BOOK REVIEW: The Role of Women in the Church

Rebekah's Book Review

My bookshelf is quickly filling with books from the complementarian point of view of women’s roles, and Ryrie’s book is a great addition. He showed the great worth and dignity that Christianity has given women. The first edition was written in 1979, and this second edition was published in 2011. Some parts of the book took a bit of slow reading without distraction, but it was well worth the time!

Ryrie’s book begins with descriptions of the status of women in Judaism and in Greek and Roman culture and outlines how that differs from Christ’s teaching and relationship with women, as well as the early church’s view of women’s roles. Jesus’ ministry was truly a turning point in the lives of women. “It was the Lord Himself who turned the reproach of the unmarried or widowed Jewish woman into reputable service for the Master.” I appreciated in this section Dr. Ryrie’s explanation of the issues of divorce, silence in the church, head coverings, subordination, prophetesses and deaconesses, widows, and virgins. His interpretations of the relevant Scriptures are true to the languages and the common sense of the texts.