Why Not Women : A Biblical Study of Women in Missions, Ministry, and Leadership

by Loren Cunningham, David Joel Hamilton, Janice Rogers

Multiplied millions of women all over the world are looking over the church's shoulder, longing to see the freedom Jesus purchased for them at Calvary. Millions more have found freedom in Jesus but are still bound by human ideas-ideas that pressure a woman to let culture, not God, determine her place in the Kingdom.

While hurting men and women are outside the church cry out, "Is there any hope? Does anyone care?" their sisters in the church are asking, "How can I share the hope I have" How can I, a woman, serve the Lord?" Many women, having heard God call them into public roles in the Kingdom, are serving in positions of leadership. They are asking, "Will the church support us?"

We must respond. The issue of women in missions, ministry, and leadership is dividing homes, churches, communities, even societies. We must respond responsibly, for we never want to find ourselves working against God's purposes, quenching His Spirit at work in the lives of those He has called. We must respond carefully, since God's truth often stands in direct opposition to what the majority of people believe. The book includes a recommended resource list, Endnotes for each chapter 1-18 with a final word, short author biographies and related book lists.

Genres: Nonfiction, Christian, Theology, Womens, Christianity, Religion, Faith

279 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2000

Reviews

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

2024 Review
This book was one of the main drivers for my 2024 goal of "re-reading the books that impacted me most in my 20's." I vaguely recognized that it significantly impacted how I viewed women's roles in ministry. I also knew that I had yet to read anything else particularly persuasive on the topic. Therefore, I concluded, it would either similarly let me down, or provide a foundation for beliefs I held but couldn't always articulate.

And I would say...it did both.

Loren Cunningham is the big name on here as the founder of YWAM. He wrote the first 4 chapters. And they're okay. The arguments felt more emotional than logical. The statistics and examples of female oppression that he relies on kept me flipping back to find the publishing date. (2000, in case you're wondering.) I get that his goal probably wasn't to point fingers at particular denominations or pastors, but if his chapters were supposed to "set the scene" of the ongoing controversy of women in the church, I'd give it a C. If it was to prove that a few examples like Susanna Wesley or Corrie ten Boom somehow prove women can effectively work in ministry, I'd say go read Seven Women: And the Secret of Their Greatness instead.

David Joel Hamilton wrote the remaining 14 chapters and that's where this book really shines. He digs into the prevailing Greek and Roman culture surrounding the early church, discusses Jesus' unique treatment of women, and then analyzes three of the most controversial passages in the New Testament about women in ministry: 1. "the head of women is the man"; 2. "women should remain silent in the churches; and 3. "I do not permit a woman to teach."
To address each of these sections of Scripture, Hamilton relies on cultural context, the Greek words used, and Paul's literary style. (Like his use of chiasm: a repetition of similar ideas in the reverse sequence.)

Hamilton's analysis walks a fine line between scholarly and approachable. There are some really cheesy clip art graphics that scream early 2000s that he uses, but they do help explain his points. I felt like as a reader I was intellectually engaging with the subject and wrestling with what Paul had to say.

Too often books like this come at the topic defensively, usually in the form of a memoir from a woman hurt by an overly legalistic church. Those stories are important and have their place. But part of what makes this book so refreshing is that it focuses on empowering women over righting wrongs. It looks broadly at what the Bible says (and how certain NIV translations mislead) and the historical context. It is occasionally repetitive, but it is getting at something important.

Worth a read (or re-read!) for sure.

