How God Sees Women: The End of Patriarchy Paperback – January 12, 2022

Just finished reading Terran Williams' "How God Sees Women: The End of Patriarchy," and it's a book I strongly commend. Williams' journey is much like my own: he's a long-time complementarian pastor, who over time through the influence of the Scriptures has become convinced that complementarianism does not accurately represent the Bible's approach to men and women. That God designed men and women for mutual partnership as co-regents in His Creation, that this partnership was damaged in the Fall, but that Jesus came to redeem that partnership, which should be reflected in the life of the Church, and in the home.He covers a lot of material quite well, and in some cases, the book is more comprehensive than my as-yet-unpublished book. I cover some things he does not, my book is shorter, and my book is funnier. But until my book comes out, this is a great (though long, and less humorous) look at an important topic.

This is my first Amazon book review. I'm the person who reads all the reviews, yet never takes the time to write one. But alas, here I am, writing my first review about this book, not because I got it for free, or because I know the author, or because I'm benefiting from writing this in any way. I'm writing it because I believe this topic matters immensely, not just for women, but for the global church.The topic of women in ministry has been one I've wrestled with for 20 plus years. I've read so many books, blogs and articles; listened to sermons and podcasts; had countless conversations about differing positions, the meaning of words, the correct interpretation of scripture, etc. I've grown and learnt tremendously through all these helpful resources, but nothing has clarified my beliefs and engaged my mind like Terran Williams has. "How God Sees Women" has become the book I wish everyone would pick up and read. It is thorough and detailed, yet enjoyably easy to read. Terran addresses ever Biblical passage and every patriarchal argument with wisdom and evident knowledge. So wherever it is you may find yourself at the moment, reading his book is totally worth it! If you have doubts about the traditional complimentarian view held by the church and are wondering if there's a different, and in fact, more Biblically sound way of interpreting scripture, read this book!If you are on the fence and are seeking to understand either argument better, read this book!And finally, if you are searching for a resource to confirm your complementarian beliefs and simply want to be prepared for some solid egalitarian arguments, you should read this book too. Terran leaves no stone unturned, so rest assured, you will never be caught off guard in the future.And so, regardless of your reason to consider reading this book, I only hope you allow Terran the opportunity to show you how God saw women before Eden's fall, how Jesus saw women after the stone was rolled away, and how God sees women like me today.

This book was quite intriguing. There was a lot I didn’t previously know about the current complementarian vs egalitarian arguments going on in the church. This is a very useful book for anyone exploring that topic. The author is a former complementarian who set out to write a justification of that view for his own church and found that there was no justification, which came as a surprise to him.One of the most interesting things to me was a review of the history of complimentarianism in a couple of chapters. I had believed that it was the historic view of the Christian church and to depart from it was to depart from historic Christianity. That’s what we’re told. Turns out that isn’t true. The historic view of the church is that women are ontologically inferior. The first line of the Danvers Statement from the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW) seeks to correct that by asserting that men and women are created ontologically equal. So that’s important.But then the history of how Complementarianism was introduced is reviewed. It was created in the 1970s to combat what was perceived as “feminism” in the church using a popular new tool from the world of psychology called “roles.” The CBMW invented the idea that men and women have “different roles” in the church. They insist that the roles are equal but you can’t help but notice that the male role is to make decisions and the female role is to submit to the decisions. “I tell you what to do and you do it. See how that takes two people doing equal roles?” That’s the argument. The goal was to find a way to say women are created equal and yet still maintain the outcomes produced by the historical model of female ontological inferiority.At the beginning of the movement these roles were to be observed in all areas of society. Women were not to have male inferiors at work or be in any other position of authority. To the extent they worked outside the home at all they were to serve male bosses in inferior roles. As complementarians lost ground, in the 1990s they introduced “soft Complementarianism.” This is the idea that women are only required to fulfill their submissive roles in the church and in marriage, not in the larger society. So women in complementarian churches can now be doctors or engineers, but they must submit to their husbands in marriage, and cannot serve in any capacity of church leadership.I didn’t know any of this history and found this fascinating. The names Wayne Grudem and John Piper come up a lot in this book as they have been heavily involved in creating the complementarian movement. It even recounts how the CBMW met and came up with the name Complementarianism.The book also recounts how these same people invented the Trinitarian aberration of Eternal Subordination of the Son (ESS) in order to promote Complementarianism. ESS goes by a number of different titles; what I found most interesting was the lengths these people would go to in order to suppress female leadership in a church. Perverting the doctrine of the Trinity is kind of a big deal. Is kicking out a female Children’s Minister really worth this? They quote a book by Tim and Kathy Keller wherein Ms. Keller tells how she came to accept that she had the “Jesus role” in her marriage; that is, to submit to her husband as a higher authority as Jesus submitted to the Father. Frankly, I was kind of shocked by the story of ESS. Thankfully, saner voices have mostly squashed this view, but it was in seminary textbooks for a few years.There’s much more to this book. Williams gives a complete expository treatment of the verses used to support complementarian views. He interacts with both conservative and liberal scholarship. In expositing each passage from Corinthians, Timothy, Genesis, and others he usually begins with the conservative or complimentarian view and works through to the egalitarian side, interacting with all the views, reviewing the scholarship including Greek exegesis, and the points and counterpoints of each side. So the book contains much biblical commentary. He usually ends the commentary with the view that he thinks best reflects the original intent.When complementarians claim the verses they use to justify their positions are so clear, that’s incorrect, they are NOT clear. Some of these verses contain words not used anywhere else in the Bible, or sometimes, even in known Ancient Greek literature. We’re not completely certain what some of these words actually meant in their context. Some verses are “floating verses” meaning they appear in different places in early manuscripts; we’re not certain where they really belong, or if they were added later. The author does not support the view that any verses were added later; he only interacts with the view. Also modern Bible translations have sometimes added male pronouns in places where there aren’t any, and other “clarifications.”The author also spends some time on how Complementarianism affects his pastoral practice of marriage counseling. There are some interesting statistics here on marriage and divorce. He recounts his own experiences in his marriage.There is a lot to know and consider here. I’ve only scratched the surface of the information. My thanks to the author for writing about everything he encountered as he dug into this topic. I heartily recommend this book to anyone interested in reading more about women in the church.

