The Lost Apostle: Searching for the Truth About Junia - Hardcover

Pederson, Rena

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0787984434 ISBN 13: 9780787984434

Publisher: Jossey-Bass Inc Pub, 2006

Synopsis

In The Lost Apostle award-winning journalist Rena Pederson investigates a little known subject in early Christian history—the life and times of the female apostle Junia. Junia was an early convert and leading missionary whose story was “lost” when her name was masculinized to Junias in later centuries. The Lost Apostle unfolds like a well-written detective story, presenting Pederson’s lively search for insight and information about a woman some say was the first female apostle.

About this title

From the Inside Flap

In the New Testament book of Romans (16:7), the apostle Paul says: "Greet Andronicus and Junia, my relatives, who have been in prison with me. They are outstanding among the apostles and they were in Christ before I was." In this same chapter, he mentions a number of other women as well—Phoebe, Prisca, Mary, Tryphena, Tryphosa, Persis, and Julia. Paul held all these women of the early church, it appears, in high esteem. How does this fact fit with Paul's other teachings on the subordination of women? Was there a disconnect between teachings attributed to Paul and his actual practice? What roles did women play in the early church? What are the implications for Christians today?

In The Lost Apostle award-winning journalist Rena Pederson investigates a little-known subject in early Christian history—the life and times of the female apostle Junia. Junia was an early convert and leading missionary whose story was "lost" when her name was masculinized to Junias in later centuries. The Lost Apostle unfolds like a well-written detective story, presenting Pederson's lively search for insight and information about a woman some say was the first female apostle.

Based on extensive research, international travel, as well as discussions and correspondence with top historians and biblical experts, Rena Pederson has pieced together a story not just of Junia but also of women of the early church—women like Prisca, Nympha, Thecla, and Mary of Magdala—and given us new insights on scripture, history, and the life of the first Christians. We can use those insights to make a stronger church today, one that truly and fully calls upon the gifts and abilities of women and men.

From the Back Cover

Praise for The Lost Apostle

"Thanks to Rena Pederson for digging into The Case of the Missing Apostle like a good police reporter. Junia the apostle was one of the first victims of identity theft. Restoring her name is a service to women everywhere."
—Linda Ellerbee, award-winning television producer, journalist and best-selling author of Take Big Bites, Move On, and And So It Goes

"Reading Pederson's work is like perusing a reporter's notebook. She invites anyone who turns these pages to help her think about which question to ask next in the search for truth. In the end, she rewards her readers for sharing this spiritual, intellectual, and journalistic pursuit by reminding us that the best human searches are satisfied with the discovery that the truth we seek is actually seeking us."
—William B. Lawrence, dean; professor of American church history, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University

"As a clergywoman, I am strengthened by Rena Pederson's work. She has done what should have been done years ago. Junia is the role model we've been searching for."
—Dr. Sheron Patterson, senior minister, Highland Hills United Methodist Church; newspaper columnist; and author, Sisters: A Mile in Her Shoes, Lessons from the Lives of Old Testament Women

About this edition

• Publisher: Jossey-Bass Inc Pub
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0787984434
• ISBN 13: 9780787984434
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 278