Category Archives: Women

1 Corinthians 14:34 – ‘Women should be silent in the churches’

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1 Corinthians 14:33-35 – ‘As in all the churches of the saints, 14:34 the women should be silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak. Rather, let them be in submission, as in fact the law says. 14:35 If they want to find out about something, they should ask their husbands at home, because it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in church.’

Various approaches to interpreting this (notorious?!) passage have been proposed:-

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1 Cor 11:3/Eph 5:23 – ‘Kephale’: ‘head’? ‘source’? ‘foremost’?

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1 Corinthians 11:3 – ‘Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ.’

Ephesians 5:23 ‘The husband is the head of the wife as also Christ is the head of the church.’

Much discussion has taken place over the meaning of kephale (‘head’) in these contexts.

Bartell (Men and Women in Christ) remarks that no writer earlier that Paul had used the kephale metaphor to apply to the relationship of a man to a woman.…

Does the end of slavery spell the end of patriarchy?

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The argument goes like this: the Bible does not outright condemn slavery, but it sows the seeds for its eventual demise.  There is a ‘hermeneutical trajectory’; a ‘redemptive spirit’ that leads inexorably (if painfully slowly) to abolition.

The same is true (it is argued) with regard to male and female roles.  The Bible assumes, but does not prescribe, some kind of hierarchical structure.  But the same ‘trajectory’, or ‘redemptive spirit’ leads us to abolish that structure, and to treat men and women just the same.…

Male headship before the Fall

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Egalitarian writers often claim that male headship did not come about until after the Fall, and is, accordingly, a consequence of the Fall.

This view goes back at least as far as Chrysostom, who represents God as addressing the woman thus:

‘In the beginning I created you equal in esteem to your husband, and my intention was that in everything you would share with him as an equal, and as I entrusted control of everything to your husband, so did I to you; but you abused your equality of status.

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God’s good design for men and woman

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It is sometimes thought that in Genesis chapters 1 and 2 we have two entirely separate and self-contained creation accounts, so different as to be incompatible.

But they are neither contradictory accounts, nor carbon copies of one another.

Claire Smith discusses the similarities and differences most helpfully:

When we look at these two accounts we see there is sameness and difference. They are not conflicting accounts, but they are not carbon copies either. Each makes its own distinctive contribution.…

Equal, but different

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Egalitarians often complain: ‘When you complementarians claim that women and men are “equal but different”, you really mean “unequal and different”.’

This is a charge that must be taken seriously.

But what says Scripture?

In Gen 2:18, ‘the woman is called the man’s helper; not the other way around. From a fair reading of Genesis 2, it doesn’t seem that male-female roles are reversible.’ (Kostenberger, AJ & ME, God’s Design for Man and Woman.

In their commentary on Genesis 2:18, Bruce Waltke and Cathi Fredricks, while affirming the essential equality of the man and the woman, suggest that role of the latter as ‘helper’ to the former does imply a certain structure of relationship.  …

Women in ministry – some resources

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Here’s a selection of resources that explore biblical teaching on the role of women and men in Christian ministry.

Two views on Women in Ministry, ed James R. Beck & Craig L. Blomberg.  Zondervan, 2005.  (Egalitarian and complementarian).

Recovering Biblical Manhood & Womanhood: A Response to Evangelical Feminism, ed. John Piper & Wayne Grudem.  Crossway, 1991.  Available online at http://cdn.desiringgod.org/pdf/books_bbmw/bbmw.pdf (Complementarian)

Biblical Foundations for Manhood and Womanhood, ed. Wayne Grudem.  Crossway, 2002. (Complementarian)

Discovering Biblical Equality, ed.…

50 politically incorrect thoughts for men – 5

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41. Help with the laundry – sometimes.  Help with the household tasks when she’s overwhelmed, or to give her a break, and certainly if you’re both working.  But (especially when the children are young), keep some distance between keeping house and taming the wilderness (aka climbing the company ladder).  Our culture may say it’s wrong to have sex-specific task; but our culture is sick.

42. Be considerate of her emotional state.  Women are generally more emotional than men, and are in greater need of protection.  …

50 politically incorrect thoughts for men – 4

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31. Boys need rough and tumble.  They need to be trained, through sports and other activities, to ignore pain, and to sacrifice themselves to a worthy cause.  Women shouldn’t be taught to fight because they’re smaller and weaker and because they are reproductively too valuable.

32. Don’t defend yourself.  Unless you’re in physical danger.  Be assertive, not defensive.  If you’re wrong, say so and back down.  If you’re right, say so and don’t back down.

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50 politically incorrect thoughts for men – 3

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20. Understand alpha and beta.  Alpha traits are things like leadership, dominance, bravery, and disregard for rules and safety.  Beta traits are things like helpfulness, supportiveness, reliability, and ‘being nice’.  Women are attracted to the former (they’re exciting), but appreciate the latter (they’re good to have around).  To be a successful husband, you need to have both traits.

21. Distinguish between ‘good alpha’ and ‘asshole alpha’.  Alpha traits need to be kept in check – driving too fast is alpha, but also dangerous.  …