WOMEN

AND
MINISTRY

What The
Bible Teaches

DAN DORIANI

C R O S S W AY B O O K S
A DIVISION OF
GOOD NEWS PUBLISHERS
WHEATON, ILLINOIS
Women and Ministry
Copyright © 2003 by Dan Doriani
Published by Crossway Books
a division of Good News Publishers
1300 Crescent Street
Wheaton, Illinois 60187
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in
a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission
of the publisher, except as provided by USA copyright law.
Cover design: David LaPlaca
Cover photo: Getty Images
First printing 2003
Printed in the United States of America
Unless otherwise identified, Scripture is taken from the Holy Bible: New
International Version®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible
Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights
reserved.
The “NIV” and “New International Version” trademarks are registered in the
United States Patent and Trademark Office by International Bible Society.
Use of either trademark requires the permission of International Bible Society.
Scripture designated ESV is taken from the Holy Bible: English Standard Version.
Copyright © 2001 by Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights
reserved.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Doriani, Daniel M., 1953-
Women and ministry : what the Bible teaches / Dan Doriani.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 1-58134-385-X
1. Women clergy—Biblical teaching. 2. Pastoral theology—Biblical
teaching. 3. Bible—Criticism, interpretation, etc. I. Title.
BV676.D67 2003
262'.14'082—dc21 2002152754

ML 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05 04 03
15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
 PREFACE

E XPERIENCES AND C ONVICTIONS

With this preface I invite my readers to enter a controversy. Readers
will naturally want to judge if they can trust the author who hopes to
guide them through complex, emotionally charged issues. Is he a
polemicist or a peacemaker? What are his formative experiences?
What are his biases and convictions? Are these biases and convictions
likely to lead to truth or to confusion? These questions deserve
answers.
First then, I hope to make peace not war. Indeed, I am a reluc-
tant combatant in this campaign. My doctoral dissertation lightly
touched upon the gender debate; that touch has led to a series of invi-
tations to speak and write on the topic over the years. I did not choose
this topic; it chose me.
Now that the gender debate has chosen me, I engage it hoping to
bless the spiritually gifted women in my life. My female students at
Covenant Seminary are the most obvious group. Gifted and energetic,
they seek to serve where God appoints. But I cannot forget the
women in my family: my wife, my mother, and my daughters. My
wife does not aspire to teach or to lead, but with her musical gifts and
her hospitality, she has much to offer the church. My mother, whom
I love and admire, is a seminary graduate. Ordained in midlife in
1974, she is the semi-retired pastor of a small semi-rural church. My
daughters are twenty, eighteen, and fourteen years old as I write. Each
bears signs of leadership and speaking gifts, making me acutely aware
that I advance views that affect them.
As for my theological convictions, I leave you, gentle reader, to
judge if they will lead you toward the truth or away from it. As an
evangelical and a Presbyterian, I am committed to the authority of
Scripture and to Reformed theology. I generally call church leaders
8 WOMEN AND MINISTRY

“elders” and “deacons” rather than bishops, boards, trustees, or con-

sistories. My goal is not to promote the Presbyterian system but to
reflect the language of the New Testament, which typically calls
church leaders “elders,” “overseers,” and “deacons.” Readers can
adjust my language to fit their church’s organization.
Finally, while I ascribe supreme authority to the Bible, I believe
history, reason, science, and human experience can play a subsidiary
role in illumining our discussions. Specifically, while I affirm that men
and women have equal value and dignity, scientific studies progres-
sively uncover gender differences that go beyond reproduction.
Evidence keeps accumulating that, as feminist scholar Carol Gilligan
said, women speak “in a different voice.” Historical and cultural stud-
ies also illumine our work. Such studies show that our culture trea-
sures freedom more than order. So when I say God establishes an
order that puts men in charge of some strategic tasks, I know I both
violate the sensibilities of the dominant culture and quench the aspi-
rations of certain women.
It tests our faith when biblical injunctions clash with our incli-
nations. The Lord says he gives his commands for our good. The ben-
efits are often obvious. When God prohibits murder, adultery, theft,
and falsehood, he protects us from sin’s self-inflicted wounds. Yet
some laws offend us—especially laws that snuff out secret hopes.
When that happens, the question is not, “Do we like this command?”
but “Is it God’s will?” Without shelving our will and reason, there are
times when we must simply listen to God’s Word and obey it.

