Search — Theology Explorer

Ephesians 4:15-16 Colossians 2:19 Good News for Women Rebecca Groothuis medical argument

Rebecca Groothuis claims the head was not seen as the seat of reasoning; the heart governed the body

Mike presents Rebecca Groothuis's medical argument from her book 'Good News for Women.'

kephale medical argument Stephen Bedale

Stephen Bedale's 1954 article: the origin of the 'head means source' argument

Mike traces the medical argument back to its scholarly origin.

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.

medical argument rebuttal Hippocrates Clinton Arnold

Hippocrates: the brain, not the heart, is the cause of intelligence

Mike examines what Hippocrates, the father of medicine, actually believed about the head.

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.

medical argument rebuttal popular ancient belief Galen

Galen: the brain dwells in the head 'like the great king' in an acropolis; most people believed the head contained all senses like guards of a king

Mike presents Galen's own words about the head's function and what ordinary people believed.

Philo of Alexandria head as master limb citadel of the king

Philo of Alexandria: the head is the 'master limb,' the 'chief' part, like a citadel where the sovereign mind dwells

Mike cites Philo, a Jewish contemporary of Paul, on the function of the head.

Lynn Cohick Wayne Grudem kephale survey

Wayne Grudem's survey of 2,336+ uses of kephale — Cohick's misleading summary of his work

Mike discusses how Cohick misrepresents Grudem's lexical survey.

kephale semantic range metaphorical meanings

Metaphorical meanings of kephale: literal, headlong, whole person, extremity, prominent part, conclusion, authority

Mike catalogs all the possible metaphorical meanings of kephale.

1 Corinthians 11:3 kephale 1 Corinthians 11:3 Analytical Lexicon of the Greek NT

Analytical Lexicon of the Greek NT (2000): kephale means 'first or superior rank' — cites 1 Cor 11:3

Mike surveys the Analytical Lexicon.

kephale Enhanced Strong's Lexicon master/lord

Enhanced Strong's Lexicon (1995): kephale means 'supreme, chief, prominent; master, lord' of husbands

Mike surveys the Enhanced Strong's Lexicon.

kephale Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon

Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon (1888): supports 'source' literally for rivers but metaphorical meanings don't apply to Paul

Mike surveys an 1888 lexicon.

kephale Wayne Grudem LSJ (Liddell-Scott-Jones)

Grudem's critique of the LSJ: 'source' is literal (rivers only), not metaphorical; plural kephale = sources, singular = mouth of river

Mike presents Grudem's detailed critique of how the LSJ defines source for kephale.

kephale Wayne Grudem LSJ revision needed

Grudem argues the LSJ should be revised and provides extensive Greek examples of kephale meaning authority

Mike presents Grudem's broader argument about the LSJ's inadequacy.

submission definition hypotasso

What submission does NOT mean: clarifying common misunderstandings

Mike preemptively addresses caricatures of the complementarian position on submission.

women in ministry eldership marriage

Why marriage is included in a series about women in ministry

Mike defends covering marriage in a ministry-focused series.

1 Peter 3:1 1 Peter 3:1 evangelism Lee Strobel

Submission in 1 Peter is not exclusively for evangelism of unsaved husbands

Mike argues against reducing wifely submission to an evangelism strategy.

1 Peter 3:3-5 1 Peter 3:3-5 gentle and quiet spirit holy women of old

Submission as character quality, not just cultural convenience

Mike draws out additional reasons from 1 Peter 3 that submission is about inner character.

1 Peter 3:7 weaker vessel 1 Peter 3:7 physical differences

Weaker vessel refers to physical body, not lesser personhood

Mike defends the 'weaker vessel' language as referring to physical differences.

Galatians 3:28 1 Peter 3:7 Galatians 3:28 1 Peter 3:7 equal inheritance in Christ

Wife as precious vessel and co-heir -- equal inheritance in Christ

Mike explains the vessel analogy and spiritual equality.

1 Peter 3:1-7 Discovering Biblical Equality 1 Peter 3:1-7 Peter Davids

Peter Davids' egalitarian view of 1 Peter 3: submission is only for evangelism

Mike begins the egalitarian rebuttal section with Peter Davids from 'Discovering Biblical Equality.'

Colossians 3:18-19 hypotasso Colossians 3:18-19 Lynn Kohick

Lynn Kohick's egalitarian view of Colossians 3:18-19: no talk of husband's authority

Mike examines an egalitarian scholar's treatment of the Colossians passage.

Craig Keener household codes Roman persecution

Keener's four steps: household codes, perceived threat, defensive writing, Paul's strategy

Mike summarizes and critiques Keener's chain of reasoning about cultural context.

Craig Keener Paul, Women and Wives Paul's imprisonment

Keener's conclusion: Paul wrote household codes as long-range Roman cultural defense

Mike quotes Keener's concluding summary on the cultural argument.

Ephesians 5 1 Corinthians 9:20 cultural accommodation Ephesians 5 1 Corinthians 9:20

Ephesians 5 doesn't match Paul's style when he writes for evangelistic/cultural purposes

Mike contrasts Ephesians 5 with passages where Paul explicitly adapts for cultural reasons.

