Women and the Kingdom, Faith and Roger Forster

"What does the Bible really say about women?

Should women be allowed to preach or lead in church?

What about what Paul said?

Women and the Kingdom is the long-awaited book by Faith and Roger Forster tackling the role of women within the Kingdom of God. This book takes you on an historical exploration of the roles of women in the Old, New and early church periods before ending up in the present day.

There is thorough, in-depth exegesis of the passages frequently used to argue the case against women in church leadership."

Anything that can really be said here is kind of irrelevant to be honest.

If you're Christian and Feminist (or just one of those), then you should read this. If you want to know what the Bible really teaches about women, then you should read this. If you have just a passing interest in how language shapes institutions, how institutions shape history, and why this is important. Yep, you guessed it, you should read this.

Look, lets face it. Most people have already come to a decision for themselves about the role of women in the church. At one extreme is the idea that women should be neither seen nor heard, that their authority is non-existent and that their principle role is to produce the next generation of male leaders. At the other extreme is ... well, actually, I'm not sure there IS another extreme. There's the centre, where people think that women should probably be able to play a part, say what they think and take a leadership role if they are qualified, but that's hardly an extremist view. That's barely even a view.

Still, because the argument is so skewed that this reasonable position is presented as aggressive Feminist shit-stirring, it's good to have a book that actually does what many men in positions of authority in the church seem to demand; a Biblically founded reason for women to have a role, born out of an exegesis of the text at hand, and an explanation of how the intent has been misrepresented to push women out of church leadership.

Frankly, this should be required reading for anyone before they go talking about what Paul thought about women, what the Bible really says or whether or not God has made women to be subservient to men.

Also Try:
The Bible
Shane Claiborne, The Irresistable Revolution