Shows / Bare Marriage
Bare Marriage
Tired of Christian pat answers about marriage? The podcast that goes in-depth into marriage, parenting, and even sex--to see how we can live the passionate life we were meant for. Paired with Bare Marriage--the blog!
Episodes
Bare MarriageEpisode 346: Carl Lentz Has a New Book on Overcoming Infidelity. Should He Have a Platform?
Send us Fan Mail Can a pastor bounce back from scandal and reclaim the spotlight? Sheila and Rebecca unpack Carl & Laura Lentz’s book Overcoming Infidelity…
Bare MarriageEpisode 345: Why is the Old Testament So Cavalier about Abuse of Women? feat. Dr. Helen Paynter
Send us Fan Mail What do we do with Bible passages that seem to portray God as indifferent to violence against women? Sheila sits down with Dr. Helen Paynter…
Bare MarriageEpisode 344: Do Only Wives Have to Act Like Jesus in Marriage? (A Look at Kathy Keller)
Send us Fan Mail Is Philippians 2 a biblical argument for male headship, or is it a call for ALL Christians to give up status and power in the way Jesus did?…
Bare MarriageEpisode 343: Called to Serve - Are We Burying Women's Talents in the Ground?
Send us Fan Mail What happens when women who simply want to serve Jesus keep running into barriers to ministry? First, Hannah Hunt joins us as we hear the…
Bare MarriageEpisode 342: Mica Miller’s Death and “The Sex Is For Men” Problem
Send us Fan Mail Mica Miller’s Death and “The Sex Is For Men” Problem The tragic Mica Miller documentary The Death of a Pastor’s Wife reveals a deeply evil…
Bare MarriageEpisode 341: What’s the Dignity Line? Feat. Dawn from The Minimal Mom
Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we sit down with Dawn from The Minimal Mom to talk about the “dignity line,” a simple framework for recognizing if our…
Bare MarriageEpisode 340: Live, Laugh, Love with Kristin Du Mez
Send us Fan Mail What if many of the ideas we’ve been taught about “biblical womanhood” have a much stranger history than we realized? We sit down with…
Bare MarriageEpisode 339: Look Like a Lady--the 5 Visual Tropes of Womanhood that Keep Us Small
Send us Fan Mail What if some of the messages we've absorbed about “what it means to be a woman” have less to do with the Bible and more to do with centuries…
Bare MarriageEpisode 338: What if God is Like a Mother Too? (Love Like a Mother)
Send us Fan Mail What if the Bible has been giving us maternal pictures of God all along—and we've simply been overlooking them? Today we talk with Elizabeth…
Bare MarriageEpisode 337: Why Do Evangelicals Ask Women to Do Such Risky Things if They Say They Protect Women?
Send us Fan Mail What happens when “protecting women” actually leaves them with fewer choices, less financial security, and nowhere to go when a marriage…
Bare MarriageEpisode 336: The Problems with The Empowered Wife by Laura Doyle
Send us Fan Mail Bethany Jantzi and Dr. Merry Lin join us in taking a very close—and occasionally incredulous—look at Laura Doyle’s The Empowered Wife…
Bare MarriageEpisode 335: If Men Are Leaders...Why Do They Need Women to Fix Them?
Send us Fan Mail What happens when “Christlike manhood” starts sounding suspiciously like Victorian gender roles, male entitlement, and a whole lot of covert…
Bare MarriageEpisode 334: What Should Accountability for Purity Culture Authors Look Like?
Send us Fan Mail Buckle up for the final episode of our 3-part series on purity culture! In this episode we dig into what genuine accountability actually looks…
Bare MarriageEpisode 333: Good Fruit - Are We Measuring It Right When It Comes to Christian Marriage Teaching?
Send us Fan Mail What does Jesus actually mean when he tells us to judge a tree by its fruit - and what happens when we apply that idea to marriage and…
Bare MarriageEpisode 332: When Purity Culture Supporters Try to Rewrite History (Dannah Gresh Case Study)
Send us Fan Mail And….we’re BACK with a fresh new season of the Bare Marriage podcast! We’re kicking things off with a lively deep dive into the debate over…
Bare MarriageEpisode 331: Keith & Sheila Respond to Crazy Clips (Is it That Jezebel Spirit Again?)
Send us Fan Mail In this season finale we take a dive into social media, examining the messages behind viral clips from popular marriage and church…
Bare MarriageEpisode 330: Men of Virtue with Zachary Wagner
Send us Fan Mail What does it actually mean to be a “good man” in today’s world—and does Christianity offer something deeper than dominance, leadership…
Bare MarriageEpisode 329: Parenting With Confidence Without Messing Up Your Kids with Wendy Snyder
Send us Fan Mail What happens when you know the old “because I said so” parenting style isn’t healthy…but you also don’t want to raise entitled little tyrants?…
Bare MarriageEpisode 328: The Billy Graham Rule and What It Does to Men Too
Send us Fan Mail What if the “Billy Graham rule” (or the evangelical distortion of it) says more about fear than integrity? In this episode, Danielle…
Bare MarriageEpisode 327: For Men Only by Shaunti and Jeff Feldhahn Talks Lust and Sex
Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Part 2 of our breakdown of For Men Only! This episode dives headfirst into the sex chapter — and quickly exposes how shaky stats…
Bare MarriageEpisode 326: The Problems with For Men Only by Jeff & Shaunti Feldhahn
Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we dive into For Men Only, by Shaunti & Jeff Feldhahn, and let’s just say…we have many thoughts! We unpack some of its core…
Bare MarriageEpisode 325: I Belong to Me with Tia Levings
Send us Fan Mail Tia Levings is back, and this time she's brought the book so many of you have been waiting for — I Belong to Me, a survivor's guide to…
Bare MarriageEpisode 324: Who Bears the Emotional Labor and Mental Load for Sex?
