Reeve, Teresa L.

English

Andrews University

320 SEMINARY STUDIES 37 (AUTUMN 1999) There are also some weaknesses. The fnst is that the redder needs some computer sawy to maximize the benefits available on the CD. Second, a more thoughdul biography would have been helpful. Thd, a separate icon that dealt only with the writings of Luther would have made access to his works much easier. Overall the CD is a great research tool for scholars of Luther. What it lacks in thoughtful analysis it compensates for, by giving an extensive array of information set within the context of Luther's world. Andrews University TREVOR O'REGGIO Kienzle, Beverly Maynze, and Pamela J. Walker, eds. Women Preachers and Prophets through Two Millennia of Christianity. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1998. 395 pp. Hardcover, $50.00. Women Preachers and Prophets is a wonderful compendium of research into the ways in which women have carved out a place for themselves to speak for God. Making use of materials as diverse as ancient catacomb paintings, court records, and contemporary fiction, the authors provide a richly footnoted yet highly readable account of women who were active in the ministry of the church across the centuries. The book is divided into four sections. Part One represents the period of Early Christianity with investigations of The Gospel ofMary, of ancient artistic representations of women in prayer and prophecy (the orans), and of Maria Magdalene as Apostolorum Apostola. Part Two provides information about the preaching and prophetic activities of women in the Middle Ages through the avenues of sermons, religious instruction, and songs; through the support of the Waldensian and the Cathar churches; and through the example of a specific woman-Rose of Viterbo. The sixteenth through eighteenth centuries are the subject of P a n  Three, which looks at women's contributions through the eyes of John Foxe and explores the activities of Ursuline, Moravian, and Quaker women. The final section, Pan  Four, provides glimpses into the lives of three women of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries-Maria W. Stewart, Catherine Booth, and Mother Leaf Anderson-and describes women's preaching and prophecy connected to  the British Suffrage movement. The extensive coverage of Mary Magdalene, discussed in two micles from different vantage points, is particularly valuable in highlghting the early support for women in active roles in the church. The varied nature of the articles, which provide ghmpses of the lives of specific women, of the patterns of women's contributions in different Christian groups, and of some of the ways and purposes that women found to communicate their convictions, gives a panicular depth to the work. Clearly it has never been easy for a woman to speak her mind about her beliefs, but neither have women ever stood by and allowed themselves to be easily silenced. Unfortunately, those searching for a strongly multicultural study of women's voices in the church will be disappointed by this book. While celebrating the diversity of genders in the voice of the church, this book limits itself to  looking strictly at the history of church women in Western developed countries. The two articles on the African Americans Marian W. Stewart and Mother Leaf Anderson provide a welcome relief to the Eurocentric view, but do  not make up for this lack of attention to the churches of the East and the South. Nevertheless, this book is well worth reading and owning, for it provides an uncommonly good panorama of its broad and long-hidden subject matter. It is bound to provide an "I didn't know" response from curious amateurs and seasoned scholars alike and will make an important contribution to progress in this field. Andrews University TERESA REEVE Knight, George R. Ellen White's World. Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing, 1998. 144 pp. Paperback, $8.99. Ellen White's World is the third of four recent books by George Knight written to acquaint the general reader with Ellen White and her writings. The first in the series was Meeting Ellen White, a compact biography that also introduces seven major themes that characterize her writings. The second was Reading Ellen White, a popular hermeneutic for her writings, and the fourth was Walking with Ellen White, a more intimate glimpse of her relationships as a wife, mother, and friend. The current work, Ellen White's World, is unlike the other three in that it does not focus on Ellen White. but rather on the world in which she lived. This well-written and entertaining book is useful not only for the casual reader, but for the serious student of history. It should sell well due to  its compact size and the utility of the information brought together. Overall, Knight's book does two things for the reader. First and foremost it brings the reader an awareness of history through the use of pictures as well as broad descriptive strokes of the time period from contemporary literature of the mid- to  late nineteenth century. Second, for those of us 100 years removed, the book helps to better understand Ellen White by putting her in the context of the problems and circumstances she faced and thereby demystifying her history. Finally, the average person can now grasp the uniqueness of her gift and her role in the shaping of Sabbatarian Adventist doctrine and practices, and how the society in which she lived influenced her writings. The book is divided into two basic parts, "Ellen White's World Before the Civil War" and "Ellen White's World After the Civil War," although individual chapters are not rigidly divided between those f i e  periods. Each of the two parts is further broken into chapters using such major historical indicators as social, religious, health, and technoloeical issues. " Much of the first part of the book is devoted to the religious forces that drove the citizens of the pre-Civil War era. Its chapters are labeled "Millennia1 Visions," "The Great Revival," "The Era of Reform," "Religious Impulses," and "Technological Advances." The second half focuses on the social and intellectual changes after the Civil War and briefly 1001:s at the role of entertainment during the rise of major cities. These chapter titles are: "A Changing World," "Millennia1 Visions," "Religious Impulses," "Social Issues," and "The New Leisure." One aspect that seems to be omitted is the political issues of the day. The one exception is a section in chap. 3 titled, "The movement to free the slaves." Here 

Women Preachers and Prophets Through Two Millennia of Christianity [review] / edited by Beverly Mayne Kienzle and Pamela J. Walker.

https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2580&amp;context=auss

Women Preachers and Prophets Through Two Millennia of Christianity [review] / edited by Beverly Mayne Kienzle and Pamela J. Walker.

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