women

When I wrote my book about women in the church, my aim was to examine every verse that has been hijacked to oppress and silence women. I wanted to show that contrary to what many of us have heard, woman are in no way inferior to men. In the new covenant of grace, women can preach, teach, and lead, and do anything [...]

In the church, you will encounter two views about women. There is the traditional view (women should be meek, stay-at-home-mothers) and the so-called progressive view (women can do anything men can do). Which view is Biblical? I suspect most people would say the traditional view. Many churchgoers believe that the [...]

How would you rate the most influential people in history? This question is behind an ongoing study run by MIT’s Media Lab. A while back the folks at MIT reported that the most influential person in history was the Greek philosopher Aristotle. In second place was Plato, third was Jesus, and fourth was [...]

This one is going out to all those who’ve told me they would never listen to a woman or follow a woman because it’s unbiblical, unseemly, or because women’s voices are too high-pitched. Take a breath, folks. Look at what Jesus did. Go and do likewise… When Jesus walked the earth, gender [...]

These days more women than men enrol in higher education, but it wasn’t always this way. Women did not begin studying at university in Britain until 1869. In the US, the first college to admit women was Oberlin College, in 1837. The University of Bologna in Italy was reputedly the first in the world to teach [...]

Here’s a question for your next Bible Study class: Why do female witches outnumber male witches twenty to one? Odd question? King James didn’t think so. When he wasn’t overseeing the production of the Bible that bears his name, James was interrogating women he believed were witches. James was obsessed with [...]

In the church we have a good appreciation of what Jesus did for us, but we don’t really understand all he did for women. If we did, you can be sure we would treat them better than we do. In my last article in this series, I introduced the idea that Jesus empowered women. In this article I want to highlight two [...]

When Jesus walked the earth, gender inequality was so entrenched in Jewish society that an adulteress could be stoned without trial and men could divorce their wives for just about any reason at all. In a nation of God-fearing and moral men, women were considered little more than property. They were servants [...]

Are women permitted to teach in church? You might think not if you read this verse: I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet. (1 Tim 2:12) Oh dear. Don’t tell Joyce Meyer that women aren’t allowed to teach. Or my mum, my wife, or a gazillion other ladies who teach [...]

My three daughters are growing up in a country where women often reach the highest levels of leadership. In New Zealand we’ve had female heads of state and government and everything else besides. As a father, I am thrilled that my daughters will be able to do just about anything they put their mind to. As long [...]

I have three daughters. When they get a little older and start drawing the attention of young men, I will give them this piece of timeless advice: Don’t just listen to what he says; watch what he does. A man may say anything, but his actions will always reveal his heart. This is good to remember when we come to [...]