Send us Fan Mail Who's carrying the mental and emotional load when it comes to sex? Today Keith and I are breaking down all the ways evangelical marriage…
Bare MarriageEpisode 323: A Step-By-Step Guide to Vetting a Church's Website to See if They're Heathy!
Send us Fan Mail Finding a healthy church after being hurt is hard — especially when toxic churches have learned to hide what they really believe. This week…
Bare MarriageEpisode 322: Why Is Every Man's Battle So Creepy? A Harrowing Example
Send us Fan Mail A close look at how Every Man’s Battle ignores the impact of predation on women and girls–and is just plain creepy! Plus a new study on…
Bare MarriageEpisode 321: New Research into Modesty Messaging, Sexual Harassment in Church, Plus We Answer Your Questions!
Send us Fan Mail Keith and Rebecca are taking over the podcast this week and are answering your questions — from how to find a healthy church community to…
Bare MarriageEpisode 320: Let’s Talk Adult ADHD and GENDER ROLES!
Send us Fan Mail What does it mean to have realistic expectations of a spouse with ADHD? How does gender play into how ADHD impacts a relationship? And what do…
Bare MarriageEpisode 319: Did Purity Culture Cause Developmental Trauma--and Kill Libido?
Send us Fan Mail What if the reason so many women struggle with desire, arousal, and orgasm has nothing to do with their bodies—and everything to do with what…
Bare MarriageEpisode 318: You're Allowed to Want Stuff! Talking Desire with Jay Stringer
Send us Fan Mail Jay Stringer, licensed therapist and author of Unwanted, is back to talk about his brand new book Desire: The Longings Inside Us and the New…
Bare MarriageEpisode 317: Famished--How Purity Culture Taught Women to Shrink with Anna Rollins
Send us Fan Mail Anna Rollins grew up as the kind of girl who took her faith seriously — and that's exactly why it hurt her so much. In this conversation, Anna…
Bare MarriageEpisode 316: What Still Surprised Us Making the Love & Respect Docuseries
Send us Fan Mail Rebecca, Joanna, and I are pulling back the curtain on what went into making the Love & Respect docuseries — including the things that didn't…
Bare MarriageBad Stats, Editing the Bible, and Recycling 1970s Ideas: A Love & Respect Deep Dive Part 2
Send us Fan Mail Part two of a three-part docuseries deep dive into the best-selling evangelical marriage book Love & Respect. LOVE & RESPECT DOCUSERIES: Watch…
Bare MarriageHappily Never After: The Curious Case of Love and Respect (Deep Dive Part 1)
Send us Fan Mail Part one of a three-part docuseries deep dive into the best-selling evangelical marriage book, Love & Respect. THE LOVE & RESPECT DOCUSERIES…
Bare MarriageEpisode 313: To Heal or To Harm: Making Sense of Weaponized Bible Verses feat. Steven Tracy
Send us Fan Mail Today I'm talking with Dr. Steven Tracy, author of "To Heal or Harm," about how scripture has been twisted to keep abuse victims trapped…
Bare MarriageEpisode 312: Why The Complementarian Bar for Men is in the Basement
Send us Fan Mail We're tackling three really problematic things that have happened recently with evangelical leaders that show just how low the bar has gotten…
Bare MarriageEpisode 311: The Misleading Tactics of Complementarianism feat. Lydia Kaiser
Send us Fan Mail Today I'm talking with Lydia Grace about her incredible new book, Bible Truth About Women. Lydia grew up in the ultra-conservative IBLP…
Bare MarriageEpisode 310: Desiring God Thinks Marriage Is Like Peddling Furiously on the Back of a Tandem Bike
Send us Fan Mail We're kicking off 2026 by teaching you how to think critically about Christian marriage and relationship advice! Rebecca and I walk through…
Bare MarriageEpisode 309: Evangelicals Shouldn't Be Embarrassing: The Oklahoma Student's Essay and How Our Faith Has Changed
Send us Fan Mail We're coming full circle from our podcast on right-wing authoritarianism to talk about that viral Oklahoma student essay and why Christians…
Bare MarriageEpisode 308: “We Respond to Crazy Pastor Clips” Pallooza!
Send us Fan Mail Keith and I went through 10 clips from evangelical influencers and pastors that have been driving people crazy all year. We break down why…
Bare MarriageEpisode 307: How the Stories of Missionary Kids Unmask the Myths of Evangelicalism (and Purity Culture!)
