Alison

I think you’ve hit the nail on the head, Cheryl. The ideas presented by a lot of complementarians are entirely man-centered. God “ain’t got nuttin’ to do wit’ it”.

The problem comes when we start pointing out the contradictions. We get accused of being “out of submission”, “prideful”, “after the flesh”, etc., when they don’t see just how they’re being the things they accuse us of. But since they’re men, it’s ok. They can get away with it, since the Word of God (at first blush) oh-so-conveniently justifies what they think.

Sorry for the sarcasm. I think I made my morning cappucino a little too strong. I think at root is pride (their own). Some of these people think they can never be wrong, and so, they make women teaching a “salvic issue” in order to give themselves the ultimate authority. This is no more and no less than idolatry. I was actually considering at one point (before I discovered your blog) of becoming more complementarian (that’s what I thought a good evangelical “should be”) but I now know that I can be a good evangelical can be an egalitarian as well. I’m now happy that I can read your work, since it exposes the idolatry that lies at the heart of a lot of complementarian theology, and the pride that is underneath it. Keep up the good work, Cheryl.