A Book Report on

Daughters of the Church Ruth A. Tucker & Walter L. Liefeld

Summary of the Book
Chapter 1, The Gospel and the World of Jesus: Wives and Mothers The authors start their
journey from New Testament times to the present with Mary, the mother of Jesus, and other
women who are mentioned in the gospel, particularly Luke. The gospels reveal Christs
mother as a woman who both loved God and needed to grow in faith. Luke portrays Mary to
be sitting at the feet of Jesus and learning which gives us a clear affirmation that Christ
included both women and men in learning intellectual and spiritual things. The Christological
confession was first given by Martha when she declared that Christ is the Son of God at the
tomb of Lazarus. The anointing of Jesus by Mary reveals that she had a deeper understanding
of the impending cross than the male disciples. The women who traveled with Jesus testify
the advance in Jesus ministry over Jewish limitations of women. Jesus called the crippled
woman as daughter of Abraham and gave a new meaning when the idea of son of Abraham
was common. In the case of Samaritan woman, Jesus broke many barriers and customs. This
incident reveals that her sex in any way was not a hindrance in Jesus ministering to her. Jesus
once again cut across the grain of the society with what a man could do and get away which
could not be done with impunity by a woman in the example of the woman caught in
adultery. The Syrophoenician woman not only achieved her desire but also won the
admiration of Jesus. The women who were at the cross were bold enough to follow Jesus
even though he was executed as a criminal. The women at the Resurrection were the first
proclaimers and it was the reward for their greater love.
The teachings and stories of Jesus not only addressed moral issues in a radical way but in
effect raised the level of womens dignity and security. Clearly Jesus broke all the custom
with regard to women. He treated both male and female alike and accepted the failings of
both. Christ never expressed his attitudes directly but one need to study deeply and
understand his behavior towards women which will undoubtedly supplement his supportive
views of women and the importance that he gave to them in his ministry. He also glorified the
domestic works done by women in his parables. If one questions why Christ did not involve
women as his apostle, it can be understood of the context in which he was living but it does
not mean that Christ demeaned women.

Chapter 2, Acts and Epistles: Prophesying Daughters and Silenced Wives Christs
ministry was around Palestine but Pauls ministry was across the Roman Empire. The
political transition from Greeks to Romans showed positive signs for women in the field of
education, social participation and sports which were previously limited only to males. The
Roman matrons gained a high degree of prestige and power and they exercised great
influence in public affairs. The religious transition from Judaism to Christianity showed that
Paul was wrestling with how to apply the principles of womens equality before God and of
his responsibility in ministry in confrontation with Judaism. Judaism prohibited women from
learning the law, the Torah, but some of the outstanding theologically sophisticated women
could make their own way within the Judeo-Christian tradition. Both men and women were
present in the synagogues and there were no separation. The spiritual transition from the preChristian era to the age of the Holy Spirit indicates that no distinction was made between men
and women in the act of praying and Holy Spirit came upon both. The ministry of men and
women in Acts is the fulfillment of the prophecy of Joel and the truth of Gods plan for the
church. The famous statement of Paul on women in Galatians 3:28 show us a new
relationship in which differences disappear. It has not only delivered women from the curse
but a new relationship that transcends that of the original creation.
The geographical transition from Palestine to the ends of the earth with Peter and Paul
involve many gentile women and it proved that their social status was higher than the
Palestinian scene. Paul met Priscilla and Aquila at Corinth and Priscilla had the outstanding
qualities in her to teach a potential leader like Apollos. The prophesying daughters of Philip,
the evangelist, are a fulfillment of Joels prophecy and show the active role of women in the
early church. The women were active and prominent as the church grew and extended into
the Roman world. The ideological transition from freedom to conformity show that Paul
worked hard to empathize with people with whose theology and principles he disagreed. He
was able to allow freedom to the prophesying daughters and at the same time to impose
restrictions for the sake or reaching people for Christ and maintaining ethical standards. In
summary, Paul moved from convictions regarding freedom in Christ in Galatians to apparent
conformity to conventional morality in Corinthians. Chronological transition, when Paul
wrote the letters during imprisonment he included the activities of women and men in church
services and the enrollment of widows for support. Paul steered a careful course through the
changing cultural seas. Paul, in spite of the restrictions he felt were necessary, gave these
women important opportunities to minister. The transitions played a major role in this age.

