Paul's letters stand at the center of the dispute over women, the church, and the home, with each side championing passages from the Apostle. Now, in a challenging new attempt to wrestle with these thorny texts, Craig Keener delves as deeply into the world of Paul and the apostles as anyone thus far. Acknowledging that we must take the biblical text seriously, and recognizing that Paul's letters arose in a specific time and place for a specific purpose, Keener mines the historical, lexical, cultural, and exegetical details behind Paul's words about women in the home and ministry to give us one of the most insightful expositions of the key Pauline passages in years.
"This book can be of great help to any person seriously interested in examining why Paul said some of the things he did about women in marriage and women in ministry."
—Alvera Mickelsen, Board Member, Christians for Biblical Equality
"For those comfortable with traditional Pauline 'arguments' concerning the subordination of women in the church and home, Keener presents more than they ever wanted to know about Paul's intended meaning. But for those struggling to understand Paul's full purpose for women, in his time and ours, "Paul, Women, and Wives" will prove to be 'must' reading. Keener's comprehensive bibliography and literature review are alone worth the price of the book."
—Robert K. Johnston, Provost and Dean, North Park Seminary