Send us Fan Mail It's episode 307 of the Bare Marriage podcast! Holly Fletcher joins us to talk about her AMAZING new book Missionary Kids. I devoured it in…
Bare MarriageEpisode 306: Thalidomide, Bad Marriage Books, and a Jesus Who Laughs
Send us Fan Mail Happy American Thanksgiving! We're rerunning one of my favorite episodes from four years ago where Rebecca and I talk about what God is…
Bare MarriageEpisode 305: All the Problems with Complementarianism in a Nutshell--And How They Try to Make it Sound Pretty
Send us Fan Mail Complementarians use a lot of really nice-sounding words to describe their beliefs about gender roles, but when you actually break down what…
Bare MarriageEpisode 304: Francine Rivers' And the Shofar Blew Part 2: What Can We Learn from Christian Fiction?
Send us Fan Mail We're diving into part two of our discussion on Francine Rivers' "And the Shofar Blew.” While Christian fiction can be inspirational, this…
Bare MarriageEpisode 303: Francine Rivers' And the Shofar Blew—Let’s Examine Christian Romance Fiction Part 1
Send us Fan Mail We're doing something we've never done before—looking at a Christian fiction book to explore how fiction shapes our theology of marriage…
Bare MarriageEpisode 302: For the Love of Women feat. Dorothy Greco
Send us Fan Mail Ever been told you're complaining too much about how women are treated because "things are so much better now"? Yeah, me too. In this episode…
Bare MarriageEpisode 301: The 4 Categories of Euphemisms about Sex--that All Drive Us Batty!
Send us Fan Mail We're diving into the euphemisms used in Christian marriage books and by evangelical pastors, and when you translate them into actual…
Bare MarriageCelebrating Episode 300! With the Best of Becca's Bloopers and One Liners
Send us Fan Mail We're celebrating episode 300 with a "Best of Becca" compilation! Rebecca and I react to her most memorable moments from the past six years of…
Bare MarriageEpisode 299: What Does the Bible Say about Divorce for Abuse? Feat. Helen Paynter
Send us Fan Mail Does God really tell women they need to submit to abuse and stay in marriages where they're being raped and harmed? Today's interview with Dr…
Bare MarriageEpisode 298: Purity Culture, Date Rape, and Porn: plus Joash Thomas and the Justice of Jesus
Send us Fan Mail Two major studies today prove what we've been saying: purity culture makes people unable to recognize marital and date rape as actual rape…
Bare MarriageEpisode 297: The Myth of Good Christian Parenting
Send us Fan Mail It's The Great Sex Rescue--but for parenting! The Christian parenting industry has been feeding us garbage for decades, and Keith and I sat…
Bare MarriageEpisode 296: How to Avoid Inadvertently Giving Your Kids Sexual Hangups
Send us Fan Mail We all want to raise kids without sexual hang-ups, but a lot of Christian parents are accidentally creating the very problems they're trying…
Bare MarriageEpisode 295: Does More Sex Make Marriage Happier?
Send us Fan Mail We're constantly told that more sex will fix our marriages, but the research tells a completely different story. When couples are simply told…
Bare MarriageEpisode 294: 4 Christian Women Talk Menopause--and Perimenopause!
Send us Fan Mail I brought together three dear friends to have an honest conversation about perimenopause and menopause because so many of you have been asking…
Bare MarriageEpisode 293: Better Ways to Read the Bible feat. Zach Lambert
Send us Fan Mail What do you do when you WANT to love the Bible, but you find yourself feeling defeated, hopeless, unseen? What if all the things you’ve…
Bare MarriageEpisode 292: Hear Sheila Answer Men’s Questions about Healthy Marriage & Sexuality
Send us Fan Mail Recently Sheila was on the Three Percent podcast, talking about what healthy marriage looks like. The hosts asked Sheila questions a lot of…
Bare MarriageEpisode 291: How Professor Neil Reaches Young Men Stuck in Misogyny
Send us Fan Mail Sheila Wray Gregoire interviews Professor Neil, a popular social media creator who critiques toxic masculinity and problematic topics he finds…
Bare MarriageEpisode 290: What Does Authoritarianism Have to Do with Complementarianism? (with a test!)
Send us Fan Mail How do we reach people still in evangelicalism about toxic teachings? I read an amazing book called On Authoritarians by Bob Altemeyer which…
Bare MarriageEpisode 289: Why Fiction Makes You a Better Person (Why We Don't Hate ALL Books!)
Send us Fan Mail In this season finale of the Bare Marriage Podcast, Rebecca, Joanna, Connor, and Josiah discuss the powerful benefits of reading fiction for…
Bare MarriageEpisode 288: Is Sex a Want or a Need?
Send us Fan Mail Is sex is a human need within marriage? Let's address the tension between those who see "need" language as potentially coercive and those who…
Bare MarriageEpisode 287: What is “Headship” in Ephesians 5 and 1 Corinthians 11? Feat. Marg Mowczko
Send us Fan Mail In this episode of the Bare Marriage Podcast, I am talking with Biblical Greek scholar Marg Mowczko about the true meaning of "headship" in…