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What Jesus Learned from Women
Dehumanization has led to serious misinterpretation of the Gospels. On the one hand, Christians have often made Jesus so much more than human that it seemed inappropriate to ask about the influence other human beings had on him, male or female. On the other hand, women have been treated as less than fully human, their names omitted from stories and their voices and influence on Jesus neglected. When we ask the question this book does, what Jesus learned from women, puzzling questions that have frustrated readers of the Gospels throughout history suddenly find solutions. Weaving cutting edge biblical scholarship together with an element of historical fiction and a knack for writing for a general audience, James McGrath makes the stories of women in the New Testament come alive, and sheds fresh light on the figure of Jesus as well. This book is a must read for scholars, students, and anyone else interested in Jesus and/or in the role of ancient women in the context of their times.
322 pages, Paperback
Published March 15, 2021
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December 16, 2021
The New Testament was written by men living in a patriarchal age that tended to discount the role of women in society. Nevertheless, the presence of women is acknowledged, and this provides a hint that their role may have been more significant than portrayed. If Jesus was truly human he needed to learn about his world from those he encountered in everyday life, and that included women.
James F. McGrath explores the role women played in the life of Jesus by employing a methodology that uses both historical and literary resources. This combination provides the means to fill in gaps that historical study by itself cannot penetrate. He engages the “exegesis of silence” that uses imagination combined with a thorough knowledge of history, skill of storytelling, and tools of historical fiction to describe an environment close to the way it really was.
He begins each of ten chapters with a narrative in the first person voice of the particular woman being presented. These beginning segments describe the individual's personality and her environment in a manner typical of historical fiction. After filling approximately 2 to 3 pages the book's narrative switches to the voice of the author in which he explains the evidence and history behind his choice of things included in the first person narrative. These explanatory portions of the chapter are much longer and take up to 20 pages which are then followed with a host of footnotes. An extensive bibliography is included at the end of the book.
I was motivated to read this book because of this posting on Bart Ehrman's blog in which the author describes the chapter in his book about Joanna. His suggestion that the Joanna described in Luke 8:1-3 is the same person as Junia referenced in Romans 16:7 is an idea I find very intriguing. After reading the full explanation provided in this book I'm even more persuaded that it could possibly be true. One of the things I like about the proposed scenario is that it explains why the Apostle Paul went to "Arabia" for several years after his conversion.
James F. McGrath explores the role women played in the life of Jesus by employing a methodology that uses both historical and literary resources. This combination provides the means to fill in gaps that historical study by itself cannot penetrate. He engages the “exegesis of silence” that uses imagination combined with a thorough knowledge of history, skill of storytelling, and tools of historical fiction to describe an environment close to the way it really was.
The effort to perceive the stories and perspectives of women in the time of Jesus in general, and who know him in particular, involves seeking what ancient male authors sometimes ignored and sometimes deliberately downplayed or omitted. The enterprise is thus at once historical and imaginative. It seeks to take the evidence fully seriously and be compatible with it, and yet by definition is required to go beyond it, to explore silences and omissions and details around passing mentions. (p.12 book, p.26 ebook)The author, James F. McGrath, is a fully credentialed scholar of New Testament studies and is conversant in the world of critical Biblical studies. Consequently I feel some comfort with the narrative he has provided in this book. It gave me a perspective on the first century life surrounding Jesus that added new color to some old familiar Biblical stories.
He begins each of ten chapters with a narrative in the first person voice of the particular woman being presented. These beginning segments describe the individual's personality and her environment in a manner typical of historical fiction. After filling approximately 2 to 3 pages the book's narrative switches to the voice of the author in which he explains the evidence and history behind his choice of things included in the first person narrative. These explanatory portions of the chapter are much longer and take up to 20 pages which are then followed with a host of footnotes. An extensive bibliography is included at the end of the book.
I was motivated to read this book because of this posting on Bart Ehrman's blog in which the author describes the chapter in his book about Joanna. His suggestion that the Joanna described in Luke 8:1-3 is the same person as Junia referenced in Romans 16:7 is an idea I find very intriguing. After reading the full explanation provided in this book I'm even more persuaded that it could possibly be true. One of the things I like about the proposed scenario is that it explains why the Apostle Paul went to "Arabia" for several years after his conversion.
