The editors of the The Los Angeles Times weighed in on the topic of women in ministry on Sunday (HT: Albert Mohler). The editorial talked mainly about the state of affairs in the Roman Catholic Church, but there was some commentary about Protestant churches as well. The editors conclude that continuing limitations on women are due to tradition in the Roman Catholic Church and the Bible in Protestant churches (texts like 1 Timothy 2:12). They write, “In either case, the arguments that keep women from full participation are attributed to a higher authority. So why do they sound so much like the complaints about assertive women that long have issued…
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Responding to David Gushee
I mentioned on Monday that David Gushee penned an opinion piece for USA Today in which he criticizes conservative evangelicals who support Sarah Palin’s candidacy. He writes: “It is an uncomfortable fact that many of the theologically conservative Christians who have endorsed Palin’s nomination would not be willing to endorse her or any other woman for service as pastor of their church. Women cannot serve as pastors in groups such as the Churches of Christ, the Southern Baptist Convention, the Presbyterian Church in America, most non-denominational Bible churches, and an influential advocacy group called the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW).” I belong to two of the groups that…
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David Gushee Highlights ‘Inconsistency’
This is a no-frills post. I am writing this from my phone because Hurricane Ike has left me without electricity. So I apologize in advance for the raw links and the pictureless post. David Gushe writes about the so-called “Palin Inconsistency” in today’s USA TODAY: http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2008/09/the-palin-predi.html We have already discussed on this blog the issues that Gushee raises. Nevertheless, I will try to respond more fully when I have electricity. For now, I will just say that it would really help if Egalitarians like Gushee would take Complementarians on their own terms. For years, Complementarians have been addressing the very questions that he raises. There is a biblical and theological…
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Southern Baptist Hypocrisy?
The “On Faith” forum (a joint venture of The Washington Post and Newsweek) is hosting a discussion that raises a question about the theological consistency of evangelicals who support Sarah Palin’s vice-presidential nomination: “Women are not allowed to become clergy in many conservative religious groups. Is it hypocritical to think that a woman can lead a nation and not a congregation?” One of the contributors is David Waters, and he singles out Southern Baptists in particular as having a double-standard.
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Let’s Get Technical: The Meaning of authenteÅ
WARNING: This post is going to be a little bit technical. Enter at your own risk! Commenters under my previous complementarian posts have been debating the meaning of authenteÅ in 1 Timothy 2:12—whether it has a negative meaning (“usurp authority, domineer”) or a neutral one (“exercise authority”). In particular, the comments have called into question the work of Henry Scott Baldwin who has argued that authenteÅ does not have a negative meaning.
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Gender-Debaters Point the Finger at Themselves
Christianity Today has published two essays in which an egalitarian and a complementarian point the finger of critique at their own movements. John Koessler represents the complementarian point of view, and Sarah Sumner represents the egalitarian. I’m not going to comment on this exchange point-by-point. But I do have a question about one of Koessler’s statements. He writes: “When God created humankind in his image, he created them to be male and female (Gen. 1:27). It is often said that men and women bear the image of God equally. But it might be more accurate to say that men and women bear God’s image together. Men and women collectively reflect…
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Tommy Nelson on Biblical Manhood & Womanhood
On Sunday, Pastor Tommy Nelson of Denton Bible Church kicked-off a three part series on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. The issue has become somewhat of a hot-button in the Dallas area as a result of a high-profile Bible church that recently embraced egalitarianism (read about it here). Pastor Nelson did a great job of confronting the error of egalitarianism and of setting forth a biblical overview of the complementarian position. If you are interested, you can listen to the sermon below. [audio:http://dbcmedia.org/podcasts/1307-061508.mp3] The sermon had four main points:
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Irving Bible Church Goes Egalitarian?
In 2003, Pastor Rob Bell led Mars Hill Bible Church to amend its constitution and statement of faith in order to open all offices-including that of elder-to women. It was a high-profile egalitarian conversion of an entire church that received no little attention in the blogosphere (see here for the story). Earlier this month, a high-profile Bible Church in my own city made a similar move. Irving Bible Church (IBC) is a large Bible Church in the Dallas area. It is one of the many Bible Churches in our city that represents an important constituency of Dallas Theological Seminary. Recently, the elders of IBC published a website explaining how they…
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Journal for Biblical Manhood & Womanhood
The Journal for Biblical Manhood & Womanhood (JBMW) is a theological journal that focuses on gender issues from a complementarian perspective. Last year I was hired as the editor of that journal, and the first issue for which I am responsible has just come back from the printer. I have made some changes in the format that I hope will open up the journal to a wider audience. I explain those changes in my editorial. The current issue includes articles from John Piper, Mark Dever, Jim Hamilton, Ligon Duncan, and more. In addition to my editorial, two articles are available on the website for free: “Pursuing Manhood” by Ray Van…
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An Egalitarian Chapel Message at DTS?
I listen to the chapel podcast from Dallas Theological Seminary from time to time, and I was very interested to hear a recent sermon delivered by Carolyn Custis James. Her message was titled “The Role of Women in Both Ministry and Life,” and she preached about the role of women in ministry (and in theological education) in light of Genesis 1 and 2 and the book of Ruth.