O VERVIEW
I will argue that God decreed that kings, priests, judges, and elders
should lead Israel and that apostles, elders, and deacons should lead
the church. Pure democracy, where everyone is a candidate for every
office and the majority rules, does not appear to be God’s plan.
Chapter 1 sets the tone for the study. Chapter 2 seeks patterns in the
ministries of women in biblical history. Chapter 3 examines the roles
of women in Jesus’ ministry. Chapter 4 considers foundational texts
for male-female relations from Genesis and Ephesians. Chapters 5
and 6 study central passages on women and ministry, 1 Corinthians
 Preface 9

11 and 1 Timothy 2. This plan does not cover every issue or text, but
it says enough to support the practical chapters. Chapter 7 presents
a theology of gifts and calling, and chapter 8 offers concrete advice
for the ministries of women. To keep the book as readable as possi-
ble, I limited my comments on the complexities of the gender debate
to the footnotes for chapters 1 to 8 and to the advanced studies found
in Part Two. Chapter 9 explains how and why Christians disagree
about this topic, comparing the methods of feminists and tradition-
alists. Chapter 10 presents a brief history of women in ministry. The
appendices present some technical studies.

T HANKS AND D EDICATION

I thank my colleagues on the faculty of Covenant Theological
Seminary for reviewing chapter drafts. Student questions, criticisms,
and suggestions also greatly strengthened this book. I thank the board
of Covenant for granting me a sabbatical in the spring of 2002 to com-
plete this project, which began as a series of lectures sponsored by the
Francis Schaeffer Institute. David Speakman deserves special com-
mendation for his faithful research assistance.
I bless my wife, Debbie, who models excellence both in tradi-
tional female tasks of feeding the hungry and visiting the sick, and in
the public work of teaching music. I dedicate this book to my three
wonderful daughters—Abigail, Sarah, and Beth—who play as hard
and reason as analytically as any boy but who know a woman need
not be mannish to be great.
 1

INTRODUCTION TO
THE CALLINGS OF WOMEN

AS THE SPEAKER STROLLED to the podium, my friend leaned over and

whispered, “You know he and his wife do conferences together
sometimes; they say her sections are better attended when people
have a choice.” So it goes. Some wives are better speakers than their
husbands, some pastors beget daughters who are more talented than
their sons, and some female secretaries seem to hold whole churches
together. Do these facts prove that God has gifted women to teach
and lead?
That is a question traditional churches need to answer even if
they would rather avoid it. To be candid, I would prefer to avoid it,
too. I never meant to write this book. But the topic has pursued me
since a tangent from my dissertation led to a talk or two, then an arti-
cle or two, and then an invitation from the Francis Schaeffer Institute
to deliver lectures presenting a biblical theology of women’s ministry.
While I drifted toward academic expertise on the subject, my
mother became an ordained minister, and my wife and I became the
parents of three daughters and no sons. Experience informs this
book, but it owes more to the Schaeffer lectures where women and
men of every conviction, race, and educational background listened,
laughed, and respected each other through potentially contentious
lectures and discussions. It is no easier to capture the spirit of a lec-
ture on a page than it is to capture the spirit of a book on film, but we
felt we stumbled onto one thing at least: the need for a short, sweet
case for a version of the traditional view of women’s roles in the
church. That is what this book aims to be.
14 WOMEN AND MINISTRY