Terran does a wonderful job using in depth scriptural and logical analysis to help lead us forward. Highly recommend this book.

I've read almost 5000 pages this summer on the topic of women in ministry for my seminary class, this is one of the best. Full spectrum treatment of the subject, incredibly well done scholarship, but also relatable and thought provoking.

“The more thoroughly I could explain why I, as a complementarian, believed as I did, the less I could believe it” (Terran Williams, p. 352).I have been egalitarian for many years and have read many books and articles supporting the egalitarian position and critiquing the complementarian interpretation of their proof verses. However, reading this one, by someone who was a long-time complementarian himself, somehow has had a greater impact. It is thoroughly researched, yet personal, so you feel the joy of his discovery that women are equal to men such that they can, according to their own gifting and passion, do anything that men can do in the church and in society. It is also sobering as it exposes the misogynistic attitudes of Christian ‘greats’ through the ages, but also the lengths that the proponents of the complementarian position have gone to to prop up their position over the last fifty years. But most of all it exposes the damage that complementarian teaching has on the lives of countless women in countless churches, and includes emotional repentance for the author’s own part in that.It is more compelling for having been born out of a project to research the complementarian position, in the church where he was a leader, with a view to confirming why the church held the views it did. So, if you hold the complementarian view of the place of women in the church and society, you can know that the author was expecting to prove his and his church’s position was correct, only to find that it was actually a house of cards, which surprised him as much as anyone! The arguments on both sides are given, and you can obviously make up your own mind, but he writes having held that position for a number of decades, so knows something of how you feel about that view and the opposing egalitarian one. There is also a key appendix about why we don’t like to change our minds, which is a must-read for anyone who holds a certain view on any subject, i.e. all of us!

I have always found Terran Williams' writing inspiring, starting with the Khula devotionals that shaped my Christian walk as a teenager and more recently, What's So Amazing about Scripture?, so naturally I could not wait to get hold of a copy of How God Sees Women.Terran humbly and bravely addresses so many essential aspects of the theology of women; if you're a woman in the church this book will help you to navigate questions around your identity in Christ and in the church, and grapple with scriptures and the interpretations thereof that on first reading may have seemed oppressive. If you're anyone in church leadership or sense God's calling to leadership, give this a read - you can expect that God will use this to reshape your outlook on female leadership, for the benefit of well, everybody! Prepare to be inspired and to feel confident to let your WHOLE church walk fully in their giftings!Be ready to learn about, and then unlearn and recover from, the damage that complementarian theology has inflicted on women and the church. Thoroughly-researched and approachable content.

Very talented writer, cannot wait to read future works from Terran

If you are a woman who has felt deeply out of place in this life, and somehow 'less than' men, you MUST read this book. If you have been taught to believe that God's desire is for men to lead and women to support at all times, you will never feel that way again.If you are man who wants to discover how God sees women, PLEASE read this book. I doubt that you will ever feel the same way again about the women around you, and you may actually discover some things that could be entirely life changing for your marriage, your fathering, your singleness, and your sonship when you allow the women around you to be who God has called them to be.Never have a felt more vindicated, seen, valued, understood, fought for, and championed in my humanity as a woman than after reading this book. I have underlined multiple sentences and whole passages on almost every page. It’s that good. It’s that freeing. It’s that well thought through and researched. It’s that life changing.I appreciate the sensitivity with which it was written, and the healthy approach of stating things as Terran sees them without destroying men in the process. The discussion and points unpacked in this book based on thorough research, are well thought through and kindly expressed. The heart of the author is clearly not to hurt men, but rather to expose lies or incorrect interpretation of scripture that has happened over many years to hold women back and stop them being all that God has called them to be.I know that many women’s future life trajectories will become so much more than they ever believed possible if they take to heart the truths expressed in this book. Once someone has read this book, I cannot fathom how anyone could come to a conclusion that God has a lower view of woman than men, or that women can’t lead. Well done Terran! Absolutely brilliant!

This is the best book I’ve ever read on women and the church….and I’ve read ALOT!! It’s so easy to read, so well written, so thorough, so kind and full of grace….I can’t recommend it enough.It’s a great resource to hand to others who are wrestling with what the Bible really says about women. This book will help you to see afresh that Jesus has freedom and equality in his plans for the world and church. Read this book!