scholarly, fair, well-researched book on a touchy subject

books:


	• Paul, Women, and Wives: Marriage and Women's Ministry in the Letters of Paul Craig S. Keener Hendrickson Publishers, 1992 - 368 pages average customer review:based on 13 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

highly recommended

scholarly, fair, well-researched book on a touchy subject

Paul, Women & Wives, written by Craig Keener, is a recently published book that deals with Paul's views of women in the ministry and their role in the home. Its intent is to "be useful to the general reader, as well as to the biblical scholar" (p. 1). Keener's sole purpose of this book is to examine four passages from Paul's letters that are frequently used to force the subordination of women. He takes these passages and places them in their contextual setting in order that his readers may better understand their true meaning. Keener is not shy about sharing his perspective on the issue. He is a practicing Christian who strongly feels that women should play an integral role in the church as well as in the home.

In keeping with his intended audience, Keener includes extensive endnotes. Roughly 1/3 of each chapter is devoted to extra documentation and references. This allows Keener to write a book that is readable by a general audience, yet still appeals to his scholarly readership.
Keener divides his book into two marked sections. The first section, comprising chapters one through three, looks at three passages that deal with women and their role in the church. The second section examines exclusively Ephesians 5:22-31. Here Keener looks at Paul's most complete argument on wives' call to submission. He presents these arguments by setting forth many of the most popular interpretations of each passage, and then defends the one he feels is most accurate.

Chapter one of this book examines 1 Corinthians 11:2-16, wherein Paul requires women of the church to wear head coverings. Keener analyzes the use of head coverings in antiquity, as well as Paul's arguments as to why women in the church should wear them. Keener concludes that the practice of wearing a head covering was a command for the Corinthian church, because of a specific problem they faced, and not a trans-cultural argument applicable to all generations. Perhaps most importantly, he states that Paul's reference to man being women's head has nothing to do with submission.

In chapters two and three Keener breaks down a couple of passages that are often used to argue that women are not allowed to teach, or even in some cases speak in church. He first looks at 1 Corinthians14:34-35 which examines the issue of women asking questions. If it is taken at its most literal interpretation, Keener argues, Paul would be forbidding all women from even talking in church. He is quick to point out that this cannot be the case because in chapter eleven of 1 Corinthians, Paul actually expects women to pray and prophesy within the church. Keener also looks at 1 Timothy 2:9-15, a passage that deals with women as teachers. In both cases, he emphasizes that Paul's letters were written to a specific church with a specific problem. 1 Corinthians and 1 Timothy both address the concern of women not being educated and therefore not knowing the issues in which they were speaking. He argues that Paul is not setting forth a strict prohibition on women's talk in church or teaching for that matter, yet rather addressing women's lack of education in a specific setting.

Over the next three chapters Keener builds an extended argument concerning women's role in the family as seen in Ephesians 5:18-33. Chapter four deals with Paul's rational for emphasizing submission among women. Here Keener argues that Christianity had to portray itself as "in line" with the model of an ideal family code that was presented by the Roman society. Christianity was not seen as a threat by doing this. In chapter five Keener seeks to elaborate on what Paul meant by submission in Ephesians. Keener lays out his views that Paul was talking about a mutual submission, and that he never meant for women to be obedient, but rather, respectful. He points out that society today tends to forget what Paul describes as being the man's role in mutual submission, that is to say, a willingness for self-sacrifice. In chapter six Keener places the capstone on his argument by drawing a parallel between slavery and the suppression of women. He explains that a person can disagree with an institution, such as slavery, yet still give instructions concerning it. In the same way, he can instruct women to be submissive, yet not approve the institution that oppresses them.

Keener finishes his book with a chapter that summarizes his views and what he hopes will be the end result of reading his book, namely the acceptance of women in the ministry. He also includes two appendixes, one on women in Paul's ministry and the other on the context of Ephesians 5:18-21. Keener also includes an extensive bibliography and multiple indexes.

Keener has done an excellent job in the writing of Paul, Women & Wives. He stuck to his foresaid purpose of writing a book that is useful for the layman as well as to the scholar. The passages Keener chose to look at adequately represent those examined by people who would argue for the subordination of women both in the church and in the home. Keener effectively develops his more egalitarian views, by giving these verses a correct understanding.

The most commanding aspect of this book is that for the most part Keener is right on with his discussions. He does an outstanding job of displaying the contextual relevance of all four passages. From the beginning, he demonstrates that if context were not brought into play when interpreting scripture then modern Christendom would still advocate, "women's head coverings in church, the practice of holy kisses, and parentally arranged marriages" (p. 4). In chapters two and three, he does a great job of explaining why Paul's calls for silence by women, and his prohibition on their teaching are not
trans-cultural. Throughout the book Keener strengthens his contextual argument by pointing out the many New Testament women that played an active role in ministry (appendix A), yet does not dwell on the issue, thusly keeping to his purpose of only examining passages used to argue the subordination of women (p. 10).

A second major strength to Keener's book is his explanation of biblical submission. Chapter five deals exclusively with the Pauline model of mutual submission. Here Keener points out what many who argue for wives subordination fail to see; that the man is required to submit as much, if not more then the wife. He reminds the reader that Paul calls the man to lay down his life, yet only requires respect from the women. This strengthens Keener's arguments immensely.

A final strength to this book is the extensive documentation that Keener provides his reader. Over half the space is dedicated to endnotes, indexes and a bibliography. This allows even the most scholarly reader to dig deeper into the issues at hand. His thirty-eight-page bibliography can point readers to additional material and sources.

