Junia is Not Alone by Scot McKnight (Book Review)

Do you read fiction or non-fiction?

I read both!

I read fiction to get a feel for how to write fiction.

I read non-fiction to portray my historical fictional settings and characters more realistically.

Christian nonfiction frames Christian fiction. Egalitarian scholarship enlightens how to portray women in the bible in ministry & leadership.

Below are a few of the books I read this spring. This post is a book review of Junia Is Not Alone.

Five recent reads

Book Review: Junia is Not Alone

Author: Dr Scot McKnight has written over 50 books and is most known for The Jesus Creed: Loving God, Loving Others". After several decades of teaching at Northern Seminary, he now teaches at Houston Theological Seminary, specializing in New Testament and the historical Jesus.

Publisher: ‎ Patheos Press, 22 pages, 2011

Genres: Non-fiction, Christian Essay, 30-minute Kindle e-reads, Gender and Religion.

Why I Chose It:

My historical fiction features Junia the Apostle as a main character, so I wondered what insights this theologian offered about her.

From the Amazon book blurb:

"In this fierce essay, leading Bible scholar Scot McKnight tells the story of Junia, a female apostle honored by Paul in his Letter to the Romans—and then silenced and forgotten for most of church history.

But Junia’s tragedy is not hers alone. She’s joined by fellow women in the Bible whose stories of bold leadership have been overlooked. She’s in the company of visionary women of God throughout the centuries whose names we’ve forgotten, whose stories go untold, and whose witness we neglect to celebrate.

But Junia is also joined by women today—women who are no longer silent and who are experiencing a re-voicing as they respond to God’s call to lead us into all truth.

Conclusion:

*Junia is Not Alone by Scot McKnight, a brief nonfiction affirming that Junia was both a female and an apostle. Scot McKnight does not so much explore Junia, where she may have been imprisoned, where she may have ministered, how she may have been related to Paul, or how she may have earned the title "outstanding among the apostles (Romans 16:7).

Instead, this essay's focus is on how the church and Bible translators have intentionally hidden or sidelined Junia and her ministry, and proclaims that Junia is not the only woman in ministry in the Bible or in church history who has been sidelined or forgotten. The church has traditionally preached about male protagonists and expected women to try to relate to men's stories. The author appeals to the reader to preach or teach using a balance of stories featuring both proactive women and men in the Bible and early church. He also asks us to seek out women today who are like Junia, gifted by God to speak and teach, and to enable them to follow their call.

This simple essay is a quick read, but the church has been slow to act on the call to put it into practice. Perhaps it would make a change if each of us could tell the stories of bold women of faith in the Bible and early church, and encourage women today to preach, teach, and follow their calling wherever it leads.

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Elaine Ricker Kelly Author is empowering women with historical fiction about women in the Bible and early church and Christian blogs about women in leadership, church history and doctrine. Her books include:

• Forgotten Followers from Broken to Bold, Book 1, A Novel (2022)

• The Sword: A Fun Way to Engage in Healthy Debate on What the Bible Says About a Woman's Role (2023)

• Because She Was Called from Broken to Bold, Book 2, A Novel of the Early Church (2024)

• Walk with Mara on Her Healing Journey: 21 Steps to Emotional Resilience (2024)

• Finding Her Voice from Broken to Bold, Book 3, Acts of Early Female Apostles: A Novel (2025)