What Does It Mean for Women to Learn in Quietness and Submission? 1 Timothy 2:11
They are the verses of Scripture used most frequently to silence women in the church: 1 Timothy 2:11-12. I remember reading them as…
Paul’s Egalitarian Reading of the Old Testament
For years I struggled with my relationship with the apostle Paul. On the one hand, as a teenager, I was completely taken with…
On 1 Corinthians 14 & Women’s Silence in Church
It is all too easy for the loudest and most prolific voices to dominate what a young Christian hears about gender relationships in…
Co-Leadership in Marriage: Who’s in Authority?
We believe authority is at the heart of much marriage misunderstanding and debate. Over the years traditional-hierarchical-complementarian marriage-view proponents have described their perceived…
Co-Leadership in Marriage: Let’s Talk about Submission
Submission in marriage often comes with lots of negative baggage. In fact, many people refer to submission as the "S"-word. The reality is…
Co-Leadership in Marriage: What about Headship?
Headship can often become a divisive issue in marriage discussions—especially in religious circles. Various “infallible” headship interpretations and accompanying dialogue could fill a…
The Logic of Galatians 3:28
Both egalitarians and complementarians try to grapple with Paul’s words in Galatians 3:28 in their own ways. However, sometimes we do not look…
Who “Killed” Junia? Part One
When I first began wondering how to harmonize my church’s restrictions on women with some of the passages I found in scripture, I…
5 Myths About Adam and Authority: What Really Happened in the Garden?
There are some distorted messages being taught about creation these days, in particular, that God designed men to be in authority and women…
Paul’s Masculine and Feminine Leadership
Some Christians believe that being a leader is a man’s role, and that it is unfeminine for women to be in leadership. These…
Confessions of a Closet Egalitarian
I never heard the words egalitarian or complementarian until last summer. At 50 (first of my true confessions) I’m a little late to…
Is Male Authority “Implied” in the Bible?
in Ephesians 5:24, Greek manuscripts of the New Testament frame male authority or the submission of wives to husbands not as command, but…
Defusing the 1 Timothy 2:12 Bomb: What Does Paul Mean by Authority (Authentein)
In my recent post on 1 Timothy 2:12, discussion about the word “authentein” (often translated as authority) was especially rich. Here are some…
The Power of Your Story
A culture is built around the stories it tells. After telling my story of spiritual abuse and marginalization as a woman leader in…
Defusing the 1 Timothy 2:12 Bomb
A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man;[b] she…