Finally Feminist: A Pragmatic Christian Understanding of Gender (Acadia Studies in Bible and Theology) by John G. Stackhouse Jr.

Finally Feminist: A Pragmatic Christian Understanding of Gender (Acadia Studies in Bible and Theology) Reviews

• 
  Jessie

  This is not a pragmatic christian understanding of gender.
  
  What this book does well (earning its measly two stars) is pointing out that the gospel has an inclusive message of both genders, and feminists/egalitarianism is not contrary to its message. (It does focus on Paul's writings, rather than the works of Jesus - disappointing).
  
  What it does to further earn my disappointment is go on to imply that egalitarianism is not a core part of the gospel. It explicitly says that this message should be abandoned if it is a stumbling block to spreading the gospel.
  
  If feminist is a core part of the gospel (which I believe it is) then to say you can spread the gospel without it is ridiculous. It would be the same as saying follow Jesus without loving ones enemy or caring for the poor.
  
  There is no point in 'spreading the gospel' if you do so in a way that does not challenge people to follow Jesus. The message of Jesus is sometimes not easy to swallow, but that doesn't mean we should cut it down into something it is not.
• 
  Steph

  This book makes a solid argument for what I have always believed in my heart, but have never been able to support with all the New Testament text. Finally (ha) someone has suggested something that seems so simple. This is not a book about a "secret" that has to be decoded by highly educated people who are experts in greek and hebrew. The paradigm he puts forward about why Paul wrote all the things he wrote is realistic and honest. My thoughts after are this: "Why the HELL didn't I ever think of this? It seems so obvious now." Thank you John Stackhouse, although I don't completely agree with his bit on homosexuality. :)
• 
  Frank Peters

  This is an excellent book on this very difficult topic, and the best I have read. The book is written from a Christian perspective where the bible is believed to be God’s word. He recognises that the two altering views (egalitarian and complementarian) tend too often to dogmatically use their favourite verses, while ignoring the ones that support the other perspective. The author makes a point that he has not answer all the important questions, nor solved the known problems and dilemmas associated with the topic. Rather he makes a good argument about how to explain how one can interpret relevant scriptures on the topic that are in apparent disagreement. I can identify with the struggle the author described in his introduction and very much like his approach. I also appreciate that he makes it clear that we should be very careful not to put too much authority in societal norms (as they continue to change), nor in what we believe God is telling us (as this had led to all sorts of strange beliefs), nor in traditional interpretations of scripture (as they are coloured by prior societal norms). Instead, we should consider all of scripture, not just the key verses used to prop up one opinion against another. After years of wanting to be egalitarian but finding there to be too many scriptures that support the alternate – complementarian view, this book has provided me with an intellectual and scriptural framework that now gets me over that line.
• 
  Liz

  I really did not like this book for a number of reasons. The title is incredibly misleading. The book has little to do with gender or feminism. It is mainly about egalitarianism and complementarianism in Scripture. Stackhouse does a decent job of proposing a theory why the New Testament seems to support patriarchy, and to some extent I agree with him. However, the rest of this book was incredibly frustrating because Stackhouse is extremely unclear and is constantly contradicting himself. (Or it at least seems that way because of how confusing his points are.)
  He doesn't write in such a way that each new idea builds on the previous, but jumps around and goes back and forth without clearly stating anything. His main thesis is acceptable, however he is very unclear on the implications for our actions today. Which is a huge point of contention for me.
  It is difficult to write a fair critique of his points, because pretty much everything he says is contradicted at some point. However I find his perception of feminism pretty limited and occasionally slightly offensive.
  Overall, Stackhouse raises some good points. But if you are really interested in understanding Christian Feminism, I would recommend you look elsewhere. I would suggest "Unladylike" or "How I Changed my Mind About Women in Leadership". These were much much better in helping me understand these issues.
• 
  David

  Very informative and well-written book from an egalitarian perspective. A thoughtful and stimulating read. Similar to Webb in his approach (though there are some significant differences, as he explains in a footnote), but much less verbose and much more ‘artsy’ than ‘scientific’. I really appreciate Stackhouse’s “gospel paradigm”, wherein everything takes a back-seat to the gospel. He is also fair and honest about how each position (egalitarian, complementarian, etc…) has its problems and problem texts, and he is willing to say that he chooses to live with the problems of his viewpoint rather than others. For a short, challenging, and (partly!) persuasive read on the subject of women in the church and biblical views on gender, it would be hard to beat Stackhouse. Yet I still feel his failure to deal adequately with 1 Tim 2 is the Achilles heel of his work.
• 
  Laura

