Category Archives: Role of Women

Buried Talents: Why Were the Apostles All Men?

Reader Kirsty recently asked why all the apostles are male?  I answered in the comments, but I think the topic merits a post. Kirsty, Regarding why Jesus chose male apostles, I think you have to start with why Jesus chose … Continue reading

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Buried Talents: An Email About Girls Who Pray in the Presence of Boys

I get emails — Without going into long-winded details, is it appropriate for a teenaged, baptized girl to lead a prayer in the presence of a baptized teenaged male? (This seems even more ridiculous now that I have typed this.) … Continue reading

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Buried Talents: That’s All I Have to Say About That

This is the end. (Well, for now.) Several weeks ago, I wrote about a perfectly good hallucination, and some folks got upset because I had drug-induced delusion about female elders. And so I figured it was a topic worth studying … Continue reading

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Buried Talents: Further on How Elders Oversee the Church

In a comment to the previous post, Alan points out that the Old Testament’s use of “overseer” refers to a supervisor or overseer in the workplace. Think “middle management.” And it’s true. I was already familiar with the passages. I’ve … Continue reading

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Buried Talents: Reconciling Egalitarianism and Hierarchicalism, Part 2

C. Church Affairs This brings us to the passages that deal more particularly with church affairs. In 1 Cor 14:33b-35 paternalists find ample basis to conclude that women must be silent in the assembly. But many hierarchalists agree with egalitarians … Continue reading

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Buried Talents: Reconciling Egalitarianism and Hierarchicalism, Part 1

A. Egalitarian or Hierarchalist? We earlier considered Osburn’s suggestion that there are four schools of thought as to the role of women: paternalism, hierarchicalism, egalitarianism, and radical feminism. We rejected radical feminism because this view does not accept the inerrancy … Continue reading

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Buried Talents: More Questions and Answers

Q. Doesn’t the fact that there were women deacons and not women elders in the early church tell us that God did not mean for women to be elders? A. No, for two reasons. First, deacons were servants of the … Continue reading

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Buried Talents: How Do We Decide?

What is the rule in this case? Do we presume a rule or do we presume freedom? What does the Bible say? (Gal. 3:25) Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law. Why … Continue reading

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Buried Talents: Elders, Wives of One Husband? Part 3

2. Are the qualifications described in 1 Timothy and Titus intended as laws or merely indicative of to whom God has given the gift of leadership? Objectively viewed, it is hard to argue that the qualification lists in 1 Timothy … Continue reading

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Buried Talents: Elders, Wives of One Husband? Part 2

The questions thus presented are: 1. Is the apparent prohibition of an woman being an elder evidenced in 1 Timothy and Titus, as well as early church history, a temporary cultural matter only or an eternal ordinance of God? 2. … Continue reading

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