Men and Women in Christ: Fresh Light from the Biblical Texts, by Andrew Bartlett, London, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 2019. 464 pages.
I had already read a number of books that sought to re-read biblical passages that seem to endorse the silencing and subduing of women. What I had come away with so far was the certainty that though scholars may not agree on the details, overall, none of these passages, when examined, support limitations put on women. So, when Andrew Bartlett’s book was published, I wondered if it was worth it to read yet another treatise on Ephesians 5, 1 Corinthians 11 and 14, 1 Peter 3, and 1 Timothy 2.
That was then, this is now!
Knowing I was going to meet Andrew Bartlett soon, through a podcast interview, I thought it would be beneficial to read his book.
And was it ever.
A Fresh Beginning with a Fresh Start
After a gracious introduction, with respect given to both sides of the conversation, Bartlett opened with Paul’s thoughts on marriage in his letter to the assembly in Corinth. It was a refreshing and unexpected look at how Paul urged humility and mutuality to both husbands and wives in unmistakable ways. This chapter set the tone for the rest of Bartlett’s book—clear reasoning, fair representation for both sides, keen insight, and conclusions based upon facts.
Did I mention details? Bartlett misses none, yet though his research is exhaustive and thorough, his writing is by no means exhausting to read. With wry wit and confident judgment, Bartlett gives in-depth reasons why an argument is sound or found wanting (he even itemizes his arguments and provides bullet point lists for easy reference). Perhaps being a barrister for forty years and a judge for ten has given him this ability to see through flimsy logic and fragile defenses.
I was delighted to discover there are summaries at the end of each chapter, and discussion questions, a plentiful supply of citations, sturdy bibliography, appendices, and indexes. This book would be an excellent resource in the classroom.
On Marriage
After beginning with husbands and wives in 1 Corinthians 7, Bartlett next examines what some scholars read as hierarchies and legislated submission for wives in Colossians 3 and Ephesians 5. Instead, Bartlett returns to Paul’s foundational principle of mutual submission found in 1 Corinthians 7—the longest passage in Paul’s letters concerning marriage—then moves to the real purpose of Ephesians 5: to portray Christ’s love and self-sacrifice for the church.
But what about the foundational principles of marriage? Would Paul not support what God has already established?
Indeed, he would. The following chapter takes a close look at Genesis 1–3, investigating what God instituted and what became corrupted as a result of humankind’s disastrous choices in Genesis 3. Bartlett then returns to the Christian Testament to read 1 Peter 3 on marriage and explains with care how Peter also supports mutuality between husbands and wives.
Perhaps my greatest takeaway (among the many) was Bartlett’s certainty that Paul does ask more of husbands. So long as men enjoy more privileges and power than women, so long as men may have more entitlements, husbands are asked to give up more in order to maintain true mutuality in their marriages. This is the aspect of Christ’s example that Paul is calling upon.
Bartlett’s steady hand and irenic treatment of these familiar texts whetted my appetite for the more difficult texts to come.
On Heads, Hair, Silence, and Speaking
I confess, though, in the moment, I can follow the various scholarly theories on 1 Corinthians 11 and 14, when it comes time for me to summarize them to a friend, I find myself at a loss. But I had high hopes for the next four chapters and sure enough, I can give you summaries! 1 Corinthians 11 is about provocative hairstyles worn by both men and women during the assemblies’ times of worship. Paul asks that men and women choose to do their hair in ways that honor who they are in the Lord.
“Prayer and prophecy should be undertaken by men and women in a way that honours God, the source of both creation and of redemption.”
Andrew Bartlett, Men and Women in Christ, 159.
The shocker came with 1 Corinthians 14:34-35, notoriously difficult verses to understand coming from Paul’s pen. That is because they did not. Come from Paul’s pen.
I know!
But Bartlett is not making empty or unfounded claims. He brings forward research I have never seen before nor heard of. Turns out, though, this is not new news. Apparently, Gordon Fee questioned the authenticity of these three statements nearly forty years ago. Various ancient texts show these two verses in two different places, as though they had originally been written into the margin, or between the lines of the original text, by a scribe or commentator of old.
Philip Payne, one of the expositors Bartlett cites, gives four strong pieces of evidence that call these verses into question. A few pages later, Bartlett displays a page from a fifteen-hundred-year-old document that indicates 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 was not original to Paul’s letter. Bartlett agrees this might feel too convenient, but the evidence is weighty. Today, there are a few other texts footnoted in new translations as being later additions to the original text (for example, the story of the woman caught in adultery in John’s Gospel, and the longer ending of Mark’s Gospel). Perhaps soon, 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 will be footnoted as well.
1 Timothy 2
It makes sense that 1 Timothy 2 is saved for last and has five chapters devoted to it. There is the matter of that rare Greek word authentein, which shows up only here in the Bible. There is the difficult saying Paul makes about a woman, or women, being saved through childbirth. There is the one imperative that a woman must learn, but all the attention goes to Paul seeming to say she must not teach or have authority over men.
It should come as no surprise that 1 Timothy 2:12, for all that it has been quoted countless times out of context, is embedded in a letter that states its purpose in the first chapter, then proceeds to give solutions for issues pertaining to that purpose that have arisen among some of the leaders. Paul reassures Timothy that if the once-persecutor Paul could be redeemed by the “faithful Word,” then certainly also can these misbehaving men and women.
First Timothy 2 entails the correction of the wayward leaders. First Timothy 3 reassures them and Timothy that they may certainly become leaders in good standing when they qualify. Then, Paul returns to specific wayward behaviors of some of the women in Timothy’s care. When 1 Timothy 6 is connected to 1 Timothy 2, a clear picture emerges.
Bartlett also discusses how certain Greek words are often mistranslated, and how these mistranslations will be misleading—not only in 1 Timothy, but also in the other passages surveyed throughout Men and Women in Christ. To translate a piece well is not easy, there are several, sometimes competing, factors in play. To make the translation read well, to try to convey culturally foreign concepts in a way that makes sense in the translated language, to span the thousands of years represented in words and phrases from antiquity, all have challenges. And then, there are the often-unconscious biases, both cultural and theological, of the translators.
Taking Stock
Borrowing from the title of Bartlett’s final chapter, I liked everything about this book, and was disappointed when I hit the last page. I even—unusual for me—read the seven Appendices, which are rich in detail, carefully researched, and keenly reasoned. In his own “stack-taking,” Bartlett returns to the “wider themes” that show up throughout his book:
- The paradox of equality and humility
- Creation and new creation
- What it means to male and female
- Raising expectations of Scripture
Andrew Bartlett, Men and Women in Christ, 340-344.
If you are searching for a work that keeps sight of the bigger picture while scrutinizing the debate from every possible angle, then this is the book for you.