  An insightful and refreshingly irenic book on the subject of patriarchy in the home and church. Stackhouse takes a third interpretive route on most of the relevant passages, while acknowledging what most know but few say--that neither side has the best interpretation of every single passage. He emphasizes that the New Testament writers generally believed they were living in the last generation before the second coming of Christ and so didn't attempt to overturn social institutions, because of the priority of evangelism--while the pointers toward a better Kingdom way are there. The second point of interest to me was Stackhouse's description of how God uses Israelites' understanding of patriachical culture to convey truth about his nature.
• 
  Dave

  Stackhouse did a great explaining how "egalitarians" and "complimentarians" are both right AND both wrong. He is however and egalitarian and therefore writes from that perspective. I've sort of been straddling the fence on this issue (of womens roles in the church) for a couple years, but i feel like "Finally Feminist" has moved me to the "feminist" camp for the right reasons... not just in an effort to be more winsome within a culture that probably finds the patriarchy of the judeo/christian religious culture off-putting.
• 
  Emily King

  2 stars because only 2/5 (maybe 2.5/5) of the things he says in here I agree with
• 
  Alex Strohschein

  John G. Stackhouse, Jr.’s “Finally Feminist” is a highly readable treatise on the question of feminism in the Church today. Stackhouse provides an effective argument for egalitarianism, rooted in the idea that God accommodates Himself to human beings. In the case of gender, Stackhouse asserts that God worked through a patriarchal culture by calling men to love their wives while not eliminating the position of power that men were in. Instead, God works incrementally towards egalitarianism, just as Jesus and Paul did not outright forbid slavery, but taught in such a way so as to prepare the way for abolition (this is also seen in the OT). Stackhouse suggests that the prime directive of the Bible is the spreading of the Gospel and so there are occasions (such as first-century Rome or even in strongly patriarchal societies today) where the sharp division between the genders had to be upheld in order to be able to spread the Gospel to the culture in the first place. If a man in a patriarchal society will not listen to a female missionary and refuse to have a female priest or pastor in authority over them, then it may be necessary to relegate men to those roles and let women assume positions in the background.
  
  Stackhouse also does well in answering common objections raised by Christians who are typically seen as complimentarians. He points out the crucial role of interpretation when it comes to issues surrounding gender. For instance, the NT writers generally believed that Jesus would come at any moment and so they tailored their writing to the historical context and culture they were in. Because Jesus has not yet come, some of the NT strictures, such as women in teaching and leadership positions, need to be tweaked in order to coalesce with our society today (although Stackhouse emphatically resists such a revisionist argument when it comes to the issue of homosexuality).
  
  My main criticism of this book is that I feel as if Stackhouse jumps into the complementarian-egalitarian debate without providing enough reflection or foundation upon the original creation of (hu!)mankind itself. I would have liked him to have commented on WHY human beings were divided, male and female, in the first place and what God’s plan is for our sexual division. As well, I disagree with his criticism of an "inductive" method of studying Scripture.
  
  The subtitle lays it out – this is a pragmatic understanding of gender, but a very convincing one. Any Christian interested in the role of gender in our homes and in the Church will find this brief book a rewarding read. But I will say, despite being an egalitarian, I vigorously insist on singing the original line of "Be Thou My Vision", "And I thy true son".
  
• 
  Intikhab

  Stackhouse selected a difficult, but brave, approach to put his words across. Finally Feminist is a book of theology in which the author has challenged the orthodox Christian views viz-a-viz women's status in church, society, and house. It is brave because it challenges the tradition of patriarchy. It questions various translations of the Scripture. And, it also challenges the secular feminists on way to prove its thesis: Christian feminism.
  It takes a difficult approach to substantiate its claim about the prevalence of feminism in Christianity by maintaining a nice balance between the modern and orthodox Christian schools of thought. "Why both sides are wrong - and right" goes perfectly with the substance of the book as it takes a difficult route to establish its point by pointing out rights and wrongs from both the sides: egalitarians and orthodox Christians.
  Stackhouse's scholarly work provides a voice to women and serves as a message for men: use your masculine strength for the benefit of women.
  Though the book requires a better understanding of Christianity to aptly comprehend the message, Stackhouse's work does not leave even an ordinary non-Christian reader without an urge to expand her/his knowledge about the Christian history and its evolution.
• 
  S

  Sometimes you don't need to read a book. You just need to read all the reviews and find out who wrote those reviews and then decide from there whether a book is worth a read.
  
  For this book, I am doing just that.
• 
  D.J. Lang

  Let's tackle the mom question first: On some pages the footnotes take up more space than the actual writing so, heck, no, my mom would not read this book. Lol.
  
  I picked up this book after Sarah Bessey had it in her end notes (no footnotes, thank you very much) for her Jesus Feminist book. For the reasons that Bessey mentions Stackhouse in her book, I also appreciate Stackhouse. However, read through the critiques of readers and you will get a good feel for this book, Finally Feminist. Stackhouse himself writes that both egalitarians and complementarians are going to find fault with the book, and I agree. Yet, as he is arguing on both sides of the fence, I like reading the back and forth (to be prepared on my end of things).
  
