Michele A. Connolly's postcolonial analysis links the Gospel of Mark - produced in the context of the Roman Empire - with contemporary Australia, established initially as a colony of the British Empire. Feminist analysis of texts from two foundational events in Australian colonial history reveal that women in such texts tend to be marginalised, silenced and denigrated. Connolly posits that imperialist sexism, both ancient and modern, perceives women as a threat to the order that males alone can impose on the world. The Gospel of Mark portrays Jesus bringing the order of the Reign of God to combat the disorder of apocalyptic evil. Jesus' task is a markedly male project, against which eleven female characters are portrayed as disorderly distractions who are managed by being marginalised, silenced and denigrated, contradicting Jesus' message of mutual service and non-domination. In his death under apocalyptic power, Jesus is likewise depicted as isolated, silenced and denigrated, subtly associating femininity with chaos, failure and disgrace.

Throughout most of the eighteenth century and particularly during the religious revivals of the Great Awakening, evangelical women in colonial New England participated vigorously in major church decisions, from electing pastors to disciplining backsliding members. After the Revolutionary War, however, women were excluded from political life, not only in their churches but in the new republic as well. Reconstructing the history of this change, Susan Juster shows how a common view of masculinity and femininity shaped both radical religion and revolutionary politics in America. Juster compares contemporary accounts of Baptist women and men who voice their conversion experiences, theological opinions, and proccupation with personal conflicts and pastoral controversies. At times, the ardent revivalist message of spiritual individualism appeared to sanction sexual anarchy. According to one contemporary, revival attempted "to make all things common, wives as well as goods." The place of women at the center of evangelical life in the mid-eighteenth century, Juster finds, reflected the extent to which evangelical religion itself was perceived as "feminine"—emotional, sensional, and ultimately marginal. In the 1760s, the Baptist order began to refashion its mission, and what had once been a community of saints—often indifferent to conventional moral or legal constraints—was transformed into a society of churchgoers with a concern for legitimacy. As the church was reconceptualized as a "household" ruled by "father" figures, "feminine" qualities came to define the very essence of sin. Juster observes that an image of benevolent patriarchy threatened by the specter of female power was a central motif of the wider political culture during the age of democratic revolutions.

A unique, two-volume study that examines female crime and the women who commit it. The two-volume Women Criminals: An Encyclopedia of People and Issues addresses both key topics and key figures in women's crime. The first volume provides topical essays about areas critical to the understanding of female criminals, such as the definition of women's crime, explanations of women's criminality, ethnic and age diversity in female criminals, and responses of the criminal justice system. The second volume comprises biographical entries profiling women who are obviously criminals, such as Aileen Wuornos and Myra Hindley, and also women who were victims of circumstance, unjust laws, or narrowly applied definitions of crime, such as Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman, and Sophie Scholl. In addition to highlighting the breadth of women's criminality, these portraits provide a holistic, multifaceted understanding of the dynamics of women's crime and why it occurs, connecting the individual stories to the larger social-scientific perspectives. Care has been taken to include the women's own voices and perspectives where possible and to address the intentions and reasoning of the system that responded to their criminality.

Stereotypes persist to this day, argues Anne Summers in this updated version of her classic book which, in the 40 years since it was first published, has sold well over 100,000 copies and been set on countless school and university syllabuses. Who are today's damned whores? And why do women themselves still want to be God's Police?

In this contribution to the study of women and religon, Westerkamp analyzes how the Holy Spirit empowered women inPurtanism and evangelicalism. she argues that "these women, socially and politically subordinate according to custom and law, expreinced the Holy Spirit during their lives and discoved their own charismatic authority." Focusing on prominent women, like A. Hutchinson, J. Lee, and N. Towle, Westerkamp explores the interactions between gendre and religion in Purtanism, the First Great Awakening, Methodism, and voluntary associations.

Women in Early American Religion, 1600-1850 explores the first two centuries of America's religious history, examining the relationship between the socio-political environment, gender, politics and religion. Drawing its background from women's religious roles and experiences in England during the Reformation, the book follows them through colonial settlement, the rise of evangelicalism, the American Revolution, and the second flowering of popular religion in the nineteenth century. Tracing the female spiritual tradition through the Puritans, Baptists and Shakers, Westerkamp argues that religious beliefs and structures were actually a strong empowering force for women.

How would you describe the spiritual aroma of your home? The source of this aroma is the relationship between husband and wife. Many can fake an attempt at keeping God's standards in some external way. What we cannot fake is the resulting, distinctive aroma of pleasure to God. Reforming Marriage does what few books on marriage do today: it provides biblical advice. Douglas Wilson points to the need for obedient hearts on the part of both husbands and wives. Godly marriages proceed from obedient hearts, and the greatest desire of an obedient heart is the glory of God.