2007-01-16T02:20:38-06:00

Most of us think the Bible is from one world (Ancient Israel, Greco-Roman, etc) and that we are in another world (modern West, etc), and that moving the Bible from its world into our world requires a gentle art. Whether we affirm the redemptive trend is not what I mean in this context, but just the sheer difficulty at times of bringing the Bible forward. Now, there is another issue: some women grow up in worlds with more than the general difficulty of moving the Bible forward, but with a pervasive ethnic stereotype of how women should behave. |inline

2007-01-15T02:20:26-06:00

We are looking at William Webb’s Slaves, Women, and Homosexuals, and the “redemptive trend” hermeneutic, which states that to apply the Bible in our world involves participation in the redemptive trend that began in the Bible. Today we look at the remaining “moderately persuasive criteria” (#s 10-13), and since it is Martin Luther King Jr Day here in the USA, it is a good time also to think about justice inside the walls of the Church. |inline

2007-01-08T02:30:48-06:00

The singular question for women in ministry is this: At its simplest it is this: Are there transcultural elements in the Bible? Are some elements “cultural”? And how do we do know the difference? William Webb, in his book Slaves, Women and Homosexuals, contends there is a redemptive trend that begins in the Bible and will not be complete until the kingdom, but that the Church approximates that kingdom redemption in the here and now. Let me summarize where we are in Webb’s book. |inline

2006-12-27T02:30:37-06:00

William Webb, in his Slaves, Women and Homosexuals, examines a singular question: how to analyze which parts of the Bible are “cultural” and which parts are “transcultural.” |inline

2006-12-18T02:31:04-06:00

Perhaps the foundation of the entire debate about women in ministry is in what is today called the “redemptive trend.” Very few would say the Bible teaches absolute equality of women and men in ministry, but instead most would say the Bible establishes the precedent, forms the foundation, and creates a redemptive trend that — over time — creates an equal opportunity for women in ministry. Here’s the book I’ll look at next: |inline

2006-12-11T02:30:36-06:00

Sarah Sumner’s Men and Women in the Church, chps 17-20, discuss the most controversial — according to all — and significant — according to some — text in the entire NT when it comes to the “role” of women in the Church. So, let me quote the whole text from 1 Timothy chp 2 and then offer summaries of her discussions. |inline

2006-12-04T02:30:54-06:00

In chps 12-13 of Sarah Sumner’s book Men and Women in Ministry Sumner begins a four-chapter study of “head” in the Bible and esp in Paul’s letters. We will not be done with “headship” issues today, but we need to get a start. Sarah Sumner begins with 1 Cor 11:3, and I want to provide the text before I summarize what she argues: |inline

2006-11-27T02:30:44-06:00

Sarah Sumner’s chp 11 in Men and Women in Ministry discusses what 1 Peter 3:7 means when it says that women are the “weaker vessel.” Sarah begins with a lesson in how to do word studies, but first our questions.

My questions today: How might we “empower” women in order that they may not be seen as the “weaker” vessel in a redemptive sense? How can we do this “in church,” in society, at home, etc.? (If the primary senses of “weaker vessel” are either “physically weaker” or “sexually vulnerable”, then how might we empower women to minimize that weakness or empower it or protect it?)
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2006-11-20T02:30:02-06:00

The following piece is written by Stan Gundry, and tells his story of moving from complementarianism to egalitarianism, and it shows the influence of Pat Gundry in Stan’s thinking. This story has been published elsewhere, and Stan has given me permission to publish it here. I should say that this story is a significantly formative story in the evangelical debate; Pat’s book is called Woman Be Free and Stan is a wise, balanced, mentor and guide at Zondervan today. |inline

2006-11-16T02:30:44-06:00

First: Happy birthday to my sister, Alexa. Now to our day’s post: Is God a “father” or a “mother”? How should we talk about God? And is the word “Father” fixed or flexible? This is discussed in Sarah Sumner’s book, Men and Women in the Church, chp. 9. |inline

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