Some books don’t get to the top shelf or to the front of the table because they’re not very good. Other books don’t get to the top or the front for no good reasons, and I’ve recently been through a book about women in ministry that deserves to be on the top shelf. Why? One reason: it’s a complete case.

In the debate about women in ministry, what are the most decisive biblical texts for you? How important of an issue is this? Do you think this will ever be settled one way or the other?

That book is by T. Scott Womble and is called BEYOND REASONABLE DOUBT
.The subtitle is “95 Theses Which dispute the Church’s Conviction against Women.” The book is shaped in the form of a legal argument against the complementarian view (the conviction against women in ministry), and the book argues the case for women in ministry in reasonable, cogent, and compelling ways. Nothing strident in this book and Womble basically challenges the Church to re-examine its case against women by asking if it has considered all the evidence.

Yes, there are 95 sections to the book. No, the book does not read long. It deals with hermeneutical issues (focusing nicely on giftedness and godliness), cross-examines problems with the complementarian approach, and then presents evidence for the egalitarian case. The notes are shoved into the back, and it’s got a very good bibliography.