Women, Authority & the Bible [Paperback]

Alvera Mickelsen (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 21, 1986

Evangelicals have reached a critical impasse. Advocates of more traditional roles for women say the heart of the matter is biblical authority. Those supporting more open roles say the crux is not biblical authority but biblical interpretation and application.

• What are the real issues in this controversy?
• How can we make sense out of key passages in 1 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians and 1 Timothy?
• How can legitimate change be encouraged in the church?
• How can we keep in mind that the decisions we reach affect living, breathing human beings?

The twenty-six evangelical leaders represented here, all participants in the Evangelical Colloquium on Women and the Bible, ask the hard questions about women's roles. Not all of them agree on everything. But they do agree that we must begin with the question, "What does the Bible teach?" They also agree that too often poor exegesis has been used to advocate positions on either side. Here support for women's ministry allies itself with scholarly rigor in the effort to break new ground. Essential reading for all concerned about women in the church.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: IVP Books (March 21, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0877846081
• ISBN-13: 978-0877846086
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #294,661 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent endorsement of women in ministry., June 11, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Women, Authority & the Bible (Paperback)

"How can we speak of a necessary subordination of status without implying a necessary inferiority of person?" This is the challenge raised and addressed in this collection of essays.

Traditional Christianity supports such a view, that though women are fully redeemed by Christ, they are unfit to participate in some teaching and preaching roles.

Women, Authority & the Bible is a collection of essays by several scholars of varying backgrounds. There are articles about the meaning of the Greek word for head ("man is the head of woman"), the meaning of authority under Christ, the culture and mythology of the day, and the relevant passages.

Though the views of a traditionalist are represented in one article, it is mainly a multipronged study on why women should be allowed full participation in ministry. It does so, however, with a respect for the Biblical texts that wouldn't offend a conservative evangelical.

Your interest in the various topics will determine how readable you find each chapter. I found most of them to be very well written. Most of the arguments put forth are also very well thought out and consistent.

By the end, I was in full agreement with one of the contributors who said that (paraphrased) "the burden of proof is now on those who would support the traditionalist position rather than on those who support women's full participation in ministry."

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome resource essay collection, May 13, 2007

By 

Heather M. May "Hamsters are the best" (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Women, Authority & the Bible (Paperback)

An essential women's roles essay collection, even if you are not a feminist like me. This varied collection will help you see all the weaknesses and strengths of the feminist and patriarchal positions ... raising new questions.

Filled with many extensive thoughtful essays, showing many different perspectives of the issue of women's role(s) in the church. It is highly intellectual and goes into great depth with the original Hebrew and Koine Greek of the Bible. Very understandable, though, since I myself have never studied Hebrew or Greek formally.

I was really excited to find this book; I first checked it out from my library and after having it around my house for a few days, I knew I wanted to own one. The essays are well-sourced, and so this book could lead you to hundreds of other valuable books and essays.

The book quickly rose into my top 5 books written in the last 40 years.

10 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Slanted Presentation of A Controverted Doctrine, April 12, 2001

By 

rodboomboom (Dearborn, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Women, Authority & the Bible (Paperback)

Reading some conclusions here is amazing, that it is now incumbent upon the traditionalists to prove their case. The exegetical papers included here do not solve the issues. But to just raise many questions for others to answer does not make the case suddenly shift in the other direction.

What is at the core is one's view of the authority of Scripture. Pinnock, himself no supporter of inerrancy, has to me the best take of this entire colloquium. He took two feminist books and two nonfeminist books and he concluded: "If this is a war of ideas, biblical feminists face not only traditionalist but also radical feminist exegetes on this crucial question. These four authors press the same point: unless the Bible is edited along feminist lines, it cannot be made to support feminism."

Gundry's response to Pinnock is weak and founded upon a typical begging the question of the authority of scripture. Harmonization of the Scriptures cannot be sidestepped with some fancy legwork about presuppositions to exegesis.

Pinnock's determination in my thinking is still pervasive.