican Mission in England. Author of ‘Unleash the Word’. She has been teaching the bible for over thirty years.
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