What Jesus Learned From Women: An American Baptist Conversation

Here is the recording of the event:

Some of the questions included:

1. In the introduction, you address the concerns that many probably have regarding whether Jesus needed to learn anything, especially from women. How might you encourage those folks (who would likely dismiss your book altogether, based either on the title or the premise) to even consider learning about the historical and cultural setting for Jesus? How might this understanding further inform their understanding of his divine nature?

2. In the chapter on Jesus’ encounter with the Syro-Phoenician woman, you again lift up the tension between Jesus’ nature as both divine and human. If a reader could even entertain the notion that Jesus might have actually insulted the woman, how can we accept that alongside the words of the writer of Hebrews (4:15)? Can you say a little more about what Jesus learned about himself as he encountered others from different cultural heritages than his own? What can we learn from this encounter as we interact with people who have different backgrounds/ethnicities than our own?

Someone said in the chat that they find this topic relevant globally (they are in New Zealand). Someone else said in the chat: I am currently reading an informative book about women and patriarchy by an historian: The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women Became Gospel Truth. Illuminating exposition of patriarchy’s roots in the secular world and how it was adopted by the Christian community over the centuries, even in contrast to the Biblical record.

There were other questions submitted through the Q&A, and I felt the entire thing not only led to great discussion, but gave me a chance to talk about aspects of the book that I haven’t before in radio interviews or podcasts, and to address more directly how my book relates to theological views on the divinity and/or sinlessness of Jesus. If you’ve been hoping I’d tackle those topics head on, I do here!

If you didn’t manage to participate in the event but listen now and have a question, feel free to ask it here.

Also related to the theme of the book: