I very rarely give such a low review, and then only if I fundamentally disagree with the premise of a book. Here's an example of why I cannot recommend this.
By the time I got to Grudem's views on the roles of men and women (and the way the author twists scripture to fit American patriarchal culture), I was ready to give the book one star.
I will leave the reader with this one example, though others caught my attention. Anyone who claims authority to teach believers how to think, and in the same breath says God voluntarily becomes our subordinate as our "helper" in the Old Testament - for whatever logic or proof of his ethics and gender presuppositions - is a danger to young minds. Making up theologies is a peculiar pastime of academics; it's their job to think deeply. Yet Grudem's statements about the Son being "eternally subordinate" to the Father (not just in his incarnation) give an indication of cultural hierarchy that goes beyond the biblical revelation and mandate.
To prove his point on male headship in every area, Grudem refuses the clear meaning of Paul's instruction of "mutual submission." He extends his model of hierarchy to create a subordinate chain of authority in the family, with the wife slightly higher than the children in a serious case of scriptural re-wording.
He excludes the possibility of husbands and wives as peers, serving in the gospel, despite scriptures about the empowerment of the Spirit on male and female, Jew and Greek, etc. All are empowered for ministry, without limits as to who can serve. So, can a Greek preach to a Jew? Can a slave preach to a master? Can a woman preach to men? Grudem would say no to the latter and perhaps to the second as well, since his hierarchy is so ingrained. Women are only advisors to men, mothers to children, and therefore constrained against serving in full gifting and capacity.
He excludes the possibility of husbands and wives as peers, serving in the gospel, despite scriptures about the empowerment of the Spirit on male and female, Jew and Greek, etc. All are empowered for ministry, without limits as to who can serve. So, can a Greek preach to a Jew? Can a slave preach to a master? Can a woman preach to men? Grudem would say no to the latter and perhaps to the second as well, since his hierarchy is so ingrained. Women are only advisors to men, mothers to children, and therefore constrained against serving in full gifting and capacity.
In addition, Grudem completely ignores the Pauline practice of biblical inclusion (i.e. instructions to female prophets in the church), relegating women to exercising their spiritual gifts only within the chain of command "below" them. Paul's instructions for orderly worship (for example, in 1 Cor 11:2-16; 14:26+), include men and women and offer a truer model of what was intended. Paul's practice contrasts with the patriarchal models invented by the time of Chrysostom and existing until Grudem. (Chrysostom acknowledged that the practices of his day differed greatly from the New Testament; Grudem is even more extreme, yet claims to be true to scriptures.)
Don't buy it unless you want to set back your understanding of a biblical worldview by 100 years. Instead, use current commentaries with biblical scholarship of how the Spirit shaped the practices of the New Testament Church.
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