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Although the idea for this project began while I was working on my dissertation, the work began in earnest in 2018 when I was granted a sabbatical at the Logos Institute at the University of St. Andrews. I am incredibly grateful to the John Templeton Foundation and Wheaton College for their financial support. This work was supported by the Templeton Religion Trust [TRT0095/58801] and the University of St. Andrews (School of Divinity). Alan (and Margaret) Torrance’s warm invitation, advocacy, insight, and friendship made that period of time one of the best of our lives. Thank you to the many friends and colleagues in St. Andrews, including those at St. Mary’s, All Saints, St. Andrews Nursery School, Canongate, and FFSA who made my work and our lives so rich.

I am also grateful to the many colleagues who have read or responded to drafts of this book. Carey Newman gave invaluable advice in the early stages of the project. Michael Rae, Michelle Panchuk, Timothy and Faith Pawl, and all those involved in Logos, especially the 2018 conference, were formative in the chapters on Mary. Aubrey Buster, Julie Newberry, Brittany Wilson, Christa McKirland, Hannah Craven, Marc Cortez, Emily McGowin, Beth Felker Jones, George Kalantzis, Amanda Drury, David Lauber, Madeline Hazel Urban, Nate Thom, Kristen Page, Keith Johnson, fellow members of the Augustine Fellowship through the Center for Pastor Theologians, attendees at the 2021 meeting of the Chicago Theological Initiative, and, chiefly, Matthew Milliner carefully read and commented on particular chapters. The two anonymous readers greatly improved the argument with their insightful suggestions. Several research assistants have faithfully aided me in this project: Matthew Monkemeier, Ben Mandley, Joshua Mauer, Andy Iversen, Bethany Grainger, Virginia Johnston, Bryan Condra, Addison Ream, and with particular insights as we compared our work, Megan Stidham. Trevor Thompson has been a supportive and insightful editor, giving shape to the present volume and necessary encouragement in the final stages. Jenny Hoffman, Justin Howell, Kristine Nelson, Sarah Gombis, and the rest of the editorial and marketing team brought my ideas to life with clarity and beauty. Questions ...

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About Women and the Gender of God

A robust theological argument against the misogynistic heresy that God is male.

God values women.

While many Christians would readily affirm this truth, the widely held assumption that the Bible depicts a male God persists—as it has for centuries. This misperception of Christianity not only perniciously implies that men deserve an elevated place over women but also compromises the glory of God by making God appear to be part of creation, subject to it and its categories, rather than in transcendence of it.

Through a deep reading of the incarnation narratives of the New Testament and other relevant scriptural texts, Amy Peeler shows how the Bible depicts a God beyond gender and a savior who, while embodied as a man, is the unification in one person of the image of God that resides in both male and female. Peeler begins with a study of Mary and her response to the annunciation, through which it becomes clear that God empowers women and honors their agency. Then Peeler describes from a theological standpoint how the virgin birth of Jesus—the second Adam—reverses the gendered division enacted in the garden of Eden.

While acknowledging the significance of the Bible’s frequent use of “Father” language to represent God as a caring parent, Peeler goes beneath the surface of this metaphor to show how God is never sexualized by biblical writers or described as being physically involved in procreation—making the concept of a masculine God dubious, at best. From these doctrinal centers of Christianity, Peeler leads the way in reasserting the value of women in the church and prophetically speaking out against the destructive idolatry of masculinity.

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