2015 Review
A very powerful book. I'm not 100% sure I agree with everything but it challenged me immensely and gave me a lot to think about. I love how footnoted it was. Entirely readable but still academic.
Why Not Women? explores the role of women in "missions, ministry, and leadership." It emphasizes the very things that grounded my faith as young teenager: Jesus' radical, culture-changing attitude towards women.
The knowledge that this God looked upon women and treated them equally changed the way I approached life. I was raised in the church and God's fair, loving, and just treatment of women should not have taken me by surprise. But it did. I was reading Twelve Extraordinary Women: How God Shaped Women of the Bible, and What He Wants to Do with You one day when it finally dawned on me how radical and kind Jesus was. It led me to worship. It still blows my mind and steals my heart. In fact, the moment when I first understood the implications of Jesus' conversation with the women at the well, I realized a passionate, awe-filled love for God that has never left me. I cannot overemphasize the sense of value it gave me to know that this Jesus went against all the cultural expectations of his time to bring grace to that woman.
If this book did nothing but remind me of that sense of value, it would have been worth it.
But the authors do more. They engage in a very intense and interesting discussion of the verses that talk about women in the Bible, specifically women in ministry. They look broadly at the historical position of women around the time of Jesus (I will never think of the Greeks the same. What a bunch of...let's keep it G. Idiots.)
The Greeks did not value women. The Romans did not value women. The Jews ignored the very precepts that gave equality to women. Then Jesus came...and kabam. He changed everything.
Cunningham and Hamilton argue that the church, however, belittle women when ignoring their role in church leadership, both in the early church and now.
A very hard, powerful book. Definitely worth reading! I feel like many of the things I have been taught have been challenged, and not in a bad way. This is only the beginning of a larger debate I look forward to exploring. Women pastors (or women in church leadership in general) remain a controversial subject and there are one or two things I'm not sure I totally understood. 1 Timothy 2:11-15 still puzzles me. I think the authors provide a very good option, but they don't explain thoroughly enough how they got to their explanation.
Still. Read it. A book full of grace that goes a long way in restoring the identity and value of women, in the church and out.

[Adam Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book that covers all of the relevant issues, one of the best I've read thus far. The bulk of the book is spent on the contested passages (1 Cor. 11, 14, and 1 Tim. 2) in a number of chapters, in careful and extensive detail. The book is heavily documented too.

Growing up in circles that denied women the right to hold public office in the Church, I was told that all such arguments were nonsensical, and either denied the Scriptures or got around the problem by claiming Paul didn't really write them. To my surprise, it turns out that the argument is not based on the supposed importation of "radical feminism" into the Church, but is rather grounded in a careful examination of the texts themselves and in their structures (did anybody else know there was a chiasm in 1 Cor. 14?). It also revealed to me how important correct translation is, as a number of passages have not been translated as clearly as they could have been. In this regard, the ESV is a particularly unreliable guide to the actual statements of Scripture. As J. I. Packer said 25 years ago, the burden of proof now lies with those who would deny women full equality of office in the family and the Church, and not with those who seek to include them.

I really do recommend this book to anyone interested in thinking through what the Scriptures say about the issue of women and the Church.

[Roxanneandvince Weber · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is, hands down, the very best book on women in Christian leadership I have ever read. There is no glossing over of difficult passages and no dependence on a handful of convenient scriptures commonly used to limit the role of women in the body of Christ. I cannot recommend this book highly enough for anyone, male or female, who has ever wrestled with the subject of women in ministry. This is an awesome, life-giving, healing resource. Read it!

[Katherine B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was definitely an interesting read. Coming from a denomination that is very anti-women teaching, hearing from the other side of the argument (really for the first time) was thought provoking.

I can't say that I think all my questions were answered by this book, but it definitely made some valid points about the culture that existed in biblical times, and some mistranslations (or added words) that could have affected the understanding of the Scriptures.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I walked into a small Christian book store and asked for a book that dealt with the issue of women's roles in the church. I was told they had no such book. I then began to look around and, bingo, I found a lone copy of this. It uses old testatment scripture to point out that God intended men and women to be equal from the beginning of his creation. It was mankind's sin in the world that caused the inequality. The book also uses new testament scripture to show Jesus, in addition to freeing us from our sin, came to restore equality to women. I didn't just believe this book because it said what I wanted to hear, I read the Bible and I read another book, "Beyond Sex Roles, " by Gilbert Bilezikian. I also talked at length to a pastor I respect who leads a church where women are not allowed to be leaders. This book uses scripture that has not been pulled out of context (quite opposite, it cites what was happening in history at that time) which makes it hard to argue with. It is a rare gem and should be read not only by every woman, but also by every man. I will hang on to my well-marked copy and pass it on to my daughters and granddaughters, sons and grandsons.

[Olivia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting. I'm not sure that I agree with all of their conclusions, and some of their defenses seemed a little weak, but on the whole they made a very compelling case and I really appreciate their thoroughness in discussing practically every relevant scripture. My overall impression is positive: it was informative and encouraging in many points and at least left me with something to think about in those points with which I'm unsure of my agreement.

[Natasha Dosa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every Christian should read this book. Very fascinating and encouraging read both for women and men in ministry and in the Christian church. The history behind how Greek and Roman thought about women’s value and how it influenced Christianity was truly surprising. I did not realize how much Greek philosophy dehumanizes women.

[Lena Satterlee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book isn’t simply about women in ministry, although it gives a powerful and clear argument for releasing women in every way; it is more importantly about how to study the Bible and the necessity of understanding context and audience, especially as we interpret challenging passages. Even if you can’t agree with all the authors’ conclusions, this book is a must-read in my opinion to expose places our culture has shaped our thinking. Like the authors emphasize throughout the book, the completion of the Great Commission is too important to get this issue wrong.

[Grace J. Neff · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is such a great resource. I would definitely like to return to it at some point and give it more attention.

[Ray Ellis · Rating 1 out of 5]

"Hath God said", version 2

Wow! I have read many books and commentaries on Bible passages over the years, but I don't recall ever seeing such a blatant attempt to twist scripture into supporting a predetermined conclusion as the two authors of this book have done.
Furthermore, throughout the book, they make an argument for one position and then apply the conclusion to something else. I'm pretty sure there's a name for that as a common logical fallacy.
Using Hamilton's methods of Biblical interpretation, we common folk might as well be reading Latin and just trust the smart guys to give us the true meaning of the Bible since it really means the opposite of what it says. But you can only know that if you are a student of ancient history, a scholar of the Greek language, and an expert in literary forms.
I have to mention one more tactic that Hamilton uses that, in my view, is really dishonest and deceiving. That is his repeated treatment of personal presumptions as facts. At critical junctures, Hamilton introduces a foundational proposition into his argument as a "perhaps", "maybe", or "I suggest", but within a couple of pages is stating the presumption as fact that is critical to his conclusion. He even takes this to the extreme of inventing a character into Paul's teaching then using the fictitious person to completely erase the plain instruction of the apostle.
I cannot give negative stars. Maybe the authors' strong case for treating women with dignity and respect and acknowledging the equal standing of both women and men as recipients of God's grace will justify that single star.
This treatise was worse than a disappointment; it was a tragedy.

[Philip · Rating 3 out of 5]

I might write up a longer review later, but in short: I liked this book, I found it generally persuasive, although the arguments seemed to push certain ideas beyond where they should have gone.

The first four chapters, written by Cunningham, are a little too polemical for my tastes and add little overall to the book. There is also more promotion of his missionary organisation than feels necessary.

The remainder of the book, written by Hamilton, feels more scholarly in tone and less emotional. I agree that Christ and Paul's attitudes towards women were radical given their context. However, I'm not sure that's necessarily the same as the idea of equality advocated here. Perhaps it is, but in general you can tell this book was written by missionaries and not by academics.

Probably a helpful introduction to the topic, which I suspect is what the authors were going for, but lacking the authority of a rigorous academic work.

[Abram Raafat · Rating 5 out of 5]

الكتاب ده لما قريته من كذا سنة كان بالنسبة ليّ طفرة فكرية.. اعتمدت على كثير من معلومات الكتاب ده في تكوين مفهوم الإنسان بالنسبة ليّ وفهم من أين أتى التشويه..
كتاب أكثر من رائع ويستحق الدراسة مش بس القراءة..

