“Voices all around us are speaking to issues of gender and sex and sexism; in the midst of a swirl of opinions we need to know how God regards us as men and women.” In the opening paragraph of her book ‘Women & God’, Kathleen Neilson hits the nail right on the head. In a world which can have a fairly low view of womanhood, yet seemingly has much to scream about what a woman is supposed to be, this book is both an encouragement for the individual and a powerful tool for the discipleship of women across our church.
Right from the table of contents, it is clear that Nielson is planting this book firmly in the word of God. Every chapter title is followed by references to passages of Scripture. She takes us right back to the beginning, and in the first three chapters, we explore God’s design for women and our place in his created order, as we look at Eve in Genesis 1-3.
However, as I turned the page into chapter 4, I realised this was not like other books I had read on the subject of Biblical womanhood. This chapter charted the dark days for women in the Old Testament, the difficult things that are so often missing from the discourse in women’s ministry. Neilson walks us through all those tricky laws and horrific historical events that are so often quoted by those who would say that the Bible hates women. This chapter is entitled ‘The Darkest Places’, and as we confront them, we are reminded that “as we peer into the dark, we find God’s mercy glimmering.”
The first five chapters of this book are a look at the place of women in God’s word, and the remaining chapters look at what it means to live as a Godly woman in a fallen world. With topics such as sex, our bodies, marriage and the roles of women in the church, Nielson meets the opinions of the world head-on and challenges them with the truth of Scripture. In doing so, she both encourages and equips us to have more meaningful and Godly conversations with believers and non-believers alike.
In Chapter 8, Neilson looks at the life and ministry of Jesus through the lens of responding to a friend who saw the Bible as oppressive to women. She speaks to the very incarnation of Christ, the ‘maleness’ of Jesus being fully man and why that matters; however, her main focus is on the many women in the Gospels. She highlights the women recorded from cradle to cross and shows Jesus’ radical treatment of them. Whilst her friend was fixated on the women and their perceived oppression, Nielson reminds us that our true focus should be on the one who treated them as image-bearers, ministered to them, challenged them and redeemed them by dying on the cross for them.
‘Women and the Church’ is the penultimate chapter of this book. Neilson takes the time to guide us through everything else the Bible has to say about being a woman before she reaches this important point. Why? Well, because, as she points out, our understanding of our place in creation, in history, in marriage, in our bodies, in our relationships, it all forms our understanding of what God’s word says about the work of women in his church. Nielson guides us through the commands of Scripture and the pattern of women at work for the Kingdom, emphasising the importance of this work and its place in God’s design. In her own words, as we look at the pattern of women at work in scripture, “we’ll not only see the boundaries and how they make sense; we’ll see the whole landscape and how it’s beautiful.”
As I read ‘Women & God’, I felt like I was sitting down with an old friend. Nielson’s words are warm, but she doesn’t back down from the difficult topics, and even the most challenging sections are relatable and hopeful. This book is not a monologue; it is a conversation. I couldn’t help but respond as I scribbled in the margins and thought about how I was both encouraged and challenged by every chapter. As I journeyed through each page, I kept thinking of all the different women who I wanted to share it with.
Kathleen Nielson knows that God’s word contains a pattern of creation, care and calling for women, distinct from their male counterparts. This is the message of Scripture, and it is the message of this book: that despite what the world might say, God loves women.
Kat Kerr