Women in the Church's Ministry: A Test Case from Biblical Interpretation

The ordination of women has been one of the most pressing — and passionately debated — issues facing the church in recent years. In this volume, based on the prestigious 1995 Didsbury Lectures, R.T. France explores several important questions of biblical interpretation raised by the serious disagreements among Christians over the nature of women's ministry. / The first chapter considers the question of how opposite conclusions on this issue can be arrived at from the same Bible. France next examines the roles of men and women in the New Testament and asks whether the passages that teach authority and submission in the home are also applicable to church life. In Chapter 3 France discusses the New Testament prohibitions — looking especially at 1 Timothy 2:8-15 — and then considers the ministry of women today. Lastly, France considers women in the New Testament church and explores questions of continuity and development in the church today. / France primarily focuses on the issues as they are manifest in evangelical circles, where appeal is made instinctively to the authority of Scripture. He challenges readers to think out what it means to claim that our theology and practice are “biblical.” His insightful arguments help point the way beyond the impasse over the role and place of women in church ministry.