Do we miss an important piece of evidence in the debate over whether women can preach and lead when we read our cultural understanding of “deacons” back into the New Testament? My brand new articles argues "Yes," and I bring plenty of receipts:
I’ve heard so much buzz for Preston Sprinkle’s new book, "From Genesis to Junia: An Honest Search for What the Bible Really Says About Women in Leadership,” both good and bad. I speak to those issues here, and review the book, chapter-by-chapter.
Complementarian “authority and submission” dogma fails the test of Scripture and will die the same death as the teaching that women are especially prone to deception. The powerful men who ignore God’s call to women may try other arguments, but their days are numbered. They always have been:
Over the last year, I’ve provided so much information to argue for women's inclusion into teaching and leadership ministry that some of you have asked me to make one main synopsis post. *This is that post.* I summarize my position and provide numerous links to articles that delve deeper.
A study in the American Sociological Review finds that women’s health is significantly worse in churches that prohibit women from teaching and leading. If you've seen references to this study before, I have new insights. If you haven't, buckle your seat because my new article is a doozy.
The New Testament and early centuries contained an Order of Widows, a recognized church office with qualifications that largely mirrored the qualifications for overseers in 1 Timothy. Learn about it in my brand new article.
What if we considered Christ’s teachings from the perspective of the marginalized and abused (which, after all, is the context of the people to whom Christ came, lived among, and ministered). My brand new post:
I accidentally typed a text message that tomorrow will be January 310. I have to say, it certainly feels that way.
My brand new article looks at a stunning example from early church history, then a big one from recent decades that “hid in plain sight,” and finally one from the Bible to show logical inconsistencies and the morally and scripturally bereft nature of arguments against women teaching men.
Jesus came into a world that often demoralized and hurt women, those with disabilities, the poor, and anyone who was considered an outsider. In my brand new post, I look at how Jesus responded in the Gospel of Luke.
This weekend, I’ll be reading through an advance copy of Preston Sprinkle’s new book “From Genesis to Junia: An Honest Search for What the Bible Really Says About Women in Leadership.” I will publish a full review the day before its March 3 release. I’ve been curious about this one for a while!
1 Cor. 14:34 says, "Women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak ..." Are there cultural reasons they would be interrupting the service to ask questions? Is this a scribal gloss? Or is Paul quoting his opponents in order to refute them? Let's consider the possibilities:
1 Corinthians is a dicey letter for anyone claiming that male-rule is God’s good gift. But there is one part that would seem to back up this view: 14:34-35. In my brand new article, I examine it:
I've written a lot about 1 Timothy 2 and other passages, arguing for the necessity of teaching and leadership in the church being open to women. I haven’t touched the passage that would seem, in a “plain reading of the English text,” to be the ultimate “clobber” verses, 1 Cor. 14:34-35. Until today:
There is a growing boldness and popularity for preachers like Doug Wilson who espouse the Southern “Lost Cause” mythology that redefines slavery as somewhere between “not that bad” and God’s ordained plan, The theological reasoning is similar to current “biblical patriarchy” models.
Words from leading male theologians who understand the powerful, prophetic message of the Magnificat/Mary's Song, & the significant role Mary plays as the favored one chosen by God to give birth to Jesus. @scotmcknight.bsky.social @religionprof.bsky.social @bobbygilles.bsky.social #Bonhoeffer
In a culture and era that considers women as incidental to God’s story, Dr. Ingrid Faro shows how godly women in the Hebrew Scriptures advanced the plot in ways that many Bible teachers ignore, downplay, or misinterpret. Read my review of her new book, "Redeeming Eden”:
Over the past year, I’ve presented enough evidence in support of a hierarchy-free mutuality of women and men within the church and home to fill a book. Still, complementarians ask, "Aren’t you just bowing to secular culture, though? Don’t you see how women have taken over everything?" Nope:
Let’s talk about the good, bad, and ugly of evangelism and missionary activity in the last two millennia. We'll distinguish godly power from worldly power, and see the evidence for Jesus's parable of the wheat and the weeds, growing together until harvest time.
The angel Gabriel's involvement with two couples, highlighted during the first Advent of Christ, definitively disproves the complementarian "created order" teaching that bars women from teaching or exercising authority. I'll show you:
You’re talking with your cousin, TheoBro Ted, and he shakes his head when you talk about women in ministry. Ted says, "“Look, I just believe what everyone believed until five minutes ago. This whole ‘women preacher’ thing is just a new feminist idea." Ted is wrong. And I'll prove it:
With so many churches and denominations perpetrating and covering up horrific abuses, and with more and more people deconstructing due to hypocrisy and harmful teachings, is there an argument for church community today? My new post looks at why Carmen Joy Imes says, "Yes."
My new post analyzes proof from many sources and studies to show the link between complementarianism and both abuse and infidelity. "Why he cheats, beats, or mistreats often correlates with his theology"
We are living in hard times. How must the church relate to Christ, each other, and the world? It's all about "withness" and "witness." My new article explores Bonhoeffer's take on this, placing him in conversation with NT Wright, John Barclay, Matthew Bates, and other current scholars.
Complementarianism insists men and women are equal in value but unequal in "role and authority." This is doublespeak for "They are not equal." And the idea that “It’s not about ability, it’s about responsibility” fails on scriptural and logical grounds. I talk about it in my brand new post:
“Disallowing a woman’s leadership under the “women are too emotional” argument reveals a misunderstanding of the very concept of emotion. Emotions are not sinful; they are expressions of how we have been spiritually formed over time.
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Jesus lived justly and trained his followers to be people of justice. We see this in their treatment of the marginalized in the New Testament and early historical records. More on this, plus info on my next two posts, here:
Christian patriarchy (no matter what name it goes by) gets many things wrong. Prominent among them are ten “gotcha” statements often repeated on social media and other forums. My brand new post rebuts all ten.
