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All (2826) Scripture Commentary (1270) Theology (113) Mike Winger (1426) Pulpit (17)
Mike Winger idea 2022-04-13

Transition to deacons: eldership is male; deacons are the question

Mike frames the deacon discussion.

eldership women deacons deacons
Mike Winger idea 2022-04-13

Two reasons for women deacons and three counter-arguments

Mike lays out the debate structure on women deacons.

Romans 16:1-2 1 Timothy 3:11 Acts 6 women deacons Phoebe Romans 16:1-2
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-09

Romans 16:7 text and the translation debate on Junia

Mike reads the ESV translation of Romans 16:7 and introduces the translation controversy.

Romans 16:7 Junia Romans 16:7 Andronicus
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-09

Scholarly consensus favors inclusive reading (Junia as apostle)

Mike acknowledges the current state of scholarly opinion.

Romans 16:7 Romans 16:7 scholarly consensus NIV
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-09

Translation survey: inclusive vs. exclusive renderings of Romans 16:7

Mike surveys how various English translations handle the phrase.

Romans 16:7 Romans 16:7 Bible translations NKJV
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-09

Craig Keener's three arguments for Junia as apostle

Mike introduces egalitarian scholar Craig Keener's case.

Romans 16:7 egalitarianism Craig Keener Romans 16:7
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-09

Keener's first argument: Paul never elsewhere appeals to 'the apostles' as a group

Mike evaluates and rebuts Keener's first argument.

Romans 16:7 Galatians 2:9 Craig Keener apostolic authority Romans 16:7
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-09

Keener's third argument: Greek church fathers and modern scholars agree Junia was an apostle

Mike considers this the weightiest of Keener's three arguments.

Romans 16:7 John Chrysostom Craig Keener Romans 16:7 John Chrysostom
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-09

Counterargument: 'well-known among the apostles' proves too much given their obscurity

Mike offers a significant rebuttal to the highest-sense reading.

Romans 16:7 Galatians 2 Junia Romans 16:7 Andronicus
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-09

Junia was female — the debate is largely settled

Mike addresses the gender of Junia.

Junia Junias gender of Junia
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-09

Burer and Wallace 2001 paper defending exclusive reading of Romans 16:7

Mike introduces a key scholarly paper challenging the consensus.

Romans 16:7 Daniel Wallace Romans 16:7 Michael Burer Daniel Wallace
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-09

Burer-Wallace: 'snowballing dogma with little substance at its core'

Mike quotes from the paper's critique of the consensus.

Burer-Wallace paper (2001) lexical evidence syntactical evidence
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-09

Lexical evidence: episemos can mean either 'well-known among' or 'well-known to'

Mike explains the lexical analysis from the paper.

Romans 16:7 Romans 16:7 episemos/episemoi inclusive vs exclusive reading
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-09

Key distinction: inclusive vs. exclusive reading of episemoi en tois apostolois

Mike clarifies the two interpretive options.

Romans 16:7 Romans 16:7 episemoi en tois apostolois inclusive reading
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-09

Burer-Wallace syntactical argument: dative = 'well known to,' genitive = 'well known among'

Mike explains the core syntactical argument of the paper.

Romans 16:7 Romans 16:7 Burer-Wallace paper (2001) Greek syntax
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-09

Burer-Wallace conclusion: 'almost certainly' means well known to the apostles

Mike quotes the paper's strong conclusion.

Romans 16:7 NET Bible Romans 16:7 ESV
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-09

Michael Burer's 2015 response paper with new evidence

Mike introduces a third round of scholarly debate that he thinks is underappreciated.

Romans 16:7 Linda Belleville Romans 16:7 Michael Burer
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-09

Burer's 2015 paper brings 71 new supporting texts

Mike details the new evidence Burer marshals.

Romans 16:7 Romans 16:7 Michael Burer Burer 2015 paper
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-09

Burer responds to Bauckham's specific example critiques and addresses Chrysostom

Mike evaluates Burer's defense against Bauckham's objections.

