Search — Theology Explorer

αὐθεντικός (authentikos)

original, authentic, authoritative; relating to the source or master

αὐτοδικεῖν (autodikein)

to plead one's own cause; to act as one's own advocate (Attic Greek equivalent of authentein)

ἀργός (argos)

idle, inactive, useless; also the eighth astrological house (house of death)

dominare / dominari (dominare)

to rule, to dominate, to lord it over (Latin; used to translate authenteō in the Vulgate)

στρατηγός (strategos)

general, commander; magistrate, police captain (civic official in Hellenistic and Roman contexts)

στῦλος (stylos)

pillar, column; used metaphorically of the church as the pillar and support of truth

λαμβάνω (lambano)

to take, to receive, to accept; foundational verb of reception and appropriation

τούτων (touton)

of these, over these; genitive plural pronoun in the authenteō papyrus

περιερχόμεναι τὰς οἰκίας (perierchomenai tas oikias)

going about from house to house (1 Tim 5:13); possibly alludes to astrological house-progressions

κοινωνία (koinonia)

sharing, participation, fellowship, communion

προφητεύσουσιν (prophēteusousin)

they will prophesy (future active indicative, 3rd plural)

נְבִיאָה (nĕbî'āh)

prophetess (feminine of נָבִיא)

צָרַעַת (ṣāraʿat)

skin disease / ritual leprosy (Lev 13-14)

women in ministry bypassing scripture presuppositions

The biggest problem in the women in ministry debate is that people have rules that bypass scripture entirely, preventing biblical thinking.

Framing the central thesis of this video

women in ministry secondary issue church hurt

Women in ministry is a secondary issue — not about the gospel or salvation — but tensions are extremely high because of these pre-biblical mistakes.

Framing the central thesis of this video

complementarianism Alisa Childers women in online ministry

Women bloggers, podcasters, and YouTubers like Alisa Childers raise the same questions — she has more impact than most pastors.

Scope of practical questions raised by this debate

women correcting theology women serving communion soft complementarianism

Can a woman correct a man's theology? Can a woman serve communion? The uncertainty causes women to hold back even from things they could do.

Scope of practical questions raised by this debate

complementarianism Rebecca Merrill Groothuis permanent subordination

Groothuis's three qualifications — permanent, comprehensive, ontologically grounded — do not describe what complementarians actually believe or what the Bible teaches.

Mistake #4: Rebutting Groothuis's qualifications

Rebecca Merrill Groothuis Levites priestly roles

The Levite analogy: Levites had exclusive priestly roles based on tribal lineage (nature), not ability — yet non-Levites were not less human. Groothuis addresses but does not defeat this.

Mistake #4: Levite analogy against Groothuis

Rebecca Merrill Groothuis Levites prophets

Groothuis's rebuttal that prophets had more authority than Levites is a red herring — Levites were the regular, widespread spiritual authorities throughout Israel.

Mistake #4: Levite analogy — responding to Groothuis's counter

Levites Tom Schreiner Two Views on Women in Ministry

Tom Schreiner's response to Groothuis: egalitarians face the 'daunting prospect' of saying non-priestly Israelites had less dignity than Levites.

Mistake #4: Schreiner's critique of Groothuis

Discovering Biblical Equality domestic abuse complementarianism and abuse

Quote from Discovering Biblical Equality: complementarianism is 'by definition a system of permanently unequal power distribution' that creates conditions under which abuse flourishes.

Mistake #5: Academic version of the abuse argument

Three commitments: (2) Mike will not play games with polemic or moral pressure — the series will be easy to listen to because it is Bible study, not rhetoric.

Three things Mike will NOT do in this series

polemic moral pressure

Biblical examples of women who worked outside the home: Proverbs 31 woman (entrepreneur), Lydia (businesswoman), Priscilla (tentmaker).

Biblical counter-examples to women-only-at-home view

Prov 31 Lydia Priscilla

Titus 2:5 women and work Titus 2:5 historical context

Historical context: work often happened at home throughout history; the modern commute-to-work model is recent and should not be read into ancient texts.

Historical lens on 'working at home'

creation order Gen 2:7-25 adam naming animals

Reading of Genesis 2:7-25 with key observations: Adam made first, given commands alone, names animals alone, Eve made from Adam's rib.

