Susanna Krizo

Cheryl, I agree with you. I find that complementarian theology fails to discern between the secular and spiritual usage of words. Just because Plato, Plutarch and Philo gave a word a specific meaning does not necessitate that biblical writers gave the word the same meaning considering their outlook on life was quite different. To use the worn out cliche: not every gay person is happy, nor is every gay person a homosexual. It is imperative that we discern the meaning the writer gives the word without assuming he or she is using the word in the similar fashion to other writers. This becomes acutely evident when we realize that kephale (head) was given the meaning “ruler” by Augustine because of his synthesis of neo-Platonism with his theology. Plato taught a soul-body dichotomy in which the sinful body was ruled by the soul. Augustine borrowed the concept in his interpretation of Eph 5: the head rules over the body. But note that he did not compromise his Christology in such manner, for he continued to argue with others that kephale in 1 Cor 11.3 meant “beginning” and he rejected every attempt to make the Son subject to the Father by assigning kephale the meaning “ruler” in 1 Cor 11.3.