April 16, 2021
For those of us who affirm the Chalcedonian decree that Jesus is fully divine and fully human, we must answer the question -- what did his humanity look like? In other words, did he truly share our humanity? If so, did he have to learn just as we must learn? Or, was he a bit like Mr. Data and have an encyclopedic set of information from the moment of conception? There is a reference in the Gospel of Luke that suggests that as a child, Jesus grew in wisdom and stature. I've long taken that as a signal that Jesus grew in understanding of himself and the world around him. So, when he went to school (bear with me for a moment), did he have to learn his times' tables as I did in fourth grade? Or did he get a perfect score on every test?
While you ponder that question, I offer you James McGrath's intriguing and insightful book What Jesus Learned from Women. Notice that he uses the phrase "learned from" and not "taught." That's an important distinction because it allows McGrath to expand the conversation to include encounters with women who might not have explicitly taught him something in particular, but whose example might have given Jesus new insights about God and humanity and creation.
There is an increasing number of books that speak to the role of women in the biblical story. One of the challenges, especially in the reading of the New Testament, is that many of the women mentioned are not named. Those who are named may not have their character fully developed. That may be due in large part to the fact that the biblical text was written by men living in a patriarchal age that tended to discount the role of women in society. Nevertheless, there are hints that Jesus did learn from women, and so should we.
Now, it will take a bit of intuiting and sleuthing to provide a fuller picture of the lives and roles of women in the Gospel story. That is what McGrath does here. He takes a particular vantage point to explore Jesus' encounters with the women in his life and asks the question of what might Jesus have learned from them. Of course, if we're to embrace McGrath's interpretation of Jesus' life we have to first affirm the premise, even if we affirm Jesus' divinity, that he in fact did learn things along the way. As we take this journey we get a better picture of the women in Jesus' life.
McGrath employs a methodology that draws on both historical and literary resources. Doing this gives him the ability to fill in gaps that historical study by itself cannot penetrate. So, using the idea of the "exegesis of silence," he embraces a methodology that is both historical and imaginative. Thus, "it seeks to take the evidence fully seriously and be compatible with it, and yet by definition is required to go beyond it, to explore silences and omissions and details around passing mentions" (p. 12).
McGrath takes us on a journey that begins with his mother, Mary, and takes us through a variety of stories, using imagination to broaden our understanding, ending with a conversation about one of Jesus's companions, Joanna. It makes sense that we would start with Mary, for she would have been the person most likely to form his worldview. She would have been his primary educator. But we don't stop there, we next go with him to Grandma's house, which McGrath envisions being in the neighboring city of Sepphoris. He finds evidence that is a bit circumstantial, but which suggests that his grandparents, Mary's parents, might have lived in Sepphoris. If his father worked in Sepphoris, might he have accompanied Joseph to the city and spent time with his grandparents. What would he have learned from his grandmother about cities and urban life and living among gentiles?
Of course, McGrath takes us to the well where Jesus encounters the Samaritan woman with whom he has serious theological conversations. Then we go to the house where he encounters the Syro-Phoenician woman, who challenges ethnocentrism. There is a chapter about two women who suffer, one older and one younger, both of whom Jesus heals. We encounter Mary and Martha and what these two women taught him. There is a poor widow who shared her two cents with the temple and what that might have meant. He addresses the story of the woman who is presumed guilty of adultery in John 8, a passage that has been disputed, but which I've always felt, and McGrath confirms, may not belong to John but seems to fit the story of Jesus. So what did he learn from this experience?
You can't have a book about the women around Jesus and not discuss Mary Magdalene. McGrath does an excellent job of separating out the various interpretations, many of which conflates a variety of women into one. Thus, he counters the idea that she was a prostitute. Of course, Mary Magdalene has been portrayed in popular culture as Jesus' lover or wife or bearer of his children, he raises a different idea. Why do we assume Mary is younger? What if she is an older woman who simply brings wisdom and possibly financial support to the community? But, first and foremost, McGrath intuits that Mary was able to convince Jesus that women can be leaders.
The final chapter is perhaps the most intriguing to me because with Joanna, a figure that is not fully developed he connects a number of dots that are illuminating. He notes that Joanna likely was from a prominent family as her husband Chuza was an official in Herod Antiipas's government, that he was likely Nabatean, and thus connected in some way to Herod's larger household. He also suggests that she might have been connected by kinship to Paul. Not only that but could she be the same person as the Junia Paul mentions as one among the Apostles, who with Andronicus, had been a follower of Jesus before he was? McGrath points out that he was hesitant to make that connection because too often biblical characters get conflated, but the evidence points in that direction. I have, therefore, a whole new possible understanding of this figure who was present at key moments of Jesus' life, and who may have taught him a variety of things, including the possibility of an inclusive vision that countered earlier ethnocentrism.
