March madness, women in theology edition

Come vote in the sweet 16!

Gentle reader,

Welcome to March madness, Church Blogmatics style.

The problem

When I asked ChatGPT to generate a list of top books by women in contemporary theology, I got, among other things:

1. The Shack by William P. Young

2. The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs

3. Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

4. The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

These books have their…various merits… but it does seem we need to get the word out. There are great books by women. There are great books by women in theology.

I had to scroll past the 50th entry to find a woman (Sarah Coakley) on a list, at Goodreads, of best books in systematic theology. The list, predictably, put Grudem at the top, and had, of all people M*rk Dr*scoll and Sam T*rode appearing well before Coakley.

Literally, this causes me to pray, “God, help us.”

Anyway, here’s a list of actual important books by women in contemporary theology, and I’m inviting you to jump in on a March madness style bracket challenge to pick a winner.

I chose the 16 books for this tournament off the top of my head; no shade intended on the many important books that don’t appear here. The seed order was generated randomly, and the pairings are hopelessly inadequate, but any pairings would be. Here are our candidates:

The books

By the Renewing of Your Minds: The Pastoral Function of Christian Doctrine by Ellen T. Charry

Womanist Ethics and the Cultural Production of Evil by Emilie M. Townes

Trauma and Grace: Theology in a Ruptured World by Serene Jones

Toward a Womanist Ethic of Incarnation: Black Bodies, the Black Church, and the Council of Chalcedon by Eboni Marshall Turman

In Memory of Her (10th Anniversary): A Feminist Theological Reconstruction of Christian Origins by Elizabeth Schussler Fiorenza

Sisters in the Wilderness: The Challenge of Womanist God-Talk by Dolores S. Williams

Scripture, the Genesis of Doctrine: Doctrine and Scripture in Early Christianity by Frances M. Young

The Kindness of God: Metaphor, Gender, and Religious Language by Janet Martin Soskice

Jesus, Humanity, and the Trinity: A Brief Systematic Theology by Kathryn Tanner

Resurrection Hope: A Future Where Black Lives Matter by Kelly Brown Douglas

God, Sexuality, and the Self: An Essay 'On The Trinity' by Sarah Coakley

Places of Redemption: Theology for a Worldly Church by Mary McClintock Fulkerson

Enfleshing Freedom: Body, Race, and Being by M. Shawn Copeland

The Architecture of Theology: Structure, System, and Ratio by A.N. Williams

Are Women Human? Penetrating, Sensible, and Witty Essays on the Role of Women in Society by Dorothy L. Sayers

Systematic Theology by Katherine Sonderegger

Vote in Round 1:

Voting for round one will close at 4pm central time on Tuesday March 26th.

Subscribers will receive email invitations to come back and vote in the coming rounds. If you’re not a subscriber, subscribe for free now.

Grace & peace,

BFJ

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