Cindy K

Don,

I like your answer here.  As a once serious student of Greek, Paul is very complex.  He uses allusions and complex poetic devices.  He uses complex literary devices sometimes.  Other places he is very straightforward, but his style is quite advanced and very clever.

That’s another thing that just confounds me about this gender business.  People don’t talk about the context and often fail to consider the many things to which Paul alludes.  Ephesians 5:25-26 makes a reference back to the Hebrew word for holiness and it’s similarities to the word “married.”   Christ as our sanctification speaks of and alludes to Christ as the one who marries us, relating back to the Hebrew.  We have a more clear-cut example of how Paul used these types of references when he spoke at Mars Hill — using the people’s own literary references to open up a new perspective for them to see Christ.  Yet the significance of Paul’s skill and ability to craft these lovely literary devices is not taught as part of interpreting many of his writings in fullness.

Frankly, it does not speak well about the exegetical skill of those who frame out these arguments.  Aren’t all these complementarian teachers all supposed to be Bible scholars?  And in the process, we lose a beautiful aspect of appreciation for the Word of God as well.  It marginalizes the Word of God — Jesus, the Word made flesh.  But why does that not surprise me?

Okay.  Rant over.  Back to regular programming.

And I want to say that I appreciate Don for having appreciation for the lovely complexities that comes through the reading of Greek.  I’m no expert by any stretch of the imagination, but this honor for the Greek texts really shines through in his comments for me.  And all glory to God for it who has opened his understanding and his heart to receive it.  May the Holy Spirit work this into all believers and students of Holy Scripture.  I think that we tend to forget that it is Holy, Inspired and Effective.