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Summary: What Paul Really Said About Women
Review: A must for all to read, not just Christians, but especially for Christian women to regain a positive attitude towards the Apostle Paul (in case one might not have had a positive attitude towards him due to the inaccurate translation of his writings concerning women and their place in the Church which made him appear to be either, at worse, a misogynist, or, at best, not "pro" women). This book sets the record straight and quiets my mind on this subject. Thank God!
Rating:
Summary: Turnabout is fair play
Review: Although I consider the Bible the inspired word of God, I have never been one to surrender my own thought processes and accept without question the interpretations of others, nor do I buy the dogma of translational inerrancy.
Many fundamental Protestants have used the study of the Bible in the context of its history to demonstrate fallacies or heresies in Roman Catholic doctrine and the Vulgate used to support them, yet they refuse to analyze the KJV in that same critical light. Bristow, a Disciples of Christ minister, accomplishes this by several means, including identifying Aristotelian philosophies that concur with the unChristian attitudes toward women, while at the same time examining the fine distinctions among Koinê words whose coarse English translations coincide, due to the relative sparsity of the latter language, particularly with respect to the word "love."
He also lays to rest the passage about women remaining silent by placing it in the context of the Corinthian church, where women previously unaccustomed to being permitted to worship among men were unaccustomed to the solemnity and used to chatter amongst each other. I've read a number of other reviews, and I can easily detect the stubbornness of those who see, yet still will not believe a more rational explanation.
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Summary: Orthodoxy never seemed so good!
Review: As an ordained minister I have seen much of the pain that both men and women suffer because of misunderstandings of Paul's writings in the New Testament. One question confronts all Christians: if the New Testament says that women are not to teach and are to remain silent in the church, then how can women be ordained or serve in positions of congregational authority? John Bristow's book explains with responsible scholarship and Christian integrity what Paul really said about this and many other gender issues-- not what Paul's letters interpreted through a Greek philosophical mindset were misconstrued to mean. This book will answer questions you have wondered about all your life.
Rating: 
Summary: A mix of truly great points and some serious errors
Review: Bristow has made some excellent points about male-female roles in Scripture. He's exposed the bankruptcy of the image of male leadership in the home as that of ruler to subject, and he introduces the idea of organic leadership well. Bristow's description of Scripture's use of the term "head" (and not "ruler") for the husband's role is quite convincing. It also gives us a glimpse of the nature of Christianity as a relational religion in the First Century.However, many of his arguments do not permit the reader to reject other views, but simply propose an alternate (with some force, but not without some caveats). That's important to remember when you get into discussions: Bristow introduces a different view of Paul, without necessarily rejecting other views. Finally, a couple of the arguments in the book fall apart when examined closely. Bristow's examination of the headship argument in 1 Co 11 includes some information about a Greek preposition ("on"), which doesn't really work out when you examine the way Greek prepositions are used in the passage. It's an obscure issue, but it does overturn this argument. In all, it's a great book with some positively explosive points about Paul, but a few weaknesses.
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Summary: Helped keep me from throwing my Bible away.....
Review: I spent many years in a destructive Bible Based Cult which suppressed women in a bad way. After leaving this cult and finding freedom in Christ, I still ran into this kind of belief system everywhere I turned. I saw the freedom in Christ in the scriptures, then there would be those "conflicting" ones like: "I suffer not a woman to teach nor usurp authority over the man." "A woman should be silent in the church" "A woman can be saved by childbearing????" I was ready to throw my Bible away because it these seeming inconsistancies did not add up to what I knew in my heart and spirit. But I believe God allowed me to find this book and others which helped me understand what Paul was really saying and the history that lay behind "WHY" he made these statements and how untterly twisted they had been made by religion. This is a must read for every woman and any men in her life who feel that women must be subservient to men.
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Summary: It's a "fix" that just isn't needed
Review: I was a bit disappointed with this. My sister, an ordained Southern Baptist minister, has been hurt significantly in her career by the exclusion of women from the SBC ministry, so you might say I have a vested interest in the refutation of "orthodox" thinking. The rector in the church I attend (Episcopalian) is a woman. She is a wonderful person and a good, caring and innovative pastor. It is understandable, than, that I wanted to find something just like this -- biblically based and orthodox. Unfortunately, Bristow seems to stretch too much. His points seem only half-formed, and are not convincingly argued. This is not an indictment of the entire study. There is a good deal of useful information that makes it worth the investment. The fact that there are sections of the argument that aren't convincing doesn't negate the validity of the argument. It just needs expansion, perhaps a fresher viewpoint. There is the flavor of a rushed conclusion without having made sure all the supporting logic is well-considered. I give this book four stars and a buy recommendation because this is a matter of crucial importance for the Church. We can continue in exclusionary and segregated factions, which I believe are a direct result of not "rightly dividing the word of truth," or we can offer the world what it most needs, which is a vital people of love and acceptance. I am considering, for my next foray into this study, Craig Keener's book. Any comment on that work?
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Summary: Bad Presuppositions!
Review: The largest problem with this book is the manner in which he draws his conclusion. I had doubts as to whether or not I was going to even read the book after I read his preface. To paraphrase what he said, Bristow started to question the tratditional interpretation of selected scriptures relating to women based on discrepancies that he saw betweeen what scripture says and what he saw in the world around him. I would like to say that that is an incorrect way of doing biblical investigation. When the world around us and the Bible contradict, the biblical position is to see what the world is doing wrong, not what is wrong with the Bible. It is not right to change our interpretation of the Bible, based on what we see in the world. We can only change our interpretation of the Bible based on the Bible.
Bristow's premise that women and men are "equal" is correct, and that is what Paul believe. However the traditional interpretation of Pauline epistles does not say that women are inferior to men. IT simply says that women and men are equal, but have different roles.
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Summary: Completely non-biblical
Review: This book completely leaves out most texts that Paul writes to Timothy and Titus. This book's author does not believe in the infallibility of scripture. In many cases the author uses God's Word in a haphazard manner. When a scripture is obviously discussing a woman's role to be the helper and supporter of her husband, the author will...try and make the scriptures say something else. If you don't want to believe in gender roles established in the Bible by lying to yourself, then this book would be a great read for you. However, anyone truly seeking what God says about biblical manhood and womanhood would be much better served to read elsewhere...
Rating:
Summary: Completely non-biblical
Review: This book completely leaves out most texts that Paul writes to Timothy and Titus. This book's author does not believe in the infallibility of scripture. In many cases the author uses God's Word in a haphazard manner. When a scripture is obviously discussing a woman's role to be the helper and supporter of her husband, the author will...try and make the scriptures say something else. If you don't want to believe in gender roles established in the Bible by lying to yourself, then this book would be a great read for you. However, anyone truly seeking what God says about biblical manhood and womanhood would be much better served to read elsewhere...
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Summary: Life changing!
Review: This book presents a researched view of certain biblical passages that are used to support the opinion that women are made to submit to men. Although Bristow presents the evidence along with his opinion and personal stories, he does not go so far as to proclaim that his book offers the only possible answer. Since this book discusses theology, which is opinion of the bible, that is to his credit. The case he builds is a strong one. This book is NOT revising scripture any more than a more traditional view did before it became popular enough to be considered truth. Although I enjoyed reading this book and agree with the basic ideas, I think it is important to read this book along with other books. It is after all best to develop informed opinions instead of assuming you are right:)
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