Changing culture, tradition and other aspects did not hold Paul to suppress his views but it is
very sure that womens contribution in the early church was remarkable and laid the
foundation for the future Christianity.
Chapter 3, The rise of the Church and the downfall of Rome: Martyrs and sex objects
Elizabeth Clarke says that the most fitting word to describe the Church Fathers attitude
towards women is ambivalence. Martyrdom in the early centuries was an execution
specifically brought on by the Christians steadfast and was a clear testimony to faith.
Blandina was martyred in 177 and she affirmed her commitment to Christ during the time of
Marcus Aurelius. Irenaeus, bishop of Lyons, drew a parallel between Eve and Mary and
described Eve as the cause of death and Mary as the cause of salvation. The deviant groups
tried to attract disciples by having superiority over the established churches and the mode that
they used was prophecy, which involved the participation of women. In Gnosticism the
female presence was prominent in its very theology. The existence of a feminine principle at
the heart of their system could hardly fail to raise the female consciousness in their society.
Tertullians strong attribution of evil to women stems from his observation of pagan
immorality and the reflection of that immorality, he thought, was present among the Christian
women. Similarly Origen was also particular about that women are subordinates and he
believed strongly that Phoebes ministry was of assisting people and exercising hospitality.
The third chapter of Didascalis Apostolorum states that women cannot teach but only pray,
but it also encourages an order of widows and provides the earliest reliable witness to the
existence of an office of deaconess. Dionysius, the bishop of Alexandria, expressed that
woman should not be touched during menstruation period and they should not come for
sacrament in that time as they are not perfectly pure in soul and body. The ideal of the
celibate, virgin life developed rapidly during the fourth century. Their ideal was to be like the
angels, not marrying and totally given to the contemplation and praise of God. For them
Christ was the perfect example as he was born of a virgin and being celibate himself. Women
in this period strived hard as prophets and martyrs. They received no support from the church
fathers who regarded them as evil creatures. The commitment and the inspiration they drew
from the martyrs made them strong enough.
Chapter 4, Medieval Catholicism: Nuns, Heretics and Mystics Women gained power and
they overcame limitations through nonconventional means such as holy living, charismatic
phenomena and emotional ecstasy which were means of gaining recognition in the church.

There were debates whether women had a soul and they were widely viewed as perpetrators
of sin. In some places they were denied Eucharist during the menstrual period and denied
congregational singing. There were only limited opportunities for women to serve in parish
ministry and the ministry was generally associated with nunneries. The few deaconesses in
the parish ministry were doing the ministry for sick and the needy. The monasticism served as
an important outlet for women who desired their life to full-time spiritual endeavors.
Convents were formed, virgins and widows were permitted to join and they were required to
make a lifetime commitment and renounce all claims to material wealth. Monasticism
became a more personalized commitment to God on a higher level. Missions and
monasticism were inseparably linked. However, during the ninth century, monasticism
gradually began to decline after the monastic reform and this led to women losing their
position, prestige and power that they enjoyed during the early centuries of monasticism.
After monasticism, women who joined religious sects had the freedom to pursue ministry
while it was very limited in the established churches. Crusades played a major role as women
took part actively in the holy war to regain the Holy Land and showed their zeal towards
their religion. Religious holidays, fairs, pilgrimages and saint worship combined to make the
faith an active and integral part of daily life. Papess Johanna was one important woman who
was elevated to the papal dignity. However, her reign as pope ended in an abrupt and tragic
manner. The convent remained as the most viable option for women who were committed and
mostly women of high social status only joined the convent. Many women were pleading to
join the convents, but there were only limited seats. Those who were not able to join the
convent joined new religious orders that sprung up during the twelfth century. Normally, the
abbess ruled the convent and had special powers that the male counterparts didnt have. They
had a vast jurisdiction and had the power of a local bishop and had a significant importance
in the monastic community. Many convents served as the center for female education, the
only schooling that was available to women. However, the academic standards of the
convents deteriorated because of mysticism. The seclusion and solitude of the convent was an
ideal environment to express their literary and artistic talents.
Monasticism was frequently associated with fervent mysticism and visionary experiences.
The women mystics outnumbered men and they emphasized the humanity to Jesus. The
visionary experiences that the women had transported them into priestly roles that they were
denied and it gave them a direct authorization to act as mediator to others. Mysticism was a