[Daniel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Less than convincing. At least half of the book is simply "background," that is, overly broad themes in the Bible or collections of quotes of Greek, Roman, or Jewish views on women. While interesting in their own right (and admittedly demeaning to women if they are portrayed accurately), the views of these groups on women is only tangentially related to the question of what the biblical role of women is. As for the overly broad themes, the book's authors frequently use vague terms that do not get to the heart of the issue. For instance, time and time again, the issue is framed like it is about whether or not women can serve in ministry. But this is unhelpful, as people use the term "ministry" in tons of ways, and no one would prohibit women from ministry in the broad sense of serving others in Christ's name (which is the way that most people use the term). What they really mean by this is whether or not women can be a "minister" i.e. in church leadership/preaching/teaching. This seems to be a linguistic device to get the reader on the "women in ministry" side, which they then stretch to include all possible ministerial roles. Even one 5-star review that I read admitted that the first 4 or so chapters of this book (written by Cunningham) are really just emotional appeals without rational argumentation. The term "teach" is also used in the broadest possible sense so that conveying any information at all is "teaching." For example, when the women report to the disciples that the tomb is empty, the authors say that the women were "teaching" them.

When it comes to Scripture, the Bible scholar (Hamilton) makes some enlightening remarks and draws out some good principles from the text, showing that he can actually read the Bible for what it is saying. But the problem is that these remarks are all in areas not related to women in leadership. As soon as he gets to any topic related to that, his interpretation of Scripture goes wild. First, both authors absolutely freak out whenever there is any reference at all to a woman by any main character in the New Testament, especially in the closing greetings to letters. For instance, Paul makes a comment about helping some woman in her service, and they blow that up to mean that the woman had significant authority over men who had to do everything that she asked. Or, perhaps, just maybe, Paul is simply asking his readers to help her, just as one might ask someone to help his mom move, and it has nothing to do with authority. And when he gets to the passage that prohibit women from certain roles, Hamilton seems to be grasping at straws to find any way that the passage does not mean what it says. For instance, in 1 Timothy 2 when Paul says that "a woman" is not to have authority over "a man," the author takes it to be referring to some particular unnamed woman that Paul does not mention again and whom we have no other biblical or historical references. This is wildly speculative to say the least, and he has to do hermeneutical gymnastics with other things in the passage (the reference to creation order in particular) that would indicate the much more obvious reading that this passage is talking about women in general. Notably, he does not take the "a man" to be talking about any man in particular, which further shows the absurdity of this interpretation. In Ephesians 5, Hamilton says the Greek word for "head" should be translated "source" instead, a common egalitarian argument. While this is semantically possible (although the best scholarship shows that it would be unlikely at best), it does not fit the context well at all, as the passage is clearly talking about authority, not origins. To make this argument seem plausible, the author completely ignores the phrase "But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything." This clearly refers to a one-way submission, not just a mutual submission (Does Christ submit to the church?). Neither author discusses Colossians 3, Titus 2, 1 Peter 3, or pretty much any passage talking about the roles of men and women in the OT other than Genesis 2 (with a couple brief exceptions). However, this would be ok if it were simply for the sake of brevity, but what makes it less excusable is the sheer amount of space that the authors extrapolating from passages in Scripture that have little to no reference to the roles of women. Also, I'm not even sure why they addressed Ephesians 5 at all given that this book is about women's roles in the church, not in marriage, so it just seems unnecessary.

One last critique: Hamilton treats chiasms almost like magic. He sees them all over the place (even when he has to really stretch the passage to make it fit), and he sometimes acts as if saying the word "chiasm" and diagraming the sentence is a wand to wave over a passage to substantially change its meaning. His treatment of 1 Corinthians 11 and 14 are good examples of this. Could they possibly be chiasms? Maybe, although it seems doubtful that they are completely symmetrical. Would it radically change the meaning of the passage if they were chiasms? No.

Some positives about this book are that it is accessible/readable for your average Christian and that it boils down the egalitarian arguments to their basic level. I also appreciate the heart for missions that Cunningham clearly expresses. This book has caused me to return to the Scriptures and study more to firm up my understanding of what the Bible outlines for men and women.

