All My Knotted-Up Life: A Memoir

Moore describes two movements within the evangelical world that changed her life: Jerry Falwell’s Moral Majority and the Southern Baptist Convention’s Conservative Resurgence. Baptist minister Falwell’s Moral Majority normalized the idea that all white evangelical Christians should think a certain way and ensure that America was “led by Christian principles and morals” (215). Moore resisted Falwell’s message because she didn’t feel included in his group.

The Conservative Resurgence attempted to drive liberals out of the Southern Baptist church, including those who believed women should have bigger roles in the church, and asserted women should submit to their husbands as stated in Scripture. Moore accepted these ideas in order to continue teaching in the Baptist Church. She glossed over Scriptures in which Jesus affirmed the dignity of women and embraced women followers and in which God gave women the right to prophesy.

She then attended her first Southern Baptist convention as a speaker to a small group of women. Seeing a group of “the most familiar players” in the SBC world (219), she hugged them warmly, only to find the sentiment was not reciprocated. She had the same experience at nearly every occasion where she subsequently spoke. Follow-up speakers often ridiculed her.