Bonnie Thurston examines the personalities, place, and power of women in the New Testament. She provides a cultural and religious context for them by briefly outlining the position of women in the Greco-Roman world. The aim is to reveal the ways in which early Christianity attempted to liberate people from oppression (particularly patriarchy), as well as to point out the places and ways in which the early Christian community compromised with the dominant society.

Bonnie Thurston is a native of southern West Virginia, and lives near Wheeling, WV, having resigned the William F. Orr Professorship in New Testament at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary in 2002. She earned the BA in English from Bethany College, and MA and PhD degrees from the University of Virginia. Bonnie has written or edited eighteen theological books and many articles, has contributed to reference works in New Testament and taught at the university level for thirty years. Her scholarly interests in New Testament include the gospels of Mark and John, the Deutero-Pauline canon and, more generally, the history of Christian Spirituality and prayer. She was ordained in 1984 and has served as co-pastor, pastor, or interim of five churches and twice in overseas ministries. She is an experienced spiritual director and retreat leader. Her poetry frequently appears in religious periodicals, and she has authored five volumes of verse. Bonnie is a widow, an avid reader, gardener and cook, enjoys classical music and loves the West Virginia hills.