Search — Theology Explorer

Philip Payne authority in ministry Great Commission

Payne's claim that Junia had 'authority as ministers of the gospel' is vague

Mike responds to Payne's claim about authority.

Philip Payne moral suspicion argument women following Jesus

Philip Payne's argument: traveling with Jesus full-time raised moral suspicions

Mike presents Payne's specific cultural argument.

John 4 Philip Payne woman at the well John 4

Mike's rebuttals to Payne: practical solutions and Jesus' counter-cultural behavior

Mike offers multiple objections to Payne's cultural argument.

Luke 7:36-50 Philip Payne anointing by sinful woman Luke 7:36-50

Jesus regularly broke cultural conventions and didn't avoid suspicion

Mike builds his case that Jesus was not concerned with cultural optics.

Philip Payne married disciples women following from Galilee

Payne's argument about married women's family obligations

Mike addresses Payne's second cultural objection.

Philip Payne woman at the well cultural restriction argument

Five objections to Payne's cultural argument summarized

Mike itemizes his objections to the cultural-restriction thesis.

1 Corinthians 12:7 Philip Payne spiritual gifts argument 1 Corinthians 12:7

Philip Payne's two-part argument: complementarians either assume God never gives women certain gifts OR they wrongly restrict those gifts

Mike presents Philip Payne's formulation of the gifts argument.

1 Corinthians 12:7 Philip Payne 1 Corinthians 12:7 common good

Second part of gifts argument: Philip Payne says gifts are 'for the common good' so you cannot restrict who a woman teaches

Mike addresses the more challenging claim from Payne.

1 Corinthians 12:7 Philip Payne 1 Corinthians 12:7 common good

Rebutting Payne's 'for the common good' argument: Paul meant gifts should benefit others, not that all gifts must be expressed Sunday morning in front of everyone

Mike directly addresses Philip Payne's use of 1 Corinthians 12:7.

Colossians 3:16 Philip Payne Colossians 3:16 teaching ministry

Rebutting Philip Payne's use of Colossians 3:16 to claim all Christians should have a teaching ministry

Mike addresses Payne's argument that Colossians 3:16 proves every woman should have a teaching ministry.

1 Corinthians 12:29-30 Philip Payne teaching ministry 1 Corinthians 12:29-30

1 Corinthians 12:29-30 — Paul's rhetorical questions show not everyone is supposed to teach

Mike cites Paul's own words against the idea that all Christians should have a teaching ministry.

Mike Winger idea 2022-06-20

Decision to focus analysis on Cynthia Westfall's chapter in Discovering Biblical Equality

Mike explains why he chose Westfall's work as the primary egalitarian argument to engage.

Philip Payne Discovering Biblical Equality Cynthia Long Westfall

Philip Payne Linda Belleville scholarly engagement

Invitation to scholars: Mike welcomes pushback from Linda Belleville, Philip Payne, and others

Mike extends an open invitation for egalitarian scholars he critiques to respond.

Philip Payne medical argument Plato

Philip Payne claims ancient Greek thought regarded the heart, not the brain, as the control center

Mike presents Philip Payne's version of the medical argument.

Philip Payne Plato Timaeus

Payne's Plato citation backfires: Plato actually says the heart is subservient to the head/reason

Mike examines the actual Plato passage Payne cites and finds it says the opposite of what Payne claims.

Philip Payne Rebecca Groothuis popular ancient belief

Payne also claims most people in Paul's day believed the heart controlled the body

Mike addresses Payne's broader claim about popular belief in the ancient world.

Philip Payne Galen Frank Freeman

Philip Payne's claim about Galen is factually false — Galen affirmed the brain controls cognition and willed action

Mike examines Payne's claim that Galen reasserted the primacy of the liver.

Mike Winger idea 2022-08-15

Introduction to Craig Keener's analysis of Ephesians 5

Mike introduces the scholar whose work will dominate the Ephesians 5 discussion.

Ephesians 5:18-6:9 Philip Payne Linda Belleville Craig Keener

Micah 6:4 Philip Payne Miriam textual stretching

Philip Payne also claims Miriam was 'sent by God to lead Israel' — Mike calls this reckless handling of the text.

Additional egalitarian scholar making the same claim

Jeremiah Zephaniah Nahum Philip Payne Craig Keener Paul, Women, and Wives

Egalitarian talking point: Huldah was chosen over contemporary male prophets Jeremiah, Zephaniah, Nahum, and Habakkuk.

