From commoner to queen, the women in this book embraced the freedom and the power of the Gospel in making their unique contributions to the unfolding of history. Wherever possible, the women here speak for themselves, from their letters, diaries or published works. The true story of women in Christian history inspires, challenges and demonstrates the grace of God producing much fruit throughout time.

Evangelical Christian Women draws on two years of ethnographic research nationwide to shed new light on the gender conflict faced by women in evangelical Christianity. Julie Ingersoll goes beyond previous attempts to find avenues of empowerment for fundamentalist women to offer a more nuanced look at the challenges they face when they occupy positions of leadership which violate traditional gender norms. She looks where other studies do not—at women who, while remaining entrenched in and committed to evangelical Christianity, are also resisting accepted gender roles. Evangelical Christian Women offers a look at conservative women who challenge gender norms within their religious traditions, the fallout they experience as part of the ensuing conflict, and the significance of the conflict over gender for the development and character of culture. In the face of a growing number of scholarly studies of conservative religious women that argue that submission is somehow “really” empowerment, this book seeks to get at the other side of the story; to document and explore the experiences of the women caught in the middle of the conservative Christian culture war over gender.

Women have been central to the work of Christian ministry from the time of Jesus to the twenty-first century. Yet the story of Christianity is too often told as a story of men. This accessibly written book tells the story of women throughout church history, demonstrating their integral participation in the church's mission. It highlights the legacies of a wide variety of women, showing how they have overcome obstacles to their ministries and have transformed cultural constraints to spread the gospel and build the church.

Tracing two thousand years of female leadership, influence, and participation, Elizabeth Gillan Muir examines the various positions women have filled in the church. From the earliest female apostle, and the little known stories of the two Marys - the Virgin Mary and Mary Magdalene - to the enlightened duties espoused by the nun, the abbess, and the anchorite, and the persecutions of female "witches," Muir uncovers the rich and often tumultuous relationship between women and Christianity. Offering broad coverage of both the Catholic and Protestant traditions and extending geographically well beyond North America, A Women's History of the Christian Church presents a chronological account of how women developed new sects and new churches, such as the Quakers and Christian Science. The book includes a timeline of women in Christian history, over 25 black-and-white illustrations, a glossary, and a list of primary and secondary sources to complement the content in each chapter.

From facing wild beasts in the arena to governing the Roman Empire, Christian women--as preachers and philosophers, martyrs and empresses, virgins and mothers--influenced the shape of the church in its formative centuries. This book provides in a single volume a nearly complete compendium of extant evidence about Christian women in the second through fifth centuries. It highlights the social and theological contributions they made to shaping early Christian beliefs and practices, integrating their influence into the history of the patristic church and showing how their achievements can be edifying for contemporary Christians.

Christianity has long been criticized as a patriarchal religion. But during its two-thousand-year history, the faith has been influenced and passed down by faithful women. Martyrs and nuns, mystics and scholars, writers and reformers, preachers and missionaries, abolitionists and evangelists, these women are examples to us of faith, perseverance, forgiveness, and fortitude. With gracious irreverence, Ruth Tucker offers engaging and candid profiles of some of the most fascinating women of Christian history. From the famous to the infamous to the obscure, women like Perpetua, Joan of Arc, Teresa of Avila, Anne Hutchinson, Susanna Wesley, Ann Judson, Harriet Tubman, Fanny Crosby, Hannah Whitehall Smith, Corrie ten Boom, and Mother Teresa, along with dozens of others, come to vivid life. Perfect for small groups, these portraits of women who changed the world in their own significant way will spark lively discussion and inspire today's Christians to lives of faithful witness.

The Bible has been written, translated, and interpreted for centuries by men in cultures that were patriarchal. In patriarchy, women are subordinated within the gradations of a hierarchical society. Material on women, therefore has often been misinterpreted or overlooked. In some instances, generic nouns and pronouns in the original languages have been translated into English as masculine words. A careful textual study must be made using all the available tools of biblical scholarship. An accurate understanding of the meaning of words must be sought. Also, readers must try to discern the intentions of the author and try to gain a knowledge of the historical and social background of the biblical material. The demands of God must be distinguished from the demands of a particular culture. The bible as a whole makes it clear that God's people are to bring justice and wholeness to all human beings. the injunctions that degrade women do not provide principles valid for every age of Christianity but instead reflect cultural situations in which men related to women through dominance. The standard for the Christian community today should be the glimmers of female dignity and leadership that shine through the pages of the Bible.