This book, therefore, is for women who have heard that the Bible
appoints men to lead the church; now these women have a few ques-
tions. Does the Bible really say that? If so, why? Does the prohibition
belong to the class of rules that no longer applies today, like laws
about animal sacrifices and head coverings? If Scripture does forbid
women to preach, does that devalue them? If so, how can contem-
porary people, who know women have the same value and abilities
as men, accept the Bible as true?
This book is for women in ministry, for female seminary students,
for businesswomen, for secretaries, doctors, teachers, psychologists,
administrators, wives, and mothers who know their worth and won-
der how the Bible can say no to women’s spiritual ambitions. It is for
my teenage daughters and their friends who will soon face these ques-
tions. It is for strong women who have great aspirations but wonder
if greatness means doing everything a man does. And it is for men
who want to respect women and encourage the best use of their gifts.
This book is for leaders of traditional churches who struggle with
their official position and think their denomination stuck them with
a stance they don’t fully understand or accept. They wish the issue
would go away. They let women do almost anything if it doesn’t cause
trouble with the hierarchy. This book is also for congregations that
view themselves as the last bastions of conservative orthodoxy and
restrict women’s service to a tiny knot of activities centered on
kitchen and nursery. It is for churches that hardly notice the range of
women’s ministries in Scripture.
God loves women enough to send his Son to live and die and live
again for them, but what does that mean for the ministries of women?
I believe God ordained men to preach, to teach doctrine with author-
ity, and to oversee the church. I also believe the Spirit has gifted women
for ministry and wants women to serve in many spheres, whether
alone or beside men, as peers. Some people say this puts women in a
box, but let me modify the metaphor and say it puts them in a car.
Cars are like boxes in some ways. While driving, we must remain
within the confinement of their doors. But cars can be roomy and
comfortable, with gadgets and hidden compartments to explore.
More important, they have wheels and take people places. The church
 Introduction to the Callings of Women 15

is a roomy vehicle, filled with a family on a journey. The doors and

speed limits set boundaries, but the family accepts these restrictions
because these make the trip possible and safe. On the journey, father
may do most of the driving, but mother drives too, and both parents
navigate, tell stories, and help the children have a good time.
The church is like a car. Safe travel occurs within the parameters
set by our nature and God’s Word. We are going somewhere, and the
relationships built during travel can be as sweet as the destination.
Pastors must steer a large car and keep an oft-contentious family uni-
fied as they travel. I hope to help pastors in two ways. First, I have
kept the heart of the book short enough that readers may complete it
before the binding rots off. Second, to help women enter the min-
istries God appoints, I propose various ministries for women, while
affirming that God calls men to preach and oversee the church.
The controversial nature of the issue leaves me a reluctant writer.
This topic is broad and complicated enough that sincere people dis-
agree sharply even when they share similar mind-sets. The biblical
data are complicated, demanding sophisticated interpretive skills.
The issues also stir strong emotions. I will never forget the public
debate where an accuser declared that I cannot legitimately claim to
love my wife, daughters, or female friends since my views oppress
women.
To promote calm, let me note that I use the term “feminist”
descriptively, not pejoratively. “Egalitarian” and “feminist” both
describe those who believe women and men should have identical
roles in the church. “Traditionalist” and “complementarian” both
describe those who believe women and men should have comple-
mentary roles.
But even if we stayed calm and agreed on every biblical and the-
ological question, challenges would remain. We would need
Solomonic wisdom to put our principles into practice. Consider a
point as trivial as church ushers.

U SHERS , R ULES , AND R ELATIONSHIPS

A few years ago, I noticed something odd. Most conservative
churches have female greeters, but almost none have female ushers.
16 WOMEN AND MINISTRY

