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From Daughters to Disciples: Women's Stories from the New Testament
For too long the women of the Bible have been depicted in one-dimensional terms. On one side are saints, such as Mary, while on the other are "bad girls," such as Eve and Jezebel. Just as often, the female characters of the Bible are simply ignored. However, the women of the Bible are complex, multidimensional individuals whose lives are inspiring, funny, and tragic in ways too many of us never hear.
In this second of two volumes, Lynn Japinga acquaints readers with the women of the New Testament. From faithful forerunners like Anna and Elizabeth to female disciples like the sisters Mary, Martha, and Mary Magdalene to first-generation followers like Lydia and Dorcas, readers will encounter a wealth of foremothers in the faith in all their messy, yet redeemable, humanity. This Bible study introduces and retells every female character who contributes to one or more New Testament stories, diving deeply into what each woman's story means for us today with questions for reflection and discussion.
In this second of two volumes, Lynn Japinga acquaints readers with the women of the New Testament. From faithful forerunners like Anna and Elizabeth to female disciples like the sisters Mary, Martha, and Mary Magdalene to first-generation followers like Lydia and Dorcas, readers will encounter a wealth of foremothers in the faith in all their messy, yet redeemable, humanity. This Bible study introduces and retells every female character who contributes to one or more New Testament stories, diving deeply into what each woman's story means for us today with questions for reflection and discussion.
- GenresFaith
142 pages, Paperback
Published February 9, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
August 2, 2021
"The Bible is about the love that God and Jesus have for flawed human beings. In the New Testament, the focus is particularly on Jesus and how he related to people during his life on earth and continued to inspire them when he was no longer physically present. ...
In Scripture we see Jesus modeling courageous and healthy ways of living. We see human beings modeling selfish, greedy, and mean-spirited ways of living. We also see human beings who are transformed by the love of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit. We see grace. We see love. We see God."
The Bible teaches that everyone is a human being made in God's image and therefore everyone is worthy of respect and dignity. Jesus models kind and respectful treatment of others. We are to treat people with kindness, respect and dignity. This means people of any gender, race, belief, education, age and rich and poor.
"When the whole world is falling apart, it is even more important to persist together.
It is important to keep asking how the good news of the gospel speaks to contemporary issues. What would Jesus say about caring for and welcoming immigrants? What would Jesus say about caring for the poor? What would Jesus say about providing access to health care?"
From faith forerunners like Anna and Elizabeth to female disciples like the sisters Mary, Martha, and Mary Magdalene to followers like Lydia and Dorcas, readers will encounter the women of the New Testament.
Special thanks to author, Lynn Japinga for writing From Daughters to Disciples, and to Westminster John Knox Press, and NetGalley for providing me with a digital advanced reading copy of this book, which has been my pleasure to read and write an unbiased review.
#FromDaughterstoDisciples
#NetGalley
Posted on Goodreads August 1, 2021
Posted on NetGalley August 1, 2021
Posted on Beanstack August 2, 2021
In Scripture we see Jesus modeling courageous and healthy ways of living. We see human beings modeling selfish, greedy, and mean-spirited ways of living. We also see human beings who are transformed by the love of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit. We see grace. We see love. We see God."
The Bible teaches that everyone is a human being made in God's image and therefore everyone is worthy of respect and dignity. Jesus models kind and respectful treatment of others. We are to treat people with kindness, respect and dignity. This means people of any gender, race, belief, education, age and rich and poor.
"When the whole world is falling apart, it is even more important to persist together.
It is important to keep asking how the good news of the gospel speaks to contemporary issues. What would Jesus say about caring for and welcoming immigrants? What would Jesus say about caring for the poor? What would Jesus say about providing access to health care?"
From faith forerunners like Anna and Elizabeth to female disciples like the sisters Mary, Martha, and Mary Magdalene to followers like Lydia and Dorcas, readers will encounter the women of the New Testament.
Special thanks to author, Lynn Japinga for writing From Daughters to Disciples, and to Westminster John Knox Press, and NetGalley for providing me with a digital advanced reading copy of this book, which has been my pleasure to read and write an unbiased review.
#FromDaughterstoDisciples
#NetGalley
Posted on Goodreads August 1, 2021
Posted on NetGalley August 1, 2021
Posted on Beanstack August 2, 2021
February 19, 2021
In recent years we have been paying greater attention to the fact that women play important roles in the biblical story. We know of Mary the Mother of Jesus and Eve, partner to Adam, and perhaps Mary Magdalene. The fact is that there are many more and it is worth our time to discover their stories, for that will enrich our own faith journeys and will empower women as they participate in the life of the church.
Among the growing number of books that invite us to explore these stories is Lynn Japinga's book From Daughters to Disciples. Japinga is a professor of Religion at Hope College in Holland Michigan and an ordained minister in the Reformed Church of America. From Daughters to Disciples joins her earlier book on the stories of women in the Old Testament --- From Widows to Warriors: Women's Stories from the Old Testament.
