Synopses & Reviews
This is not just another book on the perennial issue of male headship. In contrast to those many who regard Christianity as the great source of male domination, this book argues that authentic Christianity does not teach that husbands have spiritual superiority over their wives, and its authors listen to and engage voices that still claim that it does. Written by distinguished Protestant and Roman Catholic scholars, the book first demonstrates how deep strands of the Christian tradition have always taught an ethic of gender mutuality, sowing the seeds for what is today called the "equal-regard marriage." Though patriarchy was pervasive in the ancient world surrounding early Christianity and sometimes influenced the church, new research shows that the earliest layers of Christianity both resisted and worked to transform it. Not every author in the book agrees with this point of view; dissenters have their say too. As a whole, "Does Christianity Teach Male Headship? constitutes a robust debate that, finally, invites readers to decide.Contributors: David BlankenhornDon BrowningLisa Sowle CahillAllan C. CarlsonDaniel Mark CereMaggie GallagherW. Robert GodfreyBonnie Miller-McLemoreJohn W. MillerCarolyn OsiekMary Stewart Van LeeuwenJohn Witte Jr.
Table of Contents
The problem of men / Don Browning -- Is equal regard in the Bible? / Mary Stewart Van Leeuwen -- Did early Christians teach, or merely assume, male headship? / Carolyn Osiek -- Male headship : reform of the Protestant tradition / John Witte Jr. -- The feminist pope / Lisa Sowle Cahill -- A feminist Christian theologian looks (askance) at headship / Bommie Miller-McLemore -- The problem of men, reconsidered / John W. Miller -- The problem of Protestants / Allan C. Carlson -- Headship and the Bible / W. Robert Godfrey -- Marriage, subordination, and the development of Christian doctrine / Daniel Mark Cere -- Reflections on headship / Maggie Gallagher -- Reflections on the debate / Don Browning.