[Jillian Armstrong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why Not Women gives a clear, intelligible, and meaningful look at how we need to learn to interpret scripture in general and specifically how we should examine the role of women in ministry. Cunningham and Hamilton take a careful look at the context, culture and language of specific difficult passages and offer their trained guidance on how to make sense of them. I felt empowered and encouraged, I learned a lot and am thankful for the clarity and insight provided.

[Becca Padgett · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Touching, gripping, and well-written."
My notes from 11/14/2015

[Helen LG · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some messy exegesis, but WNW gave me helpful tools to better understand my place in the church.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book opened my eyes to the difference between the beliefs we hold from our upbringing and culture, and the beliefs actually based on the Word of God. It's exhaustively researched and infinitely practical.

In "Why Not Women", Loren Cunningham explains the history behind the oppression of women in Greek and Roman societies which led to centuries of discrimination in our western society, and even infiltrated the Church. He shows how Jesus and the early church were truly revolutionary in their equal treatment of women.

David Hamilton digs into the controversial passages in God's Word to show how our preconceived biases have tainted our interpretation of these verses. He clearly breaks down the original language of the text in order to show what the writers were truly saying. If you are willing to let God's Word, not your opinions, determine what is truth, this book will open your eyes to God's heart for women, and the giftings and callings he has given them.

To those reviewers who are obviously threatened by the subject matter and seem content to merely prooftext scriptures to back up their bias against women in ministry, I have this recommendation: try actually READING this book before you review it. The authors dig into the original language and context of every scripture you misquote. A little research might do you some good.

[Lynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now this was a fascinating book. The authors are conservative Christians, and yet they do manage to climb out of the unbiblical idea that women weren't and shouldn't be leaders of any kind within the Christian community. And they do it well, outside of one tiny, ridiculous swipe at Gay people in the intro (the only one there, and easily ignored for what it is).

The authors use the Bible itself, going back into its original languages and linguistics to cover topics like should women keep silent in church, and are women allowed to lead and/or teach?

I'd recommend this to everyone.

[Becky]

I highly recommend this book for the way it analyzes the difficult passages written by Paul using the original language of the writer, and within the original context and structure. For those (especially women) who already have an intuitive sense or personal experience of the detriment caused by the exclusion of women from ministry, the first few chapters of the book may have you saying "Well, duh!". If you start to get bored or frustrated with Loren Cunningham's section, skip to Chapter 5, as the historical context and textual analysis by David Hamilton is very enlightening.

[Mom 2 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think women can be called by God to every office in the church that is named in the Bible - apostle, prophet, pastor, teacher, evangelist. I think women have been called to these. I think some have answered, some have wanted to, and some have attempted. I haven't found a book that I think most closely describes my own take on it, but some get close, and provide excellent background study. I really love it when most of these freedom-giving books are written by men!

[Mary Van Luven · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a powerful book because it stomps on the stereotypes of Christianity. Cultural beliefs of sexism are not rooted in Christianity, they began much before this time. If you are a christian woman, you need to read this so that you understand your power and authority. If you are skeptical of Christianity then you need to read this too.

[Belinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well-documented, thorough look at some of the most debated Bible verses regarding women's place in ministry and leadership in the church. It answered many of my own questions and literally set me free from bad theology which has pervaded the global church since it adopted a Greek- rather than Biblical-world view. A must read for both genders!

[Faith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excessively provocative topic in Christian circles. The factual handling of Scripture and original language writing was very informative. Knowing the info does not change the world I live in, but it is comforting to know that God esteems me highly even if it may seem people in the Church do not.

[Andy Hickman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Encouraging recognition of women in ministry.

Cunningham, Loren, and David J. Hamilton. Why Not Women?: A Fresh Look at Scripture on Women in Missions, Ministry, and Leadership. Seattle, WA: Youth With A Mission Publishing, 2000.

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Regardless of where you stand on faith, man or woman, you MUST read this book. Excellent and exhaustive historical resource!

