In which I take shots at my own kind

There's a rather ubiquitous piece of advice from Luther that amounts to this: if you want to be a good Christian cobbler, don't make mediocre shoes with crosses on them; make good shoes. This might be the best way to explain my dislike for the growing number of movements trying to get women into theology. I know this sounds like I've lost my mind, but hear me out.

In theory, the idea is great. There's still a disheartening lack of interest in knowing God in the female demographics of the church. Nobody would ever admit it when phrased this way; instead, it's the dismissive comments about how men split hairs over doctrine or the need to make bible/book studies "fun." We're still plagued by the myth that there is no real benefit to such abstract study. So yes, there's still a long way to go.

What I find to be deeply problematic is the difficult time these movements have in getting around to discussing actual theology.

There's one popular site that brands itself as a hard-hitting community of doctrinally-minded women responding to issues in the culture at large. Lots of aggressive socio-political commentary, but I have yet to find a post dedicated to any theological topic. I find this particularly destructive, not only because of the way it promotes a belligerent brand of Christianity, but also in the way it turns the purported study of divinity into something very human-focused. It's culture wars masquerading as theology.

Another, related, mistake I often see is the conflation of theology proper and Christian living. Aspiring to be a virtuous student/employee/wife/mother is commendable, but that discussion is not theology. We apply our theology to such situations, yes, but the actions that follow are the result of what we believe about God; they are not the beliefs themselves.

Finally, these movements have a tendency to create a very gendered version of theology. Very often, books marketed for women suffer from poor doctrine and a domestic model of femininity. But, beyond these issues - why do we need to write theology books for women? Why can't we read Owen and Turretin along with the men? Why can't a woman's book be marketed as simply another theological book, and not something distinctively feminine? I refer to the Luther analogy at the beginning of the post. If you strive for excellence as a woman theologian, don't write some sloppy theology and slap a floral cover on it; produce something that lives up to the standards of both our confessional heritage and academia.