“Traditionalists are fighting a rear-guard action, trying to keep women out of a post that they clearly more qualified for than men are. Feelings can run high in the debate, but the debate is essentially over whether men only or women and men both should occupy the post of an essentially feminized office. If anyone …
Heading Off the Sweetest Boy . . .
“At the same time, because of sentimentalism and pietism, the definitions of piety have become increasingly feminized. The definition of what constitutes devout piety has drifted into feminine territory, and ministers have labored to keep up with the shifting expectations. The sweetest and gentlest boy in the church is the one who is told repeatedly …
Maybe Two Word Studies
“Depending on the issue and the text, liberals are sometimes more to be trusted with the message of the text than conservatives are. This is because liberals are not stuck with the results of their exegesis the way conservatives are. Because conservatives confess that the teaching of the text is normative, the conservative has to …
Because the Disobedient Don’t Care
“Settling this exegetically won’t settle anything, as the last several decades have demonstrated. If there is enormous pressure to go in this direction, and there is, then we need to bring the gospel to bear on what is causing that pressure, and stop bringing isolated texts to the symptoms of that pressure. Trying to stop …
Compare and Contrast
“At the same time, we don’t want to assume that any position that ticks feminists off must be biblical. That can’t be right — it is far too easy to do. And, as with so many issues, we have to distinguish different levels and layers. If, as I have noted, our holy fathers used to …
Or From Anywhere Else?
“If the apostle Paul would not allow an inspirited prophetess — whose words were from the Spirit himself — to join in the weighing and sifting of the prophetic utterances, then why would he let her do it just because she has an MDiv from Fuller? (Why Ministers Must be Men, p. 29).
That Languid Soccer Player Way
“Before the discussion gets sidetracked on the basis of caricature, lett us grant that the arbiter of long and short ought not to be a particularly strict dorm monitor at a fundamentalist Bible college. Paul says short, not ‘less than a quarter inch, with pink sidewalls around the ears.’ He says long, not ‘over a …
A Miss As Good as a Mile
“A common evangelical saying is that many miss heaven by eighteen inches . . . the distance between the head and the heart. We also need to remember that many others miss heaven by thirty-four inches” (Why Ministers Must Be Men, p. 23).
How Bad Theology is Incentivized
“When men follow a teacher like Jezebel of Thyatira, they are doing so not because her doctrinal reasons are so compelling and her academic credentials so impressive, but rather because following her will greatly increase their chances of getting laid (Rev. 2:20). If a prophet comes prophesying wine and beer (Mich. 2:11), he is sure …
Fabulous Hats
“Looking for flourishing chastity in such settings is a sexual snipe hunt. Just ask the question directly. Those denominations that worked through the controversy of women’s ordination a generation ago have certainly moved on. Their controversies now concern whether sodomites should be wearing sodomitres in solemn procession up the central aisle” (Why Ministers Must be …