This seemed amazing, for I could not imagine why the possession of
a Y chromosome was a prerequisite for handing out bulletins and
taking collections. An argument for male ushers might go like this:
1) Ushers facilitate worship, which is a task of spiritual leadership; 2)
Ushers’ high visibility gives the appearance that they are church lead-
ers; 3) Ushering is one of a few tasks where men can perform small
but meaningful service at church.
But the arguments for female ushers are stronger: 1) To prohibit
women from ushering is gratuitous legalism. Whatever the appear-
ance may be, ushers perform no spiritually sensitive duties. The post
should be open to all. 2) Ushers offer a welcome, and female visitors
may feel more welcome if women are visible among the church’s ush-
ers. Imagine a recently divorced woman visiting a church and seeing
a phalanx of large men in dark suits at the door with nary a woman
in sight. To ban female ushers is to erect needless barriers.
If I were a pastor again, I would want to use both men and
women as ushers. Yet if the church were already dealing with several
controversies, I might keep it to myself. In my opinion, the belief that
males must usher is almost silly. But changes of custom can cause
controversy, and pastors must pursue peace. If the cost of controversy
outweighed the benefit of a better welcome for female visitors, the
wise pastor would wait for a better time to change the policy. In
church leadership, wisdom and sensitivity are nearly as important as
doctrinal rectitude.
Not everyone grasps this point. Occasionally someone calls or
writes to me seeking ecclesiastical rulings about women’s ministries.
“Just tell me,” they say, “are the following acts legal or illegal: May a
woman preach? May women teach men in Sunday school? May
women pray or read Scripture in worship? May they serve on the
boards of churches and Christian schools?” We need biblical data, but
the “just tell me” mentality is misguided. It forgets two things.
First, good relationships ease all processes. When people love
and respect each other, they clear misunderstandings and solve prob-
lems more rapidly. If we think only of rules that permit this and for-
bid that, we forget that we can get every rule right and still see church
life go wrong. Indeed, if we think knowledge of the rules can thwart
 Introduction to the Callings of Women 17

all errors, we have already erred. If we master the rules for gender
roles but apply them in loveless, legalistic ways, we mistreat people.
On the other hand, if we misconstrue a minor rule but listen, serve,
love, and encourage women and men, the church will probably
remain quite healthy. To apply the Bible successfully, we need a good
heart, not just good answers.
Second, since every church has its own history and level of matu-
rity, the application of biblical principles for women in ministry will
vary from place to place. No one knows enough to dictate details of
organization for unfamiliar churches. Local leaders should not
depend on distant experts to set every ministry structure. Local lead-
ers must know their people and their times. Rulings can become out-
dated, not because biblical truth changes, but because cultures
change. As a culture moves, people ask new questions and challenge
biblical teaching in novel ways. The truth does not change, but what
we say to our culture does, since we must correct the errors of our
generation, not generations past. When people rely on others to tell
them exactly what to do, the faculty of discernment atrophies.
Therefore, this book presents biblical teachings and general principles
for church life. It illustrates those principles with some concrete
ideas. But it avoids detailed rulings.

T HE I MPORTANCE OF THE TASK

The controversy over gender roles makes me an uneasy writer, but the
importance of the topic makes me willing. Many feminists, from uni-
versity professors to government officials, ascribe gender differences,
beyond reproduction and lactation, to social influences. They say
patriarchal cultures pressure women to achieve less and to nurture
rather than compete. Even if women say they want to bear children
and stay at home to care for them, some feminists will not take the
statement at face value, since they believe society taught the women
to say such things. In fact, radicals say, the more men and women are
alike, the better off women are. If women achieve and compete as men
do, they will be free and fulfilled.
But even secular analysts debate these points. Beth Bailey
recounts the shift toward egalitarianism in dating and sex in From
18 WOMEN AND MINISTRY

Front Porch to Back Seat: Courtship in Twentieth-Century America.