McGrath does a great job of sleuthing out the historical possibilities. He is, after all, a New Testament scholar committed to bringing historical tools to the task of biblical scholarship. At the same time, he has a strong interest in literary things, including science fiction and fantasy. In other words, he is not Joe Friday. He can and does possess the ability to utilize his imagination to raise possibilities that intrigue. Again, he doesn't do anything that would go against historical plausibility, but he does open up avenues of exploration. If we are going to broaden our vision to include women more in the story, we need to do this, because the facts are few, but intriguing. With that in mind, one of the contributions that McGrath makes here is the use of historical fiction to set the narrative. So, at the beginning of each chapter, McGrath weaves a story utilizing what he can discover through historical studies and then offers a possible narrative of Jesus' encounters with women. So, for instance, with the story of the "Suffering Daughters," McGrath tells a story that connects the woman who has experienced bleeding with her own daughter. The mother and the woman who seeks healing from Jesus are pictured here as friends whose friendship has been severed because of the affliction. Notice too that the woman has been in this position for twelve years, the same age as Jairus' daughter. McGrath names the women in the story, in order to personalize the story. So, it's not just the story of healing and raising of the dead, it's a story of reconciliation and reunion. Obviously, this goes beyond the facts at hand, but it's a plausible story that brings insight, and from which Jesus has learned something simply by being a participant in these encounters.
This is really an insightful book worth spending time with. It will help illuminate one's understanding of Jesus. It will challenge and stretch our Christological thinking, but that's a good thing as it will contribute to our understanding of Jesus' full humanity. He was, in fact, a learner. At the same time, McGrath does a wonderful job of bringing to life these women around Jesus, whose stories are often truncated and can be rather stiff. Yes, we have a sense of the women in the story, but not a full picture. McGrath gives us as full a picture as I've seen presented. So, go and pick it up because it will be worth your while!
While you ponder that question, I offer you James McGrath's intriguing and insightful book What Jesus Learned from Women. Notice that he uses the phrase "learned from" and not "taught." That's an important distinction because it allows McGrath to expand the conversation to include encounters with women who might not have explicitly taught him something in particular, but whose example might have given Jesus new insights about God and humanity and creation.
There is an increasing number of books that speak to the role of women in the biblical story. One of the challenges, especially in the reading of the New Testament, is that many of the women mentioned are not named. Those who are named may not have their character fully developed. That may be due in large part to the fact that the biblical text was written by men living in a patriarchal age that tended to discount the role of women in society. Nevertheless, there are hints that Jesus did learn from women, and so should we.
Now, it will take a bit of intuiting and sleuthing to provide a fuller picture of the lives and roles of women in the Gospel story. That is what McGrath does here. He takes a particular vantage point to explore Jesus' encounters with the women in his life and asks the question of what might Jesus have learned from them. Of course, if we're to embrace McGrath's interpretation of Jesus' life we have to first affirm the premise, even if we affirm Jesus' divinity, that he in fact did learn things along the way. As we take this journey we get a better picture of the women in Jesus' life.
McGrath employs a methodology that draws on both historical and literary resources. Doing this gives him the ability to fill in gaps that historical study by itself cannot penetrate. So, using the idea of the "exegesis of silence," he embraces a methodology that is both historical and imaginative. Thus, "it seeks to take the evidence fully seriously and be compatible with it, and yet by definition is required to go beyond it, to explore silences and omissions and details around passing mentions" (p. 12).
McGrath takes us on a journey that begins with his mother, Mary, and takes us through a variety of stories, using imagination to broaden our understanding, ending with a conversation about one of Jesus's companions, Joanna. It makes sense that we would start with Mary, for she would have been the person most likely to form his worldview. She would have been his primary educator. But we don't stop there, we next go with him to Grandma's house, which McGrath envisions being in the neighboring city of Sepphoris. He finds evidence that is a bit circumstantial, but which suggests that his grandparents, Mary's parents, might have lived in Sepphoris. If his father worked in Sepphoris, might he have accompanied Joseph to the city and spent time with his grandparents. What would he have learned from his grandmother about cities and urban life and living among gentiles?
