"This recent study of Paul's letter to the Galatians offers a thoughtful and provocative new angle on the intent and focus of Paul's debate with the Jerusalem Church. Tatha Wiley, who is at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities, Minnesota makes the case that the debate about circumcision in Galatians is about the importance of women's equality that Paul bases in the spirit of the ekklesia's" embrace of Jesus as the Messiah. Paul's egalitarian commitment does not allow male members of the Galatian assembly to return to circumcision. To do so endangers the meaning of full and equal membership of all before god, particularly gender equality. Wiley's arguments offer better grounds for understanding the Torah and Paul's position that circumcision was not obligatory for Gentile converts. Recent studies of Diaspora Judaism also show evidence that supports the emergence of leadership roles for women in the Diaspora Synagogues. Paul's position therefore was in continuity with these Diaspora practices. Paul and the Gentile Women is a bold book and one that will stir others to return to the text and address the range of questions it unleashes about the early church, the divide between the public and private, Paul's teaching of ekklessia and its practice of liberty for all regardless of gender. What role did the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE play in the process that led to a reaction to gender equality and separation of the Jesus movement from Judaism is left to be explored more fully. This book is an excellent resource for undergraduate, graduate and seminary classes in New Testament and Pauline Studies. Particularly helpful is its feminist reading that makes visible the role of women and gender in the early church. The index and notes offer important guides for the argument. It is a rich synthesis of scholarship at the service of an original thesis." --Sanford Lakoff