This book is almost a manual for the recovering of Biblical Manhood and Womanhood as well as for the rejection of that which is not Biblical in that matter.

The book has chapters on exegetical and theological Studies, Studies from related disciplines like Church history, biology, psychology, sociology and law and contributions on how to apply and implicate it all in family and church. Every chapter, each written by another evangelical author, is so full of rich information that it gives the impression as if all possible questions have been answered.

The authors orientate themselves from the first to the last page clearly by the Bible and make it very clear what the Bible has to say on the topic. And what they have to say is of immense meaningfulness, provided they are right.

They express their concerns, but they also give the solutions to the problems as far as it is possible. Their concern is for:

the widespread uncertainty and confusion in our culture regarding the complementary differences between masculinity and feminity;

the tragic effects of this confusion in unravelling the fabric of marriage woven by God out of the beautiful and diverse strands of manhood and womanhood;

the increasing promotion given to feminist egalitarism with accompanying distortions or neglect of the glad harmony portrayed in Scripture between the loving, humble leadership of husbands and the intelligent, willing support of that leadership by wives;

the widespread ambivalence regarding the values of motherhood, vocational home-making, and the many ministries historically performed by women;

the growing claims of legitimacy for sexual relationships which have Biblically and historically been considered illicit or perverse;

the upsurge of physical and emotional abuse in the family;

the emergence of roles for men and women in church leadership that do not conform to Biblical teaching but backfire in the crippling of Biblically faithful witness;

the increasing prevalence and acceptance of hermeneutical oddities devised to reinterpret apparently plain meanings of Biblical texts, and behind all this the apparent accommodation of some within the church to the spirit of the age at the expense of winsome, radical Biblical authenticity.



Based on the authors understanding of Biblical teaching, they affirm the following:

Both Adam and Eve were created in God`s image, equal before God as persons and distinct in their manhood and womanhood;

distinctions in masculine and feminine roles are ordained by God as part of the created order, and should find an echo in every human heart;

Adam`s headship in marriage was established by God before the Fall, and was not a result of sin;

the Fall introduced distortions into the relationships between men and women - in the home, the husband`s loving, humble headship tends to be replaced by domination or passivity. The wife`s intelligent, willing submission tends to be replaced by usurpation or servility. - in the church, sin inclines men toward a worldly love of power or an abdication of spiritual responsibility, and inclines women to resist limitations on their roles or to neglect the use of their gifts in appropriate ministries;

the Old Testament, as well as the New Testament, manifests the equally high value and dignity which God attached to the roles of both men and women. Both Old and New Testaments also affirm the principle of male headship in the family and in the covenant community;

redemption in Christ aims at removing the distortions introduced by the curse,- in the family, husbands should forsake harsh or selfish leadership and grow in love and care for their wives, wives should forsake resistance to their husbands` authority and grow in willing, joyful submission to their husbands` leadership, - in the church, redemption in Christ gives men and women an equal share in the blessings of salvation, nevertheless, some governing and teaching roles within the church are restricted to men;

in all of life Christ is the supreme authority and guide for men and women, so that no earthly submission- domestic, religious, or civil - ever implies a mandate to follow a human authority into sin;

in both men and women a heartfelt sense of call to ministry should never be used to set aside Biblical criteria for particular ministries. Rather, Biblical teaching should remain the authority for testing our subjective discernment of God`s will.



The authors are convinced that a denial or neglect of these principles will lead to increasingly destructive consequences in the families, the churches and the culture at large.

Because of the great meaningfulness of these texts and its conclusions, every church man, Christian father and mother and theologian should have this book in his book shelf. Its implications are tremendous.

The book is not easy to read. You have to use a lot of brainwork, apparently not so much to follow the conclusions of the authors but to follow the laborious and pedestrian theories of others which they also disprove. The whole book is a complete workout of the theme that needs no amendment. A fine and necessary work.