Alice Mathews, Ph.D. (Iliff School of Theology/University of Denver) Academic Dean, Christian University GlobalNet and Lois W. Bennett Distinguished Professor Emerita of Educational and Women's Ministries at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
Course Description:
In this course students work with biblical, theological, historical and contemporary issues and models for the ministries of women, examining these issues in the light of the best recent scholarship and in the light of current denominational debates on the question of women's ordination to pastoral ministry or other types of leadership in the church. Students review multiple perspectives on the issue with the goal of developing a point of view that is theologically sound and that fits with their personal convictions.
Course Objectives:
Upon completion of this course, the student should be able to do the following:
Articulate the relevant issues on all sides of the question of women and church leadership.
State a personal and biblical and theological understanding and the position you have come to as a result of having taken this course.
Lecture Titles
The Hermeneutical Challenge
Old Testament Women in Religious Leadership
Women in the Gospels
Positive Images of Women in Leadership; in New Testament Churches
Restricted Roles for Women in Leadership in New Testament Churches
1Timothy 2:13-14 Takes Us Back to Genesis 1-3
Exploring the Nature of Ministry
Dealing with Kaphale in Paul's Letters
A Further Look at Women in the Pauline Churches
The Early Church Fathers in Their Cultural Setting
Patristic, Medieval and Reformation Ideas about Women in Leadership
Changing Patterns for Women from the 17th to the 21st Centuries