  I read How I Changed My Mind about Women in Leadership a number of years ago, and then recently Jesus Feminist, and I value those two books and the thoughts within them. So, I don't think I would buy Stackhouse's book new. I do appreciate that Stackhouse influenced Bessey's ideas of God thinking redemption from the beginning. Stackhouse terms it, "what will further the kingdom of God", and God has to lead us away from patriarchy and slavery. I'm glad his book exists because it led to Bessey thinking through these ideas (and in my mind stating and explaining them better).
  
  I don't agree with all that Stackhouse wrote (but I don't know that I've ever agreed 100% with any writer). For the record, I fall heavily on the egalitarian side. (So now all those on the other side can dismiss my review...lol.)
  
  The book could be the next step for those complementarians who are so close to being egalitarians and need all these footnotes in Stackhouse's book.
• 
  John Medendorp

  Helpful exposition of the various arguments. Helped to shape my articulation of a biblical feminist Christian understanding of the gospel, and helped me understand the complementarian position better, which is always a good thing.
  
  I appreciate Stackhouse’s “pragmatism,” but find that I buck against it for two reasons. First, he does not push hard enough, in my opinion, at the fact that the gospel always pushes us to correct societal ills, even when society is not ready to accept such “revolutionary” change. Christians are called to model and live into mutual submission and universal human dignity no matter what culture they live in our how do-called “progressive it is. I find at times that Stackhouse’s argument can too easily be interpreted as cultural accommodation—just live within the bounds of the culture—rather than scripture’s call— do not conform to the patterns of this world. Second, while Stackhouse recognizes that he writes from a privileged position as a white, straight, Christian man, I don’t think he adequately appreciates that for those not in his position, pragmatic cultural accommodation means continued suffering, marginalization, and oppression. For one in power to essentially say, “yes, equality is important, but since some people might not be ready for it y’all might just have to grit and bear it awhile longer” seems majorly tone-deaf. I think this book will quickly age into irrelevance (if it hasn’t already), despite it’s solid, careful, we’ll-reasoned, and thought-provoking arguments.
• 
  Emily✨

  Thought-provoking work, and mercifully short but thorough. Not too academic, but not purely ramblings without any scriptural basis.
  
  His proposed paradigm is interesting but not wholly satisfying. It certainly does offer an explanation for some seeming contradictions regarding gender in the New Testament. However, I find it hard to believe that God would be a-okay with His followers ignoring, tolerating, or perpetuating the suffering of people for any reason. If equality is part of the core message of the gospel, then how can the gospel be spread without it? More than that, this paradigm suggests that the church sit back and let secular society dictate the state of the world, rather than be a leader and a light shining morality into humanity's dark areas.
  
  Stackhouse acknowledges that Christians have been significant contributors to revolutions like abolition of slavery, civil rights, and early feminism. But then he also warns the church to stay out of the messy politics and prioritize the gospel. He seems to forget that there will never be any change if no one steps up to change it.
• 
  Michael

  It was a helpful text. It has a nice discussion of hermeneutics with regard to gender issues. I had concerns about his treatment of homosexuality as it relates to egalitarianism and his response to the complementarianism's claim that it is rooted in creation rather than the fall.
• 
  Sara

  Interesting. I liked the way he encourages questioning and is transparent about his approach to scripture interpretation. His ideas about how God works with “the already and the not yet” in societies are thought provoking.
• 
  Lindsay Engelman

  This gave a helpful and humble opinion of the egalitarian/complimentarian debate - emphasizing the gospel as the priority while pushing for continuing change and growth in the church when it comes to gender. Really enjoyed this read. Packed with scripture.
• 
  Amy Moremen

  Stop what you are reading and read this in a day! Succinct but thorough theological layout of how the Bible actually calls Christians to treat women.
• 
  Keri Murcray

  Great book - very helpful and a lot to think about. Here are a few quotes that stick with me:
  
  “So, I concluded, the theological task is not to be understood as ‘figuring it all out’ so that one day a person or a church can finally say, ‘There, now! That’s the answer!’ with precision and certainty. The task instead is to dwell on the Bible, with the help of the Holy Spirit and the church; to make the best decision one can make about what Scripture means; and then to respond to it in faith, obedience, and gratitude. Indeed, such a posture of interpretative humility entails remaining continually open to refinement of one’s interpretations and even to the acceptance of quite different positions as the Holy Spirit gives one more light. (I hope you will maintain that posture as you read, just in case the Holy Spirit offers something new to you as you do so.)”
  
