Philip Barton Payne

"A biblical defense of egalitarianism that relies on Scripture to affirm gender equality in the church and in the home."

"A compelling and highly readable case for the full equality of women and men. This remarkable book presents the best in New Testament scholarship for non-specialists." (Harold Netland, Professor of Philosophy of Religion and Intercultural Studies, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School)

"A glorious blend of biblical history and theological analysis, Payne systematically dismantles the logical failures used to distort God's Word intended for human flourishing. This book will bring enormous healing to the body of Christ. If you need a book that quickly and clearly exposes the failed teachings of male-headship arguments, The Bible vs. Biblical Womanhood is it! Respected by Christians the world over, Phil Payne's research opens new doors of leadership for women." (Mimi Haddad Ph.D., President of CBE International.org)

"A readable, well researched, well-reasoned book, demonstrating God's consistent support of women throughout the Bible. Comprehensive, logical, and clear, this book is an indispensable treatment of women in the Bible. I enthusiastically recommend it to anyone eager to hear Gods high regard for women or anyone who wrestles with the Bible's teaching on women." ( Rev. Dr. Grace Y. May, Association Professor of Biblical Studies and Director of the Women’s Institute, William Carey International University)

'If any reader wants to understand the egalitarian view of subjects such as head covering or a woman's submission to her husband, this is the book to read. This is an easy-to-read and must-have book for any serious reader on the equality of man and woman in Christ." -- (KeumJu Jewel Hyun, Founder and President, Matthew 28 Ministries, Inc. and Adjunct Professor of Theology of Work, Bakke Graduate University, Dallas, Texas)

"No scholar of the New Testament and church has spent more energy in examining and explicating the role of women in leadership and teaching and preaching than Phil Payne. His scholarship is well-known and impeccably fair-minded. This book judiciously and pastorally unravels the tight threads woven by complementarians and weaves them into a fresh, new tapestry that is both biblical and pastoral. It will be for me the go-to book for lay folks who need a response to the complementarians." (Scot McKnight, Chair of New Testament, Northern Seminary, Jesus Creed)

"Philip Payne does the job of a careful exegete in explaining the difference between a biblical view of women in God's purposes and an artificial and alien view listing all the things that women purportedly cannot do by jaundiced modern interpreters. Payne has done the hard slog of a detailed reading of the text and he's got the receipts for how his rivals have misspent their efforts in treating the Bible as a mirror of their own patriarchal subculture. Payne is arresting as he is persuasive!" (Rev. Dr. Michael F. Bird (Ph.D University of Queensland) is Academic Dean and Lecturer in Theology at Ridley College in Melbourne, Australia)… (more)

In this excellent book Philip Payne clearly shows that the overwhelming thrust of the writings of Paul is strongly in favour of female equality in all ways in the church and home. Through detailed exegesis of the apparently contradictory passages in 1 Corinthians and Timothy, he shows that most of these problematic passages can be quite readily understood in the context of the churches to whom Paul was writing. He also goes into a lot of detail suggesting that 1 Cor 14:34-35 was probably an interpolation, a possibility that he had formerly not favoured.

This book is incredibly detailed, and most of the minutae of the Greek was far over my head. Nevertheless I found it further convincing evidence for the complete equality of male and female in Christ and in his church (Gla 3:28)… (more)