There’s perhaps no better way to foster empathy for those whose appearances you judge than to spend a few weeks walking in their shoes.”Įmpathy, eh? That’s a whole lot of different groups to identify with all of a sudden. Now I feared that all those harsh words were being mentally lobbed at me. When I saw a perky coed donning a pro-life T-shirt and a ‘What Would Jesus Do?’ bracelet at a concert, I filed her under Bible-thumper. When I saw Amish buggies creeping down a busy street, I rendered their drivers legalistic, outdated. When I saw families at the park boasting long denim skirts and tennis shoes, I labeled them sheltered. “When I saw women at the airport wearing the hijab, the first word that came to my mind was oppressed. This stunt, as you might expect (and as Held herself expects from the beginning) teaches her little about the Bible she does claim, however, that it teaches her empathy with those whose garb leads to their being judged as religious fundamentalists, a judgment she confesses she has applied to others: Carissa Smith read Rachel Held Evans’s new book, and found it heavy on the stunts and light on thoughtful wrestling with Scripture.Īs part of her exploration of “biblical” standards of modesty for women, blogger and writer Rachel Held Evans dons a full-length skirt, a slouchy sweater, and a knit beret for a month.
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