Women and the Genesis of Christianity [Paperback]

Women and their roles in the New Testament and early Christianity.A comparison of women's positions in ancient Judaism, the Hellenic World, the Roman Empire and the New Testament reveals that Jesus' new conception of womens' social rights broke significantly with the conventions of his time.A comparison of women's positions in ancient Judaism, the Hellenic World, the Roman Empire and the New Testament reveals that Jesus' new conception of womens' social rights broke significantly with the conventions of his time.This study explores the role of women in New Testament times. Beginning with the woman's place in Judaism, in the Hellenistic world, and in the Roman Empire, Witherington demonstrates how Jesus broke significantly with convention in how he viewed women, offering as he did a wholly new conception of the legitimate rights of women in society.Part I. Women in First Century Cultures: 1. Women in Judaism; 2. Women in Hellenistic settings; 3. Women in Roman settings; Part II. Jesus and Women: 4. Teachings on family and single life; 5. Women in the parables and judgment sayings; 6. Stories of help and healing; 7. Women in the Ministry of Jesus; Part III. Paul and Women: 8. Women and the physical family; 9. Paul and the household tables; 10. Women and the family of faith; 11. Paul and his female co-workers; 12. The pastoral Epistles; Part IV. Women and the Evangelists: 13. Women and the Third Evangelist; 14. Women and the Evangelists Matthew, Mark and John; Conclusions. Ben Witherington's book is one of the most honest and least ideological works about women and Christianity I have read in a number of years. The Christian Century