Women in the Early Church: Message of the Fathers of the Church Book

This book was required reading for my early church history class. I was both intrigued and disturbed as I read through this compilation of Christian writings from the first few centuries. It's sad to see how the teachings of Jesus and the apostles, which had done so much to promote women above the roles their culture required of them, were abandoned by the church in just a few generations. I was disappointed to see so many otherwise admirable and godly people allow the sexism of their day to affect their theology. I was also troubled by the obsessive asceticism of the Christian culture. The more I read about early Christian history, the more my impression changes. I had once thought that the first few centuries of the church would hold relatively true to the Biblical teaching of Christ, and a good example to look back to. Now I wonder. Still it's very useful to look back upon their errors and learn how much the attitudes of one's culture can affect one's theological interpretation.