Customer Reviews

Gods High Calling for Women (John Macarthur Bible Studies)

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I thought this was a wonderful book that doesn't bow to political correctness. As always, Dr. MacArthur remains steadfast in his commitment to Biblical accuracy. Far from being chauvinistic, it celebrates women as God has created them and encourages them to thrive in the roles God has specifically designed for them. He is an easy author to read yet quite thought-provoking as well!

While I realize that Dr. MacArthur cares far less about reviews for his books than "rightly dividing the word" I enjoy reviewing his books nonetheless. This book is a Dr. Mac classic. It is excellent to pinpoint accuracy on God's design for godly women. Those who desire that category get this book and his updated version too. They have more to do with exalting the glory of God than exalting the glory of women. Excellent and scripturally sound.

This is a short (52 pages) study on 1 Timothy 2:9-15.

MacArthur believes the Bible says women should not seek leadership roles in the church. Their primary duty, given by God, is to raise godly children.

According to MacArthur, women are allowed to proclaim the Word of God, share their personal stories/insights, and pray in public. They just cannot lead when the church comes together to worship.

MacArthur explains 1 Corinthians 11:5 away by saying "Perhaps Paul meant this or Perhaps Paul mean that."

This is probably one of the few MacArthur studies that I don't totally agree with. I believe the entire (historical) context needs to be kept in mind while reading these verses. Usually MacArthur does that in his studies. That being said I don't believe women (or anybody for that matter) should be in a church leadership position because they want to be there.

I believe leaders need to be called by God to their leadership positions. No one should usurp authority just so they can be in charge. God's way is the only way for a successful, fruitful, and everlasting ministry.

This is a good study to read for an individual to study one side of the female preacher stance. This would probably not lend intself to a group study very well.

Unless you're looking for yet another book to debunk female pastors and scold women who wish to lead in church, this book won't do anything for you. Indeed, the title itself is misleading: the point and focus of the book is not to exalt what women can do, but what, in John MacArthur's opinion, they may not do. This book is one huge list of "can't do's" for women written by an old-fashioned man.

There are three main points that MacArthur stresses in this book:

1)Women may not pastor
2)Women pastoring creates disharmony and disorder
3)Only by letting men lead will true Christian goodness be achieved

MacArthur, like all those of his mindset and severity, truly believes that great mischief will be created by women pastoring. What exactly, is never said; we are simply told to believe that a person with a womb leading a church will cause unknowable and apparently considerable damage to the body of Christ.

MacArthur's studies of Paul's words center, of course, around his own purpose, which is to prove that God strictly forbids women to lead in church. In so doing, he attempts to cut down and minimize the actions of the women who did lead, in one instance by claiming that the two particular daughters in the Bible who were said to prophesy probably only prophesied once (a weak argument if ever I heard one) and that prophesy just means reaching out and speaking, so it doesn't mean women can pastor. Actually, MacArthur, one of the meanings of the word prophesy IS preaching. Good thing I did a little research of my own, or I might be unaware of the entire meaning of the word "prophesy", since MacArthur leaves it out.

When examining Paul's letters to Timothy, MacArthur mentions the problems occuring at the churches of the time and would have us believe that women trying to lead were one of the problems Paul and Timothy were afflicted with. Anyone with deep enough Biblical scholarship, however, would know that the problem wasn't women wanting to lead, but uneducated women wanting to lead in an unChristian way. MacArthur even goes on to say, "Indeed, there are still many women looking for positions of leadership" as though this is some awful thing that Christians need to fix!

Naturally, MacArthur exhorts women learning in the church; we just can't teach in it. We can learn from men, we just can't teach them, because there's either something in their maleness that can't take it or something in our womanhood that would damage them. Whatever this something is remains, as always, unknown, mysterious, and altogeter completely unproven.

If you want a book that truly exhorts women's gifts, I suggest you look at "A Woman's High Calling" by Elizabeth George, "Captivating" by Stasi Eldredge, or "The Purpose and Power of Woman" by Dr. Munroe.