"Tell Her Story" (Nijay K. Gupta)

TITLE: Tell Her Story: How Women Led, Taught, and Ministered in the Early Church
AUTHOR: Nijay K. Gupta
PUBLISHER: Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2023, (224 pages).

One of the negative comments I have heard from modern readers is about the patriarchal nature of the Bible, especially the Old Testament. They note how the heads of households in the past are restricted to men. There are also many instances where modern folks quickly accuse gender discrimination. Why should Eve be a "helpmeet" to Adam and not the other way around? Why are most of the judges male? What about the way women are been treated? Is God being fair to the oft-referred "weaker" sex? Even in the New Testament, why did Paul put restrictions on women when it comes to teaching in the Church? These questions not only colour the minds of people, but they can also sometimes affect their faith. It might even cast doubts about God being fair and just. Sometimes, this has spurred the rise and development of modern feminism. Aware of such trends, scholars and theologians have begun addressing the issue of women and gender inequality in the Bible. In this book, author Nijay Gupta looks at the women leaders in the New Testament to highlight how such "hidden figures" have impacted the development of the Early Church. Apart from people like Mary, the mother of Jesus, Priscilla, and a few others like Phoebe and Eunice, the number of women leaders is agonizingly few. By shedding light on the impact of women leaders in the Bible, the author hopes to inform readers about the significance of women in ministry yesterday, today, and into the future. At the same time, there is definitely more than meets the modern cultural eye about women in the Bible. Gupta aims to debunk some of the myths that people have, such as women being resigned to insignificant roles in society then; and the unfair status imposed on women, etc. More importantly, by understanding the stories of these women, we get a better understanding of contexts. "Her Story" includes:

• How Jesus interacts with women in the gospels;
• Curious insertion of women in the Jewish genealogy in Matthew 1;
• List of model women figures in Paul's list to the Romans 16;
• ...

In Part One, Gupta shows us the contexts of early women leaders such as Deborah, God's vision for both men and women, and how women navigated the Roman cultural norms. Deborah in particular was singled out for her leadership that led to 40 years of peace, something unheard of during the tumultuous period of the judges. God's plan in Genesis is about caring for and cultivating the earth, with shared responsibility for both Adam and Eve. In the New Testament, even when men were the defacto leaders in society, women are not necessarily marginalized according to the modern perceptions we have about ancient society. For instance, it is not true that women cannot own property or run a business then. While they are generally urged to adopt domestic duties, that does not prevent them from activities outside of the house. In the gospels, Jesus interacted with many women in a positive way.

In Part Two, Gupta describes the context of the way New Testament writers communicate with the Early Church. This is then followed by a description of the roles and impact of some of the New Testament women in the Early Church like Phoebe, Prisca, Junia, and other co-labourers in the faith. He looks at leadership structures, ethos, roles, and various forms of leadership. There was no explicit gender-related prohibition when serving in these capacities. In the 1 Tim 2 passage about forbidding women to teach in Church, Gupta sets aside a chapter to discuss that pointing out common "misreadings" before showing the reasons why Paul wrote what he did. One key point the author makes is the problem of arrogance among some women who disrupted the Church with their superior patterns of leadership. The point is, Paul was writing the passage in a specific context in order to maintain calm and peace in the community. This specific passage should not be generalized. The call to order was more important than mere gender prohibition. Gupta also covers other areas such as the submission texts, the "saved through childbearing" verse, and many more. 

My Thoughts
Throughout history, women have played major roles in society. Whether it is inside the home or in the office, it is fair to say that without women, society will stumble and in some cases fail to function at all. In some parts of the world, such as the Middle East, women are still relegated to minor roles. They are also subjected to all kinds of prohibitions. Even for those activities that they are allowed to do outside of the home, they need to be accompanied by a man. Whether such practices are inherited from past traditions, we do not know. What we know is that certain interpretations of ancient traditions and texts would have influenced the way many societies function. That is why interpretation needs to be wisely applied after diligent study. This book serves as a guide to help us understand the role and stories of women in the Bible. In doing so, Gupta has given us a fresh interpretation of women's role in the past. He provides us with a new lens to see how women in the Bible have contributed to the life of the people of God and the doing of the will of God. This is important for three reasons.

First, seeing the prohibition in this new light frees all of us to see the will of God as bigger than human prohibitions. There is no need to make things more difficult for anyone who wants to serve. The best servants are willing servants. This should enable women not to be afraid of breaking scriptural principles when they have been gifted with spiritual gifts like teaching or preaching. Some of the best teachers I have benefitted from are women. It is inconceivable to deny a qualified lady from teaching just on the basis of the plain reading of Scripture. Every text comes within a context. Every context has unique challenges that led to scriptural injunctions. Many of the prohibition texts come within this category of unique circumstances. When gifted women serve, this book helps to address questions posed by people adopting a plain but uninformed reading of the Bible texts.

Second, women continue to play a huge part in the modern Church. If there is any way we can encourage them more, we should and this book helps in that direction. Sometimes I wonder: "What if one day, all the women in the Church were to quit en mass?" Chances are, the Church will not be able to function or survive into the future. In every ministry, there is a chance of seeing more women than men. Take Sunday School for example. I have seen some churches where all the teachers were female! 

Finally, as far as pastors and elders of the Church are concerned, many conservative churches still prefer to maintain a male requirement. Will this book change their position? Unlikely. No matter how we cut it, there is still the question of why many of the key characters in the Bible are male. The Old Testament have more major male characters than female. In the Early Church, Stephen, Peter, and Paul are some of the earliest evangelists. The New Testament writers use language that is more complementarian than egalitarian. Jesus chose 12 male disciples! Many churches still frown on some modern translations that have tried to make the Bible more gender-neutral. While I do not expect major shifts from the positions adopted by various churches, it is hoped that books like this will help one to be more open to new interpretive possibilities.

Nijay K. Gupta (PhD, University of Durham) is professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary. He has written several books, including A Beginner’s Guide to New Testament Studies, Paul and the Language of Faith, and academic commentaries on Galatians, Philippians, Colossians, and 1-2 Thessalonians. He is coeditor of the second edition of IVP Academic's Dictionary of Paul and His Letters and serves as a senior translator for the New Living Translation. He blogs at cruxsolablog.com.

Rating: 4.25 stars of 5.

conrade

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