Black and White Bible, Black and Blue Wife

Tucker's book is nothing less than a damning indictment of the church's tendency to justify or turn a blind eye to abuses happening within our own ranks. It is a prophetic call to re-think our theology of male and female. The church belongs on the forefront in the battle to root out and end abuse, to provide safe haven for the abused, and to see that abusers are brought to justice. -- Carolyn Custis James, author of Malestrom: Manhood Swept into the Currents of a Fallen World Ruth Tucker's historical and biblical scholarship has informed my own journey and that of countless egalitarians. In this book, however, her pedagogy is a story of abuse---her own. It is as powerful as it is personal, exposing the perils of a patriarchal reading of Scripture. Because Ruth's experiences are all too common, Black and White Bible, Black and Blue Wife is essential reading for pastors, seminarians, counselors, NGO workers, and indeed anyone who believes God speaks to us from the pages of Scripture. -- Dr. Mimi Haddad, president of Christians for Biblical Equality (www.cbeinternational.org) I first knew Ruth Tucker as a colleague when she was much closer to the beginning of the story she recounts in this book. Ironically (or providentially), it was when she joined a team of women scholars working on a volume whose subtitle was Facing the Challenge of Gender Reconciliation. In Black and White Bible, Black and Blue Wife, she recounts the messy but also redemptive details of her own struggle with domestic violence---a topic that, one way or another, affects us all. This is a very courageous account that should motivate readers to action, even as it may disturb them. -- Mary Stewart Van Leeuwen, professor (emerita) of psychology, Eastern University

Ruth Tucker recounts a harrowing story of abuse at the hands of her husband---a well-educated, charming preacher no less---in hope that her story would help other women caught in a cycle of domestic violence and offer a balanced biblical approach to counter such abuse for pastors and counselors.

Ruth Tucker recounts a harrowing story of abuse at the hands of her husband, a well-educated, charming preacher no less, in hope that her story would help other women caught in a cycle of domestic violence and offer a balanced biblical approach to counter such abuse for pastors and counselors.

Weaving together her shocking story, stories of other women, and powerful stories of husbands who truly have demonstrated Christ’s love to their wives, with reflection on biblical, theological, historical, and contemporary issues surrounding domestic violence, she makes a compelling case for mutuality in marriage and helps women and men become more aware of potential dangers in a doctrine of male headship.