Shannon Harris releasing new memoir

[closetcagebaby]

Josh Harris’ ex wife Shannon is releasing a new memoir. I didn’t realize she got into fundiedom as an adult!

https://religionnews.com/2023/08/23/how-shannon-harris-kissed-biblical-womanhood-goodbye/

[Antipatriarch]

I've been eagerly awaiting this one since she announced it; only a few more days now! Julie Roys' site has an interview with Shannon. Glad she's getting some press ahead of the release.

[noseybutt]

Money quote:

The female experience and the experience of people who’ve been hurt by churches needs to be heard. I think the expectations of complementarian churches especially inflicts a slow burning trauma that comes with unique and devastating consequences to women. The men who make theology need to study the impact of their theology.

[Howl]

Quote

I think the expectations of complementarian churches especially inflicts a slow burning trauma that comes with unique and devastating consequences to women. The men who make theology need to study the impact of their theology.

Zero chance of 99% of those guys indulging in self reflection - their attraction in the first place is their exalted and inherently privileged position as holy penis holders within the  "complementarian" paradigm. 

"Complementarian" theology is founded on a grotesquely skewed view of women and it's a one-way set up that doesn't  consider women's needs -  women are cater to and submit to the needs of men.   

[jegfile]

I received it in the mail on Monday and it had read by the end of the day. The subject manner was fascinating but the writing style disappointed me. The chapters were short and it seemed like only half a story was told. It did shine a light though on women in the church and how they are encouraged to be a man's helpmate regardless of their giftedness.

[Columbia]

18 hours ago, jegfile said:

I received it in the mail on Monday and it had read by the end of the day. The subject manner was fascinating but the writing style disappointed me. The chapters were short and it seemed like only half a story was told. It did shine a light though on women in the church and how they are encouraged to be a man's helpmate regardless of their giftedness.

I haven't read it yet. What do you think was left out, or needed to be added? How in depth does she go on SGM and CJ Mahaney and the abuse scandals in those churches?

[hoipolloi]

10 hours ago, Columbia said:

How in depth does she go on SGM and CJ Mahaney and the abuse scandals in those churches?

My questions also. She said that she wasn't going to go into detail about her marriage to Josh but she has condemned CJ and Carolyn Mahaney by name a number of times on her IG account.

[jegfile]

She was very kind to her husband. Talked a lot about how young he was when he became senior pastor and how much influence CJ Mahaney had over him. The Mahaneys were condemned outright. Even when Shannon behaved the same way to other women as Carolyn behaved towards her, Carolyn and by extension CJ were the perpetrators. How Josh felt about her actions or whether he encouraged her to tear down other women was left out.

She glossed over SGM's abuse scandals but went into great detail about the church breakdown and who went with who and how women she thought were her friends, didn't acknowledge her attempts to say goodbye. Then she would drop in random chapters about a woman who became her dear friend but no grander context. Sometimes you were left guessing and other times she ranted specifically.

I am happy that by the end, she and Josh seemed to be friends and good co-parents.

[hoipolloi]

Shannon has done an interview with Sarah Stankorb, author of Disobedient Women:

Quote

 

What most of the world knew about Shannon was through this lens of salvation, submission, and her husband’s words. She worked hard to be—as the title of her new book outlines—The Woman They Wanted, even as she and Joshua had three children. But as Harris details, trying to embody what their church viewed as biblical womanhood was no dream. Their church started to fall apart in 2013, when C.J. Mahaney, co-founder of Sovereign Grace Ministries, resigned. As allegations of sex abuse and subsequent church cover-up continued to surface, Shannon was already in a deep depression. In 2019, via Instagram post, Shannon and Joshua announced their impending divorce.

Shannon and I spoke recently via Zoom about her life before joining her church, expectations of “biblical womanhood” (and how those requirements impacted her), and how she’s found herself again after it all. Our conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.