Gender in the Rhetoric of Jesus

Gender in the Rhetoric of Jesus
Author: Sara Parks
Publisher: Fortress Academic
Total Pages: 202
Release: 2019-10-04
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9781978701984

In this book, Sara Parks examines the gendered parable pairs in Q, arguing that Jesus of Nazareth had an innovative gender-leveling rhetoric, thereby shedding new light on the study of early Jewish women.

Is the Bible Good for Women?

Is the Bible Good for Women?
Author: Wendy Alsup
Publisher: Multnomah
Total Pages: 226
Release: 2017-03-21
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1601429002

What does the Bible actually say about women? This scripturally accurate book rejects harmful misinterpretations and reminds us of the dignity God places on His daughters, with a helpful guide for reflection and group discussion included. In the wake of the Me Too and Church Too movements, many of our loved ones are leaving the church or questioning Christianity because the Bible has at times been misused against them. How do we help our loved ones understand Scripture accurately? Apologetics for Women In this helpful look at God’s work of redemption from Creation to today, Wendy Alsup explores questions such as: • How does God view justice and equal rights for women? • What does it mean to be made in the image of God? • How have the centuries distorted our interpretation of how God views women? • How did Jesus approach the Old Testament and how does that help us read difficult passages today? • What is the difference between a modern view of feminism and the feminism that Scripture models? • How does the Bible explain the Bible to us? Using a Jesus-centered understanding to look at both God’s grand storyline and specific biblical passages, Alsup shows the noble ways God speaks to and about women in its pages. Most of all, she gives concrete tools for understanding Scripture to women who are questioning if the Bible is truly good for them.

Equality in Christ?

Equality in Christ?
Author: Richard Hove
Publisher: Crossway Bibles
Total Pages: 0
Release: 1999
Genre: Bible
ISBN: 9781581341034

An intensive study of the meaning and significance of Galatians 3:28, which is often cited as a critical text in the debate on the biblical teaching of gender roles.

Being Subordinate Men

Being Subordinate Men
Author: Brian J. Robinson
Publisher: Fortress Academic
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2019
Genre: History
ISBN: 9781978703339

Being Subordinate Men offers a gender critical examination of Paul's use of gender and power in the argument of 1 Corinthians. By elevating femininity and misperforming masculinity, Paul consistently undermines first century Roman norms of masculinity. Such norms of masculinity would have allowed some of the higher status men among the Corinthian believers to occupy positions of power that would give them control over lower status members of the community. Instead of supporting such a patriarchal model, Paul articulates a form of masculinity that would require these higher status men to abandon their positions of power and occupy positions that would put them on equal status with women and men whose bodies and identities forced them to the margins of society. Such a move subverts forms of toxic, or hegemonic, masculinity that give a select few men power over the bodies of others. Instead of a toxic masculinity, Paul commands the men in his audience to embody a failed, or subordinate, masculinity. This failed masculinity not only imitates Paul's own subordinate masculinity, seen in his embrace of feminine imagery and his failure to live up to first century Roman norms of masculinity, but also supports Paul's main reason for writing 1 Corinthians by confronting the factionalism that threatens to destroy the believing community. Paul's vision for the believing community is one of equality that centers itself in imitation of the crucified body of Jesus, a body that demonstrates that equality, not domination, is the path to the kingdom of God.

Jesus Feminist

Jesus Feminist
Author: Sarah Bessey
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 256
Release: 2013-11-05
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1476717575

Written with poetic rhythm, a prophetic voice, and a deeply biblical foundation, this loving yet fearless book urges today’s church to move beyond man-made restrictions and fully welcome women’s diverse voices and experiences. A freedom song for the church. Sarah Bessey didn’t ask for Jesus to come in and mess up all her ideas about a woman’s place in the world and in the church. But patriarchy, she came to learn, was not God’s dream for humanity. Bessey engages critically with Scripture in this gentle and provocative love letter to the Church. Written with poetic rhythm, a prophetic voice, and a deeply biblical foundation, this loving yet fearless book urges today’s church to move beyond man-made restrictions and fully welcome women’s diverse voices and experiences. It’s at once a call to find freedom in the fullness, hope, glory, and work of Christ, and a very personal and moving story of how Jesus made a feminist out of her.

Neither Complementarian Nor Egalitarian

Neither Complementarian Nor Egalitarian
Author: Michelle Lee-Barnewall
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2016
Genre: Evangelicalism
ISBN: 9781493402069

Regarding gender relations, the evangelical world is divided between complementarians and egalitarians. While both perspectives have much to contribute, the discussion has reached a stalemate. Michelle Lee-Barnewall critiques both sides of the debate, challenging the standard premises and arguments and offering new insight into a perennially divisive issue in the church. She brings fresh biblical exegesis to bear on our cultural situation, presenting an alternative way to move the discussion forward based on a corporate perspective and on kingdom values. The book includes a foreword by CraigL. Blomberg and an afterword by LynnH. Cohick.