Japinga follows the same process here as in the earlier book. She lifts up the stories of women who populate this particular section of the Bible. She does point out that this particular book was actually more difficult to write than the earlier one because "the New Testament stories about women do not provide much material to work with. The women often do not speak. They are not named. The do not do very much" (p. 3). In other words, they tend to stay in the background. Even Mary, the mother of Jesus doesn't play that large a role in the story. So she has to use her imagination to fill out the story at points. Nevertheless, she brings the stories of the women present in the New Testament to the foreground.
The book is written with a general lay audience in mind. In fact, it is designed to be used by groups for discussion. Japinga breaks her book into eight chapters. The first chapter focuses on the birth of Jesus and lifts up the stories of Mary as well as Elizabeth and Anna. And as you might expect she draws primarily from Luke to tell these stories. Then in chapter two, she focuses on two women who are healed by Jesus, "the bold bleeding woman" of Mark 5 and "the bent-over woman of Luke 13.
Chapter three focuses on three "outcasts," women who stood on the outside of Jesus' primary circle. There is the Syro-Phoenician woman of Mark 7, a Gentile woman who convinces Jesus to heal her daughter, challenging Jesus' seeming prejudices. Then there is the Samaritan woman of John 4, whom Jesus engages in theological conversation with concerning living water. Finally, there is the woman caught in adultery in John 8. Interestingly, Japinga opens up a new way of looking at this story through the lens of the #MeToo movement.
Chapter 4 tells the story of two grateful women, the woman who anointed him in Mark 14 and a grateful woman who weeps over Jesus' feet and anoints them with oil as a sign of gratitude for an act of forgiveness. This set of stories is followed by two separate accounts of the story of Mary and Martha. The first is the scene in which Martha criticizes Mary for sitting Jesus' feet when Martha was trying to prepare a meal. Japinga helpfully lays out how this story has been used to denigrate Martha, but she helps understand that both women have their areas of concern and need to be honored. The second story comes from John 11 and that is the story of the raising of Lazarus and the conversations the two women have with Jesus about friendship, healing, and the resurrection.
The sixth and final chapter on the Gospels tasks us to the cross and the Tomb. She has two sections here, one that focuses on the women who are present with Jesus as he is on the cross. She takes us through each of the four gospels, highlighting the presence of the women at the cross and then the eventual burial of Jesus. The other section of this chapter focuses on Mary Magdalene's encounter with the risen Jesus in John 20. Here the focus is on Mary's role as apostle to the apostles.
The final two chapters take us to the Book of Acts and the letters of Paul. In the Book of Acts, women are present, though Mary Magdalene is not. Jesus' mother is present in chapter 1 but disappears after that. There are a few other women who appear in the story including Lydia and Priscilla. As for Paul, she is less focused on Paul's teachings about women and more on the women who appear in his letters, including Priscilla/Prisca and Phoebe, as well Junia, and several others.
While many mainline churches have taken down many of the barriers to the full participation of women in the life of the church, challenges remain. So, the question is, how does the church embrace all the gifts of God's people? So, as she concludes her book, japinga notes that "to invite women to roles of preacher, teacher, worship leader, administrator, and counselor does not necessarily denigrate these other roles [the traditional roles women have taken up], and yet it has often been viewed that way. All gifts are important and they do not need to be gendered." (p. 120).
As noted earlier this is a book designed to be used in small group discussions. As with the earlier book this one includes a group study guide created by Mark Price. There are eight sessions linked to each of the eight chapters. While for some of us the information is not new, it is still useful for conversation that can expand our understanding of the whole people of God.
Among the growing number of books that invite us to explore these stories is Lynn Japinga's book From Daughters to Disciples. Japinga is a professor of Religion at Hope College in Holland Michigan and an ordained minister in the Reformed Church of America. From Daughters to Disciples joins her earlier book on the stories of women in the Old Testament --- From Widows to Warriors: Women's Stories from the Old Testament.
Japinga follows the same process here as in the earlier book. She lifts up the stories of women who populate this particular section of the Bible. She does point out that this particular book was actually more difficult to write than the earlier one because "the New Testament stories about women do not provide much material to work with. The women often do not speak. They are not named. The do not do very much" (p. 3). In other words, they tend to stay in the background. Even Mary, the mother of Jesus doesn't play that large a role in the story. So she has to use her imagination to fill out the story at points. Nevertheless, she brings the stories of the women present in the New Testament to the foreground.
The book is written with a general lay audience in mind. In fact, it is designed to be used by groups for discussion. Japinga breaks her book into eight chapters. The first chapter focuses on the birth of Jesus and lifts up the stories of Mary as well as Elizabeth and Anna. And as you might expect she draws primarily from Luke to tell these stories. Then in chapter two, she focuses on two women who are healed by Jesus, "the bold bleeding woman" of Mark 5 and "the bent-over woman of Luke 13.