[Michelle Baraka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent academic resource.

[Adam Callis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really well done. I'm not a strong enough scholar in Greek to know how far the author stretched his arguments on his analysis of the passages in 1 Corinthians and 1 Timothy. My gut reaction was that certain points are excellent and obvious upon close reading, while other points felt like he had the end in mind. At the same time, all the arguments are good, probably the best I've read. My uncertainty with it and his neglect of addressing 1 Timothy 3:2 and 3:12 (though I think I could guess at his analysis) led to the 4 star rating, though it's really 4.5. If nothing else, I will say his exposition of 1 Cor. 11:3 was extremely thought-provoking, and it forced me to pay better attention to everything happening in the text. If head means authority so that man is the "authority" (head) of woman, then we also have to carry that over and say that God is the authority over Christ. I don't fully buy his translation of "kephale" as "source" as in the source of a river being the "headwaters," but it does connect well with 11 and 12 when Paul says, "Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man nor man of woman; 12 for as woman was made from man, so man is now born of woman. And all things are from God." I think this passage, and really all the others that deal with women, show that Paul was usually more concerned about submission than he was about titles and authority. All authority comes to us from Jesus, and Jesus was the ultimate submitter. Jesus is not less than God, but he humbled himself and took on the form of a slave. I think we forget that when we debate about authority, positions, and roles in the church.

Interestingly, the textual sections came at the end. That's the part I came for, and ironically, the first sections had a stronger impact on me. Cunningham talks about the historical role of Christian women in China, Revival Movements, the Salvation Army, and also within YWAM, which he cofounded with his wife. These last points were aided by the fact that almost all the people I've known who have been associated with YWAM have been women, and all of them are Godly women (and passionate about their faith!).

Can women preach or serve as elders? I don't know. Mary Magdalene was the first to proclaim (preach?) that Jesus had risen from the dead. If yes for elders, I do wonder why Paul spoke about elders being the husband of one wife. I can see how that's a legitimate deterrent for some people. I can also see how that may have been Paul's way of simply saying that men who are elders should be faithful to their wives. I think if men were more concerned about holiness and sharing their faith than they are about their careers, fantasy football, superhero movies, etc., then this problem would be a whole lot easier to resolve, because there would be so many Godly men in the church that the women would want to support them. I realize that sounds like I'm a chauvinist, but I'm really hating on lazy men.

As for women reading Scripture, leading singing, passing communion trays, praying with men in the room, or other such things...I think we're way off in restricting women from these things. I think a lot of it boils down to the fact that we're more concerned with what happens during an hour on Sunday than we are about everything else. Cunningham is clear about why he's writing this book. One of his reasons is that he's running a worldwide missionary organization that has seen women accomplish great things for God, and he's concerned that one of the reasons we're failing to fulfill the Great Commission is that we're restricting 50% of the workforce. I think you can add the Spiritual malnourishment of women to that list of concerns. I know women who aren't sure if they're allowed to pray around men anywhere, even not in "church."

Cunningham cited a moment when Duncan Campbell, a 20th century Scottish evangelist, told a group of elders at a church in London that two of his colleagues in the Hebrides revival were women. Hearing this, one of the elders responded, "Well if God used a jackass once, then I guess he can use a woman!"

My fear while reading this book is that many prayers for church growth (my own included) have seen limited fruit in part because of our stances on women. God used a lot of women in the Bible to do a lot of unexpected things, and I think our stances on women, along with the stunted growth in our churches, the lack of prayer meetings, and our failure to pursue the Great Commission all show that we don't seem to have very high expectations for what God can do through the church today.

