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Mike Winger idea 2022-05-30

Mike invites substantive, detailed critique rather than vague pushback

Mike asks critics to provide specific claims, sources, and evidence when challenging his arguments.

methodology

Mike Winger idea 2022-05-30

N.T. Wright's argument sourced from Kenneth Bailey who based it on cultural parallels

The persecution argument relies on Kenneth Bailey's claim that persecution of women only makes sense if they were leaders, based on 'cultural parallels.'

Mike invites substantive, detailed critique rather than vague pushback

N.T. Wright's argument sourced from Kenneth Bailey who based it on cultural parallels

Mike spent 12 hours searching for Bailey's source; read two of his books and papers on Google Scholar

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

Egalitarian claim: kephale means 'source' only, not authority; complementarian claim: it includes authority

Medical argument introduced: ancient Greeks believed the heart, not the head, controlled the body

Bible study argument introduced: Paul's context in 1 Corinthians 11 and Ephesians does not imply authority

Greek/lexical argument introduced: kephale means 'source' in Greek, not authority — the 'battle of the lexicons'

Mike's personal journey: initially found egalitarian arguments persuasive before deeper research revealed problems

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

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

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

Egalitarian scholars echo each other's errors, tracing back to Bedale's short article

Conclusion on medical argument: ancient medical views support head implying authority, not the egalitarian position

Contextual/Bible study argument: Ronald Pierce and Rebecca Merrill Groothuis claim Paul only reinforces 'source/provision,' not authority

The either/or fallacy: egalitarians assume kephale means source OR authority, never both

Pierce and Groothuis's claim that Paul 'only reinforces source/provision' is contradicted by the biblical evidence

Cohick's either/or: she does not acknowledge kephale could mean both source and leader

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

Paul regularly uses 'head' to imply authority for both Christ and husbands — the context is abundantly clear

Kroeger's selective Chrysostom quote: she omits sentences before, after, and within the passage

Full Chrysostom quote: 'thou art the head of the woman... let the head regulate the rest of the body' — Chrysostom strongly supports headship as authority

Lexical claims introduced: Lynn Cohick says lexicons in the 19th-20th centuries suggested 'source' but not 'leader'

BDAG lexicon (2000): kephale denotes 'superior rank,' cites 1 Cor 11:3 and Eph 5:23; no mention of 'source'

Word Study Dictionary of the NT (1993): kephale means 'head, chief one to whom others are subordinate'

Louw-Nida lexicon: kephale means 'one of supreme or preeminent status in view of authority to order or command'

Lexham Theological Wordbook: kephale refers to 'those who are of high status' — no mention of source

DBL Dictionary of Biblical Languages (2001): kephale means 'superior, one of preeminent status'

Exegetical Dictionary of the NT (1990): kephale refers to 'hierarchy of God, Christ, man, woman' — sovereignty in Eph 5:23

Greek-English Dictionary of the NT (1993): kephale means 'lord, head of superior rank'

LEH Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint (2003): kephale means 'leader' — no mention of source

NASB Concordance: kephale means 'chief' — no mention of source

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

Pocket Lexicon of NT Greek (1917): kephale means 'head, ruler, or lord' — cites 1 Cor 11:3

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

LSJ lexicon (1996 supplement): lists 'source' as possible meaning (for rivers) and 'noblest part' — does not cite any NT passages

TDNT (1964): kephale means 'first, supreme, prominent, outstanding, determinative'; acknowledges source for rivers but includes subjection

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

Lexicon survey conclusion: 15 surveyed, only 3 mention source, none assign source to any NT passage

Richard Cervin's article — the source behind egalitarian lexical claims; problematic methodology

Cervin uses only author-specific lexicons (Plato, Thucydides) from much earlier periods of Greek — not Koine Greek

Cervin's own conclusion undermines egalitarians: kephale means 'preeminence,' not source — and he connects it to male dominance

The LSJ focuses on classical Greek (8th-4th century BC), not biblical Greek — its kephale entry ignores NT examples

Groothuis and Cohick cite the LSJ as proof kephale doesn't mean authority — misleading because the LSJ doesn't address NT usage

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

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

Peter Glare, editor of the LSJ, writes to Grudem agreeing with his conclusions — 'the supposed sense source of course does not exist'

26+ Bible translations translate kephale as 'head' or 'authority' — only The Passion Translation (2017) used 'source,' later corrected

Mike's research journey: initially open to egalitarianism, checking footnotes revealed bad information

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

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