Not allowing women to teach: Shaky theological ground

Yes. Thanks John Mark.

Excellent post.

Grudem is part of the CBMW and I have acknowledged in the post the disagreement they have with the egalitarian position. Grudem and Bob Harrington can try to predict that egalitarians will go down the liberal path but there is very little evidence that evangelical egalitarians who have a high view of Scripture will go down this path. There have been Christians for many years who have had women involved in ministry and who have not permitted the ordination of practicing homosexuals. William Webb, Gordon Fee, Craig Keener, Richard Hays, Scot McKnight, CBE, and any other egalitarian evangelical scholar you can care to name has explicitly made clear the difference between the issue of women in ministry and the issue of those involved in homosexual behavior. Even most complementarians acknowledge these are very different issues. Essentially Bob is concerned that egalitarians are going soft on Scripture whereas I would argue that the egalitarian position is more faithful to Scripture(period). The complementarians are faithful to one verse (as they see it 1 Tim 2:12) whereas egalitarians are faithful to the whole counsel of God.

On the difference between homosexuality and gender, see William Webb’s article “Gender Equality and Homosexuality” in Discovering Biblical Equality (the book I have recommended above). See also Richard Hay’s chapter on Homosexuality in Moral Vision of the New Testament, which is outstanding.

Webb argues that women are steadily being given more freedom and responsibility in the New Testament wheras we do not see this same movement with regard to those involved in homosexual behavior.

The other issue that Bob Harrington brings up has to do with Ephesians 5. Again, I will let the people in Discovering Biblical Equality do my heavy lifting. See I. Howard Marshall’s “Mutual Love and Submission in Marriage: Colossians 3:18-19 and Ephesians 5:21-33” and Kevin Giles’s “The Subordination of Christ and the Subordination of Women.”

Again, I will let people read those chapters as opposed to arguing about an issue in blog comments.

The Apostle Paul in his letters defeat this idea that another human being has the right to forbid another human being from speaking on the basis of gender … for one must speak forth in order to testify of Jesus. Is that not our witness?

To discriminate against women by saying she is somehow incomplete would defy Paul’s admonition that “IN CHRIST we are all complete lacking nothing.” Ephesians: “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:” II Timothy “And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”

As a women, can I not apply this word to myself? Do I not have the mind of Christ? Have I not gained wisdom also?

Does Revelation speak the truth? Rev 19:10 “I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

Joel 2:28 “And it shall come to pass afterward, [that] I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:”

Acts 2:17 At Pentecost: “And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:”

This is a very serious matter.

Paul defeats this idea when he speaks of the priesthood of every believer. IN Christ…the God-Head is represented. That is why we need “no man to teach us.” This is what makes Christianity different from every other religion.

The complimentary view is just plain nonsense and requires one to take a pair of scissors and just extract enormous amounts of passages that speak to the equality of men and women (Old and New) throughout the entire Bible. In this letter to Timothy, Paul was trying to suppress a few women who did not hold to the correct view of the resurrection. It is clear that it bugged him that these women (using their new freedom in Christ) would try to usurp male authority. Why is that? In that society, it was against the civil and religious law for women to usurp any male authority…they could be imprisoned, or divorced for doing so. Is it not logical that in that day, Paul would not allow that and attempt to get rid of this heresy? Women during this time, simply had no civil rights and no social rights but I am sure with the coming of Christ this new freedom to speak out was abused on occasion. Consider that marriages were arranged and male promiscuity was rampant. A women and her inheritance were always the property of her husband by law unless she was widowed.

Silence simply doesn’t work and neither can it be enforced. It is first of all impossible for any human being to remain totally in silence. Have you ever tried to remain silent when the Holy Spirit is moving within? To test this doctrine, I repressed my speech for three months it was a battle that failed because I could not totally suppress the Holy Spirit within me. I failed but the of test this doctrine proved that it was error. It was the most depressing experience of my religious life.

I no longer will be a part of any church fellowship who hold to such nonsense. This is one of the most divisive doctrines in the church today and it destroys unity. It is also destroying marriages and is often the root of all conflict in relationships…ie one acting as superior to the other resulting in control issues.

No gender is superior to the other.