"From Daughters to Disciples" (Lynn Japinga)

TITLE: From Daughters to Disciples: Women's Stories from the New Testament
AUTHOR: Lynn Japinga
PUBLISHER: Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2021, (164 pages).

Many books have been written about the prophets of old, the kings of Israel, and the twelve disciples of Jesus. Yet, in the modern era, there are increasingly many who are questioning the patriarchal nature of the Bible. Why are there more male leaders? Why are most of the key figures in the Bible male? Is God showing preferential treatment to guys? With a desire to show that God is not blind to the needs of women, author and professor Lynn Japinga continues to shed light on some of the most prominent but often neglected characters in the Bible. Plus, they are all women! After writing her previous book about women's stories from the Old Testament, she continues this orientation by writing a companion volume on the women's stories from the New Testament. Yet, the author admits that this volume is more difficult because they don't speak much. Whatever they do, not much was recorded. Thus, compared to the first volume, the author tries to put herself into these women's shoes and does her best "imaginative speculation." She does this carefully after considering the New Testament contexts and reflecting on how Jesus treated the women then. Progressing from the gospels to the letters of Paul, Japinga begins with Mary, describing how conventional views paint her as obedient, blessed, ideal, or even the model woman for the rest to emulate. This is difficult for the modern woman to follow because no woman on earth is ever good enough. The author argues instead that she is more like one who had experienced grief, loss, and joy, all wrapped in one. She writes about the woman with a tissue of blood. While not much is known about this woman, Japinga manages to trace her background to give a counter-cultural proposal that instead of ostracizing her for her menstruation, readers ought to consider that as "mysterious and powerful." Mysterious because we still do not understand why the monthly period has to happen. Powerful because the process has the power to birth new life. On the Gentile woman who needed healing, the author puts herself in her shoes and to see her deep faith in Jesus in spite of her status.  Jesus accepted her in spite of her conditions. It is a lesson to remind us not to jump to conclusions about anyone. At one point, Japinga is close to accusing Jesus of not being inclusive enough. 

On the Samaritan woman at the well, the author connects the discrimination of that time to the modern era of how we treat marginalized people. Other women includes the one caught in adultery, the woman who anointed Jesus, Mary and Martha, Salome, the woman in Acts (Sapphire, Dorcas, Mary, Rhoda, Lydia, Priscilla, the daughters of Philip, etc.), and several more. Each chapter ends with a set of questions to prompt us about the key points of the chapter. A longer discussion guide can be found at the end of the book for group discussion. They are structured in a easy to follow format for immediate use by group facilitators. 

My Thoughts

It is evident that the author struggles with the lack of material on the lives of the women. Sometimes, it seems like trying to squeeze water out of dry rocks. Yet, Japinga has a unique way to fill in the blanks with creative imagination and interesting speculation. While some might accuse her of adding stuff to dramatize the narrative, I believe we are all consumers of a culture that speculates and dramatizes ordinary life. Take the movies for example. They are hardly pure and simple. The most entertaining and thought-provoking movies are not cast in exactly the same mold as the original. For to do so would mean having to include a huge portion of "boring" details. Like many of us, much of our lives are routine and ordinary. So, with a reasonable amount of guesswork, it is a nice biographical attempt to tell the stories of these oft-forgotten women of the Bible. I take this book not as some literal interpretation of the lives of the women. Instead, I read it as a picture to ponder upon and even learn from. The index of names itself is a useful list for those of us wanting to pay more attention to women in the Bible.

I applaud the author for a valiant effort to focus on the women of the New Testament. Books like this is hard to come by, and it takes lots of research to find out the background. She supplements her material with lots of references to modern female leaders such as Melinda Gates, Elizabeth Warren, Dorothy Sayers, Brene Brown, as well as female theologians like Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza. Working on this project seems like trying to find moisture in a desert terrain, so much so that she even relies in part on material from atheists like Bart Ehrman. My concern basically is where do we draw the line when we try to elevate the place of women in such explicit manner. Could we be doing a form of eisegesis to read our modern concerns into New Testament texts? In trying to be "fair" to women audiences of today, are we being equally "fair" to the cultural contexts of that time? There is always a risk of reading too much of the modern world into ancient times. The question is: Is the risk worth it? Maybe. For those of us who are hell-bent on seeing women as an inferior gender, this book provides a good counter argument. For those of us who are more conservative in our interpretive stance, we might read this book with a pinch of salt. For the general reader, I think we need to have two perspectives. First, learn to see women the way that Jesus sees them. I would venture to say that Jesus makes no difference in terms of his relationship with people. From the New Testament narratives, Jesus does treat the marginalized with greater patience and gentleness. He reserves some of his harshest words on the rulers and the religious leaders of the day. 

Japinga has given us a good resource to learn more about the oft forgotten women of the Bible. I would encourage readers not to be distracted by the peripheral concerns about feminism, gender orientations, or liberalism, but to take note on the way Jesus treats every person in the Bible, especially women. We all, both men and women have a lot to learn. May this book give us a fresh perspective on how to appreciate the many women in the New Testament.

Lynn Japinga is a Professor of Religion at Hope College in Holland, Michigan since 1992. She focuses on women's studies and American religious history. An ordained minister in the Reformed Church in America (RCA), she has served as a pastor and interim pastor of a number of RCA congregations.

Rating: 4 stars of 5.

conrade

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This book has been provided courtesy of Westminster John Knox Press and NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.