reaction to social oppression; however, threats and problems came through the church
authorities. There were thousands of women who lived in solitude in deserts, e.g. Julian of
Norwich. Some women were elevated to sainthood because of their miracles and acts of
charity while some other were denounced as heretics because of their orthodox doctrines.
Regarding the women ordination, some theologians supported while most of them opposed.
Apart from the struggle for their place in the church, women also fought against the vicious
slander inflicted on their sex such as witchcrafts. Many instances of sexual harassment were
there throughout the medieval period including the nuns in the convent. When women were
denied opportunity to work as deaconess, they find other way to lead a solitary life in
nunnery and thus expressed the love towards God. Their mystics gave a new spiritual
meaning about understanding God as an inmate relationship.
Chapter 5, Reformation Protestantism: Daring Nobleman and Godly Wives - The
challenges and the dogmas of the church were questioned. Catholics emphasized on the
negative influence that the Reformers had on women while the Protestants stressed the
positive side. The Reformers did not do anything specifically for the development of women
and to increase their role in the church. Even though Martin Luther had high regard for
women, he also had biased opinions towards them. John Calvin upheld the traditional view
that women are subordinates to men. The Anabaptists in fact feared about the growing
influence of women in the church and they held on to the traditional understanding and
reinforced the Old Testamental views. The Reformers claimed that reformation had uplifted
the life of women in society, but scholars believe that only the traditional role of mother and
wife were offered. Inspired by Luthers writings Katherine Von Bora came out of the convent
and married Luther. She accompanied Luther and definitely was behind Luthers success.
There were many nuns who left the convent and got married which created huge
controversies among the Roman Catholics.
The Sectarian movement gave women a wide range of ministry than the established churches.
There were women who neglected and ignored the advices given by the councils against them
for preaching. The Reformers were involved in persuading the nuns to leave the convents.
Many of them did so which illustrated their interest in Reformation. It was a difficult time for
nuns as the convents were viewed as corrupt and the monks and nuns were admonished to
forsake its evil influence. In most of the convents, the nuns were forced by mobs to leave the
convent. The Reformation changed the status of women in the church to a little high, but the

leadership and the offices were denied and the traditional view prevailed much. Even though
reformation happened in churches, it was not with women and with their status. The courage
of the women who left nunnery is highly appreciated, but reformation is criticized for not
providing any support to women.
Chapter 6, Post-Reformation Sectarianism: Visionaries and She-Preachers The
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries saw women were granted opportunities and they
dissented religious movements. The Church of England had strict impositions but at the same
time there were prophesying daughters in the church who voiced their concerns through their
writings and speech. The writings were controversial that they even have to face prison and
other problems from the church authorities. The Roman Catholics were persecuted by the
Protestants in England. The visionary and mystic experiences of the catholic women were
thought as of heresy, witchcraft and demonism. Women were involved in educating the
society, serving the poor and ill, writing extensively and also traveled and preached which
increased their fame and this evoked the church leaders to torture them and even imprison
them. The women preachers were thought as a threat by the male counterparts as the
meetings were attended by large numbers. The false accusations and condemnation against
them resulted in excommunication from the church.
The Baptist church was open to womens ministry from the early seventeenth century and
they women were largely responsible for the foundation and development of the churches.
Fifth Monarchists, Ceveols and Quakers were the other movements that gave equality to
women and supported their ministry. The founder of Quakers, George Fox, was a strong
supporter and defended the involvement of women in ministry. Elizabeth Hooton, Mary Dyer
and Margaret Fell are some of the prominent women from the Quakers movement who
demonstrated their courage and zeal towards their mission. The Quaker women those who
preached were criticized, reproved with bible, slandered and often riveted with sexual slurs.
In American Pietism, the women who were perceived to have a divine sanction were
permitted in public ministry. Susanna Wesley had lot of confrontations with her husband, but
in spite of that is considered to be the first women who had a major impact on the Wesleyan
movement. The Moravian women had an extraordinary influence in the area of doctrine and
practice. Here we see the women stepping into a new stage of public preaching. The sectarian
movements should be appreciated for bringing out the talents of individual women which
were hidden in the established churches.

