Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood [Paperback]

The book tackles two very challenging issues: gender roles in the family and gender roles in the church. It breaks down the factors bearing on these issues from a social and, mainly, biblical analysis. It is a great book -- perhaps the best treatise available on the issues presented.

The book is complete and scholarly. It should satisfy anyone looking for EITHER a quick summary and analysis on one hand, or those looking for a sustained position supported by academic biblical study. Because the book is really a series of articles / papers by various authors, it is likely that the person looking for quick but deep and researched answers will find them in a single article. On the other hand, those looking for a more thorough assessment will have more articles to review.

The only criticism I would have goes to the organization of the book. Because of the use of multiple authors addressing the same basic issues, some of the points become repetitive for the person wanting to ingest the entire volume. This is not a problem for those looking for a short answer, and who are willing to be satisfied with finding and reading only the single chapter/article that most addresses the issue the reader is curious about. But these may find that the book is more than they need. The organization problem perhaps is unavoidable, but reading the book from cover to cover becomes monotonous as a result. Skipping around is truly the only way to appreciate this book without repetition becoming a little annoying.

On substance, the book is entirely unapologetic and refreshingly direct with its principle themes. It does not allow circumstantial experience to shade biblical scholarship. These authors go at the subject head on, and, despite the controversial nature of discussions of gender roles, they lay out the biblical analysis well.

How could the book have gotten 5 stars from me? Well, for one I would have recommended two books, rather than one. The issues of gender roles in the home are truly separable from gender roles in the church, and because I would estimate that most people would be looking for one or the other, two separate volumes might have been advisable. Next, I would have suggested being more careful to avoid repetition of arguments, but again, that may have been unavoidable if one wanted to truly hear the complete position of the various contributors. Finally, despite the emphasis on biblical analysis, the authors did include several social commentaries. I don't think this part of the book was very effective; it forces the reader to move from objective truth to social opinion, and opens the objective positions to unnecessary challenge on social rather than biblical grounds.

All in all, a great book. Again, probably the best out there on the subjects. If the purpose is to reach a larger lay audience, however, I would strongly recommend separating the text along the two themes. I would think a shorter piece could be made easily from three or four of the articles, under the title, "Biblical Manhood and Wommanhood in the Home." I think it would be a useful and instant best-seller. I would suggest it as required reading for every engaged or married Christian couple. But because so much of the book addresses the other issue of church leadership, I'm sure some couples would avoid it.

There could be a separate volume, "Biblical Manhood and Womanhood in the Church," which would attract a different clergy or leadership audience -- with similar outstanding impact.

Lastly I would like to disprove the false argument proosed by many reviewers that equality and subservience are contradictory notions. Here Go's....

1. Jesus is fully God and completely equal with God and in no way inferior to Him (Phil 2:6)

2. Jesus is submissive (Luke 22:42) and obedient to God The Father, who is "Greater" (John 14:28)position and authority.

In this way, male and female genders and gender roles reflect the image of God. Within the trinity itself there is complete equality but yet their is a clear authority structure. God the Fathers sends His Son, and They in turn send the Holy Spirit. This proves that the concept of total equality and of subservience are not multuly exclusive.