Cheryl Schatz

Kristen, you said to Mark:

Yes, I argue that the New Testament is silent about men having authority over women based on their gender alone. It seems to me that silence is a very good argument here. If you want to add male authority to the mix, you are doing so in spite of the silence of the Bible on this issue.

Your point is well taken. In this instance silence is important. If we can add “authority” into passages that are silent about the authority, then we could be tempted to add into the passage anything we want. That would not be safe. Authority is not something that can be assumed. It must be given and if God doesn’t give it (i.e. He is silent) then it is a highly important silence.