Dating Jesus: A Story of Fundamentalism, Feminism, and the American Girl

by Susan Campbell

Overview

By the age of twelve, Susan Campbell had been flirting with Jesus for some time, and in her mind, Jesus had been flirting back. Why wouldn't he? She went to his house three times a week, listened to his stories, loudly and lustily sang songs to him. She even professed her love for him through being baptized.

In this lovingly told tale, Susan Campbell takes us into the world of Christian fundamentalism—a world where details really, really matter. And she shows us what happened when she finally came to admit that in her faith, women would never be allowed a seat near the throne.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807010723
Publisher:	Beacon Press
Publication date:	02/01/2010
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	615,567
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 8.70(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Susan Campbell's writing has been recognized by the American Association of Sunday and Features Editors; National Women's Political Caucus; the Sunday Magazine Editors Association, and the Connecticut chapter of Society of Professional Journalists. She was also a member of the Courant's 1999 Pulitzer Prize-winning team for breaking news. She is co-author of a travel book, Connecticut Curiosities and she lives in Connecticut with her husband.

Read an Excerpt

Chapter One: The Devil Is in an Air Bubble
(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "Dating Jesus"
by .
Copyright © 2010 Susan Campbell.
Excerpted by permission of Beacon Press.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Table of Contents

One
The Devil’s in an Air Bubble
 
Two
I Don’t Want to Preach, But . . .
 
Three
Knocking Doors for Jesus
 
Four
A Good Christian Woman
 
Five
The Theology of Softball
 
Six
A Woman’s Role
 
Seven
A Scary God
 
Eight
The Reluctant Female
 
Nine
Still, Small Voice
 
Ten
Water Jugs
 
Eleven
Jesus Haunts Me, This I Know
 
Acknowledgments 207
About My Sources 208

Editorial Reviews

Simultaneously wisecracking and scholarly, both heartfelt and hilarious . . . I loved this book! —Wally Lamb, author of The Hour I First Believed

"This fond memoir of growing up a rebellious tomboy in a fundamentalist church that expects women to be pious, subservient and, above all, quiet tells what it feels like to have Jesus as your boyfriend-and what happens when you want to break up with him."—Ms.

"[A] heartfelt memoir . . . [Campbell's] writing is striking for the compassion with which she views her younger self, a fledgling believer confined in a cage of manmade rules."—Jane Ciabattari, More

"Rarely has a genuine feminist emerged from the modern evangelical movement. An exception is Susan Campbell."—Hanna Rosin, Mother Jones

"A mesmerizing, funny, impressionistic memoir of a spiritual and thoughtful person, one who has spent her life wrestling with religion, the meaning of faith and her feelings for the Divine."—Houston Chronicle

"Campbell has both a sense of humor and a knack for religious research . . . [and gives] readers a hook to grab on to as they ponder life's big questions alongside a tomboy theologian."—Harry Levins, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

"A moving account of closely cinched fundamentalist girlhood . . . Fundamentalism 'broke off in us,' like a sword, seems a poignant metaphor for the injuries suffered. Fortunately for the rest of us, [Campbell's] chosen salve for those wounds is the writing of astute and vivid prose."—Valerie Weaver-Zercher, The Christian Century

From the Publisher

Journalist Campbell's funny, sweet, and yet biting memoir recounts growing up in a fundamentalist church and "dating Jesus." She offers a look into a world that many will find alien; her explanatory footnotes will help readers who may not have grown up in the Bible belt or be as scripturally literate. Campbell writes of trying to be good and gain heaven, but even as a young girl she revels in small acts of subversiveness and continually asks questions that are never answered satisfactorily. She feels about her childhood and youth that, "like a sword, fundamentalism was plunged into [my body] and then it got broken off in [me] so that [it] will never heal." Campbell knows her subject well and hopes through this book to keep a dialog open about such issues as the role of women in the church and in the world and to refocus attention upon the teachings of Christ-unfiltered. She notes that Christ's teachings are truly egalitarian in their attitude and "downright revolutionary." Suitable for all public and academic libraries.
—Nancy Richie

Library Journal