John Chrysostom John Chrysostom Michael Burer Richard Bauckham
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-09

Mike's conclusion: no female apostles in the official high-leadership sense

Mike summarizes the positive data section.

women as apostles apostolic office egalitarian arguments refuted
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-09

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

Mike offers multiple objections to Payne's cultural argument.

John 4 Philip Payne woman at the well John 4
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-09

Egalitarian contradiction: cultural restriction vs. Junia's early prominence

Mike identifies an internal contradiction in egalitarian reasoning.

Junia cultural accommodation Pentecost
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-09

Pushback from previous video on female deacons and 1 Timothy 3:8-13

Mike responds to viewer objections about women as deacons.

1 Timothy 3:8-13 1 Timothy 3:8-13 deacon qualifications female deacons
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-30

Introduction: Mike feared he had not heard the best egalitarian arguments

Mike explains why he avoided answering women-in-ministry questions for years — he worried he had not been exposed to strong egalitarian arguments due to his complementarian upbringing.

complementarianism egalitarianism
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-30

Five egalitarian arguments previewed; first two are weak, last three are stronger

Mike previews the five arguments he will cover: persecution, rabbi-training, universal priesthood, prophecy, and spiritual gifts. He says the first two are weak but the last three challenged him and offer corrections for complementarians.

soft complementarianism complementarianism egalitarianism
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-30

Historical chauvinism and negative attitudes toward women have affected the church

Mike acknowledges that negative attitudes toward women exist in complementarian circles, rooted not just in biblical teaching but in broader cultural attitudes historically hostile to women.

misogyny in the church cultural influence on theology
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-30

Argument 1 preview: The persecution argument from N.T. Wright

Mike introduces the first argument: N.T. Wright claims that Paul persecuting women (Acts 8) proves women were leaders in the early church.

Acts 8 N.T. Wright Acts 8 persecution argument
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-30

Argument 2 preview: Jesus training women to be rabbis, not just disciples

The claim that Mary sitting at Jesus's feet (Luke 10) is a technical phrase meaning rabbinical training, implying Jesus intended women for eldership-level leadership.

Luke 10:39 N.T. Wright Luke 10:39 Mary and Martha
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-30

Argument 3 preview: Universal priesthood of believers means women can hold any ministry role

If all Christians are priests (including women), then women should be able to serve in any ministry role including eldership.

eldership universal priesthood of believers
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-30

Argument 4 preview: If women can prophesy to the whole church, they can also teach and be elders

Since women prophesied at mixed-gender gatherings and prophecy is a high role involving authority, women should also be allowed to teach and serve as elders.

eldership Craig Keener prophecy argument
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-30

Argument 5 preview: God gifts women with teaching and leadership, so they should be able to use those gifts fully

Mike says this argument challenged him the most. If the Holy Spirit gives women gifts of teaching and leadership, restricting those gifts contradicts God's purposes.

spiritual gifts argument teaching gift leadership gift
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-30

Argument 1 detail: N.T. Wright's persecution argument from 'Surprised by Scripture'

Wright quotes Kenneth Bailey's cultural analysis to argue that women being targeted by Saul's persecution proves they were leaders and influential figures in the community.

Acts 8 N.T. Wright Surprised by Scripture Acts 8
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-30

Mike spent 12 hours searching for Kenneth Bailey's source material and could not find it

N.T. Wright's citation of Kenneth Bailey has no footnotes or bibliography. Mike tried to find Bailey's original argument in his books, papers, and Google Scholar.

N.T. Wright Kenneth Bailey scholarly sourcing
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-30

Wright's claim that women were persecuted 'equally' with men is an overstatement

Mike analyzes Wright's specific wording. While both men and women were imprisoned, we have no data on whether persecution was truly equal in degree or severity.

N.T. Wright persecution argument
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-30

Acts 26:9-11 shows Paul persecuted 'many of the saints,' not leaders specifically

Mike reads Acts 26:9-11 where Paul describes persecuting 'many of the saints,' punishing them 'in every synagogue,' and compelling them to blaspheme.

