Book Review of Half the Church by Carolyn Custis James

HALF THE CHURCH
By CAROLYN CUSTIS JAMES
ISBN 978-0-310-32556-7
Published by Zondervan
Reviewed by Clint Walker

Half the Church is not the book I expected when I ordered it. It was much more important, and much better.

In her newest book Carolyn Custis James takes on the global plight of women, and what it means to the church today. She begins by chronicling the inequality and injustice that women experience around the world. She shares how girls are valued less than boys when they are born in many parts of the world. She shares the many ways in which women are given less opportunity. James also chronicles the abuse of women in many cultures across the globe. Then, Half the Church asks a vital question. That question is “What does the church have to say about this injustice, and what is the church going to do about it?”

Ms. James argues, rather deftly I might add, that the church is saying and virtually nothing to address one of the more glaring injustices that confront the world today. She says that most of what we have to say to women is about marriage and motherhood, which is valuable, but also incomplete. To make this point about women she shares about her parents, and how well over half their marriage there were no children in the house. Are those years unimportant or irrelevant, or is her mother’s life about more than supporting her children and husband?

Half the Church is grounded in Scripture. It digs into Genesis and discusses what it means to bear God’s image. It also explores what the word “ezer” means in Hebrew, which is often inadequately translated as “helper”. It advocates for equality, fair treatment, and justice for women without coming across as militantly feminist. It is a brilliant text.

The one thing I struggled with is that I did not get the “flow” of the book. It seemed to hit its point from many different angles, but at times I did not feel like it was building toward an ultimate goal. It was just thoroughly covering and intriguingly covering the global plight of women, and the churches role is addressing this Biblically.

This book will occupy and important place on my bookshelf, and will be something I can refer to and loan out often.

*This book was given to me by Amazon Vine in exchange for an honest review