Women of the Table

Rosaria Champagne Butterfield, a former tenured professor of English and women’s studies at Syracuse University, converted to Christ in 1999 in what she describes as a train wreck. Her memoir The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert chronicles that difficult journey.

In 1997, while Rosaria was researching the Religious Right “and their politics of hatred against people like me,” she wrote an article against the Promise Keepers. A response to that article triggered a meeting with Ken Smith, who became a resource on the Religious Right and their Bible, a confidant, and a friend. In 1999, after repeatedly reading the Bible in large chunks for her research, Rosaria converted to Christianity. Her first book, The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert, details her conversion and the cataclysmic fallout—in which she lost “everything but the dog,” yet gained eternal life in Christ.

As our culture has adopted a hatred of children and family, simultaneously, reality t.v. has picked up a few families who seek to fill their "quiver" full of "arrows". If you are in homeschooling circles, or even watch these families on t.v., you probably have heard about or wondered: what exactly is the quiver full movement?

Betsy and Michelle discuss their findings and go over the main tenants of this ideology. What does it mean to be quiver full? What is Biblical and what isn't? Is there a current Biblical mandate to have children, and lots of them?

We could have discussed this topic for hours and still only scratch the surface. So, if you have related questions/comments, please feel free to email us at [email protected] or message us on our social media platforms @womenofthetable

This episode we will be talking about something that we ALL have been guilty of and if we aren’t actively fighting against it, we probably are actively taking part in it…. Confirmation bias.

-What is it?

-How can we fight it?

-How is it connected to our identity and worldivew?

We have all heard of the term “toxic relationship” or the popular question of “when do I cut off a toxic person/relationship?” These pop psychology phrases have morphed into the social phenomena of “cancel culture” and echo chambers of “self love”

But when Christians have fractured relationships with family or friends, or even members of Christ’s body of believers, how should we respond? Should we be asking the same questions that popular culture tells us to ask - evaluating what the other person brings to the relationship? Should we seek to rebuild relationships that have been poisoned by a past wrong, or even more popularly today, by identity politics? What does scripture say about relational restoration and its level of importance? What kind of hope can we have for restoring relationships?

To begin our newest series, "Women of the Table Minisodes", Betsy explores and reviews Gloria Furman’s “Glimpses of Grace”. This book focuses on God’s grace in the seemingly mundane moments of life. See what Betsy enjoyed about this book and her, very professional, star rating!

Talking about the will of God is fraught with questions: How much does God really control? Is the future open or determined? Does God have a purpose for the way things are or is He sitting back, with his arms folded, watching it all happen? And how do we know if we are doing God's will? Join Betsy and Michelle as they recount the glorious, sovereign God who accomplishes all that He sets out to accomplish.

Join Women of the Table as they discuss the “hot topic” of Christian discipleship. What is discipleship? How should it be done? What are common hindrances and how can we answer those hindrances? And, can we solely do long distance discipleship? In this episode we also break down Susan Heck’s fabulous book on discipleship and respond to answers from our listeners regarding their own discipleship struggles.

Can Christians be funny? SHOULD they be funny? Can Christians have a God honoring sense of humor?!?

Despite popular belief, Christians don't have to abandon humor in order to pursue Christian virtue. On the contrary, Christians should be the most joy-filled, grateful, and fun-loving people. Betsy and Michelle discuss how we should employ the gift of laughter, humor, and joking. Are there humorous instances in scripture? Can we properly understand the seriousness of sin and still laugh at a good joke? Or...make a good joke?!

Why should Christians think about technology? Technology offers insight into what problems human's seek to solve, and how (rightly and wrongly) to solve them, reveal our worldview, and change the way we operate on a daily basis.

In this episode, Michelle and Betsy are reunited after months of quarantine, and discuss a new TV show that involves uploading consciousness, Amish decision making, and cutting off limbs.

It's a fun one! We laughed and we cried, quite literally.

Let us know your thoughts on technology! How do you determine what tech to use and what to reject? Do you think we will use and develop technology in Heaven? And the ultimate question of: if we can, should we?

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Chances are, you or someone you know, has experienced a form of mental turmoil or has been diagnosed with a mental illness. So, some questions must be asked: how, as Christians, should we view psychology and Christianity? What worldviews are at play and what are their implications? What are the dangers of taking a biblicist or solely scientific approach? If you are in Christ, what is God's purpose in this manner of suffering?

Join @helloemilyurban on Women of the Table, and enjoy the discussion. Make sure to let us know your answers to these questions! Happy listening!

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