Do you despair when you look at the state of the world and the church today? Let our deep dive into the life of Josephine Butler give you courage. This extraordinary English woman was born into wealth and privilege in 1828 but spent decades of her life working to reform English society. She was a social worker, a government activist, and legal reformer. Josephine Butler campaigned for decades to give women in England a right to an education, work, vote. She worked to improve the rights of prostitutes and other women who were seen as "outcasts" in English society. As you re-imagine your life after purity culture, let Josephine Butler's life help you cast a new vision for what an effective faith can look like in our world today.

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Full show notes

Amanda Russell-Jones is a sessional lecturer at Regent College. She is a historian with an interest in how the Bible is interpreted and applied to issues of slavery, and women’s relationship to the church both in different historical settings and in our contemporary world. Her recent PhD thesis from the University of Birmingham in the UK was entitled ‘The Voice of the Outcast- Josephine Butler’s Biblical Interpretation and Public Theology.’