Acts 26:9-11 persecution argument Acts 26:9-11 Paul/Saul
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-30

Acts 8:1 — all believers scattered except the apostles, showing persecution targeted non-leaders

The persecution resulted in everyone fleeing Jerusalem except the apostles. If persecution targeted leaders, the non-leaders should have stayed.

Acts 8:1 persecution argument Acts 8:1
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-30

Stephen was a deacon, not a high leader, yet he was stoned

Stephen's martyrdom further undermines the claim that persecution targeted only high leaders.

Acts 8 Stephen Acts 8 deacon
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-30

Acts 8:3 — Saul went house to house dragging off men and women; this was general persecution, not targeting leaders

Mike reads Acts 8:3 which is the actual text Wright bases his argument on. Paul went to every house interrogating whether people were Christians.

Acts 8:3 persecution argument Acts 8:3
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-30

Conclusion on persecution argument: being persecuted proves you are a Christian, not a leader

Mike's conclusion: the NT context never says persecution implies important leadership. It just implies being a Christian.

persecution argument
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-30

Mike covers N.T. Wright because many viewers said Wright influenced their egalitarian views

Mike explains he is covering Wright's arguments not because many scholars make them, but because viewers told him Wright was the reason they became egalitarian.

N.T. Wright
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-30

Argument 2 detail: N.T. Wright claims 'sat at the feet' is a technical phrase meaning rabbinical training

Wright argues that Mary sitting at Jesus's feet (Luke 10:39) means she was being trained to become a rabbi/teacher, not merely learning as a disciple.

Luke 10:39 Acts 22:3 N.T. Wright Luke 10:39 Mary and Martha
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-30

Acts 22:3 — Paul 'at the feet of Gamaliel' does not prove everyone who sat at a teacher's feet became a rabbi

Mike questions whether the phrase necessarily means rabbinical training for every person who used it.

Acts 22:3 Acts 22:3 sat at the feet Gamaliel
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-30

Luke 8:35 uses the same phrase 'sitting at the feet of Jesus' for the healed demoniac — who was clearly not being trained as a rabbi

Mike finds a counter-example in the same gospel (Luke), only two chapters away, using the identical phrase.

Luke 8:35 sat at the feet Luke 8:35 Gerasene demoniac
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-30

A third option Wright did not consider: learning theology deeply without becoming a rabbi

Mike rejects Wright's binary (learning for information vs. becoming a rabbi) and proposes a middle option.

N.T. Wright discipleship
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-30

Correction for complementarians: no theology is off limits to women

Mike uses the Mary passage to correct complementarians who would limit what theology women can learn.

Luke 10:39-42 Mary and Martha women in theological education Luke 10:39-42
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-30

Argument 3 introduced: Universal priesthood of believers

Mike introduces the argument: since all NT believers are priests, and priestly functions include teaching and leading, women should be able to be elders.

eldership universal priesthood of believers
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-30

There is no select group of priests within the body of Christ in the New Testament

Mike explains that the concept of a special clerical priesthood arose from culture and church history, not from the NT or apostolic teaching.

presbyter priesthood Roman Catholicism
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-30

1 Peter 2:4-5 — all believers are a holy priesthood offering spiritual sacrifices

Mike begins building the biblical case for universal priesthood from 1 Peter.

1 Peter 2:4-5 universal priesthood of believers 1 Peter 2:4-5 spiritual sacrifices
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-30

Revelation 1:5-6 — Jesus made us a kingdom and priests; includes all freed by his blood

Another proof text for universal priesthood.

Revelation 1:5-6 universal priesthood of believers Revelation 1:5-6
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-30

Revelation 5:9-10 — those ransomed from every tribe are made a kingdom and priests

Mike continues building the universal priesthood case from Revelation.

Revelation 5:9-10 universal priesthood of believers Revelation 5:9-10