PUBNAME: Spring Valley Press

Galatians 3:28 declares, "You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus."--a proclamation that Faith Martin believes has not been properly applied to women in the church. "So far," she writes, "women have been assigned a position in the church that corresponds to their position in society and ignores their rights as sons of God." Through this book, readers participate in an informed laywoman's struggle to understand woman's place in the Kingdom. It is a rare book, one that draws on scholarly material, yet remains readable and personal in tone and style; one that is strongly worded, yet without a rancorous edge. It is a book that seeks, with proper reference to scripture, the reconciliation of women and men as sons of God.

Call Me Blessed was first published ten years ago. Since then I have read it from cover to cover several times. That may seem like a strange admission. Most people probably assume that authors have their books memorized and that my reading my own book was an exercise in vanity. But that is not so. These readings are prompted by curiosity mingled with dread. Did I really say that? The "that" is some extreme position attributed to me, something totally alien to any thought I have ever entertained. But so authoritative, so fatherly, so concerned have been the attempts to explain to me the real meaning of the direction I have taken that I have occasionally been driven to re-reading my own material.

Each reading results in a fresh feeling of relief. There is nothing that I regret saying. And so Call Me Blessed is being re-published intact. The only change is the addition of an appendix.

But I myself have changed, and that will take some telling.

It would be impossible for me to write the same book now. For one thing, I lack the sense of fresh indignation at the discovery of historic wrongs and the excitement upon learning new truths that so gripped me fifteen years ago when I began my studies. Reading it today, I feel removed from the emotion that virtually throbs from each chapter. I come away amazed at my younger self and the vigor with which I pursued my studies.

While I am somewhat in awe of that intensity, I do not try to rekindle those emotions. They are not needed now. In fact, the process of study has left me at peace. I now know with certainty that the Bible teaches the full equality of men and women.

But I grieve for other changes in myself. As I read, I also remember my sense of trust in the process of theological discussion and my belief that I would receive a fair hearing in my church. It carried me forward. It was, in fact, the reason I was writing. Today, I still believe that change is possible but I am less convinced that theological discussion alone will break the tyranny of patriarchal thinking that so grips many conservative Christian denominations.

Fifteen years ago I truly believed we were in a rational discussion of biblical teachings. Since then, I have seen beads of sweat break out on upper lips of men when the conversation turns to women's subordination. I have observed formal discussions where angry young pastors rudely contradict their mothers in the faith. I now appreciate just how threatening equality between the sexes is to some men--in a very personal way. A challenge to patriarchal authority is nothing other than a challenge to some men's sense of themselves and their place in the world. . .

EXCERPT: Somehow it isn't nice for Christian women to ask for their rights. We've been told that a lot. But more and more women are finding themselves uncomfortable with their role. Is this what God intended for my life--or is this for man's convenience? What are my rights as a son of God? Are these rights spiritual--undefined and intangible--waiting for heaven, where the true worth of women will have practical application? So far, women have been assigned a position in the church that corresponds to their position in society and ignores their rights as sons of God.

In Galatians we read, "You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus." (3:26) Paul wrote these words to a church wracked by controversy. The problem began when Jewish Christians refused to associate with Gentile Christians. Paul said there must be no distinction between them. But Paul did not leave the issue there. He deliberately broadened the application of equality beyond the immediate question of circumcision. After saying that all believers were sons of God, in the very next sentence Paul wrote, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." (3:28) Paul removed all the barriers that society was accustomed to raising--race, legal condition (slave or free), and sex.

Not one of the issues Paul raised with the first Christians was resolved immediately. At first the church limited the application of equality to Jews and Greeks. It was not until the 1800s that the church recognized slavery as a sin and rebuked brethren who were slave owners. Racial prejudice retained its grip longer and only recently lost respectability among Christians. It is the question of sex that is now reaching the conscience of Christians, and a controversy has begun regarding the role of women. Christian women are claiming their rights as sons of God.

The church is constantly reforming. Jonathan Edwards wrote, "We cannot believe that the church of God is already possess of all that light which God intends to give it; nor that all of Satan's lurking places have been found out." Women are asking the church to test its traditions to see if Satan has had a hand in their formation. We must answer this question: What rights do women have as sons of God in the house of God?