  “So how can Paul sound so egalitarian sometimes and so complementarian - even simply patriarchal – at other times? Paul is guided by the Holy Spirit – even used by the Holy Spirit without his full awareness of the implications – to do two things simultaneously: (1) to give the church prudent instructions as to how to survive and thrive in a patriarchal culture that he thinks will not last long; and (2) to maintain and promote the egalitarian dynamic already at work in the career of Jesus that in due course will leave gender lines behind. This doubleness in Paul – which we can see also in the ministry of Jesus – helps to explain why egalitarians and complementarians both find support for their views in Paul’s writings. It is this doubleness that is the key to this paradigm on gender.”
  
  “To put it more pointedly: When society was patriarchal, as it was in the New Testament context and as it has been everywhere in the world except in modern society in our day, the church avoided scandal by going along with it – fundamentally evil as patriarchy was and is. Now, however, that modern society is at least officially egalitarian, the scandal is that the church is not going along with society, not rejoicing in the unprecedented freedom to let women and men serve according to gift and call without an arbitrary gender line. This scandal impedes both the evangelism of others and the edification – the retention and development of faith – of those already converted.”
• 
  Kate Davis

  The most helpful book I've read yet on the church's perspective of women, although it is a bit academic and requires full attention. Most compelling is the argument that parallel's a wives relationship to her husband with a slave's relationship to her master, and how we view these two given recent history. Today we read the Bible to say that slavery is wrong because God loves us all equally, and that Jesus was giving concessions to say how people in this role should behave. Similarly, the Bible doesn't condone patriarchy any more than it does slavery; it simply tells women and men how to behave until a time comes when our society is mature enough to do away with this destructive system. Submission and subordination are not how women were designed to live.
• 
  Jim

  I can't say enough good things about this book.
  
  Stackhouse looks at what the Bible says about gender issues and leadership of women brilliantly! He avoids many of the traps most usually fall into (actually, he addresses and calls out most of the traps) and then goes through Scripture and explains how we should really be looking at this issue. Profound truth.
  
  I learned so much while reading this short book and not just about gender and the roles of women in the church. I learned about Biblical interpretation, hermeneutics, historical and cultural truths, how to look at our culture today and so much more.
• 
  Matthew Richey

  I appreciated this book and, of the books I have read on the subject, is among the closest to articulating my own views. I feel as if it's about 100 pages too short. I'm not sure how effective this would be in changing people's minds on the subject, especially from the Complementarian camp, without more development and engagement. That said, I appreciate his irenic approach and honest treatment of the Biblical text. I've found myself frustrated with most books on the subject, but Stackhouse and Webb (Slaves, Women, and Homosexuals), are happy exception. I know he's recently updated this book, but I read the older (2005) version.
• 
  Frankie

  This is a cogent, gracious treatise on a hermeneutic of gender - Stackhouse displays a refreshing level of intellectual honesty about his own presuppositions and calls the reader to do the same. For such a short work, he covers a wide range of difficult topics with kindness and respect for the text and tradition. It's also refreshing to hear an orthodox male scholar refer to himself as a feminist and to use the term patriarchy without scorn or irony!
  
  This is an excellent introduction to the hermeneutic that William Webb details in Slaves, Women, and Homosexuals. Definitely recommend it
• 
  Gwen Henson

  I really appreciated this book. There were some important points I feel he left out. I've been reading and studying this subject for a couple of years, I'm firmly convinced that women should be free to follow their gifting and that society and the church would benefit from an egalitarian standard. However, I've noticed what I feel are some flaws on both sides of the argument and there are some passages we might never understand until we can ask Jesus ourselves. Even though I believe biblical equality is the best course of action, it bothers me when I see weak of flawed arguments.
• 
  David

  Great read for anyone concerned about male/female gender roles and freedom. The author takes a redemptive historical approach interpreting scripture considering the patriarchal era the scriptures were written in and for sake of NT mission in a patriarchal culture.
  There's much complemtarians or egalitarians can reflect on here. Stackhouse's commitment to both a high view of scripture and interpretation with his broad experience in sociology makes for a refreshing read even if you don't agree at all points.
• 
  Samuel Kassing

  I was interested to see what Stackhouse had to say because I enjoyed his book humble apologetics. But the title was the downfall in many regards. Gender is too important to be pragmatic about it. This book is worth a read. There is some really good stuff here, but overall I was largely disappointed with his argumentation because he fails to resolve any of the tension in this conversation and falls back to pragmatic answers.
• 
  Joy Felix

  Four stars because of the ending, it was a great book, but then hurriedly ended when I felt he should have continued to dig into it. But perhaps the author had a page limit, so can be forgiven for that. It was a good introduction to the question of women in the church and society and how it has changed over the years due to cultural changes.