Writer Showcase: Rachel Darnall's Best Work

A summer interview series, volume 7.

I’ve been having such fun sharing the work of online writer friends in this summer showcase! Today’s guest is

Rachel Darnall

, whom I first met on Twitter during (I think? it’s hard to remember now!!) the lockdowns of 2020. She’s a deeply intelligent and thoughtful person and I’ve learned a lot from her measured, well-researched prose (be it in article form or tweet thread form).

What do you write about?

I can usually be found on or near the intersection of theology and history, especially women's history. I'm particularly interested in understanding why women are drawn to patriarchy, and in some cases become more passionate defenders of it than men. The "big idea" I'm working with right now is that patriarchy was initiated by the woman's desire for the man's "patronage" in Genesis 3:16; in other words patriarchy doesn't happen because the man clubs the woman over the head and drags her to his cave, it happens because the woman turns from trusting in God, to trusting in the man. This was the theme of my master's thesis, and the theme of the project I'm currently working on for the Anastasis Center for Christian Education and Ministry - a video series called "It's a Man's World: The Genesis 3:16 Effect." It's an endlessly fascinating idea to me, because I think it challenges a lot of popular assumptions about the power dynamics of gender on both sides of the issue. Basically what I am arguing is that men and women build patriarchy together because they both believe that it's an arrangement that will benefit them, but in the end it harms both sexes, just in different ways.

Why did you choose this theme/topic?

I have a passion for helping women find or rediscover their Christian faith outside the world of high-control religion, especially Christian patriarchy. Having grown up in a home shaped by the teachings of Bill Gothard, I've seen the harm of patriarchal authoritarianism up close from a pretty young age. My own deconstruction of Christian patriarchy led me to an interest in theology and the historical roots of modern Christian fundamentalism, which I've been writing about in some shape or form since 2017. My favorite thing is when a reader will say, "You put words into what I was feeling but didn't know how to say." I think there's so much power in finding the right words.

How long have you been writing on Substack?

About two years. Like a lot of people here, I started exploring Substack after Twitter turned into "X." I'm still on X, because I hate myself I guess, but I am trying to slowly diversify my social media reach.

What other bylines have you had in the past?

I've had articles published in Fathom Magazine, Current Pub, and of course my current project with the Anastasis Center. Back in the day (before I switched to Christian writing), I also wrote for Arc Digital, Parenting Co., and even the Federalist, although there's been a LOT of water under the bridge since then!

Please share a few of your favorite pieces of work and tell us a little about each one.

"It's a Man's World: Episode 1: Why We Trust the Man of Dust"
This is a preview episode of "It's a Man's World" that we've released early. It discusses a lot of the things I've talked about here, and considers what Adam's identification as the "man of dust" (1 Corinthians 15:48, Genesis 3:17-19) means for patriarchy, as an institution. We discuss the benefits that men can experience from rejecting the myth of male invincibility and embracing their "dustiness."

Profiling Key Figures in the Biblical Womanhood Movement
This was my first foray into video content, and I'm pretty proud of myself for barreling through the whole series even though I didn't really know what I was doing. I learned a lot, not just about the women I was profiling, but about creating video content in general! The series profiles eight women who, in one way or another, made the biblical womanhood movement what it is today. I profile some pretty big names, like Elisabeth Elliot and Edith Schaeffer, but I also profile some lesser-known women who are important to the story, like Helen Andelin and Susan Foh.

It's Not Marriage; It's the People: Singlehood, Marriage and the Spectre of Mr. Collins
I absolutely adored writing this piece. It's so self-indulgent: it's got fundie stuff, history, and Jane Austen. It started off as a response to an article that was saying singlehood isn't good, and by the end of it I basically walk the reader through I think three scenarios in Jane Austen where you see why "Young people should try harder to get married!" is a really silly position to take.

Field Notes From the Basic Seminar: The pathos - and consequences - of our wanting to be shiny happy people
This one is a combination of personal memoir, and commentary on Bill Gothard's "Basic Seminar," which my family went to countless times. After "Shiny, Happy People" came out, I wanted to write something that would go more in-depth into the Seminar, which was a huge part of the Gothard empire. Since I was too young to attend the adult seminar back when we were going, I actually made myself watch the whole thing (25 hours!) online in preparation for doing this article. It was an absolutely hare-brained idea and nobody gets paid enough freelancing to be worth that pain, but it built character ... I think?

We Need to Stop Using 'Did God Really Say ...?' as a Shorthand for Moral Permissiveness
This one tackles one of my pet peeves: turning Genesis 3:1 into a clobber text to unquestioningly accept rigid moral standards that are (allegedly) derived from the Bible. The temptation of Eve is actually teaching the opposite lesson: Satan makes sin seem attractive by making God seem restrictive.

Who is one other Substack writer you admire?

There are so many, but if I have to pick one, I really appreciate

Jay Mallow

’s work. We have some areas of overlapping experience but he brings a really unique perspective because military service is part of his story too. In the piece I'm in the Lord's Army, he draws out the similarities between the military-esque A.L.E.R.T. program for teenage boys (part of the Bill Gothard/Institute in Basic Life Principles extended universe), "Biblical" parenting methods a la James Dobson, and actual military conditioning, all of which are aimed at producing instant obedience by stunting critical thinking. I loved this piece because it was something I had vaguely intuited, but I hadn't heard someone who had actually gone on to serve in the military talk about this before.

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Amy again. I love that piece Rachel linked about Mr. Collins and singleness—if you haven’t clicked it yet, I urge you to go back and read it! It’s my top recommendation of hers but she’s written many other articles I’ve thoroughly enjoyed, including We Need to Talk about TLC and the Public’s Complicity in the Duggar Kids’ Commodification. Rachel does such a great job of quantifying exactly why family-oriented “reality” TV gives me the ick! Don’t miss Rachel’s new video series on the celebrity-driven biblical womanhood movement of the 20th century, and subscribe to her Substack at

Rachel Darnall

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