IVP Readers' Choice Award

Does God call women to serve as equal partners in marriage and as leaders in the church?

The answer to this straightforward question is deeply contested. Into the fray, Lucy Peppiatt offers her work on interpretation of the Bible and Christian practice. With careful exegetical work, Peppiatt considers relevant passages in Ephesians, Colossians, 1 Peter, 1 Timothy, and 1 Corinthians. There she finds a story of God releasing women alongside men into all forms of ministry, leadership, work, and service on the basis of character and gifting, rather than biological sex.

Those who see the overturning of male-dominated hierarchy in the Scriptures, she argues, are truly rediscovering an ancient message—a message distorted by those who assumed that a patriarchal world, which they sometimes saw reflected in the Bible, was the one God had ordained.



Scot McKnight (PhD, University of Nottingham) is professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary in Lisle, Illinois. He is the author of many books, including Reading Romans Backwards, Pastor Paul, The King Jesus Gospel, and commentarieson James, Galatians, and Colossians. He is also a general editor of the IVP Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, second edition.







Lucy Peppiatt (PhD, Otago) is the principal of Westminster Theological Centre. Her research interests are Christ and the Spirit, charismatic theology, discipleship, and 1 Corinthians, and her books include Unveiling Paul's Women and Women and Worship in Corinth.



Foreword by Scot McKnight

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1. An Androcentric Story? Men Everywhere!

2. Joining the Story: The Place of Women in God's Great Plan

3. A Woman's Natural Place: What the Creation Narratives Tell Us

4. Talking Heads: The Meaning of Headship

5. Balancing Marriage: The Hierarchicalist View

6. Redressing the Balance: The Mutualist View of Marriage

7. Mistranslations, Misinterpretations, and Misunderstandings: The Dominant Narrative of Male Bias

8. A Final Barrier: 1 Timothy 2:8-15

Conclusion

Biblography

Scripture Index