Cheryl Schatz

Amla,

Welcome!  Thanks for your comments.

I have not taken John MacArthur’s comments out of context at all.  In fact in my DVD where I refute his exegesis of the hard passages of scripture, I received permission to use his quotes and even gave his organization a copy of my DVD for their review.  I have been very careful to let Dr. MacArthur speak for himself.  In the introduction to my DVD (which can be viewed here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0e9TL5TWdac) I make it clear that Dr. MacArthur and other men like him are not our enemies but are our brothers in Christ, but the doctrine in this area is faulty.

We must be very careful to take scripture in its context and not helicpoter verses out of context.  We also need to be very careful not to accept tradition that doesn’t match up with the scripture.  This is where we run into trouble, if we do not test everything by God’s word.  Even a well respected leader and bible teacher must be tested by God’s word.  Paul commended the Bereans for their willingness to check even this great Apostle against the Old Testament scriptures to make sure that what he said was God’s truth.

You said:

Do study 1 Corint 11, go back to the original text, he is not making it up, he is teaching God’s word. I believe God had a good reason for having Paul wrote those things.

I also believe that God had a good reason for having Paul write the hard passages of scripture.  Unfortunately people like John MacArthur mix in tradition with the biblical text.  1 Cor. 11, for example, does not teach that it is shameful for men to have long hair.  Paul himself took a Nazirite vow and this vow says that one must let their hair grow out and then after the vow is completed both men and women who have taken the vow are to shave off their hair.  It is not a shame to have long hair at all and it was something that God required.

You mentioned that you do Precepts bible study.  I love those bible studies.  They are very well done studies by Kay Arthur.  Kary Arthur does not refuse to teach men.  She teaches whoever comes to her studies and she does not discriminate against men.

You also said:

I love knowing that the man is responsible and accountable for his wife…

Where is this found in scripture?  When Eve sinned, God did not call Adam to account for his wife.  Also when Ananias and Sapphira sinned, God did not hold Ananias accountable for his wife.  Both were accountable for their own sin.  It is a tradition in the church that men will be held accountable for their wives.  But scripture does not say this.

My DVD set on women in ministry was given to Kay Arthur’s organization and one of Kay’s teaching instructors reviewed it and said that there was a lot of things in the DVDs that really helped her and would set women free to serve.  I would encourage you to check out the evidence and test it against God’s word to see if what I teach is biblical.  Do not test by another teacher, such as John MacArthur.  Test things by the only reliable measuring stick that we have – and that is God’s word.

Keep up the good work in your bible studies!  The Precept courses are one of the best there is out there.  I have also been trained as an instructor.  I would never refuse to teach anyone who came to me to learn.  I would not refuse to share my gifts with someone because of their race, their social status or their gender.  What God has freely given to me is meant to be given freely to whoever wills to learn.  Priscillia did not shy away from teaching Apollos but shared from the wealth of knowledge that she had.  Priscillia was a woman of God who knew that God does not withhold his gifts from men.  I desire to be like her growing with wisdom and knowledge without prejudice.