[Ahnah Olsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

i’ve never understood why the Bible, the words of God, would command women to submit to their husbands when the literal definition of submit is “to accept or yield to a superior force or to the authority or will of another person”. why would i be considered inferior just because i was born a woman?
and that’s only the tip of the iceberg! why does the Bible say women are to remain silent? why am I not allowed to teach but men are?
my heart drops at these misconceptions, i feel deep hurt within myself, hurt for the women of past, hurt for the women of now who are stuck in lives of lie and manipulation and hurt for all people who have been turned away from the truth of the gospel, the overwhelming and radical love of Jesus, because of these passages!
why has it always felt wrong? why have i felt anger when reading these messages?
BECAUSE IT IS WRONG!
the translations, interpretations and teaching of these passages have been consistently incorrect and presented as gospel truth when truly the church has been missing the mark for centuries!
Jesus presented radical, controversial, provocative and revolutionary words and actions of love and equality between ALL people.
this book presented an in depth, passionate analysis of the history of Jesus’ time (a time in which greeks and romans ruled the world), the authors used this history of the world to explain why and how the authors of the Bible wrote what they did and used the original greek language to translate these hard passages.

simple facts:
1. God uses marriage to represent the Trinity. if husbands are the head/authority/leader (read and study the original greek and you will find that these words are not used!) over their wives that would mean denouncing the equal Trinity. there is absolute equality between women and men because there is absolute equality between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
2. God wants all to come to know him - so in no way, shape or form would he ever condemn a person for sharing his gospel, his truth and bringing people to Christ, regardless of if they’re a man or a woman. woman can and should hold roles of authority in the church!

i really, truly urge you to read this book. seek the truth for yourself. i believe that this has been the most influential book i’ve ever read. if you’ve been hurt by the patriarchy of the church i hope that this book can offer a proper and true explanation of Jesus and his intentions. i would be happy to discuss this more with you if you’re interested (in a kind and respectful manner), i would be happy to send you this book, and i will always happily love you! i intend to read more, learn more, study more on the truth of Jesus and the Bible. it’s time for change, it’s time for hearts to be healed.
love always, ahnah

[Stevie Ciske · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are already a woman in ministry/leadership, this book is just confirmation that God intended for women to be in ministry. It's a great way to sharpen your knowledge, and continue walking in the ways God has called you. It will serve, for you, a great way to answer the naysayers who are curious (since I'd never suggest engaging in an argument, you don't owe anyone an explanation, simply answers to their questions).
If you are a woman feeling that call on your life, but too many have told you that you are disqualified based on your gender, this book is freeing. It will show you just how qualified the called are, no matter male or female. God needs us all to spread the gospel. He created gifts within us all, not discriminating based on gender, all for one purpose... to further the Kingdom! This is a great book to give you the confidence to move forward.
If you are weighed down by human tradition that passed down centuries upon centuries of the "Women can't serve in that way" mantra, but you are willing to learn what the Bible actually says, how it can be interpreted through those difficult passages in 1 Corinthians and Timothy.... This is a great resource. You must be willing to learn, to be open to the ideas that you've never heard before, and go into it praying that God would let His word truly set you free.
If you are stuck in the ways of the world, you demean women, you can't stand the thought of this book... maybe don't read it. I mean, do so at your own risk, but first pray. Ask God who HE qualifies, drop your preconceived ideas and let God speak to us through the spirit of the Book He wrote.
GREAT read for all! (and don't worry, it's written by men, so you can learn from them, right?)

[Katt Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t think I can possibly overstate my recommendation of this book. I’m sharing this review because I want to strongly encourage - nigh on beg - every Christian friend I have to read it.

It is a deeply theological, well-researched, heavily footnoted, yet still incredibly readable look into some of the most challenging passages in the New Testament - passages that have confused me since I started reading reading the Bible for myself as a child. This book takes us back to the original contexts, cultures and languages from which these passages came (including two incredible chapters on the Greek and Roman culture - I learned so much) and pulls them apart to get to the root - the heart of what the author was saying, and indeed what Jesus was saying to His Beloved Church - a church that has been known to then take the amazing, redeeming, freeing messages conveyed throughout the Bible and twisted them to restrict half of its members from using all of their gifts.

Just, please read this book. Even if you disagree with every word, read each one anyway and be challenged by what these amazing authors have to say. This is an issue worth digging into deeply. This is worth talking about.

Read it.