Of course, McGrath takes us to the well where Jesus encounters the Samaritan woman with whom he has serious theological conversations. Then we go to the house where he encounters the Syro-Phoenician woman, who challenges ethnocentrism. There is a chapter about two women who suffer, one older and one younger, both of whom Jesus heals. We encounter Mary and Martha and what these two women taught him. There is a poor widow who shared her two cents with the temple and what that might have meant. He addresses the story of the woman who is presumed guilty of adultery in John 8, a passage that has been disputed, but which I've always felt, and McGrath confirms, may not belong to John but seems to fit the story of Jesus. So what did he learn from this experience?
You can't have a book about the women around Jesus and not discuss Mary Magdalene. McGrath does an excellent job of separating out the various interpretations, many of which conflates a variety of women into one. Thus, he counters the idea that she was a prostitute. Of course, Mary Magdalene has been portrayed in popular culture as Jesus' lover or wife or bearer of his children, he raises a different idea. Why do we assume Mary is younger? What if she is an older woman who simply brings wisdom and possibly financial support to the community? But, first and foremost, McGrath intuits that Mary was able to convince Jesus that women can be leaders.
The final chapter is perhaps the most intriguing to me because with Joanna, a figure that is not fully developed he connects a number of dots that are illuminating. He notes that Joanna likely was from a prominent family as her husband Chuza was an official in Herod Antiipas's government, that he was likely Nabatean, and thus connected in some way to Herod's larger household. He also suggests that she might have been connected by kinship to Paul. Not only that but could she be the same person as the Junia Paul mentions as one among the Apostles, who with Andronicus, had been a follower of Jesus before he was? McGrath points out that he was hesitant to make that connection because too often biblical characters get conflated, but the evidence points in that direction. I have, therefore, a whole new possible understanding of this figure who was present at key moments of Jesus' life, and who may have taught him a variety of things, including the possibility of an inclusive vision that countered earlier ethnocentrism.
McGrath does a great job of sleuthing out the historical possibilities. He is, after all, a New Testament scholar committed to bringing historical tools to the task of biblical scholarship. At the same time, he has a strong interest in literary things, including science fiction and fantasy. In other words, he is not Joe Friday. He can and does possess the ability to utilize his imagination to raise possibilities that intrigue. Again, he doesn't do anything that would go against historical plausibility, but he does open up avenues of exploration. If we are going to broaden our vision to include women more in the story, we need to do this, because the facts are few, but intriguing. With that in mind, one of the contributions that McGrath makes here is the use of historical fiction to set the narrative. So, at the beginning of each chapter, McGrath weaves a story utilizing what he can discover through historical studies and then offers a possible narrative of Jesus' encounters with women. So, for instance, with the story of the "Suffering Daughters," McGrath tells a story that connects the woman who has experienced bleeding with her own daughter. The mother and the woman who seeks healing from Jesus are pictured here as friends whose friendship has been severed because of the affliction. Notice too that the woman has been in this position for twelve years, the same age as Jairus' daughter. McGrath names the women in the story, in order to personalize the story. So, it's not just the story of healing and raising of the dead, it's a story of reconciliation and reunion. Obviously, this goes beyond the facts at hand, but it's a plausible story that brings insight, and from which Jesus has learned something simply by being a participant in these encounters.
This is really an insightful book worth spending time with. It will help illuminate one's understanding of Jesus. It will challenge and stretch our Christological thinking, but that's a good thing as it will contribute to our understanding of Jesus' full humanity. He was, in fact, a learner. At the same time, McGrath does a wonderful job of bringing to life these women around Jesus, whose stories are often truncated and can be rather stiff. Yes, we have a sense of the women in the story, but not a full picture. McGrath gives us as full a picture as I've seen presented. So, go and pick it up because it will be worth your while!
April 14, 2021
James McGrath approaches the writing of this book, What Jesus Learned from Women, as a biblical historian. This is as opposed to a theologian or an apologist for traditional biblical interpretations. This is important because some readers may take issue at the solely naturalistic explanations of what James chooses to include and discuss. In response, he would state that history is only qualified to discuss those things that have happened within the natural world with natural explanations. That does not necessarily exclude the supernatural, but that is beyond the scope of what historical evidence is qualified to assess. (See his other book, The Burial of Jesus: What Does History Have to Do With Faith?, for more on his historical approach to scripture as a person of faith.)