The Making of Biblical Womanhood

The Making of Biblical Womanhood
Author: Beth Allison Barr
Publisher: Baker Books
Total Pages: 256
Release: 2021-04-20
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1493429639

USA Today Bestseller Christianity Today 2022 Book Award Finalist (History & Biography) "A powerful work of skillful research and personal insight."--Publishers Weekly Biblical womanhood--the belief that God designed women to be submissive wives, virtuous mothers, and joyful homemakers--pervades North American Christianity. From choices about careers to roles in local churches to relationship dynamics, this belief shapes the everyday lives of evangelical women. Yet biblical womanhood isn't biblical, says Baylor University historian Beth Allison Barr. It arose from a series of clearly definable historical moments. This book moves the conversation about biblical womanhood beyond Greek grammar and into the realm of church history--ancient, medieval, and modern--to show that this belief is not divinely ordained but a product of human civilization that continues to creep into the church. Barr's historical insights provide context for contemporary teachings about women's roles in the church and help move the conversation forward. Interweaving her story as a Baptist pastor's wife, Barr sheds light on the #ChurchToo movement and abuse scandals in Southern Baptist circles and the broader evangelical world, helping readers understand why biblical womanhood is more about human power structures than the message of Christ.

Behold the Man

Behold the Man
Author: Colleen Conway
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 272
Release: 2008-05-07
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0190296003

In this book, Colleen Conway looks at the construction of masculinity in New Testament depictions of Jesus. She argues that the New Testament writers necessarily engaged the predominant gender ideology of the Roman Empire, whether consciously or unconsciously. Although the notion of what constituted ideal masculinity in Greek and Roman cultures certainly pre-dated the Roman Empire, the emergence of the Principate concentrated this gender ideology on the figure of the emperor. Indeed, critical to the success of the empire was the portrayal of the emperor as the ideal man and the Roman citizen as one who aspired to be the same. Any person who was held up alongside the emperor as another source of authority would be assessed in terms of the cultural values represented in this Roman image of the "manly man." Conway examines a variety of ancient ideas of masculinity, as found in philosophical discourses, medical treaties, imperial documents, and ancient inscriptions. Manliness, in these accounts, was achieved through self-control over passions such as lust, anger, and greed. It was also gained through manly displays of courage, the endurance of pain, and death on behalf of others. With these texts as a starting point, Conway shows how the New Testament writings approach Jesus' gender identity. From Paul's early letters to the Gospels and Acts, to the book of Revelation, Christian writings in the Bible confront the potentially emasculating scandal of the cross and affirm Jesus as ideally masculine. Conway's study touches on such themes as the relationship between divinity and masculinity; the role of the body in relation to gender identity; and belief in Jesus as a means of achieving a more ideal form of masculinity. This impeccably researched and highly readable book reveals the importance of ancient gender ideology for the interpretation of Christian texts.

God and the Rhetoric of Sexuality

God and the Rhetoric of Sexuality
Author: Phyllis Trible
Publisher: Fortress Press
Total Pages: 226
Release: 1978
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9780800604646

Focusing on texts in the Hebrew Bible, and using feminist hermeneutics, Phyllis Trible brings out what she considers to be neglected themes and counter literature. After outlining her method in more detail, she begins by highlighting the feminist imagery used for God; then she moves on to traditions embodying male and female within the context of the goodness of creation. If Genesis 2-3 is a love story gone awry, the Song of Songs is about sexuality redeemed in joy. In between lies the book of Ruth, with its picture of the struggles of everyday life.

Women Serving God

Women Serving God
Author: John Mark Hicks
Publisher:
Total Pages: 270
Release: 2020-07-10
Genre: Bible
ISBN: 9781735343303

Does God invite women to fully participate in all the assemblies of God?Among churches of Christ, the voices of women are typically silent and excluded from visible leadership in assemblies gathered for prayer and praise. In this book, John Mark Hicks tells the story of his own journey to understand how women have served God throughout the unfolding drama of Scripture. John Mark describes his movement from the exclusion of the voices of women and their leadership in the assembly to a limited inclusion, and finally to the full inclusion of those voices and their leadership. Along the way, he describes some of the history of churches of Christ as well as his own story but ultimately focuses on the meaning of biblical texts and how they support the full participation of women in the assemblies of God.Three women, Claire Davidson Frederick, Jantrice Johnson, and Lauren Smelser White, respond to and extend John Mark's thoughts. Bethany Joy Moore also contributes an essay from the perspective a minister's daughter who is now pursuing a graduate degree in theology.John Mark is detailed, fair, and vulnerable about his own journey and our collective journey inChurches of Christ. I recommend John Mark as a trustworthy guide.-Dr. Sara G. Barton, University Chaplain, Pepperdine University, Malibu, CADo we believe that the Holy Spirit equally equips both women and men to carry out Jesus's message of reconciliation? Dr. Hicks is a trusted guide in navigating the depth of scripture and the complexity of our cultural moment. Drink deeply from this well!-Dr. Joshua Graves, Otter Creek Church, Brentwood, Tennessee.With characteristic depth, rigor, and generosity, Hicks offers his own journey toward embracing the inclusion of women's voices in the assembly. Hicks writes with a familiarity of Restoration Movement history that few can boast, with an accompanying dedication to searching the scriptures.- Amy McLaughlin-Sheasby, Instructor in the Department of Bible, Missions, and Ministry, Abilene Christian University.This book is a gift to twenty-first century Churches of Christ. Part autobiography, part history, part exegesis, and part biblical theology, Hicks's exploration of the Bible's teachings on the role of women in congregational gatherings offers several invaluable components.-Dr. James L. Gorman, Associate Professor of History, Johnson University.John Mark Hicks is Professor of Theology at Lipscomb University in Nashville, TN. He has taught for thirty-nine years in schools associated with churches of Christ. He has authored or co-authored eighteen books, lectured in twenty-two countries and forty states, and is married to Jennifer. They share five living children and six grandchildren.