The Biblical Case for Equality: An Appeal for Gender Justness in the Church

Dr. Arden Thiessen has drawn from his life-long experience as a pastor and Bible College professor to make an appeal for regarding men and women as equal in God's eyes. This equality should be visibly evident in every church that seeks to honor God in its worship and service. The book is biblical; it follows the narrative theme of the Scriptures. It is readable; it is written with the lay reader in mind. It is pastoral; it is suffused throughout with the desire to help women and men in the church grow up into the fullness for which they were created. The book is conservative and evangelical; it accepts the Holy Scriptures as truth from God. The author explains a three-fold Trinitarian basis for his case: 1) Men and women were created by God to be equal in his image, 2) Women and men are equal because they are now one through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, which has removed all the cultural barriers that traditionally set people apart (Gal. 3:28), 3) This equality was endorsed by the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost when the Spirit came upon all, women and men, alike. In view of these biblical realities, churches should assign its people to serve, not on the basis of gender, but on the basis of their particular giftedness.