Another potential barrier is the long-standing tradition (especially in the Western/Roman Christianity) of Jesus’ divinity as it relates to perfection of knowledge and the implied corollary that therefore, Jesus could not make any mistakes. By extension then, Jesus had nothing to learn from other humans. In effect, the divinity of Jesus is so emphasized that his humanity is almost an afterthought. (This is rather close to Docetism, even if not technically identical, an early Christian heresy.)
What McGrath attempts to do, and quite successfully, is recover the full humanity of Jesus, especially how he must grow and mature in knowledge and wisdom, not just in his childhood but throughout his adult life. And for this to occur, Jesus sometimes says and does things that may be what could be termed “mistakes” or actions from ignorance and prejudices that are simply a part of the culture that is around him. The difference between Jesus and most other humans is that Jesus is always willing to learn and avoid making the same mistake twice. (Some might argue, “Isn’t making a mistake or acting on prejudice sin?” The book does not address this question. But perhaps an overly legal – again based on Roman Christianity and its understanding of sin – approach to sin, rather than a relational one in which intentional breaches of relationships is sin – might be something to consider.)
Rather than try to go into specifics of what McGrath covers, my broad reactions might be more appropriate and helpful in this review.
He starts each chapter with a historical fictional narrative of what will be discussed more thoroughly in the chapter. Often this narrative seems rather “way out” and speculative, when compared with the literal text of the Bible and its traditional interpretations. But McGrath explains the basis, in history, culture, and other literary references, of how the narrative is not just random speculation but a plausible reconstruction of what might have been the case. None are precise in all the details, and characters and circumstances might differ, but the narrative is historically plausible. I found it incredibly fascinating and enlightening to see how many threads of people, places, and stories found in the Bible, quite often ones traditionally never placed together, could in fact be related.
This book assumes some level of familiarity with extrabiblical sources and how they relate to the biblical text. It assumes some societal and family relationships that might not be part of what is commonly taught in traditional Christian circles. It helps to have some foundational background knowledge in ancient Mediterranean culture, politics, and history. As such I would say that this isn’t a book someone completely new to a historical approach to the biblical text would find easy to understand.
I think the most important takeaway is that Jesus learned how to be a better human being by learning from women. Unfortunately, this is a lesson that seems to have been intentionally set aside after the first one or two generations of Christians. Even today, there is strong resistance among the majority of Christians to see women as having much to teach men, let alone being allowed to do so in many cases. A point McGrath makes is that in the writing of this book, much of the material he used and learned from were written by women, and that in fact he probably could have written the entire book without having referenced any male authors. In doing so he saw new perspectives and ways of reading the stories of Jesus and women in the Bible. And through his writing, his readers, such as myself, are also able to share in the perspectives offered by women into the Bible. These are perspectives that have often been ignored and forgotten, that can provide additional and even critical lessons that have not been seen before.
I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to expand their perspective on interpretations of the biblical text and the world in which its stories and characters reside. It is an important contribution toward recovering not just the full humanity of Jesus, but in recovering so many women that are lost in the pages of the Bible.
Another potential barrier is the long-standing tradition (especially in the Western/Roman Christianity) of Jesus’ divinity as it relates to perfection of knowledge and the implied corollary that therefore, Jesus could not make any mistakes. By extension then, Jesus had nothing to learn from other humans. In effect, the divinity of Jesus is so emphasized that his humanity is almost an afterthought. (This is rather close to Docetism, even if not technically identical, an early Christian heresy.)
What McGrath attempts to do, and quite successfully, is recover the full humanity of Jesus, especially how he must grow and mature in knowledge and wisdom, not just in his childhood but throughout his adult life. And for this to occur, Jesus sometimes says and does things that may be what could be termed “mistakes” or actions from ignorance and prejudices that are simply a part of the culture that is around him. The difference between Jesus and most other humans is that Jesus is always willing to learn and avoid making the same mistake twice. (Some might argue, “Isn’t making a mistake or acting on prejudice sin?” The book does not address this question. But perhaps an overly legal – again based on Roman Christianity and its understanding of sin – approach to sin, rather than a relational one in which intentional breaches of relationships is sin – might be something to consider.)
Rather than try to go into specifics of what McGrath covers, my broad reactions might be more appropriate and helpful in this review.
