EP. 73: Women Who Are Often Overlooked (with Dr. Amanda Benckhuysen)

Sometimes women are treated as second-class citizens within the church. If they aren’t encouraged to study Scripture, teach about it, or go to seminary, they often feel overlooked in comparison to the men. On this episode of God Hears Her, Dr. Amanda Benckhysen shares about her journey from feeling like an overlooked woman to becoming a woman who learned she was seen and valued by a God who loves us all.

About Our Guest:

Dr. Amanda Benckhuysen is the author of The Gospel According to Eve and Immigrants, the Bible, and You. She is also a scholar, speaker, teacher, wife, mother, and follower of Jesus. She currently serves as the director of Safe Church Ministry for the Christian Reformed Church in North America after having taught the Old Testament while mentoring seminary students for more than 15 years.

Notes and Quotes:

• “All of who I was and what I had to bring to the table was pleasing and acceptable to God.”
• “I thought going to seminary would help me represent the gospel well, it will help me represent Jesus well.”
• “I wanted to share with those that didn’t know Jesus that Jesus loves them.”
• “It expanded my understanding of texts to read what others thought.”
• “It set her on a trajectory of recovering women’s voices in history in terms of how they interpreted Scripture.”
• “Women did not have access to education. So by and large, we don’t tend to think of women when we think of interpretation of Scripture.”
• Women interpreters mentioned: Anna Maria Venturemen and Christine de Pizan
• “They [women] are reading the texts differently because they are reading it through their lived experiences.”
• “There is a complete devaluation of their [women] personhood.”

Links/Books/Resources Mentioned in Show: 

• God Hears Her website: https://www.godhearsher.org/
• Subscribe on iTunes! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/god-hears-her-podcast/id1511046507?utm_source=applemusic&utm_medium=godhearsher&utm_campaign=podcast
• Order God Sees Her: 365 Devotions for Women by Women on Amazon. 
• Dr. Amanda Benckhuysen’s book: The Gospel According to Eve
• Dr. Amanda Benckhuysen’s book: Immigrants, the Bible and You
• Elisa’s Instagram: @elisamorganauthor
• Eryn’s Instagram: @eryneddy