Overall, Keener presents very persuasive arguments for his points, however he does have some shortcomings. Despite his impeccable use of context, on at least three occasions he reads into the text points that are not there. In chapter two Keener states that "Paul is advocating the most progressive view of his day" (p. 84) by expecting the husbands to educate their wives and consequently take care of the problem of uneducated women. While this does in fact sounds like a logical conclusion, there is no textual evidence to back it up. Secondly in chapter three Keener argues that Eve's deception in the garden was due to the fact that she was not at hand when God gave the commandment. This puts more of the blame and consequence on Adam because he did not properly educating her. This argument seems to make sense, and follows along nicely with Keener's point; however again there is no textual backing for his views. Finally, if we look to chapter six, where Keener deals with slavery, we find one more textual shortcoming. He crosses the line by assuming where Paul stood on the slavery issue. It is nice, and in fact quite probably, that Paul was an abolitionist; we however cannot get this information simply from reading the canonical texts as Keener seems to believe.

One final weakness displayed in this comes in the writing style itself. In the first several chapters, Keener makes his argument by presenting several possible interpretations of a passage or issue. He then proceeds to discredit many of views he just offered. This does provide a strong argument by displaying his knowledge of opposing sides, however it also leaves the reader in a clutter of shattered theories trying to extract the authors main point.

Despite these few apparent weaknesses, the book overall is quite good. The points that are in question do not jeopardize his arguments. Keener himself points out in his closing words that he himself is not certain of all details concerning the cultural background, but is convinced that the case as a whole is sound. He has done an outstanding job of placing questionable passages in their historical context in order to correct misconceptions about the biblical subordination of women.

Craig S. Keener, Paul, Women & Wives: Marriage and Women's Ministry in the Letters of Paul (Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 1992), 350 pp.

for more information click here

A great book for the serious layperson or minister!

Craig Keener does a wonderful job of dispelling the controversies surrounding Paul's writings concerning women. He presents the truth in a clear, logical manner. I give this book a high recommendation!

for more information click here

I love these guys!

There's nothing I respect more than Godly men who are not afraid to uplift women and credit us as their equal heirs to God's kingdom. In a new age where most seek equality but some still sadly reach for the 50's, books like Keener's which explore the Biblical definition of women to its very roots are exactly what we need. This is certainly what I needed, anyway; after seeing book after book rip Paul's, Peter's, and several other Biblical men's words out of context to keep women from positions of leadership, this refreshing book is exactly what my tired soul craved. Keener goes straight to the heart of the issue, examining closely many passages in the Bible believed to elevate men over women and his revelations and arguements against mis-interpretation are simply brilliant. You think God meant for women to be followers and that the Bible supports this? I dare you to read this book and feel the same afterwards. Anyone who insists on keeping sexist roles in this day and age is, in my opinion, too concerned with their own insecurity to want to elevate others; I can never understand why some men are so terrified of the idea of women being in equal positions with them and why some women are so frightened at the idea of being credited with more than just house duties. This is perhaps the most thoroughly this topic has ever been explored and I strongly urge Christians of both sexes to read this. It is truly enlightening, especially if you're a woman who wishes to please God, but is afraid He doesn't value you as much because of your gender. Believe me, He does, and sometimes it takes wonderful men like Keener to reveal the truth. Yes, mutual submission IS true and Godly (to the fool who said it's not); this is very apparent in the Bible not just in the passages about marriage, but in teachings of Christian behavior. We are all meant to serve each other in Christ, and only by mutual submission and sacrifice will harmony be achieved. God, thank you for Keener and all those like him. Keener, thank you for this book.

for more information click here

reviews: page 1, 2, 3

Paul's letters stand at the center of the dispute over women, the church, and the home, with each side championing passages from the Apostle. Now, in a challenging new attempt to wrestle with these thorny texts, Craig Keener delves as deeply into the world of Paul and the apostles as anyone thus far. Acknowledging that we must take the biblical text seriously, and recognizing that Paul's letters arose in a specific time and place for a specific purpose, Keener mines the historical, lexical, cultural, and exegetical details behind Paul's words about women in the home and ministry to give us one of the most insightful expositions of the key Pauline passages in years.

"This book can be of great help to any person seriously interested in examining why Paul said some of the things he did about women in marriage and women in ministry."
Â?Alvera Mickelsen, Board Member, Christians for Biblical Equality

"For those comfortable with traditional Pauline 'arguments' concerning the subordination of women in the church and home, Keener presents more than they ever wanted to know about Paul's intended meaning. But for those struggling to understand Paul's full purpose for women, in his time and ours, Paul, Women, and Wives will prove to be 'must' reading. Keener's comprehensive bibliography and literature review are alone worth the price of the book."
Â?Robert K. Johnston, Provost and Dean, North Park Seminary

for more information click here

hot or not? What's your opinion? Write a review and share your thoughts!

recommendations

Excellent Books on Women in the Church by Egalitarians
SacredSpace Boise - Gender issues in the Church
Christian Books supporting women's equality
Books: Feminism and Christianity
Women in the Church

letters

The Scarlet Letter (Penguin Classics)
Letters from a Skeptic: A Son Wrestles With His Father's Questions ...
Letter to a Christian Nation (Vintage)
The Letters of Abelard and Heloise (Penguin Classics)
Letters to a Young Poet

wives

The Constant Princess (Boleyn)
Rules of Deception
The Other Queen: A Novel
365 Nights: A Memoir of Intimacy
Created to Be His Help Meet: Discover How God Can Make Your Marriage ...

women

Maternity & Women's Health Care (Lowdermilk, Maternity & Women's ...
Women & Money: Owning the Power to Control Your Destiny
Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus: The Classic Guide to ...
For Women Only: What You Need to Know about the Inner Lives of Men
One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd

search for books
paul, women, letters, marriage, ministry, paul, wives, women

Impressum / about us