How well would you test if you knew you were being tested on the test?

Cognitive psychologists tested major league baseball umpires on their strike zone a few years back. Despite knowing they were being tested, they still persistently gave a smaller strike zone for non-white players (source).

Are you and I aware of our unconscious bias? And what are we willing to do about explicit bias?

What about when it comes to the Bible? Are we willing to check our cultural and theological assumptions to give a thoughtful, philosophical, historical, and theological evaluation of the sacred text?  What about when that evaluation requires coming to terms with sexism and misogyny?

“Patriarchy exists in the Bible because the Bible was written in a patriarchal world,” said Dr. Beth Allision Barr on the CBF Podcast Conversation. “Historically speaking, there is nothing surprising about biblical stories and passages riddled with patriarchal attitudes and actions. What is surprising is how many biblical passages and stories undermine, rather than support, patriarchy.”

Barr is a Professor of History at Baylor University and the Associate Dean of Graduate Studies. We visited with the author of “The Making of Biblical Womanhood” to explore the toxic masculinity within White Evangelicalism and its continued impact on the church and society.

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Andy Hale is the creator and host of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Podcast. Hale is the Associate Executive Coordinator of CBF North Carolina. He’s also served as CBF’s Church Start Specialist, the founding pastor of Mosaic Church of Clayton, and the senior pastor of University Baptist Church of Baton Rouge. Follow on Twitter @haleandy.