gengwall

Craig – I like your outline of what Merkle might argue and you are probably right because the arguments often follow that line of thinking. The only problem is that it is all conjecture. 1 Tim 2 says nothing of the sort. Comps always start with the empty presumption that male authority is a fact and then read that presumption into the text. It is circular reasoning at its worst.

“So it leaves the door open to believe that Paul could be using Adam and Eve in 1 Tim 2 for a specific situation occurring in Ephesus. Thanks Kristen for mentioning this and also Elaine (back @41).”

And, of course, that is what Cheryl argues here. 1 Tim 2 speakes to a specific situation in Ephesus but it isn’t the situation of women being deceived. That is where the train goes off the tracks. Everything is singular in this section of the chapter. A group is not in view. Nor is the setting the church (Paul left church gatherings in verse 10). And authority structures are only remotely related to the discussion. Comps get all three of these fundimental elements completely wrong. They think the passage is ALL about women in the church setting as it primarily relates to authority structures. They have this belief not because the text in any way supports it, but because of their presumptions about women, church, and authority.

BUT, there is universal application – some people who are deceived and therefor sin in ignorance, like Eve (and like Paul in chapter 1), can be saved if they and those close to them take certain action.

Webb’s error, in my mind, is focusing on the cultural bias that women are easily deceived. He and many comps perceive that that is what Paul is alluding to by invoking Adam and Eve. As usual, the text doesn’t support that focus. But once they are stuck there, well, they are stuck there. Their whole hermenuetic revolves around that erroneous focus.