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What the Bible really says about women and why it is beautiful
There is much discussion and confusion around the issues of gender equality and gender roles, and the church is not exempt. Some even believe that the Bible contributes to sexism against women and that God is, in some way, sexist.
In this warm, conversational and sympathetic book, Kathleen Nielson looks at what the Bible really says about women and what it reveals about God’s attitude towards them. She asks the hard questions about the Old Testament Law, the role of women in marriage and the role of women in the church, consistently pointing us to God’s word and his perfectly created order.
She not only provides Biblical reasoning in answer to these questions, but also shows how the truth can be enjoyed as women and men submit to the perfect will of our compassionate, merciful and gracious God.
Women and men of all backgrounds, views, and ages will find this a valuable book. Pastors and Elders will will find it useful as they work out how to faithfully lead a united worshipping community under the authority of Christ and in accordance with Scripture. It is also ideal for use in women's ministry as women seek to live and act according to God’s will.
"I was deeply helped by reading Women and God. It is a book written by a wise woman, and it does not shy away from hard, painful, complex issues." Ligon Duncan, Chancellor, Reformed Theological Seminary, Jackson, Mississippi
1. Introduction
2. How We Got Here
3. Second Place?
4. Fallen Women
5. The Darkest Places
6. Strong Women
7. Women, Sex, and a Question of Double Standards
8. Women's Bodies
9. A Man Unlike Any Other
10. Women and Marriage
11. Women and the Church
12. The Goodness of God
| Contributors | Kathleen B. Nielson |
|---|---|
| ISBN | 9781784982805 |
| Format | eBook |
| First published | March 2018 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | The Good Book Company |
Kathleen Nielson proficiently unpacks difficult passages of Scripture that we sometimes want to avoid. On every page, she helps us wrestle with complex questions, while inviting us to embrace this beautiful truth: God is good to women. This is an excellent and needed book—I highly recommend it for both men and women.
At a time when there is increasing confusion and perhaps resistance to God’s word about gender, Kathleen offers a clear and wise path to understanding God’s word rightly in this important area. Don’t be fooled into thinking this is a book just for women. This is an excellent resource for men as well, as we all grapple with the Bible’s teaching on what it means to be a woman.
I loved this book! Women and God is more than just an overview of the roles of women in the family and the church. It tackles all the usual texts as well as the more shocking and perplexing ones that other people sometimes avoid. Kathleen anticipates all the questions and objections that people have, and then answers them from the text with wisdom, clarity, and sensitivity. What makes this book so compelling is her conviction that God is good, and that women can have confidence that living by his word is a beautiful thing and for our good.
The tag line of the book is “Hard questions. Beautiful truth.” and it certainly lives up to this. Throughout the book, Nielson raises, and tackles, questions that have been in the forefront of my mind, and those of some of my Christian sisters, for a long time. Her style is to pose a question, answer it from the Bible, but then keep asking “But what about….”... continue reading
I've heard lots of views on women in the bible... Some say Paul was not for women, and more untrue claims. This book is helpful in making sense of some passages about women in the bible.
I appreciate the discussing of this subject with scripture and not opinions. Being taught in some hard nosed ways in the past, I have struggled with this subject. The continuity of this book makes it easy to follow and including the scripture references helped me stop and contemplate what was being said. I have been encouraged and greatly helped through these pages. Thank you!
Kathleen Nielson's writing reflects her speech - warm, clear, compassionate, gracious. In this book she seeks to show the wisdom and beauty of God's plan for women throughout history. She begins with creation and the fall, then works through some of the gritty Old Testament "Texts of Terror" to show God's tender-hearted care towards women. She invites her readers to wrestle with hard questions about God's design and purpose for women, and points to the beautiful truth found in his word. I've read books that offer a more comprehensive treatment of the topic, but what makes this one particularly encouraging is Kathleen's enthusiastic and persuasive conviction that God is good, and that embracing his design for women brings joy and fulfilment.
I did enjoy this book but did struggle with it a bit. It seemed to hop around a lot and was inconsistent at times in its themes. I’m not sure it told me anything new in this field and wasn’t quite what I had expected. I’d still recommend it to people though if they were interested in this area of theology.
I was so happy when I saw that this book was being released! I've been trying to explore the field for the last couple of years, as I come from a background where it was never questioned that women were ministers, but when I went to university I was met with a whole new set of ideas about this - and knew that I needed to explore it for myself to come to a decision on what I believed. This book has been one of the most helpful on that journey - my one complaint would be that sometimes the application seems to leap a bit far from the rest of the text, like a step or two is missing. However, most of the argument and discussion is logical, and I found it very helpful in presenting a good, clear and academic case for complementarianism. Thank you!
Discussing women's role before God always seems to attract controversy – especially if it's explained by a man! This seems to be more and more the case with every passing year. Therefore, it's so good for a woman to wonderfully explain tricky passages of scripture, delight in complementarianism, and show how much value God places on women.
Nielson shows understanding of, and compassion about the abuse of women that has happened within religion, from elevating women as fertility gods, to reducing them to sacrifices. She also empathises with why people may take issue with how woman's role is explained in the Bible.
These issues have led to many women questioning why God made them with unique pains, struggles and a supposedly lesser value.
But she answers pretty much every question one can think of – why learn about marriage roles if I'm single? How can I worship Jesus the man? Is the 'informal' teaching of Priscilla and Aquila of any less value (answer - no!)? Were commands just for the culture or for all time? Why must women struggle with unique burdens like childbirth? Are Christian sexual standards repressive?
Nielson always takes the reader back to the Bible with her answers. She is always quick to point out that abuses and struggles come from sin and she always returns to the creation of man and woman in the Garden of Eden. A woman's body, role and gifts exist to give God glory.
Women and God was expertly written, and its goal is to direct people to worship of God. With worship of God as the priority of all people, then tricky passages become easier to understand, the complementarian position becomes a joy, and women can give glory to God.
While it was written for women, it was useful to read as man!
This book is not just another addition to the discussion of the role of women, but a challenging and thorough look at scripture. We are forced to start by looking about what God says about women throughout the Bible - and whatever our view at the outset we are challenged to think more deeply and grapple with issues that might otherwise be left aside.
Really pleased this book has been written. It is a gracious contribution to the often difficult and sometimes divisive subject of women's ministry. Kathleen Neilsen has made a real attempt to address the difficult passages, to understand those who come from a different position and yet to portray the value of what a woman can uniquely offer in her complementary role.I hope many will read it.
Easy to read - some excellent chapters - disagreed with her view in part - preferred Trevor Morrow's approach in "Two are equal" which is beautifully and humbly submitted too.
I have never read a theology book, centred on women. I found it very difficult to put this book down. I particularly found the way Deborah is shown to be a strong, yet faithfully obedient when working with Barak, enlightening.
'Women and God' is not only a great reference book, but will also as an excellent discussion starter, in all sorts of settings. Kathleen Neilson has definitely become a favourite author of mine.