Wendy Shalit argues that the results have been disastrous for women
in Return to Modesty. In the natural sciences, the evidence accumu-
lates that the neurobiology and biochemistry—the brains and the
hormones—of men and women, boys and girls, are quite different.
Michael Gurian’s twin books, The Wonder of Girls and The Wonder of
Boys, written to help parents raise girls and boys, shows that the dif-
ferences between boys and girls have a basis in nature or biology.
Neurological and hormonal forces lie behind the male drive to work,
achieve, compete, and gain independence. The same forces lie behind
the “intimacy imperative,” the female quest for a web of safe, inti-
mate, long-lasting relationships. It is dangerous to generalize, but it
seems that intimacy is more likely to be a woman’s highest goal,
whereas achievement is more likely to be a man’s.1
Anyone who has coached male and female athletes can testify to
these differences. In boys’ teams, losing causes tension and winning
heals rifts. Girls compete vigorously, but on girls’ teams, a string of
defeats may hardly be upsetting if everyone is working together and
encouraging one another.
These are generalizations, of course. Particular women are more
competitive, independent, and analytical than particular men. But if
we compare men and women globally, the differences are clear. Yet we
must not exaggerate, because men and women are more similar than
dissimilar. We are not from different planets—Venus and Mars. We
are not different species. Both men and women bear God’s image. He
created us together to crown creation and govern it for him. Further,
some male-female differences may be a result of sin, not God’s design.
God made both men and women for relationships and for account-
able dominion over his world.
But God designed women, not men, to bear and nurse children. He
implanted in women a stronger biological response to the tears of
infants and children. And, I believe, the Lord is wise and loving enough
to shape the minds and hearts of women so they would take pleasure
in the role of giving and organizing life. At the age of twenty-two, Anna
Grigoryevna married a forty-two-year-old who was a convict, an epilep-
tic, a pathological gambler, and perhaps the greatest novelist who ever
 Introduction to the Callings of Women 19

lived, Fyodor Dostoyevsky. She was his stenographer, financial man-

ager, and protector. She persuaded him to stop gambling. She gave him
and herself happiness. Is that not a good life, too?2
There might be a hint that women are more relational than men
in Genesis 2 when God creates Eve to be Adam’s companion. There
seems to be another hint after the Fall when the punishment on man
and woman diverges. Each feels God’s displeasure in what is dearest.
The man faces it at work as God curses the ground so that it bears
thorns and thistles. The woman faces it in relationships as she has a
desire for her husband, but he rules over her.

T HE C HURCH ’ S R ESPONSIBILITY
Some deny that the Bible teaches such things. Others agree that it
does and reject what it says. But that is hardly new. People have
always taken offense at biblical teachings; Scripture always provokes
reactions. No person or culture perfectly conforms to biblical truth.
Therefore, the Bible confronts every person and society. Few like cor-
rection, especially when it challenges what is familiar. Most under-
stand gender according to the customs of their day. Their customs
seem obvious, even sacred. The tenets of commonsense feminism are
old and widespread enough that they seem beyond question in our
culture. And many people would rather condemn the Bible than
entertain the idea that their culture is in error.3
But Christian leaders must hold fast to the truth precisely when
it is least popular, when it most violates the sensibility of the age. If
we call ourselves God’s servants, we must follow his Word, as we
understand it, however difficult that may be.
The prophets and apostles knew this. Isaiah decried the Israelites
who “say to the seers, ‘See no more visions,’ and to the prophets, ‘Give
us no more visions of what is right. Tell us pleasant things. Prophecy
illusions. . . . Stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel’” (Isa.
30:10-11). People want a comfortable religion. But God chooses to
make people feel uncomfortable, temporarily, so they can find gen-
uine comfort, permanently.
The apostle John experienced the same thing in a vision recorded
in Revelation 10:9-11. An angel gave John a small scroll and told him,
20 WOMEN AND MINISTRY

“Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour but in your mouth
it will be as sweet as honey.” Indeed, the scroll was sweet in his mouth
but sour in his stomach. Then the angel said, “You must prophesy
again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings.” The vision
suggests that the Word of God always tastes sweet to believers. Even
a prophecy of judgment has a certain sweetness because our Lord is
just, and we rejoice when he displays his justice, even in judging evil.
Yet, when the time comes to prophesy against the nations, the Word
becomes sour if they resist the message. John and Isaiah understood
that it would be a cruel kindness to hide the truth that mankind is
liable to judgment. Therefore, they described God’s judgment and the
way of escape from it.
Christian leaders sometimes fail to see this. When asked to
address a difficult question, we try to avoid it. We say the issue is com-
plicated, that it is unimportant, that it would take too long to explain,
that we are still studying it. We may justify our silence by telling our-
selves we don’t want to upset anyone and drive them away from the
church over a trivial point.
Maybe. But what should we say about leaders who detect a spir-
itual problem and refuse to state the diagnosis or offer the cure? My
colleague Jerram Barrs once observed that if a woman with feminist
sympathies visits a church with male leaders, she will naturally ask
the pastor about his view of women teaching and leading. Pastors
often avoid the question, saying, “This is our denomination’s view,”
and little more. This approach fails both pastorally and pragmatically.
Pastorally, the decision to pass the buck to the denomination may
have three sources: weak faith, spiritual cowardice, or culpable igno-
rance. “Weak faith” means a pastor knows the reasons for male leader-
ship but lacks confidence in their persuasive power, and so he keeps
them to himself. “Spiritual cowardice” means the pastor secretly dis-
agrees with his denomination but fears the consequences of stating his
views. “Culpable ignorance” means the pastor genuinely does not
know why women do not preach in his church. He trusts the hierarchy
when he ought to have his own answers to the questions of the day.
The strategy of passing responsibility to others also fails prag-
matically. The pastor who sheds responsibility for his church’s prac-
 Introduction to the Callings of Women 21

