Search — Theology Explorer

1 Corinthians 11:3 Craig Keener 1 Corinthians 11:3 cultural vs. transcultural

Keener's response: if kephale means authority, it's purely cultural -- Mike's rebuttal

Mike challenges the 'cultural authority' escape hatch.

Ephesians 5:22-24 1 Corinthians 11:8-9 Ephesians 5:22-24 1 Corinthians 11:8-9 cultural hermeneutics

Evidence that headship is transcultural: creation order, Ephesians 5, and the danger of cultural relativism

Mike builds his case that headship is not culturally bound.

Cynthia Thompson Ramsey MacMullen Corinth archaeology

Artwork evidence: mostly shows women without coverings, but mainly rich women

Mike surveys archaeological evidence from Corinth.

Ephesians 5 Ephesians 5 gyne aner

Question 9: Is this about men/women generally or husbands/wives specifically?

Mike examines the woman/wife ambiguity in the Greek.

honor chain headship chain Gospel of John

Glory as honor connects the entire passage: headship chain produces honor chain

Mike shows how the honor interpretation unifies the passage.

1 Corinthians 11:5 1 Corinthians 11:5 logical contradiction argument women prophesying

Style Argument 3: The verses logically contradict 1 Corinthians 11:5

Mike addresses the argument that these verses contradict Paul's earlier allowance of women prophesying.

Genesis 1-2 1 Peter 3 Ephesians (submission teaching) submission Genesis 1-2 1 Peter 3

The refutation view has Paul rejecting submission -- something he teaches everywhere else

Mike points out that the refutation view would have Paul rejecting the concept of wifely submission.

1 Corinthians 11:5 1 Corinthians 11:2-6 head coverings 1 Corinthians 11:5 women prophesying

Utter Silence View Hinge 2: 1 Corinthians 11 proves women could prophesy publicly in church

Mike presents the strongest challenge to the utter silence view from within the same letter.

submission Anthony Thiselton marriage authority

The scenario of a wife judging her husband's prophecy illustrates the authority problem

Mike illustrates why judging prophecy creates a specific submission/authority issue.

1 Corinthians 14:35 1 Corinthians 14:35 gune (woman/wife) women vs. wives debate

Side issue: Does this passage address women in general or wives specifically?

Mike briefly addresses whether 'women' (gunai) should be translated as 'wives.'

role differences egalitarianism authority

Definition of egalitarianism as one of three positions in the debate

Mike defines the three sides of the debate, starting with egalitarianism.

Colossians Ephesians 5:23 1 Peter 3:1 kephale headship mutual submission

Ephesians 5:23 — headship extends to all marriages, not just Adam and Eve

Mike shows NT application of headship to marriage in general.

1 Timothy 3:2 elder qualifications 1 Timothy 3:2 husband of one wife

1 Timothy 3:2 — 'husband of one wife' means only men can be elders

Mike argues the elder qualifications confirm male-only eldership.

1 Timothy 3:11 1 Timothy 3:12 1 Timothy 3:11 1 Timothy 3:12 deacons

Argument from 1 Timothy 3 structure: verse 11 about women confirms the rest is about men

Mike presents a structural argument from 1 Timothy 3 about elders and deacons.

1 Corinthians 14 Titus 1:6 1 Corinthians 14 apostleship Titus 1:6

Additional evidence: Titus 1:6, male-only apostles, biblical rules about NT prophecy

Mike stacks additional scriptural evidence for Pillar 2.

Ephesians 5:25-27 abuse prevention Ephesians 5:25-27 self-sacrifice

Ephesians 5:25 — husbands must self-sacrificially love like Christ

Mike presents husbandly self-sacrifice as an essential part of the biblical framework.

self-sacrifice egalitarian critique strawman arguments

A Christian marriage requires a husband willing to die for his wife

Mike pushes back on both patriarchalists who neglect sacrifice and egalitarians who strawman complementarianism.

Ephesians 6:1-2 parental authority Ephesians 6:1-2 women's authority over children

Three areas where the Bible speaks of women having authority: (1) over children

Mike begins listing specific biblical domains of women's authority.

1 Timothy 5:14 1 Timothy 5:14 oikodespoteo household management

Three areas of women's authority: (2) managing the household — 1 Timothy 5:14

Mike identifies household management as a domain of women's authority.

1 Corinthians 7:3-5 1 Corinthians 7:3-5 conjugal rights mutual authority

Three areas of women's authority: (3) over husband's body — 1 Corinthians 7:3-5

Mike presents conjugal rights as a domain of shared authority.

1 Corinthians 7:5 qualified submission 1 Corinthians 7:5 marital dynamics

Qualified submission — not unqualified 'just submit woman'

Mike argues submission in marriage is qualified, not absolute.

1 Timothy 2:12-14 1 Corinthians 14:33-35 1 Timothy 2:12-14 1 Corinthians 14:33-35 creation to marriage to ministry

The flow from creation to marriage to eldership suggests principles are not totally isolated

Mike argues the softest complementarian view of totally isolated rules seems artificial.

1 Samuel 25 Acts 5:29 David Abigail 1 Samuel 25

Abigail in 1 Samuel 25 — a positive example of a wife righteously subverting her husband's authority

Mike uses Abigail as a biblical example showing limits on female submission.

Luke 8:1-3 Proverbs 31:16-24 Acts 16:14 Lydia Priscilla Aquila

Proverbs 31 woman, Lydia, Priscilla, and women sponsors of Jesus as examples of women working

Mike gives biblical examples of women working outside the home.

women in ministry Joanna home vs career

Joanna as married woman traveling with Jesus on ministry — patriarchalists would object

Mike highlights Joanna as a case many patriarchalists would reject.

Christ and the church grudging complementarian heart transformation

It's not good enough to grudgingly believe complementarianism — must see it as good and beautiful

Mike addresses the heart posture needed beyond intellectual agreement.

Mike Winger idea 2023-11-22

Wives vs. women debate: does gyne mean 'wives' or 'women'?

Mike addresses the egalitarian argument (promoted by Cynthia Long Westfall) that 1 Tim 2 is about husbands and wives, not men and women generally.

1 Timothy 2:11-12 gyne aner church governance

Mike Winger idea 2017-12-27

Tip 7: Take practical steps — lofty goals require specific, actionable commitments

Seventh and final tip. Mike insists that all the prior steps require concrete behavioral change to produce results.

marriage self-control practical discipleship

Mormon theology Heavenly Father God was once a man

Mormon definition of God: 'Heavenly Father,' a being who was once a man, died, was resurrected, and progressively became God — and has a wife.

The Mormon conception of God is radically different from the Christian one, beginning with the claim that God was once a human being.

Mormon Christology pre-existence spirit children

Mormon definition of Jesus: born in the pre-existence as a spirit child of Heavenly Father and his wife, one of many spirit children — and Satan's brother.

The Mormon Jesus was not eternally pre-existent as God but was the first spirit-born child of the physical Heavenly Father and Mother.

eternal progression spirit children LDS soteriology

Mormon definition of exaltation: becoming a god, populating your own world with spirit children, and perpetuating the cycle of eternal progression infinitely.

The Mormon concept of exaltation goes far beyond Christian glorification — it involves deification and cosmic reproduction.