Overview

Dehumanization has led to serious misinterpretation of the Gospels. On the one hand, Christians have often made Jesus so much more than human that it seemed inappropriate to ask about the influence other human beings had on him, male or female. On the other hand, women have been treated as less than fully human, their names omitted from stories and their voices and influence on Jesus neglected. When we ask the question this book does, what Jesus learned from women, puzzling questions that have frustrated readers of the Gospels throughout history suddenly find solutions. Weaving cutting edge biblical scholarship together with an element of historical fiction and a knack for writing for a general audience, James McGrath makes the stories of women in the New Testament come alive, and sheds fresh light on the figure of Jesus as well. This book is a must read for scholars, students, and anyone else interested in Jesus and/or in the role of ancient women in the context of their times.

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9781532680618

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Reviews

Many have written about Jesus's views and actions towards women. In this engaging book, McGrath takes the opposite approach, asking what Jesus--as a historical figure and a narrative character--learned from women, from his mother Mary to Mary Magdalene. With ample doses of empathy and historical imagination, McGrath deftly navigates the tensions between historical Jesus minimalists and maximalists, and challenges the assumption that Jesus only taught but did not learn. Highly recommended! --Adele Reinhartz, University of Ottawa Could Jesus really learn anything at all, let alone from women? What a sparkling question! James McGrath reveals to us in a brilliant historical journey that indeed Jesus was a human being who the Scriptures tell us time and again learned from the women in his life. This went beyond the normal socializing of boys by their mothers, to include showing Jesus how structural injustices disadvantage (and even ravage) the poor, the sick, foreigners, and women. Beautifully written to engage our imaginations and to remind us that if Jesus listened and learned from women, well, perhaps modern Christians bent on keeping women submissive and scholars intent to dismiss feminist critique ought to listen to them too. --April D. DeConick, author of Holy Misogyny: Why the Sex and Gender Conflicts in the Early Church Still Matter

Author Information

James F. McGrath is the Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana. He is the author of John's Apologetic Christology, The Only True God, and Theology and Science Fiction.

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