The year of living biblically: Tenn. woman lives for one year in STRICT accordance to the Bible

Rachel Held Evans learned to cook, sew and avoided all male contact during menstrual cycle because the Bible told her so. She slept outside in a tent and literally praised her husband at the city gate


attempted to follow all of the Bible’s instructions for women as literally as possible.


For a full year Rachel Held Evans did not cut her hair. She covered her head when she prayed. She publicly praised her husband— even calling him "Master" for a week.

No, she did not lose a bet.

Even though Evans lives in the "buckle of the Bible belt," in Dayton, Tenn., she says didn't know how hard it would be to truly live biblically until she spent a year following all the rules of the Good Book - literally.

Evans who was raised an evangelical Christian, started her experiment in 2010, when she realized she was tired of watching conservative religious leaders use the excuse of "biblical womanhood" to hold women back from leadership positions and to create an ideal that left the female side of the faith - including herself - feeling like they were falling short.

"In evangelical culture I was always being told how important it was to live up to that ideal, but no one could agree what it was or what it meant," she told the Daily News.
So she decided to find out, using herself as a test subject. Scouring the Bible and consulting experts to identify all the passages that contained instructions for women, Evans put together a list of strict guidelines she would follow for the next twelve months in an attempt to achieve full "biblical womanhood."

Yes, this included calling her husband "Master" for a week - an experience he said was very uncomfortable. She also avoided contact with all men for the 12 days after she started her period, in accordance with the words of Leviticus, which classifies the menstrual cycle and the seven days after it as a period of time in which a woman
is considered "unclean."

Evans who was raised an evangelical Christian, started her experiment in 2011.

"No handshakes, no high fives, no hugs, and obviously no sex," Evans explained of the 12-day process, during which her literal interpretation of the Bible meant she also had to sleep outside in a tent and carry a stadium cushion around with her because anywhere she sat was also considered unclean. "That was a surprisingly isolating experience."

She also got well-acquainted with her rooftop, which she climbed up to as penance for one minute every time she caught herself acting "contentious" - since the Bible instructs that "it is better to live on the corner of a roof than to live with a contentious woman."

Evans's project, which is the basis of her new book, "A Year of Biblical Womanhood," was essentially an adaptation of a similar experiment done in 2006 by author A.J. Jacobs, chronicled in his memoir "The Year of Living Biblically." Evans says she thought doing the same experiment as a woman would be a great opportunity to shed light on the casual way the phrase "biblical womanhood" is used by conservatives today, to show how difficult and antiquated the notion is when taken in its entirety.
http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/tenn-woman-lives-year-strict-accordance-bible-article-1.1191042

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTNb_udVV5U

She believes evangelicals often throw the word "biblical" around too easily, invoking it as an excuse to use the Bible to support "an idealized pre-feminist" society. "I think it's an injustice to the Bible and an injustice to women," she said. "The Bible was written in an ancient, patriarchal culture. We have to understand it in context."

Despite the heavy criticism she endured during the experiment, her experience was filled with lighthearted moments, like the time she made a huge sign praising her husband that read "Dan Is Awesome" and brandished it on the side of the highway.

"Proverb 31:23 says a virtuous woman's husband is praised at the city gate, so I literally praised him at the city gate," she said. "I think most people probably just thought I lost a bet. He loved it. I think that part we both enjoyed. It made for a great picture."

And she took away some other benefits - like a new love for cooking, and an emphasis on living charitably.

One thing she couldn't wait to get back to once the project was over was cutting her hair once again. 'The Apostle Paul said 'it is a woman's glory to have long hair,' but he wouldn't have said that if he had seen mine!" she laughed. "It was definitely not my glory. I was ready to cut my glory off."
Ultimately, Evans says her book aims to be more than a good gag. "I want to liberate us from the idea that there's only one right way to be a woman of faith