Genesis 2 reading and initial observations

Philip Payne bone of my bones 2 Sam 5:1

Mike's rebuttal: 'bone of my bones' denotes familial connection but says nothing about authority being present or absent, shown by 2 Samuel 5:1 and Judges 9:2.

Evaluating Payne's 'bone of my bones' argument

Phyllis Trible God and the Rhetoric of Sexuality ha adam

Phyllis Trible's argument that Adam was a sexually undifferentiated 'earth creature' before Eve's creation, not male -- from 'God and the Rhetoric of Sexuality' (1978).

Egalitarian counter-argument to creation order

adam Phyllis Trible Gen 2:22-23

Mike's refutation of Trible: 'adam' is never used as 'earth creature' in Hebrew; in Genesis 2 it always refers to a male; and Genesis 2:23 ('ish') proves Adam was already male.

Refuting Trible's sexually undifferentiated adam theory

Philip Payne Discovering Biblical Equality Phyllis Trible

Trible's influence: her arguments are borrowed by Payne, 'Discovering Biblical Equality,' Tucker and Liefeld's 'Daughters of the Church,' and other egalitarian works.

Trible's scholarly influence despite flawed arguments

Gen 2:23 Phyllis Trible Gen 4:17

Phyllis Trible's objection to the naming argument: naming requires both 'call' and 'name' together in the sentence; Gen 2:23 lacks this formula.

Egalitarian counter-argument to naming = authority

Tom Schreiner Phyllis Trible qara

Schreiner's response to Trible: demanding both 'call' and 'name' is too rigid; the repetition of 'qara' (call) in Gen 2:19-23 links animal naming to Eve's naming.

Complementarian rebuttal on naming formula

Tom Schreiner Gen 2:23 Phyllis Trible

Trible's second objection: 'woman' is a common noun (gender classification), not a proper name -- Schreiner's reply: Adam classified animals the same way (types, not personal names).

Complementarian rebuttal on naming as classification

Phyllis Trible God and the Rhetoric of Sexuality naming as dominion

Trible acknowledges naming animals is an act of dominion (p. 97 of her book) but fails to separate Eve's naming from that context.

Internal inconsistency in Trible's argument

Discovering Biblical Equality Mary Conway naming as authority

Mary Conway's alternative approach to naming: it's an act of discernment, not authority, based on George Ramsey's 1988 paper.

Alternative egalitarian argument on naming

Linda Belleville Gen 3:16 sexual desire interpretation

Mike's critique of Belleville's sexual desire interpretation: it doesn't describe a recognizable perennial problem for women and doesn't feel like a curse.

Problems with the sexual desire interpretation

Gen 3:16 curse vs. prescription description vs. prescription

Mike's conclusion on Gen 3:16: Eve's desire is to rule/control her husband, but the husband will rule over her -- this is NOT a healthy or ideal situation; it's a description of the fall's consequences.

Mike's interpretation of Genesis 3:16

Colossians 4:15 Discovering Biblical Equality Nympha Lynn Cohick

Nympha in Colossians 4:15 -- Lynn Cohick's claim she led a house church

Mike begins examining individual women named in the NT, starting with Nympha.

Romans 16:3 Philippians 4:3 Tom Schreiner Two Views on Women in Ministry Mary

Tom Schreiner's refutation: co-worker/labor terms are too vague to indicate leadership

Mike reads a lengthy quote from Tom Schreiner (Two Views, pp. 280-281).

false positives in exegesis egalitarian evidence critique

Fishing analogy: egalitarians reel in 'false positives' for women in leadership

Mike uses an analogy to describe the egalitarian evidence pattern.

pastor vs. elder vs. deacon church terminology

The term 'pastor' is used in confusing ways; may describe deacon-level work

Mike distinguishes between the biblical office and modern church usage.

1 Timothy 5:9-10 Linda Belleville elder presbuteros

Belleville's case for women elders from 1 Timothy 5:9-10 (enrolled widows)

Mike examines Belleville's argument that enrolled widows were functioning as elders.

1 Timothy 3 1 Timothy 3 apostolic doctrine elder teaching role

Elders as official teachers carrying apostolic doctrine

Mike describes the teaching function of elders.

John Piper John Piper complementarian overcorrection Pharisaical over-regulation

'Paranoid masculinity': over-regulation of gender roles in complementarian circles

Mike coins a term for a problem he sees in complementarian practice.