Women in the First Two Generations of Christianity.
Saunders examines the status and ministry of women in the New Testament and how even God approved of the way they went against many of the social and religious constraints of their time. The author offers a fresh approach to the place women, both Jewish and gentile, made for themselves from the conception of John the Baptizer to the death of the last apostle.
"When you stop to consider that all the authors of the New Testament books were men and who themselves were part of the constraints which society and religion placed on women, you can't help being amazed at the extent to which women gained prominence in early Christianity."
Saunders' analysis of different episodes enables us to see the women as influential individuals. He also clearly and crisply situates Jesus and Paul in their non-Western culture and shows their outrageous and counter-cultural stand on male and female relationships. This is an exceptionally readable guide for bible readers who want to see Jesus and Paul engaging their culture; and for women who are feeling the inner urge to go beyond the place in which both the church and society have confined them to.