tices chooses the wrong mechanism for peace. He hopes to find peace
by saying nothing offensive. But he implies that the visitor should not
take the issue too seriously. After all, not even the pastor thinks about
it much! But this is unsatisfactory in every way. First, the woman evi-
dently takes it seriously, or she would not have inquired about it.
Second, the pastor is confessing his weakness, saying, “We have a
practice that is offensive to many people; yet we persist in it without
much conviction because we are half loyal to a distant body that tells
us what to do.” Is it any wonder if women who hear no answers to
legitimate questions fail to return?
A pastor’s desire to seem reasonable and avoid controversy can be
almost overwhelming. But there are dangers in worrying too much
about other people’s opinions. Leaders ought to try to establish rapport
with their audiences, but there is only One we must please. If pastors
say things the human audience dislikes, it is unfortunate. But if we say
things God dislikes, it is more than unfortunate. We cannot control the
way people respond to us, but we can discharge our duties.
When leaders fail to speak, it also harms mankind, since God
declares that his commands bless those who obey them. The Lord tells
Israel to walk in his ways, love him, and observe the “commands and
decrees that I am giving you today for your own good” (Deut. 10:12-
13, my emphasis). God’s commands are good for his people. Old
Testament law shaped Israel to be “the kind of society God wants.”
God redeemed Israel, in part, to make the blessings of obedience vis-
ible to the nations. When Israel lived in justice and love, she became
a light to the nations.4 When Israel followed God’s laws, she would
“show [her] wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will . . .
say, ‘Surely this . . . is a wise and understanding people’” (Deut. 4:6).

F LAWED C HURCH L IFE

Of course, we can show God’s wisdom only if we follow it. Sadly, we
do not always do so. Indeed, our errors in ecclesiastical practice com-
plicate discussions of gender roles. Many churches choose their lead-
ers using godless secular standards. They organize their affairs
according to local traditions with only faint connection to Scripture.
They train their leaders to perpetuate flawed patterns. They elect
22 WOMEN AND MINISTRY

elders and deacons because they are successful businessmen or pro-

fessionals. They choose men with nice social skills, nice clothes, and
nice families. They neglect spiritual maturity and proven ability to
teach and serve. They require the wrong duties of leaders—attending
a monthly decision-making meeting but not teaching or overseeing
the church. These practices damage the health of the church and
undermine the traditional view of gender roles.
If elders [or deacons] are merely successful professionals who
have pleasant personalities and give policy advice at monthly church
meetings, why can’t a woman be an elder? After all, Abigail, Deborah,
and Huldah gave good advice on spiritual issues.
If elders [or deacons] need only know doctrine but need not teach
it, why can’t a woman be an elder? After all, Priscilla knew doctrine
well enough to correct Apollos privately.
If elders don’t oversee the church, why must they distribute the
elements at communion? They are supposed to distribute the ele-
ments, in part, because they know who is under church discipline and
who has never professed faith. But if elders don’t know the spiritual
condition of the people, why not let anyone serve?
If deacons [or trustees] merely watch over the church property
and collect and disburse funds, why can’t a woman be a deacon?