Chapter three focuses on three "outcasts," women who stood on the outside of Jesus' primary circle. There is the Syro-Phoenician woman of Mark 7, a Gentile woman who convinces Jesus to heal her daughter, challenging Jesus' seeming prejudices. Then there is the Samaritan woman of John 4, whom Jesus engages in theological conversation with concerning living water. Finally, there is the woman caught in adultery in John 8. Interestingly, Japinga opens up a new way of looking at this story through the lens of the #MeToo movement.
Chapter 4 tells the story of two grateful women, the woman who anointed him in Mark 14 and a grateful woman who weeps over Jesus' feet and anoints them with oil as a sign of gratitude for an act of forgiveness. This set of stories is followed by two separate accounts of the story of Mary and Martha. The first is the scene in which Martha criticizes Mary for sitting Jesus' feet when Martha was trying to prepare a meal. Japinga helpfully lays out how this story has been used to denigrate Martha, but she helps understand that both women have their areas of concern and need to be honored. The second story comes from John 11 and that is the story of the raising of Lazarus and the conversations the two women have with Jesus about friendship, healing, and the resurrection.
The sixth and final chapter on the Gospels tasks us to the cross and the Tomb. She has two sections here, one that focuses on the women who are present with Jesus as he is on the cross. She takes us through each of the four gospels, highlighting the presence of the women at the cross and then the eventual burial of Jesus. The other section of this chapter focuses on Mary Magdalene's encounter with the risen Jesus in John 20. Here the focus is on Mary's role as apostle to the apostles.
The final two chapters take us to the Book of Acts and the letters of Paul. In the Book of Acts, women are present, though Mary Magdalene is not. Jesus' mother is present in chapter 1 but disappears after that. There are a few other women who appear in the story including Lydia and Priscilla. As for Paul, she is less focused on Paul's teachings about women and more on the women who appear in his letters, including Priscilla/Prisca and Phoebe, as well Junia, and several others.
While many mainline churches have taken down many of the barriers to the full participation of women in the life of the church, challenges remain. So, the question is, how does the church embrace all the gifts of God's people? So, as she concludes her book, japinga notes that "to invite women to roles of preacher, teacher, worship leader, administrator, and counselor does not necessarily denigrate these other roles [the traditional roles women have taken up], and yet it has often been viewed that way. All gifts are important and they do not need to be gendered." (p. 120).
As noted earlier this is a book designed to be used in small group discussions. As with the earlier book this one includes a group study guide created by Mark Price. There are eight sessions linked to each of the eight chapters. While for some of us the information is not new, it is still useful for conversation that can expand our understanding of the whole people of God.
July 10, 2021
I must admit that this book started slowly for me, retelling stories of women in the New Testament with whom I was already familiar and generally wondering what their lives were like and what their purpose was in the story. However, the final chapter on Paul's letters was a delightful revelation that made the rest of the book more than worthwhile; also, the book will be very useful for those who have not studied all the women of the New Testament together as an exemplary group. That last chapter uses extensive research on the vocabulary and inconsistencies of Paul's letters to argue for a much stronger involvement by women in the early church at every level and gives compelling justifications for the parts of the letters that read as sexist or discriminatory by today's standards. My only criticism of the book is that I would have liked the same researched detail from that last chapter to have been devoted to the earlier chapters of the book.
March 2, 2021
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for a review.
3.5 stars
From Daughters to Disciples pleasantly surprised me with the more in depth look at the female characters in the New Testament. Aside from looking at those who are glossed over in the male dominated work, they are viewed as important figures who we part of the church and followers of Jesus in their own right. The treatment of women is something that has always frustrated me in my own Catholic upbringing, but this discussion made it feel like they were valuable for more than providing food for the apostles.
After reading this, I will definitely pick up Lynn Japinga's previous work on the Old Testament.
3.5 stars
From Daughters to Disciples pleasantly surprised me with the more in depth look at the female characters in the New Testament. Aside from looking at those who are glossed over in the male dominated work, they are viewed as important figures who we part of the church and followers of Jesus in their own right. The treatment of women is something that has always frustrated me in my own Catholic upbringing, but this discussion made it feel like they were valuable for more than providing food for the apostles.
After reading this, I will definitely pick up Lynn Japinga's previous work on the Old Testament.
June 16, 2021
Really good look at some of the women in the New Testament. Especially appropriate for a women's Bible study, but also a good insightful read for any Christian. Not a feminist study, but very insightful for women in particular. Highly recommended.
February 20, 2022
I really enjoyed this accessible book on women in the New Testament. It was full of great biblical background and commentary, and the application was practical for women today. It was simple to read but didn't feel shallow or boring. Great read - would be good for a group study!
March 4, 2023
Excellent Bible Study. Offers a different perspective on women in the New Testament. I learned a lot about women never mentioned in sermons or Sunday School. Our group liked this book/author and will study other books by this author in the future.
November 12, 2021
Interesting Bible Study on women of the New Testament
February 16, 2023
A good basic Bible study that focuses on the women of the New Testament.
March 2, 2023
Good book for our bible study. Lots of great discussion.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews