If Her.meneutics acts as a virtual water cooler for today’s evangelical women, then our workplace was abuzz this year with discussions about sex: unnecessarily steamy plots on TV, modesty on college campuses, and flirting on Facebook and other websites. That sexual ethics and ideals get evangelicals talking is not surprising. What was surprising, and refreshing to the editors, was the wide range of other topics discussed on the women’s blog this year. Just scroll through our list of interests in the left-hand column of the page, or the list of tags in the right-hand column, and you’ll see that our writers—of which we included many new ones this year: Amy Julia Becker, Ellen Painter Dollar, Rachel Stone, Margot Starbuck, and Gina Dalfonzo, to name a handful—can connect their Christian faith with seemingly any cultural trend, news development, pop culture artifact, or book. We are grateful for their words and wisdom.
And now to the list. If any of your favorite posts from 2010 are missing, mention them in the comment section. There, you can also mention what you’d like to see us cover in 2011. On the docket for the near future: when celebrities go public about miscarriage, a dating website exclusively for virgins, and book reviews of Kimberly Smith’s Passport through Darkness and Lori Gottlieb’s Marry Him.
(10) Virtual Flirting Comes to Christian Colleges, by Marlena Graves // Comments: 17 Is LikeaLittle.com, the newest fad in Internet dating, a fun diversion or an impediment to healthy community?
(9) Modesty: A Female-Only Virtue? by Katelyn Beaty // Comments: 46 Scripture suggests that modesty means more than keeping the right parts covered.
(8) A New Message at the Strip Club-Church Showdown, by Margot Starbuck // Comments: 24 What happened when two Christian women entered the Fox Hole strip club in Warsaw, Ohio.
(7) Where Was God in the Earthquake? by Fleming Rutledge // Comments: 33 A theological response to the Haitian calamity.
(6) My Lazy Christmas Wish, by Lynne Hybels // Comments: 28 At 29, 39, and 49, I couldn’t imagine an unhurried holiday season. At 59, I have realized that very little matters.
(5) ‘Hallelujah’ Comes to the Food Court, by Rachel Marie Stone // Comments: 19 Why one performance of Handel’s Messiah has attracted an audience of over 7 million.
(4) An Open Letter to Anne Rice, by Karen Spears Zacharias // Comments: 56 What I see when I look at the church.
(3) Avoiding Old Flames on Facebook, by Jenell Williams Paris // Comments: 50 That it’s only a virtual friendship is all the more reason to stay away from it.
(2) Freed by Bill Clinton, Saved by Jesus, interview by Katelyn Beaty // Comments: 8The World Is Bigger Now recounts Christian journalist Euna Lee’s imprisonment in a North Korean jail.
(1) Why Sex Ruins TV Romances, by Gina Dalfonzo // Comments: 35 And it’s not for the reasons you think.
Other notable posts of 2010:Ooh La La over Lady Gaga, by Jennifer Grant // Comments: 32
Why Should the Devil Get Halloween? by Caryn Rivadeneira // Comments: 38
Christian Female Musicians, Missing in Action, by Laura Leonard // Comments: 60
How Many Kids Should We Have? by Amy Julia Becker // Comments: 32
Little Girls and Single Ladies, by Elrena Evans // Comments: 13
