Solid scriptural and archaeological evidence refutes the traditional interpretation used to bar women from leadership.

The role of women in the church is more hotly debated today than ever. Christians on all sides of the issue often turn to the apostle Paul’s words in 1 Timothy to justify their position, arguing over the meaning and application of this challenging passage. Now in its third edition, this classic exposition of 1 Timothy 2:9–15 includes contributions by Thomas Schreiner, Andreas Köstenberger, Robert Yarbrough, Rosaria Butterfield, and others, walking readers through the biblical text with careful exegesis, sound reasoning, and a keen awareness of the implications for men and women in the church. Academically rigorous yet pastorally sensitive, this book offers Christians a helpful overview of Paul’s teaching related to how men and women are to relate to one another when it comes to authoritative teaching in the local church. Includes a new preface, a new conclusion, four updated chapters, and two all-new chapters.

Discover How God Can Make Your Marriage Glorious

Does Paul teach a hierarchy of authority of man over woman, or does he teach the full equality of man and woman in the church and home? In Man and Woman, One in Christ, Philip Barton Payne answers this question and more, injecting crucial insights into the discussion of Paul’s view of women. Condensing over three decades of research on this topic, Payne’s rigorous exegetical analysis demonstrates the consistency of Paul’s message on this topic and its coherence with the rest of his theology. Payne’s exegetical examination of the Pauline corpus is thorough, exploring the influences on Paul, his practice as a church leader, and his teachings to various Christian communities. Paul’s theology, instruction, and practice consistently affirm the equal standing of men and women, with profound implications for the church today. Man and Woman, One in Christ is required reading for all who desire to understand the meaning of Paul’s statements regarding women and their relevance for Christian relationships and ministry today. This work has the potential of uniting the church on this contentious issue.

Presents the issue of gender from biblical, biological and cultural perspectives, and provides the reader with an historical and theoretical context within which to engage in a constructive dialogue on the issue of gender in religion. Storkey includes in her discussion psychological, sociological and philosophical issues.

This incisive critique thoroughly and convincingly debunks the claims that recently discovered texts such as the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Mary, and even the Dead Sea Scrolls undermine the historical validity of the New Testament. Jenkins places the recent controversies surrounding the hidden gospels in a broad historical context and argues that, far from being revolutionary, such attempts to find an alternative Christianity date back at least to the Enlightenment. By employing the appropriate scholarly and historical methodologies, he demonstrates that the texts purported to represent pristine Christianity were in fact composed long after the canonical gospels found in the Bible. Produced by obscure heretical movements, these texts have attracted much media attention chiefly because they seem to support radical, feminist, and post-modern positions in the modern church. Indeed, Jenkins shows how best-selling books on the "hidden gospels" have been taken up by an uncritical, drama-hungry media as the basis for a social movement that could have powerful effects on the faith and practice of contemporary Christianity.