REVIEWS: Author Faith Martin meshes head and heart, serious scholarship with serious reflection. Christianity Today, book review.

Faith Martin presents an impeccably researched history of women throughout the centuries. And truth to tell, women have not had it so well.

The amazing thing is that having uncovered such a huge amount of female subjugation is that she is not bitter about it. On the contrary, the reader infers that Martin would like to change the status of women, but within the existing framework of the church—not in a revolutionary, denunciatory manner.

This book can widen horizons, admittedly, not always pleasantly so. But the author is essentially hopeful. She states that "Christianity holds within its truth the means to break the power of any culture and overturn the subjection of women." (Extracted from a book review of the first edition of Call Me Blessed by Barnetta Lange, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Saturday, July 2, 1988.)

BACKCOVER: "Written with both charm and trenchant new insights, this book contains a challenge to both women and men in conservative and evangelical churches. Faith Martin's approach is gentle yet thoughtful, her perspective original and provocative. The entire work is permeated with her love for Christ and his Word." Catherine Clark Kroeger

"This is a penetrating and well researched book, written in graceful prose and in a spirit of reconciliation between the sexes." Mary Stewart Van Leeuwen

"Faith Martin has enriched the church with her book Call Me Blessed. She deals forthrightly and effectively with the biblical passages often used to limit the activities of women. This is a book you can confidently give to your pastor and your friends to help them understand this crucial issue." Alvera Mickelsen

TABLE OF CONTENTS: Introduction: Awareness The church is comfortable with little girls--but what can it do with women! Gifted speakers, administrators, teachers, or women of any talent that would break the traditional silence of women are a problem. A woman who does not leave these talents at the church door risks having her obedience to God questioned.

Chapter 1: The Cornerstone Some readers may be astonished to learn that the church has not always granted women full membership in the human race. Woman's struggle to establish her spiritual worth has been mostly forgotten. In the exciting days following the ascension of Christ, women were freely active in church life. By the second century, women were held in low esteem. The fathers of the church actually taught that women did not bear the image of God. We could ignore this unpleasant history if it were not for the fact that the same early fathers who did not believe women were created in the image of God were the first declare women ineligible for positions of authority in the church. This means that the current practice of excluding women from authority was established during the period of time when its leaders questioned the spiritual worth of women--even though the heresy that women are not image bearers of God has been abandoned by all branches of the Christian church.

Chapter 2: Male Authority The principle of male authority, at one time so unanimously agreed upon by society, is now in dispute. American law no longer demands that adult women submit to the authority of their husbands. But traditional church teaching holds that for a family to be in harmony with God's plan, the husband must be "in authority" over his wife. This chapter examines the roots of male authority and finds that it has its basis in pagan systems--not scripture.

Chapter 3: Sorrow Violence against women is not just a shadowy threat--it is a reality.

Chapter 4: Male and Female It is popular today to refer to men and women as being complementary, and in a reproductive sense, this is a satisfactory description of the relationship. But the complementary approach to defining the roles of men and women is based on the belief that men and women are fundamentally different--a teaching that cannot be found in scripture.

Chapter 5: God in Our Image Historically the church has been committed to an understanding of God that is completely non-sexual. Anti-feminist theologians are now declaring that God is in some sense "male." A masculine God has devastating consequences for women--besides being unscriptural.

Chapter 6: Women in Authority Deborah, ancient judge of Israel, shatters every notion that women have been taught that God wants for them. Called by God to lead the nation of Israel out of trouble in a time of crisis, she was judge and prophet.

Chapter 7: Paul and the Authority of Women First century women were active in Christianity to a degree that is unthinkable for conservative Christian women today. They worked side by side with the apostle Paul.

Chapter 8: Call Me Blessed Does Christ offer a special relationship to men that he does not offer to women? He does not. In Jesus Christ there is neither male nor female; we are all one in Christ.

Appendix: Mystical Masculinity The idea of God having a sex is totally absent from creeds of virtually all Christian denominations. However, one now finds assertions regarding a special connection between God and maleness in the works of evangelical theologians. So it is entirely proper that we strive for a precise understanding of what is meant by this claim and what it implies about the nature of God and the place of women.

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