Lucy Peppiatt

2019 IVP Readers' Choice Award Does God call women to serve as equal partners in marriage and as leaders in the church? The answer to this straightforward question is deeply contested. Into the fray, Lucy Peppiatt offers her work on interpretation of the Bible and Christian practice. With careful exegetical work, Peppiatt considers relevant passages in Ephesians, Colossians, 1 Peter, 1 Timothy, and 1 Corinthians. There she finds a story of God releasing women alongside men into all forms of ministry, leadership, work, and service on the basis of character and gifting, rather than biological sex. Those who see the overturning of male-dominated hierarchy in the Scriptures, she argues, are truly rediscovering an ancient message-a message distorted by those who assumed that a patriarchal world, which they sometimes saw reflected in the Bible, was the one God had ordained.

The Discipleship Course booklet is designed for those who have made a commitment to Jesus Christ and are now Christians. It is an introduction to the Christian faith, and was written to give new Christians an understanding of their new identity, their history, their scriptures, and their future.

The doctrine of the imago Dei, that human beings are created in the "image and likeness of God," is an endlessly fascinating topic. Not only is it a central doctrine to Christian life and practice but also touches, perhaps even helps to form, every other doctrine of the Christian faith in one way or another. We do not think about God, in a Christian sense, as any other than the God who creates humanity in God's image. However, many of the details of this claim and what it means for human beings are left undefined by Hebrew and Christian Scriptures and it is not even mentioned in the creeds. This space leaves room for exploration. So the quest for what it means for human beings to be made in the image and likeness of God has never ceased to occupy theologians, clerics, and the laity alike. In this Companion, Peppiatt charts the developments of the doctrine through the ages, summarizing each position and perspective up to the modern day. This volume offers a compact but rich overview of the various ways in which this doctrine has been and is understood as well as pointing readers to further questions for consideration.

IVP Readers' Choice Award Does God call women to serve as equal partners in marriage and as leaders in the church? The answer to this straightforward question is deeply contested. Into the fray, Lucy Peppiatt offers her work on interpretation of the Bible and Christian practice. With careful exegetical work, Peppiatt considers relevant passages in Ephesians, Colossians, 1 Peter, 1 Timothy, and 1 Corinthians. There she finds a story of God releasing women alongside men into all forms of ministry, leadership, work, and service on the basis of character and gifting, rather than biological sex. Those who see the overturning of male-dominated hierarchy in the Scriptures, she argues, are truly rediscovering an ancient message—a message distorted by those who assumed that a patriarchal world, which they sometimes saw reflected in the Bible, was the one God had ordained.

Whether people realize it or not, the ideas in 1 Corinthians 11:2-16 have had a huge impact on the role of Christian women in the church through the centuries. These fifteen verses have shaped worship practices, church structures, church leadership, marriages, and even relationships between men and women in general. They have contributed to practices that have consistently placed women in a subordinate role to men, and have been used to justify the idea that a woman should not occupy a leadership or teaching position without being under the authority or "covering" of a man. It is strange, therefore, that academics and pastors alike continue to note how confusing and difficult it continues to be to make sense of these very verses. In this little book, Lucy Peppiatt not only highlights the problems associated with using this text to justify the subordination of women, but offers a clear and plausible re-reading of the text that paints the apostle Paul as a radical, visionary, church planter who championed women in all forms of leadership. "Lucy Peppiatt is an outstanding academic, writer and leader. In the excellent Unveiling Paul's Women, she offers sensible and insightful argument undergirded by rigorous scholarship. At last, in her thesis, the text finds a natural and logical flow. A flow that's consistent with what appears obvious from Paul's teaching and practice elsewhere in the New Testament." --Roger Ellis, Global Coordinator of the 24-7 Boiler Room Network and Academy Director "Unveiling Paul's Women is like Paracetamol Plus or Panadol ActiFast or Anadin Extra for some well-known theological headaches She has treated us to a quick-acting, bite-sized, power-packed, tablet-shaped wonder medicine for the weary, wary or just curious. Prepare to end up inspired by honest and erudite wrestling with scripture, and in the future, make it a rule to get anything she writes and then share her books with friends." --Chris Tilling, Graduate Tutor and Senior Lecturer in New Testament Studies, St. Mellitus College "I'm persuaded that Lucy Peppiatt is pushing us to significant improvement in interpretation] when it comes to 1 Corinthians 11." --Scot McKnight, Julius R. Mantey Professor of New Testament, Northern Seminary, Lisle, IL Lucy Peppiatt is the Principal of Westminster Theological Centre and the author of Women and Worship at Corinth: Paul's Rhetorical Arguments in 1 Corinthians (2015).

Whether people realize it or not, the ideas in 1 Corinthians 11:2-16 have had a huge impact on the role of Christian women in the church through the centuries. These fifteen verses have shaped worship practices, church structures, church leadership, marriages, and even relationships between men and women in general. They have contributed to practices that have consistently placed women in a subordinate role to men, and have been used to justify the idea that a woman should not occupy a leadership or teaching position without being under the authority or ""covering"" of a man. It is strange, therefore, that academics and pastors alike continue to note how confusing and difficult it continues to be to make sense of these very verses. In this little book, Lucy Peppiatt not only highlights the problems associated with using this text to justify the subordination of women, but offers a clear and plausible re-reading of the text that paints the apostle Paul as a radical, visionary, church planter who championed women in all forms of leadership. ""Lucy Peppiatt is an outstanding academic, writer and leader. In the excellent Unveiling Paul's Women, she offers sensible and insightful argument undergirded by rigorous scholarship. At last, in her thesis, the text finds a natural and logical flow. A flow that's consistent with what appears obvious from Paul's teaching and practice elsewhere in the New Testament."" --Roger Ellis, Global Coordinator of the 24-7 Boiler Room Network and Academy Director ""Unveiling Paul's Women is like Paracetamol Plus or Panadol ActiFast or Anadin Extra for some well-known theological headaches She has treated us to a quick-acting, bite-sized, power-packed, tablet-shaped wonder medicine for the weary, wary or just curious. Prepare to end up inspired by honest and erudite wrestling with scripture, and in the future, make it a rule to get anything she writes and then share her books with friends."" --Chris Tilling, Graduate Tutor and Senior Lecturer in New Testament Studies, St. Mellitus College ""I'm persuaded that Lucy Peppiatt is pushing us to significant improvement in interpretation] when it comes to 1 Corinthians 11."" --Scot McKnight, Julius R. Mantey Professor of New Testament, Northern Seminary, Lisle, IL Lucy Peppiatt is the Principal of Westminster Theological Centre and the author of Women and Worship at Corinth: Paul's Rhetorical Arguments in 1 Corinthians (2015).