Chapter 7, Trans-Atlantic Reform and Revivalism: Social Workers and Lay Evangelists
The nineteenth century was described as the womens century where they were a part of
every social life including the church as a centre activity. They were involved in the religious
endeavors because of Revivalism and Great Awakening. New standards were given by
women and they were thought to be the keepers of the religion. Their active participation
gave a way for the new social orders and the female lay ministries began to flourish during
the Second Great Awakening. A large number of societies were formed by women to help the
downtrodden and sick. They not only focused on women, but also on men. The Sunday
school movement in America and England were greatly influenced by women teachers, but
they also faced opposition. However, they overcame all these obstacles with women at the
forefront. Charles Finney permitted women in the public meetings, but he believed that
women should not be given leadership positions.
Deaconess movement started to proliferate in the early stages and many homes were formed.
There were also itinerary women evangelists. The women writings involved hymns and
spiritual themes, but their work was limited in theological and doctrinal treatises. The pulpit
ministry of women was commendable, but they had to associate with any sectarian movement
to gain recognition. The women considered that the call from God was very important in their
spiritual life. The Salvation Army of Catherine Booth was known for its gospel and
humanitarian works. Women actively involved in temperance movements and fought hard for
to establish themselves as leaders. The fringe movements gave women more opportunities
than the traditional church. The American Catholics had a great challenge to minister the
immigrants and the nuns played a major role. The ending decades of the nineteenth century
saw that hundreds of women in America were pastors including the organized and Sectarian
movements and the ordination of women was already on the raise; however, there were
mixed opinions on this issue. The social concern of the women is the highlight of this chapter.
The writing of hymns is another important area where many of it still exists today.
Chapter 8, Foreign Missions: Jungle Pioneers and Urban Church Planters Many women
chose to work in foreign missions because of the meaningful Christian profession. The
contribution of women in this area has gone unnoticed. The early-mission support groups
were viewed as auxiliary groups and men noticed it was of no threat to them. Mostly women
were recognized only as the wife of a missionary and had no other way rather than to follow
their husbands. Many of the missionary wives and their children died in the foreign land.

They did a remarkable job such as educating people, conducting prayer meetings and Bible
classes. Despite doing these works, they were not considered and regarded as like their
husbands and their ministry has to be withdrawn or cut short because of ill health and
childbearing. The female missionary agencies were initiated to send the single women for
foreign missions which later on became a threat to the male missionaries because of their
work and commitment. They demanded equality only in the context of ministry and were
careful not to overstep their prescribed boundaries. The single women had to marry or forsake
her commission in the first term and she was required to sign a pledge.
The Roman Catholic nuns established schools, hospitals, and homes in several areas of the
world as missionaries. Women enjoyed their leadership position in womens missionary
movements which increased in strength and numbers. This stressed the need to merge the
women movements with the general boards, but women feared that their power could be
reduced or lost in this manner. However, the chance for a merging was imminent after the
Edinburg Conference in 1910. Women missionaries also had a very significant part in the
field of medicine, translation and linguistics, gospel recordings and missionary aviation.
Missiology was the last area that women entered in mission and broke the tradition that men
were dominating for a long time, but only a few women have offered their experience,
knowledge and creativity to develop new mission strategies.
Chapter 9, The Non-Western Church: Lowly Bible Women and Renowned Educators A
high percentage of national women were involved in preaching the gospel in the Third World.
Their experience and testimony was the backbone for the work of evangelism and church
planting. Missionary work and Christianity together offered the Third World women freedom
and to participate in religious rituals which were exempted for them and remarkable
improvement were done in the field of education, marriage, widowhood and home life. In
India, education was in a very poor state. The women took more care to teach the young girls
and women which was appreciated by the Hindus. This changed the value of women as a
whole and Christianity had a major impact on marriage customs and the home not only in
India but in Africa also. But scholars admit that things have also been exaggerated and they
argue that the influence of missionaries lowered the status of women.
The Third World church saw women outnumbering men in the church attendance and had a
steadfast faith than men. Polygamy in Africa had its effects as the wives were asked to leave
the household and become Christians and a polygamous husband was given baptism only if

he sends his wives away and they were driven to prostitution. Leadership position to women
was totally denied because of the restrictions and also the women were poorly qualified to
lead the church. There were social and religious programs such as bible study and instructions
of health, hygiene and child care. One of the striking features that enabled the Third World
Christianity was the personal family evangelism in which thousands had to forsake their
cultures, religion friends and places for this sake. The indigenous women were called as Bible
women who assisted the western missionaries and functioned as teachers, interpreters, bible
readers and evangelists. They have to overcome family and cultural pressures which were
rooted firmly in the society as well as physical dangers also. Very few women were involved
in writing, translation and served as language informants for missionaries.
Chapter 10, Modern Pentecostalism and Denominationalism: Tent-toting Evangelists and
Ordained Ministers The Pentecost movement had its significance starting from the early
twentieth century when the established churches were still neglecting women and the
Pentecostals utilized women in the spiritual awakening. Holiness movement was another
strong denomination that emphasized on Holy Spirit and spiritual gifts. Meanwhile in the
mainline churches, men refused and were not eager to share leadership positions with
women, so women were involved in the social-gospel movement as activists.
The strong male-dominated hierarchical structure of the Roman Catholic Church remained
unfazed to the secondary role of women in ministry even after the support increased to a
higher percentage. The Church of England had its initial setbacks but towards the end of
century they changed their stand and allowed the deaconesses alongside with male
counterparts. The Presbyterian Church was the most restrictive among the mainline
denominations and by 1956, they granted equality with men. The Reformed Churches opened
its door for ordination by 1965. The theology of Lutherans ruled out women for clerical
office and was thought to be inappropriate. Until 1960, deaconess was the only option
available for Lutheran women which was a demeaning to them. When the European
Lutherans started ordaining women in 1960s, the Americans also followed that in 1970s.
Likewise all mainline denominations followed to give ordination to women. Meanwhile in
free churches, women were placed in the governing boards. The mid-twentieth century saw a
new breed of female public speakers who spoke about their own struggles in the Christian life
and this was one way to work outside the church parameters without any limitations. Self-

