Dr. Cynthia Hester

What Do Women’s Stories in the Bible Teach about Women Exhorting Men?

December 22, 2020 Cynthia Hester

White lights twinkled along the wrought iron railing, as the stainless-steel patio heater adjacent to our table released invisible waves of warmth. My two new friends and I enjoyed a leisurely meal, thankful for the opportunity to talk in-person. We are new course creators—each preparing to launch a 2021 online course into cyberspace. After discussing the merits of Flodesk, Kajabi, Canva, and Momentum, Julie sought my advice on her Bible literacy course. She asked, “What do I do if men sign up for my course?”

How Many Women Prophets Prophesied in the Bible?

December 16, 2020 Cynthia Hester

What is a prophet? How many women prophets prophesied in the Bible? Prophets were God’s authorized spokespersons. Both women and men communicated God’s direct revelation to designated people.

Ancient Bible, National Library in Athens, Greece

Genesis 1: Who is ‘adam and What Do They Rule?

December 2, 2020 Cynthia Hester

Genesis 1 is the grand story of creation. Whenever I read it, I like to view this beautiful story like a child on a field trip to a planetarium—sitting in a circular room with my head tilted back, waiting in rapt anticipation. The lights dim and the “sky” changes from a black void to a star-studded panorama. Imagine with me, God at work transforming the dark, shapeless earth into an amazingly–ordered world surrounded by exquisite heavens.

BOOK REVIEW: MAN AND WOMAN, ONE IN CHRIST

November 18, 2020 Cynthia Hester

Philip Payne’s wife promised in her marital vows to submit to her husband’s leadership. But, then Philip Payne’s assumption of the validity of male headship was deeply challenged. A New Testament scholar who emphatically stated that a proper, contextual understanding of the Bible uncovers no passage affirming the exclusion of women from any Christian ministry. This prompted Payne to embark on a years-long study and to write his book, Man and Woman, One in Christ.

BOOK REVIEW: THE WIDOWS: A WOMEN’S MINISTRY IN THE EARLY CHURCH

November 16, 2020 Cynthia Hester

Widows were not only a class of people in need of defending. Bonnie Thurston asserts that certain women in the early church were organized into a clerical order of widows—an order of women established in the church within the second century. Thurston’s book was the first to focus exclusively on ancient widows in the Christian church, with scholarly research on the order of widows.

JESUS’S INTERACTIONS WITH WOMEN

November 9, 2020 Cynthia Hester

How does Jesus, the Son of God, view women? In his earthly ministry, did Jesus encourage, teach, and empower only men to carry on his work? After his ascension into heaven, the Holy Spirit (comforter, intercessor, the presence of God) was given to all believers, women, as well as men (Acts 2:4). What can we learn from the scriptural accounts of Jesus’s interactions with women? To answer these questions, let’s consider three Bible stories.

Book Review: Should Women Be Pastors and Leaders in Church? My Journey to Discover What the Bible Says About Gender Roles

November 5, 2020 Cynthia Hester

After fifty years of pastoring in conservative churches, Dr. William Rudd changed his view of women in the church. He rejected complementarianism and embraced egalitarianism. In his book, he recommends that his readers also complete a comprehensive study on women in the church and the home. Through his book, he guides his readers with a study roadmap to help them “arrive at a consistent position regarding gender roles in the church.”

BOOK REVIEW: Rediscovering Scripture’s Vision for WOMEN

November 3, 2020 Cynthia Hester

Many are rethinking the belief that the Bible prescribes patriarchal order–rethinking that a Christian narrative prescribes male dominance in the church and in the home.

BOOK REVIEW: A CASE FOR FEMALE DEACONS

October 2, 2020 Cynthia Hester

Can a woman be a deacon? Will an in-depth survey of the biblical text and church history provide convincing evidence that the evangelical church rightly should install women as deacons, and perhaps ordain them too? Answering these questions in the affirmative is the premise of the book A Case for Female Deacons.

BOOK REVIEW: RECOVERING FROM BIBLICAL MANHOOD & WOMANHOOD

September 30, 2020 Cynthia Hester

I follow Aimee Byrd, speaker, and author, on Twitter. She tweeted an announcement about her newest book, Recovering from Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. Having twice read John Piper and Wayne Grudem’s book, Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood: A Response to Evangelical Feminism (1991), I was eager to read what Byrd had to say. Based on the book’s provocative title, I expected Byrd to challenge Piper and Grudem’s explanations of “biblical manhood and womanhood” head-to-head or Bible passage by Bible passage….

Cynthia Hester

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Author: Cynthia Hester