C ONCLUSION
Our goal is to follow Scripture wherever it leads, both intellectually
and practically. It would be naïve to think that we can simply turn to
Scripture and start reading with an open mind. We bring preferences
to our reading. Still, we can seek openness and receptivity so that the
text has its say, and follow where it leads. If we adopt the right meth-
ods and have the right desire—to let God’s Word affect us—then we
can partially transcend our prejudices. If we acknowledge that
Scripture is independent of us and precedes us, it can change us.5
 NOTES

CHAPTER 1:
INTRODUCTION TO THE CALLINGS OF WOMEN
1. Michael Gurian, The Wonder of Girls (New York: Pocket Books, 2002), 26-96; Michael
Gurian, The Wonder of Boys (New York: Putnam, 1996); Beth Bailey, From Front Porch to
Back Seat: Courtship in Twentieth-Century America (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins, 1988);
Wendy Shalit, Return to Modesty (New York: Free Press, 1999).
2. See the many references to Anna in Joseph Frank, Dostoyevsky: The Miraculous Years, 1865-
71 and The Mantle of the Prophet, 1871-81 (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1995,
2002).
3. Christina Hoff Sommers contrasts commonsense or “equity feminists” and radical or “gen-
der feminists” in Who Stole Feminism? (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1994), 22-49.
Commonsense feminists stressed equality in education, equality before the law, and the
right to vote, own property, marry and divorce, and live as freely as men.
4. Christopher J. H. Wright, Walking in the Ways of the Lord (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity
Press, 1995), 24-34; Christopher J. H. Wright, An Eye for an Eye (Downers Grove, IL:
InterVarsity Press, 1983), 40-5, passim.
5. Kevin Vanhoozer, Is There a Meaning in This Text? (Grand Rapids: Zondervan), 367-78.
CHAPTER 2:
THE MINISTRIES OF WOMEN IN BIBLICAL HISTORY: A SURVEY
1. Many feminists, critical and evangelical, avoid this chapter’s argument by viewing male
leadership (“patriarchy”) in the Old Testament as an evil God tolerated. I answer that objec-
tion at the end of the chapter.
2. The phrase “the book of the law” is almost a technical term for Deuteronomy in much of
the Old Testament.
3. It is conceivable that Paul is referring to a practice of which he does not approve, rather
like the odd Corinthian custom of baptism for the dead (15:29). But there are no overt signs
that he disapproves here.
4. On social status, James Jeffers, The Greco-Roman World (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity
Press, 1999), 195.
5. The Greek term diakonos (diavkono~) can be translated “servant” or “deacon.”
6. Since there is a feminine form of the noun, the fact that the masculine is here applied to a
woman might indicate that an official position is in view. For more on deaconesses, see
chapter 8 and appendix 2. See also C. E. B. Cranfield, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary
on the Epistle to the Romans (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1975-1979), 2:780-83; Douglas Moo,
The Epistle to the Romans (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996), 913-14; Thomas Schreiner,
Romans (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1998), 786-87.
7. The Greek preposition en (ejn) may be used either way.
8. Hebrew shaphat is traditionally translated “judge,” but it can mean “lead” as well.
9. Esther’s speech to Xerxes in Esther 7 and Nehemiah’s plea to Artaxerxes in Nehemiah 1 are
very similar. Confessions of faith can also become Scripture. See Matthew 15:27 and John
20:28.
10. On the primacy of priests over prophets as regular teaching authorities, see chapter 5 also.
11. Aaron is also rebuked, although more mildly, for questioning Moses’ authority. For Miriam,
the issue is both her gender and her refusal to accept God’s ordained leader.
12. Elizabeth Schussler Fiorenza, In Memory of Her, A Feminist Theological Reconstruction of
Christian Origins (New York: Crossroad, 1983), 49-56, 82-92.
13. Some sources for the New Testament include Herman Ridderbos, Redemptive History and
the New Testament Scriptures, 2nd rev. ed. (Philipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed,
1988); Craig Blomberg, The Historical Reliability of the Gospels (Downers Grove, IL:
InterVarsity Press, 1987); D. A. Carson, Douglas Moo, and Leon Morris, An Introduction to