help groups were found in 1960s and 1970s with emphasis on health, exercise, marriage
enrichment and political action.
Chapter 11, The Contemporary Church Faces the Issues The writers from the late
nineteenth to early twentieth century focused more on the importance of womens ministry in
church and much activism lead to the ratification of amendment 19 on Woman Suffrage in
1920. In 1960s Betty Friedan expressed womens feelings about their traditional role as
housewife in The Feminine Mystique which captured wide attention. Mary Daly work was
directed to the situation in Catholic Church in The Church and the Second Sex which
stressed the need to be purified of antifeminist notions and practices. In 1970s Rosemary
Radford Ruether wrote about the liberation concerns and with others she developed a
hermeneutical approach to the bible. The further years saw that writers focused more on the
feminist issues. In Memory of Her, written by Elizabeth Schussler Fiorenza gained much
attention and she presented the historical women from the times of Jesus and issues regarding
feminist hermeneutics. The inclusive-language lectionary produced by NCC stirred a lot of
controversy because of it inclusive language for God. The works and efforts of various
theologians and feminists have driven positive results in woman empowerment, but still there
is a long way to go.
Personal Reflection
The authors are highly appreciated for bringing such a huge informative book about the
daughters of the church from the New Testament times. There are thousands of women
mentioned in this book which were concealed in other traditional histories. The authors have
taken into consideration the various cultures, traditions, politics and other aspects in deriving
out a conclusion. They have given many references pertaining to a particular subject and at
the end have tried to give their viewpoint which is highly appreciable. Even though one of the
authors is a male, I am sure that his empathetic view was similar to that of the female author.
The authors have taken care to segregate each history pertaining to a particular century and
brought out the uniformity as the reader finds it easy for following. I enjoyed reading the
book; however, I believe that until reformation period, the given objectives were easy to
understand. But after that there are many autobiographies of the individuals and their life
histories are mentioned which was hard to follow. The Protestant and Catholic leaders are
given separately, but it is because of this vastness I lost my path. I believe that this book
contains enough information for a student to understand the women in history, but in fact

there are thousands of women who are still to discover and are unnoticed. I am sure that their
contribution to Christianity should be enormous and only God knows that.
The authors in the conclusion part mention about the service (diakonia). The concept of
ministry has always been understood as possessing ranks and authorities rather than
servanthood. From the beginning, sharing responsibility and power have always been tough
ones for humans. Till today it is undigestable for us, if we are asked to share with our
belongings to others. The men admired their mothers, wives and daughters but were
unwilling to offer them a higher position or post that is higher than theirs. Such has been the
mind of humans and it changes only when one really understands the true meaning of
diakonia i.e., to serve. One need to look at Christ and his works and understand what Christ
has offered as equality and dignity. If Christ can break the Jewish traditions and customs that
were prevailing in his time against women, it is easier today. The things that are needed to
break the barriers that prevent the social equality and dignity of women is the change of
mindset of every individual and following and obeying the teachings of Christ.
No doubt, this reading has really enriched my thoughts and feelings to a higher level of
understanding women in history than before. All these years I have never thought of this
subject as an intense matter of discussion. I am really worried about the current theological
preaching that the churches are following. I have never heard any of these women mentioned
in the book in any sermons or worships. I doubt whether the church officials have made any
attempt to include these in the sermons, daily thoughts, readings that are circulated to the
church members. I am sure that these would definitely enrich the church congregation and
they could understand the plight of women all these days which would lead to heights of
social equality and dignity to womanhood. There are many dioceses which are adamant to
grant ordination even after various struggles. I feel the laws should be universal rather than
laws for every region or diocese. The law should be abided by the church and her leaders so
that it benefits the community.
I believe that the theological education, seminaries and the leaders of the church need to take
essential steps reinterpret the history and find out the women who are forgotten or invisible
throughout all ages of history. These women should be given recognition by accepting them
as the role models in history and we need to be continuously encouraged by their service and
commitment rendered to Christianity. I believe that this would be the greatest reward that we
can offer to the forgotten womanhood in Christian history.