Overview

Written in the prison of Lancaster Castle in 1666 (appended in 1667), Margaret Fell's Women's Speaking Justified by Scripture stands out in world history as the first sustained exegetical defense of women in public ministry. Noting the facts that the God of Israel used women time and time again to challenge kings and other societal leaders in Hebrew Scripture and that the Apostle Paul ministered alongside women in his mission, Fell applies a compelling approach to understanding what the Bible is really saying, what it is not, and within its historical contexts, why. Introduced, annotated, and translated into modern English, Paul N. Anderson has rendered this classic and historic texts in a readable form, highlighting the biblical passages referenced and also expanding upon how the universal ministry of all believers can be understood more fully and meaningfully, as followers of Jesus seek to live into their spiritual callings with personal clarity and corporate support.

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9781594982125

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Reviews

Margaret Fell's treatise on Women's Preaching Justified is as brilliant today as it was 360 years ago. She reads Scripture like an anthropologist, argues like a lawyer, and speaks like a prophet. Hearing her voice across the centuries, one recognizes again how deeply moving it is when the Spirit speaks through a woman. Karen Jo Torjesen, author of When Women Were Priests The publication of this epoch-making treatise by Margaret Fell, now presented in modern English, comes at a singularly appropriate time, when we rejoice at the installation of the first woman to serve as Archbishop of Canterbury and thus as leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion. It also serves as a clear rebuttal to those who imagine that the struggle of women to be heard in the life of the church is of recent vintage and as a reminder to all of us that, no matter how staunchly we resist it, the power of the Holy Spirit will prevail. Justo Gonzalez, author of The Story of Christianity (2 vols.) Thanks to Professor Paul Anderson, we now have an inspiring new translation of Margaret Fell's powerful treatise, Women's Speaking Justified. Decades ahead of her time, here she embodies George Fox's encouragement to women, as well as to men, to speak that which is ""inwardly from God."" Elaine Pagels, Harrington Spear Paine Professor of Religion, Princeton University In Women's Speaking Justified, Margaret Fell articulates a pioneering and theologically robust defence of women's authority in Christian ministry, a voice that remains urgently relevant in the face of contemporary politics and renewed efforts to restrict women's gifts and participation in the church. Professor Paul Anderson's clear and disciplined modern English translation makes this foundational text freshly accessible, and it deserves close reading by scholars, church leaders, and all who care about Scripture, justice, and the public witness of Christianity. Dion A. Forster, Professor of Public Theology and Ethics, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam; president of the Global Network for Public Theology In Women's Speaking Justified by Scripture, Margaret Fell advances a social vision that was strikingly radical in the seventeenth century and remains contested today. The appearance of this new edition, translated into modern English and introduced by Paul Anderson, is especially welcome, reminding us that questions of who may interpret Scripture and speak with its authority are not merely historical but enduring and unresolved. Tommy Wasserman, Professor of Biblical Studies, Ansgar University College, Norway Paul Anderson has done a great service in producing a contemporary English version of Margaret Fell's extraordinary pamphlet, Women's Speaking Justified, published in 1666/7. Margaret Fell, often described as ""the Mother of Quakerism,"" and herself an effective speaker in Quaker meetings for worship, wrote this work while she was imprisoned for organizing faith services at her house. In a time when, distressingly, women's voices are still sometimes repressed in churches (under a misapprehension of two particular Biblical passages quoted for this purpose but taken out of context), reading Margaret Fell's justification of the importance of listening to all Spirit-led voices, including women's, is timely and refreshing. Laura Rediehs, Emerita Associate Professor of Philosophy, St. Lawrence University

Author Information

Paul N. Anderson serves as Professor of Biblical and Quaker Studies at George Fox University and as Extraordinary Professor of Religion at the NorthWest University of Potchefstroom, South Africa. Author of Following Jesus (Barclay Press) and From Crisis to Christ (Abingdon) and other books, he has also served as editor of Evangelical Friend (EFI), Quaker Religious Thought (QTDG), the Quakers and the Disciplines Series (FAHE), the Johannine Monograph Series (Wipf & Stock), the Biblical Interpretation Series (Brill), and the John, Jesus, and History Central Series (SBL). Margaret Fell or Margaret Fox (née Askew, formerly Fell; 1614-23 April 1702) was a founder and leading member of the Religious Society of Friends. Known popularly as the ""mother of Quakerism,"" she is considered one of the Valiant Sixty early Quaker preachers and missionaries. Her daughters Isabel (Fell) Yeamans and Sarah Fell were also leading Quakers.

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