These essays represent key issues in feminist theology and the feminist religious movement--milestones in the attempts of Christian feminists to reclain the r spiritual authority, define biblical religion and the Christian church, and to articulate a feminist religious vision of justice and liberation.

Examines the question of Christian feminist spirituality. -- Introduction.

Elisabeth Schuessler Fiorenza, well-known for her pioneering New Testament study In Memory of Her, was not only present at the creation of the feminist movement in theology and church, but was one of those women who gave it birth. 'Discipleship of equals', the title of this book, was her coinage, as was 'women-church' and ekklesia of women. However, this book is not a memoir or a biography; rather, it charts her feminist theological struggles. Collected within it are studies representing key issues in feminist theology and the feminist religious movement—milestones in the attempts of Christian feminists to reclaim their spiritual authority, to define biblical religion and the Christian church, and to articulate a feminist religious vision of justice and liberation. As the author herself writes: 'More than ever before, the women's movements in society and religion need a critical feminist analysis of patriarchal religious structures and a critical feminist theological articulation of liberation. By tracing my own unfolding journey of vision and struggle and by relating it to the collective struggle of women in theology, I seek to intervene in the contest over who has the right and authority to claim biblical religion.'

As an unabashedly sexist institution that has long been rooted in patriarchal ideals, the Christian church has few . Written by recognized experts in church history, the articles in this book take a close look at women's status in key periods.

e fourth gospel presents the reader with an early christian text in which women and men are treated as "a discipleship of equals" as this term is broadly understood in the work of Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza but qualified with respect to her discussion of the meaning of 'equality' when applied to gender. Specifically, the gospel contains six examples of "gender pairs" of characters (a widely-accepted lukan feature). The members of each pair are portrayed in a parallel or contrasting faith encounter with the Johannine Jesus which is of substantial theological importance to the gospel's stated purpose (John 20:31). The six pairs are the mother of Jesus (2:1-11) and the royal official (4:46-54); nicodemus (3:1-12) and the samaritan woman (4:4-42); the man born blind (9:1-41) and Martha (11:1-54); Mary of Bethany and Judas (12:1-8); the mother of Jesus and the beloved disciple (19:25-27); Mary Magdalene (20:11-18) and Thomas (20:24-29).

Ideas of the Christian church are changing, and Letty Russell envisions its future as partnership and sharing for all members around a common table of hospitality. Russell draws on her pastorate in Harlem, her classes in theology, and many ecumenical conversations to help the newly emerging church face the challenges of liberation for all people.

Incompatible with God’s Design is the first comprehensive history of the Roman Catholic women’s ordination movement in the United States. Mary Jeremy Daigler explores how the focus on ordination, and not merely “increased participation” in the life and ministries of the church, has come to describe a broad movement. Moving well beyond the role of such organizations as the Women’s Ordination Conference, this study also addresses the role of international and local groups. In an effort to debunk a number of misperceptions about the movement, from its date of origin to its demographic profile, Daigler explores a vast array of topics. Starting with the movement’s historical background from the early American period through the early twentieth century to Vatican II and afterward, she considers the role of women (especially Catholicism’s more religious adherents) in the movement’s evolution, the organization of the ordination movement in the United States, the role and response of clergy and Vatican teachings, the reality of international influences on the U.S. movement, and the full range of challenges—past and present—to the ordination movement. Incompatible with God’s Design is compelling reading for any student of theology and women’s studies, as well as those interested in staying abreast with the changing role of women within the U.S. Roman Catholic Church.

What is the church? In this thoroughly revised and updated text, Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen provides a wide-ranging survey of ecclesiology in the midst of rapid developments and new horizons. This unique primer not only orients readers to biblical, historical, and contemporary ecclesiologies but also highlights contextual and global perspectives.

This widely acclaimed introduction to modern Christian thought, formerly published by Prentice Hall, provides full, scholarly accounts of the major movements and thinkers, theologians and philosophers in the Christian tradition since the eighteenth-century Enlightenment, together with solid historical background and critical assessments. This second edition deals with the entire modern period, in both Europe and America, and is the first to include extensive treatment of modern Catholic thinkers, Evangelical thought, and Black and Womanist theology.