Search — Theology Explorer

eldership Philip Payne equality in Christ

Mike's rebuttal to Payne: role differences are about God's calling/assignment, not nature or equality in Christ. Payne's logic would make eldership part of what it means to be Christian.

Mistake #4: Rebutting Payne

domestic abuse complementarianism and abuse story-driven theology

Mistake #5: The argument that complementarianism leads to abuse and is therefore wrong — the most common argument Mike encounters.

Mistake #5: Complementarianism leads to abuse

story-driven theology Beth Allison Barr The Making of Biblical Womanhood

Barr uses the story of a rude complementarian male student to overrule Russell Moore's distinction between pagan patriarchy and biblical complementarianism.

Mistake #5: Barr's story overruling theological argument

bypassing scripture story-driven theology Beth Allison Barr

Barr's argument: personal stories overrule any theological distinction — 'nice try, tell that to my story' — all nuance and distinction between pagan patriarchy and complementarianism is erased.

Mistake #5: Stories overruling scripture

government analogy authority structures logical consistency

Mike's rebuttal: the argument that complementarianism causally relates to domestic violence does not pass the 'smell test' when applied consistently to other authority structures.

Mistake #5: Rebuttal via analogy

bypassing scripture egalitarianism abuse arguments

Abuse can be addressed without proving egalitarians are right — let egalitarians be right because of biblical arguments, not extra-biblical ones. This was probably the biggest reason Mike did not become egalitarian.

Mistake #5: Conclusion

bypassing scripture logical consistency

The reverse would also be invalid: blaming egalitarians for divorce rates and dysfunctional homes would equally bypass scripture.

Mistake #5: Showing the argument works both ways

Mike Winger idea 2022-03-14

Both egalitarians and complementarians agree that Genesis 1-3 is theologically foundational for understanding male-female relationships.

Establishing common ground between the two sides

Gen 1-3 Discovering Biblical Equality Mary Conway

Mike Winger idea 2022-03-14

1 Timothy 2:12-13 as New Testament commentary on Genesis 2: Paul draws on Adam being formed first as relevant to male-female relationships.

NT support for creation order argument

creation order 1 Tim 2:12-13 Paul

Mike Winger idea 2022-03-14

Analogy: the curse made farming harder (thorns/thistles) but farming isn't bad; similarly, the curse made submission harder (conflict) but submission/authority isn't bad.

Analogy for understanding the curse's relationship to pre-existing good things

Gen 3:16-19 thorns and thistles analogy curse makes good things harder

Colossians 4:15 Linda Belleville Nympha Colossians 4:15

Belleville assigns Nympha the title 'overseer' based on hosting; Mike challenges the logic

Mike examines how Belleville gets from 'church in her house' to 'overseer.'

Philippians 1:1 Linda Belleville Two Views on Women in Ministry Euodia

Belleville's logic: Philippians 1:1 lists saints, overseers, deacons -- Euodia/Syntyche must be in one category

Mike reconstructs Belleville's reasoning from Two Views (p. 60).

Priscilla women and theology complementarian overcorrection

Women should talk about theology; stunting them from it stunts understanding and causes harm

Mike draws a conclusion from Priscilla's example for complementarian churches.

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).

Romans 16 Craig Keener N.T. Wright Romans 16

Egalitarian argument: letter carriers were expected to teach the letter; Phoebe taught Romans

Mike introduces the letter-carrier-as-teacher argument.

apostolic authority apostolos

Apostle must mean highest leadership for egalitarian argument to work

Mike emphasizes a key logical requirement of the egalitarian argument.

Burer-Wallace paper (2001) lexical evidence syntactical evidence

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

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

Mary Magdalene N.T. Wright equivocation fallacy

Mike identifies equivocation in Wright's argument about apostle

Mike charges Wright with a logical fallacy.

hermeneutical methodology OT-NT equivalence women prophets

Better equivalence: women prophets in OT lead to women prophets in NT, not women apostles

Mike argues the egalitarian logic fails on its own terms.

Luke 10:39-42 Mary and Martha women in theological education Luke 10:39-42

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.

eldership universal priesthood of believers

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.

universal priesthood of believers ETS (Evangelical Theological Society)

Anecdote: Mike challenged a female complementarian scholar at ETS about the universal priesthood problem in her argument

A female egalitarian (corrected: complementarian) scholar argued that priesthood is masculine in character and therefore women cannot hold pastoral positions. Mike asked her about the universal priesthood of believers.

Colossians 3:16 Colossians 3:16 teaching gift necessary but not sufficient

Not everyone who teaches is an elder — an elder must be able to teach, but ability to teach does not require eldership

Mike makes the logical distinction between necessary and sufficient conditions.

N.T. Wright rabbinical training women in theological education

Video summary — Argument 2: 'Sat at the feet' meant rabbinical training is false, but women should pursue full theological education

Summary of the rabbi-training argument.