Acknowledgments
Some of the ground I cover in this book will be familiar to those who have read other books on the subject. It will also become obvious to the person who peruses the endnotes that my field of scholarly study is the New Testament and its ancient historical context. I am far less adept in modern Christian writers’ debates about women’s roles in the Bible, a weakness I frankly admit. The strength of this work is its documentation of primary sources from my own research. Many of this book’s proposals appear to be new, although others turn out to parallel previous work that has been done, which I have cited when I have come across it in my reading. I am thus content to hope that this book will be useful, more than that it will be entirely original.
My lack of familiarity with most other modern Christian literature on the subject has been somewhat met by the help of Gretchen Gaebelein Hull, who provided me with a short reading list before I finally sat down to write the final draft of this book. The one book I read on the subject before starting to write this book is one that I read some years ago, which has no doubt influenced my thinking more than my endnotes would reveal. That is Don Williams’ helpful book, The Apostle Paul and Women in the Church. But the argumentation reflected here is my own, except where my notes indicate dependence, and my citations from the primary sources come directly from my own reading of those sources, except where I have noted otherwise.
I was introduced to the growing body of scholarly literature on women’s studies in Greco-Roman antiquity particularly by Duke University Professor Mary T. Boatwright. Professor Boatwright guided me to many of the secondary sources in preparation for one of my preliminary doctoral exams on this subject.
I also wish to express my gratitude to Hendrickson production editor Phil Frank and to Linda Withrow Purnell of Duke’s Perkins Library (who went beyond the call of duty in securing for me volumes not in Duke’s holdings). Such technical assistance has contributed to making this the useful work I trust it will be.
I am, of course, indebted also to my undergraduate and seminary instructors for their advocacy of women’s ministries. I am likewise indebted to my students for their helpful interaction with my arguments, especially to Cecilia Barnes, who single-handedly kept urging me to take a public stand on my views until she finally persuaded me. I am indebted to my women colleagues in evangelical ministry who trusted me enough to share their concerns with me. I am certain that these colleagues could close this book with greater passion and eloquence than I, because the issues in this book are issues they must confront every day. But I nevertheless hope that this book will strengthen the case in the body of Christ for justice on their behalf.