Wyatt Graham

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egalitarianism

How Did Paul’s Contemporaries Understand His Instructions on Women in the Church?

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In our day and in the Western world, 1 Timothy 2 might be the most controversial passage in the Bible. Here, Paul writes, “A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet” (2:11–12). While Paul certainly seems to limit a woman’s authority and instruct women to be quiet or silent, many are not convinced. They argue that Paul simply did not want certain women in the church to assume authority over a man. And in reality, Paul had a more egalitarian outlook.

But evidence from the first-century writer Clement shows that he sees the instruction for women be quiet as a general pattern of good behaviour. Before looking at Clement, I want to consider two egalitarian arguments that Paul does not forbid women from teaching in the church. [Read more…] about How Did Paul’s Contemporaries Understand His Instructions on Women in the Church?

What Is the Complementarian Movement?

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Over its long history, the church has appointed men into the episcopate, although women participated in other forms of leadership (e.g., the being part of the diaconate).

But in the late twentieth century, Western Christians became increasingly uneasy with a male only episcopate. If the Spirit gifts Christians, why cannot women do everything that men can do? Why cannot women become pastors, elders, or the equivalent?

In response to this sentiment, a number of Evangelical leaders coined the term complementarianism to promote what they see as a traditional and biblical understanding of gender.[1] Complementarians teach that God created men and women to be equal in worth but diverse in roles. So, for example, complementarians reserve the role of elder/pastor/bishop for men alone. In contrast, egalitarians argue that men and women can equally participate in roles and so women should be allowed access to the episcopate.

Here’s a brief sketch of the Complementarian Movement’s (CM) history. [Read more…] about What Is the Complementarian Movement?

Review: Paul and Gender by Cynthia Westfall

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Westfall, Cynthia. Paul and Gender: Reclaiming the Apostle’s Vision for Men and Women in Christ. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2016. Pp. xix +347. ISBN 9780801097942. $32.99 USD [Softcover]. Source for Book Cover.

Cynthia Westfall’s work Paul and Gender will likely become the standard evangelical work on Paul’s understanding of gender in the Bible. Westfall thoroughly exegetes the key biblical texts and avoids writing a book merely on women’s issues or on controversial biblical passages on women in the church.

Pastors and biblical students should read Paul and Gender to understand the contemporary discussion on the topic. Complementarian readers should especially invest time in reading Westfall because she presents a well-argued and biblical rationale for an egalitarian reading of Paul. Westfall’s monograph is not without its negatives, and Westfall’s arguments for an egalitarian Paul run into numerous problems. [Read more…] about Review: Paul and Gender by Cynthia Westfall

Jory Micah: If Matt Chandler Had a Degree, Sopposedly He’d Be an Egalitarian

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William Murphy. Source.
William Murphy. Source. CC BY-SA 2.0

Recently Jory Micah, a relatively well-known advocate of women pastors, argued that Matt Chandler teaches the most unjust evangelical doctrine (that women cannot be pastors) and that this is due to his lack of seminary education. She continued to criticize Chandler on Twitter and explain her position:

In Micah’s view, male pastors without seminary education like Chandler push complementarian teachings because they are insecure, thus perpetuating the injustice of sending women to seminary without the possibility of receiving a pastoral position.

And this scenario in which a woman goes to seminary without gaining a pastoral position is what makes complementarianism the most unjust doctrine of evangelicalism. Seminaries admit female students with the promise of a pastoral career, which does not materialize and female students are left with 80 grand in debt (see also: here):

I find Micah’s critique of Chandler and of evangelicalism’s supposedly most unjust doctrine wanting. In fact, I find her critique of Chandler to be unfounded, assuming that an educated person could only hold to the egalitarian position (women can be pastors). I also find her critique of evangelicalism to be parochial, something that can only proffered in America which is supposedly the centre of the evangelical faith. [Read more…] about Jory Micah: If Matt Chandler Had a Degree, Sopposedly He’d Be an Egalitarian