He starts each chapter with a historical fictional narrative of what will be discussed more thoroughly in the chapter. Often this narrative seems rather “way out” and speculative, when compared with the literal text of the Bible and its traditional interpretations. But McGrath explains the basis, in history, culture, and other literary references, of how the narrative is not just random speculation but a plausible reconstruction of what might have been the case. None are precise in all the details, and characters and circumstances might differ, but the narrative is historically plausible. I found it incredibly fascinating and enlightening to see how many threads of people, places, and stories found in the Bible, quite often ones traditionally never placed together, could in fact be related.
This book assumes some level of familiarity with extrabiblical sources and how they relate to the biblical text. It assumes some societal and family relationships that might not be part of what is commonly taught in traditional Christian circles. It helps to have some foundational background knowledge in ancient Mediterranean culture, politics, and history. As such I would say that this isn’t a book someone completely new to a historical approach to the biblical text would find easy to understand.
I think the most important takeaway is that Jesus learned how to be a better human being by learning from women. Unfortunately, this is a lesson that seems to have been intentionally set aside after the first one or two generations of Christians. Even today, there is strong resistance among the majority of Christians to see women as having much to teach men, let alone being allowed to do so in many cases. A point McGrath makes is that in the writing of this book, much of the material he used and learned from were written by women, and that in fact he probably could have written the entire book without having referenced any male authors. In doing so he saw new perspectives and ways of reading the stories of Jesus and women in the Bible. And through his writing, his readers, such as myself, are also able to share in the perspectives offered by women into the Bible. These are perspectives that have often been ignored and forgotten, that can provide additional and even critical lessons that have not been seen before.
I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to expand their perspective on interpretations of the biblical text and the world in which its stories and characters reside. It is an important contribution toward recovering not just the full humanity of Jesus, but in recovering so many women that are lost in the pages of the Bible.
May 24, 2025
După părerea mea, un titlu mai potrivit pentru această carte ar fi fost «Isus și femeile», deoarece reflectă mai clar conținutul lucrării. Cartea este foarte lungă, iar unele informații se repetă frecvent, ceea ce poate îngreuna lectura. Dacă ar trebui să realizez un rezumat scurt, mi-ar fi foarte dificil, deoarece sunt prea multe detalii și idei amestecate. Cu toate acestea, tema abordată este interesantă, iar perspectiva asupra relației dintre Isus și femeile din Evanghelii oferă un punct de vedere aparte.”
(Editie română)
(Editie română)
June 18, 2021
I loved this book so much I hardly know how to begin to talk about it. I found it to be a profoundly different way of viewing Jesus and his relationships with women and all the other disciples. I appreciated the way Dr. McGrath contextualized his comments within the framework of culture, history, language, and society.
At long last here is an explanation about Mary and Martha of Bethany that truly made sense to me. I have long been puzzled by the esteem in which Martha was held in the early and medieval church and the very short shrift she gets after the Reformation.
Must admit, there were times when I thought he repeated himself too often, making the same point over and over again within the same chapter.
I suspect that this book might be as close to the historical Jesus as it might be possible to get. So often we put so much emphasis on his divinity that we overlook the He is also fully human and this work reminds us of that and shows us what that might have looked like.
At long last here is an explanation about Mary and Martha of Bethany that truly made sense to me. I have long been puzzled by the esteem in which Martha was held in the early and medieval church and the very short shrift she gets after the Reformation.
Must admit, there were times when I thought he repeated himself too often, making the same point over and over again within the same chapter.
I suspect that this book might be as close to the historical Jesus as it might be possible to get. So often we put so much emphasis on his divinity that we overlook the He is also fully human and this work reminds us of that and shows us what that might have looked like.
January 15, 2022
What a delightful, enjoyable book! It's got to be one of my favourite reads in a while of any genre. Although my reading of Scripture isn't ultra-conservative, seeing how a historian interprets the Gospels and traditions was so valuable. Add to that the highly imaginative, at times speculative approach left me wondering if I don't need to go back to the Gospels and re-read them with different lenses. The narrative historical stories introducing each chapter and woman were also valuable in taking the reader back in time, and envisioning how the women may have told their own stories.
I don't give many books five stars, but this one deserved it. McGrath is right: there ought to be more men writing about women. I look forward to his next book on John the Baptist's impact on Jesus.
I don't give many books five stars, but this one deserved it. McGrath is right: there ought to be more men writing about women. I look forward to his next book on John the Baptist's impact on Jesus.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews