230 Craig,

You said:

One of the staff at my church said egals use a “different hermeneutic”. I have often heard comps say it is a “liberal hermeneutic”. I don’t really understand what they mean, what is “liberal” about it, and why they say this. It doesn’t seem “liberal” at all to me.

Many people using “thought stopping” words that are designed to paint certain people as bad. This technique is used to stop others from considering the opposing argument instead of using the Biblical way of refuting bad arguments with gentleness and respect for the brother or sister we disagree with.

Recently I listened to a program where the Christian host used sarcasm, loaded language and misrepresentation to make another brother in Christ appear in a very bad light to the host’s audience. The issue had nothing to do with women in ministry at all and I did not bring it up. I emailed the host and with gentleness and respect, I reminded the host that we are commanded to love our brothers in Christ. If we have a disagreement with them we are to bring out the truth and refute error, but we are to do it with gentleness and respect. My advice was not accepted and I became the next one to be misrepresented. In a subsequent radio interview on someone’s else’s show, the first host related the email that was sent to him and he said it was from an “egalitarian” woman who said he was “mean and nasty”. What was the purpose of calling me an “egalitarian”? I had not mentioned it and the only way he could know it would be to google my name. The issue of egalitarianism was not the issue where we disagreed, but it was a “tool” to disregard me. It was an easy way for him to set aside my advice to him and cause people to see me as being the bad person. Then he misrepresented me as writing things I never wrote. What I did tell him was that mockery of a Christian brother was not the way of the Master. I did not all him names, nor attack his character. I reminded him of the goal that he had set up for his program concerning gentleness and reverence. Those who want to follow Jesus are commanded to love their brothers and to treat them as dearly loved brothers who belong to the same Lord and Master. It is my opinion that if you have to misrepresent your opposition and you fail to care about genuine brothers or sisters in Christ, then you have already lost the argument.

Many here may remember a complementarian accusing me of paying too much attention to the words and grammar of the Scripture. Those who pay attention to the inspired text, the inspired grammar and the inspired context are not liberals who place their own tradition as having more value than what God has said. The egalitarians here have shown that they are very interested in what God has to say and they want to know what the original languages mean so that they can truly understand God. Those who would call us “liberals” may be guilty of trying to win an argument by name calling rather than by rolling up their sleeves to get deep into the text with us.

The older I get, the more I realize that there are many who do not love truth more than they love their own position. When they find they cannot answer arguments or questions, they do not consider why. They just do the only thing they believe they can in the situation and that is to call names, question motives, attack the character of the opposition and run away. What does a person do about people who have dug their heels in and become abusive? Even a couple of years ago I used to think that if I was persistent, they were bound to see their error and consider what I have to say about the inspired text. But now I realize that it is an act of grace to let them leave. I realize that God doesn’t expect that I have the power to persuade everyone. What I can do is be faithful, be truthful and be gracious while speaking the truth with love. And maybe just maybe if I do not treat the opposition with unkindness and disrespect they may in their private times alone with their thoughts consider the seed that has been planted and God may cause that seed to grow at some point.

I now realize that it is okay for me to fail. I will continue to learn and grow and to become even more confident in the Scriptures as I treat the Word with respect as I hang on to each and every word that God has breathed out. In the end my success is not how many people are convinced that I understand the truth about a difficult passage. My success will come in standing before God and having Him say that I have been faithful in the handling of His word.

Craig, you really opened a can of worms inside my head with your question. I just had to come out of my sabbatical to give this “rant” about the importance of gentleness and respect rather than name calling. After all, one day we will surely find an area where we have not understood correctly and we will be greatly blessed by having our understanding challenged by a brother or sister in Christ who is able to speak truth to us in gentleness and respect so that we can hear and have a safe place to change our minds.

I really love you guys and miss you a lot. I just need this extra time away for some very needed rest. 🙂