Titus 2:9 Titus 3:1 hypotasso Titus 2:9 Titus 3:1

Paul uses hypotasso for bond servants and rulers with clear obedience meaning

Mike shows Paul's consistent usage of the word submit across contexts.

Ephesians 5 self-sacrificial love Ephesians 5 Paul's cultural distinctiveness

How Paul IS different from his culture (complementarian distinctives)

Mike distinguishes Paul's teaching from both Roman culture and egalitarianism.

Ephesians 5-6 household codes personal responsibility Ephesians 5-6

Ancient household codes typically told men what BOTH spouses should do; Paul doesn't

Mike highlights a genuine innovation in Paul's approach.

Craig Keener slavery objection logic same principles test

The slavery objection's logic: same reasons for submission = same rules apply

Mike explains the logical structure of the slavery objection.

Craig Keener household codes slavery-marriage parallel

Two reasons Keener connects slavery and marriage: ancient codes and NT parallels

Mike identifies the two pillars of the slavery-marriage connection.

Aristotle Politics (Aristotle) deliberative faculty

Aristotle actually distinguishes between reasons for female submission and slave obedience

Mike analyzes Aristotle's actual text on the slavery-marriage connection.

Titus 2:5 1 Corinthians 14:34 1 Corinthians 11:3 creation order Titus 2:5 1 Corinthians 14:34

Biblical justifications for wifely submission vs slave obedience are completely different

Mike lists the actual biblical reasons for each and compares them.

Ephesians 6:5-8 Titus 2:9-10 Ephesians 6:5-8 Titus 2:9-10 slavery not creation-grounded

Biblical reasons for slave obedience: purely situational, not creation-grounded

Mike examines what the NT actually says about why slaves should obey.

Exodus narrative Exodus narrative slavery in Scripture marriage as God-ordained

God views slavery as bad throughout Scripture; marriage as good and God-ordained

Mike contrasts the biblical evaluation of slavery vs marriage.

Ephesians 5-6 Ephesians 5-6 wives vs slaves comparison slavery objection refutation

Comprehensive list of differences between wives and slaves in Scripture

Mike provides a systematic comparison.

Proverbs on discipline Ephesians 6:1-4 wives-children parallel Proverbs on discipline Ephesians 6:1-4

Better parallel is wives and children, not wives and slaves

Mike suggests a more appropriate comparison.

complementarianism submission not oppression co-heirs in Christ

Final conclusions: Biblical submission is not oppression when paired with husband's Christ-like love

Mike delivers his final summary.

Exodus 15 Moses Miriam Exodus 15

Exodus 15 shows Moses leading the people in a song, then Miriam leading the women — her leadership is specifically of women.

Contextualizing Miriam's role in Exodus 15

Miriam prophetess prophetic singing

Mike rejects limiting female prophets to speaking to women only, and rejects limiting Miriam to prophetic singing only.

Final positions on scope of female prophecy

2 Kings 22:15-20 Huldah Aimee Byrd Torah canonization

Huldah delivers a powerful prophetic word to King Josiah about judgment on Jerusalem and mercy on him personally.

Reading Huldah's prophecy in 2 Kings 22

2 Kings 22:14 hermeneutics Huldah 2 Kings 22:14

Another textual explanation: Huldah's husband was 'keeper of the wardrobe' — a court connection that made access easier.

Additional contextual explanation for choosing Huldah

Isaiah's wife Isaiah 8:3 Isaiah's wife prophetess Isaiah 8:3

Isaiah's wife is called a prophetess (Isaiah 8:3) — she likely prophesied in her own right.

Brief note on another female prophet

Judges judges Deborah Judges judges

Deborah is a strong case for occasional high-level female leadership in the OT by God's appointment; all other judges are male.

Introduction to the Deborah discussion

Judges 2:16 Judges 2:18 Deborah divine appointment Judges 2:16

Judges 2:16-18 is a blanket statement that God raised up all the judges — including Deborah.

Establishing Deborah's divine legitimacy

Judges 5:12 Judges 5:6 Judges 5:24-27 Barak Jael Judges 5:12

The biblical context shows glory/credit goes to Jael (not God instead of Barak) — Barak gets one verse while Jael gets a whole section in Judges 5.

Proving the shame element is about Barak vs. Jael, not Barak vs. God

judges Judges 5 Deborah judges Judges 5

Conclusions on Deborah: she was a leader (not priest/king/military leader) but a judge and prophet; she had less leadership than other judges in some ways.

Summary conclusions on Deborah

2 Samuel 20:16-22 Joab 2 Samuel 20:16-22 wise woman of Abel Beth Maacah

The wise woman of Abel Beth Maacah (2 Samuel 20:16-22) negotiated peace during a siege, representing the whole city — she exercised real political power in crisis.

Examining a more substantive example of a wise woman

Linda Belleville wise woman of Abel Beth Maacah crisis leadership

Belleville calls the wise woman of Abel an 'advisor to heads of state' — but she's not in a regular position; she took authority spontaneously in crisis.

Correcting the characterization while still drawing a lesson

Isaiah 3:12 NET Bible Septuagint Isaiah 3:12

Textual issue in Isaiah 3:12: the Hebrew word for 'women' may actually be 'creditors' — the consonants are identical, only vowels differ.

Textual criticism of Isaiah 3:12