Presenting the egalitarian case for Huldah's prominence

Deuteronomy 23:17 Philip Payne priesthood Deuteronomy 23:17

Egalitarian view #2 (Philip Payne): women couldn't be priests to prevent association with cult prostitution (Deuteronomy 23:17).

Second egalitarian explanation for the priesthood restriction

Deuteronomy 23:17 Philip Payne priesthood Deuteronomy 23:17

Rebuttal: Deuteronomy 23:17 prohibits BOTH male and female cult prostitutes — if this prohibition still allows men to be priests, it doesn't explain excluding women.

Refuting Payne's cult prostitution argument

Philip Payne kephale source meaning

The hairstyle view: Philip Payne's interpretation of 1 Corinthians 11

Mike presents the second of five interpretive approaches.

Payne's view: 'glory of God' and 'glory of man' have different meanings for men vs. women

Mike critiques Payne's inconsistent interpretation of 'glory.'

Philip Payne doxa glory

1 Corinthians 11:9 Philip Payne internal contradiction 1 Corinthians 11:9

Payne's view of verse 9: 'woman made for man' only means sexual partnership

Mike further critiques the sexual-partner interpretation.

1 Corinthians 11:10 Philip Payne 1 Corinthians 11:10 exousia

Payne on verse 10: the woman has authority (exousia), not under authority

Mike presents Payne's egalitarian reading of the authority verse.

1 Corinthians 11:11-12 Philip Payne egalitarianism 1 Corinthians 11:11-12

Payne on verses 11-12: Paul repudiates hierarchy of man over woman

Mike presents how Payne makes the passage actively egalitarian.

1 Corinthians 11:15 Philip Payne 1 Corinthians 11:15 peribolaion

Payne's pivotal claim: verse 15 shows hair done up IS the covering (not analogy)

Mike explains Payne's hinge interpretation of verse 15.

Philip Payne inconsistent interpretation katakalupto

Payne interprets the same Greek word differently for men vs. women

Mike identifies an inconsistency in Payne's interpretation of 'covering.'

Ephesians 5 1 Corinthians 11:11-12 Philip Payne kephale Ephesians 5

Push back on kephale as 'source': even if source, it still implies authority; verses 11-12 prove too much

Mike addresses two independent problems with the source interpretation.

Philip Payne peribolaion Alan Padgett

Alan Padgett and Philip Payne: even with equivalence, hair replaces cloth covering

Mike examines the revised arguments of hair-up proponents.

1 Corinthians 11:15 Philip Payne 1 Corinthians 11:15 logical flow

Payne's view causes the passage to lose logical flow

Mike shows structural problems with the hair-up interpretation.

Numbers 5:18 Philip Payne apokalupto Numbers 5:18

Numbers 5:18 (apokalupto) is a different word from what Paul uses

Mike addresses another piece of evidence from hair-up proponents.

1 Corinthians 11:6-7 Philip Payne inconsistent interpretation katakalupto

Philip Payne interprets katakalupto differently for men vs. women -- same word, contradictory meanings

Mike delivers what he considers a decisive critique of the hair-up view.

Philip Payne Plutarch Cynthia Thompson

Defense of Plutarch: he's speculating about funerals, not about the norms themselves

Mike counters the egalitarian dismissal of Plutarch's evidence.

James Hurley Philip Payne Craig Keener James Hurley

Craig Keener (egalitarian) agrees: cloth coverings, not hairstyles, are in view

Mike shows cross-position agreement on cloth coverings.

1 Corinthians 11:4 Philip Payne 1 Corinthians 11:4 Gordon Fee

Question 5 (labeled 8): What does Paul want men to do? Not wear coverings to maintain masculinity and headship

Mike applies conclusions to men's instructions.

1 Corinthians 11:9 Philip Payne Craig Keener 1 Corinthians 11:9

Egalitarians consistently ignore or absorb verse 9 into verse 8

Mike demonstrates the pattern of egalitarian avoidance of verse 9.

1 Corinthians 11:9 Philip Payne internal contradiction 1 Corinthians 11:9

Payne on verse 9: 'woman made for man' means sexual partnership -- creates a contradiction

Mike examines and refutes Payne's interpretation.