Two Views on Women in Ministry: Part 1 - An Egalitarian Perspective

For my Systematic Theology III course I have to read Two Views on Women in Ministry and write a summary followed by a delineation of my own personal convictions about women in ministry. The book is really interesting so far, it holds four essays two of which are written by egalitarians and the other two, by complementarians. All four contributors are New Testament professors who hold faculty positions at seminaries: Linda L. Bellville (Northpark Theological Seminary), Craig L. Blomberg (Denver Seminary), Craig S. Keener (Palmer Theological Seminary), and Thomas R. Schreiner (Southern Baptist Theological Seminary). The introduction of the book sets the stage so wonderfully. One of the editors, James R. Beck, describes how delightful a time the four contributors had over lunch...

"One of the more important accomplishments of this working lunch - a lunch that would hardly qualify as a 'power' lunch - was the crafting of a statement to which all the contributors and the editor could agree: We believe one can build a credible case within the bounds of orthodoxy and a commitment to inerrancy for either one of the two major views we address in this volume, although all of us view our own positions on the matter as stronger and more compelling."

How wonderful! The editor really sets up a feel for an objective reading, though he does admit to being egalitarian himself. I just finished the first chapter which is a defense for the egalitarian perspective by Linda Bellville and it was very good! I describe myself as a weak-kneed complimentarian and really I feel just the same after reading her chapter. I do however feel very encouraged by some of the things she had to say. Here are a few points that I cherished.

1. Traditionalists often argue that women leaders in the Bible are the 'exceptions.' "When God could not find a willing man to lead, he resorted to using women." Bellville argues against this and says that it is true that there are far fewer women leaders mentioned in the Bible than men but it is not because of intrinsic inferiority, basic incompetence, or gender unsuitability. The reality is, Bellville says, "that domestic chores left women little time to pursue public roles. Those involved in the public arena were generally upper-class women able to delegate their domestic tasks to other women in the household" (53). I resonate a lot with this statement. I think I have gifts for the public arena - teaching and academia - but just getting engaged has brought on a whole new desire for domestic life! The bearing and raising of children has in some ways become a more attractive vocation to me than others. On top of that, I really question if I could do or would want to do both. The reality is that domestic affairs can be a full time job.
2. She lists so many women who are noted as leaders - more specifically as apostolic laborers, prophets, teachers, and deacons. She notes that there are not female names associated with the title of elder...but there aren't any male names given for that role either. And, there were many women who were in charge of house-churches and provided financial support for Jesus and his followers.
3. She does a really good job with some verses that are used by complementarians. The Counsel for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood lists five primary passages: Matthew 10:1-4; 1 Corinthians 14:33-35; 1 Timothy 2:12; 1 Timothy 3:1-7; and Titus 1:5-9. For me, the verses that are most persuasive are 1 Timothy 2:11-15, but she does a great job of contextualizing it. She spends many pages talking about specific Greek words and their meanings and concludes that this is how those verses should be read...

"The women at Ephesus (perhaps encouraged by false teachers) were trying to gain an advantage over the men in the congregation by teaching in a dictatorial fashion. The men in response became angry and disputed what the women were doing. In other words, verses 11-12 say: "Let a woman learn in a quiet and submissive fashion. I do not, however, permit her to teach with the intent to dominate a man. She must be gentle in her demeanor" (89).

I did enjoy her chapter and I learned a lot, but I'm still not convinced and I'm still a complementarian. I think Ephesians 5:22-33 and the first part 1 Corinthians 11 are still very persuasive to me. But, I think this book is a really excellent and edifying resource for the debate which is so often and unfortunately divisive. The goal of these posts is really to organize my thoughts for my paper, so I'll be posting after each chapter.