Book Review : A Brief Theology of Periods

By Renee Emerson

Periods. A taboo topic that has long been a source of embarrassment and is often shrouded in secrecy and silence. The pain, the emotional baggage, the mess; we can sense the brokenness and groaning in our bodies as we endure – month in and out – red splotchy skin from heat packs, hot tempers, low moods and utter fatigue. But what if you were asked to find Jesus amongst it all?

Rachel’s book, ‘A Brief Theology of Periods’, is a refreshing, needed, and deeply intriguing read about what the Bible says about periods. And it’s probably a lot more than you think!

Rachel lists a few reasons why a book about periods is necessary;

1. They’re a normal part of life; 50% of the population, for a large portion of their lives are on their period. A woman has her period as many as 500-600 times in her life and is often bleeding for 60 days per year on average.

2. The Bible speaks to all of life; we cannot divorce periods from our faith; everything can fit into the big story of what God is doing in the world.

3. Life speaks the gospel to us; periods don’t just have to be something we endure, but an opportunity for us to fix our eyes on Jesus.

4. The Bible talks about periods; Leviticus mentions periods multiple times.

5. If we don’t look to the Bible to shape our thinking, our culture will shape our thinking instead; there’s an abundance of worldly perspectives on periods, yet in Christianity, it’s a quiet subject. We should be influenced by how we think about our periods through the lens of the Bible, not the world.

6. A book about periods is a way of thinking about a whole load of other things; periods are a springboard to speak about what a woman is and what it means to have a body (and other things).

This post is a snippet from from Renee's blog 'Blossoming Through Books'