Redefining the Role of Women in the Church

The place of women in ministry has been the subject of relatively little writing over the years considering the enormous amount of interest such an important matter should have generated. Nonetheless, what has been written from a positive perspective has been quite uniform in the revelation and information it offers. In the last two decades, there has been a barrage of printed material published in an endeavor to adequately address the highly controversial subject of women’s role in the Church. Indeed, since the third century, the Church has sought to “put women in their place”; nevertheless, almost eighteen centuries later, we are still trying to accurately define the proper role of women in the Church of Jesus Christ. Civilization in general tends to trace its treatment of women to the consequence of man’s fall at the hands of a woman (according to most interpretations of the Genesis account). Thus, Christendom is left with the weight and responsibility of explaining to over half the population of the earth a paradoxical philosophy. How has God loved us all and made provision for our redemption with no regard for gender on the one hand, yet has treated us so differently with regard to church government and responsibility on the other? Theologians have, for centuries, tried to address these issues while offering little hope to the second-class citizens of the Kingdom of God. This book seeks to address these highly important questions by striving to put Church history in a proper and more accurate context. This context will provide interpretations and translations of the contested passages of Scripture that more closely align themselves with the original, divinely inspired manuscripts. Then, by placing this understanding in the context of culture and the appropriate historical period, a clearer view of the role of women in the Church can be seen.