THE REBUTTAL, PART 2/3, EXAMPLES
Right off the bat, allow me to explain the format of this article. I have chosen portions of Catherine’s two initial articles and pasted them below in plain text. The bold text is my response. I did my best not to edit her words carelessly or deceitfully, and I almost always include the whole paragraph of the section to which I am responding. Wherever I cut paragraphs out for brevity, I included ellipses. To see her full articles, you can read them here:
And here:
With all that said, ding ding ding, let’s fight!
Egalitarianism. Otherwise known as - being in support of women in ministry and women holding positions of spiritual authority.
Right off the bat, I want to make something clear- most complementarians support women in ministry. It’s only the second tenant, “holding positions of spiritual authority,” (especially over men) with which we take issue.
What is biblical egalitarianism?
“Egalitarianism” as defined by Merriam-Webster is:
: a belief in human equality especially with respect to social, political, and economic affairs;
: a social philosophy advocating the removal of inequalities among people.
I think we can agree that this very general definition of egalitarianism is one that we can mostly support.
Depends on what is meant by “equality,” but we’ll come back to that later.
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Here, I want to share the examples in both the Old and New Testaments of women holding positions of spiritual authority, and of women being leaders in the community of God. I believe it is important to take into account the entire story of Scripture, including historical and cultural backgrounds.
I will engage with each of the examples that Catherine lists, but before I do, I must make one larger point, lest we lose the forest among the trees- Exceptions do not disprove rules. Even if Catherine’s examples are as sound as she claims (I will attempt to show that they are not), this does not prove that putting women in positions of spiritual authority over men in the church ought to be normative.
GENESIS 1-2 | CREATED EQUAL
After creating the earth and all that is within it, God created man. More specifically (or generally, all things considered), God created mankind. The hebrew word אָדָם (adam) is the generic term used for mankind. Later, it becomes the proper noun, Adam.
God created mankind, or man and woman in his likeness and in his own image (or, as could be specified, in the image of the trinity…). Then, God says “let them have dominion” (italics mine) over the creatures of the earth. This is also inclusive language. God is not speaking only of the man here, he is speaking inclusively and equally of man and woman. I believe this is indicative of equality, inclusivity, and equal stature between man and woman from the very beginning.
Thus far, I take no issue with any of Catherine’s interpretations. Genesis 1 clearly teaches that both men and women are created in God’s image, and that both men and women are given dominion over the created world.
We also must consider Genesis 2, the more specific narrative of the creation of man and woman individually.
18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.”
Genesis 2:18 (ESV)
Genesis 2 specifies that God made, or built, the man first. Then, once it was determined that none of the already existing creatures were suitable as a “helper,” God made (built) woman from the rib bone of man.
I think the primary point to observe with this narrative is that the picture is incomplete. Adam is incomplete. There is something missing. None of the other creatures are suitable for Adam, so God created woman, Eve.
The term “helper” does not, in my understanding of the language, denote subordination or one who is less than the other.
Here, I must protest Catherine’s conflation of value and role. Subordination does not necessarily affect the value of a person, e.g. a child is subject to his parent’s authority, but a child is not any less valuable than his parent.
Rather, it is someone to come alongside the other, someone equal in standing, someone who is the closest possible companion - bone of my bones, flesh of my flesh.
The Hebrew word translated as “helper” here is עֵ֖זֶר (ezer). This word is used 21 times in the Old Testament. Two of these instances are here in Genesis with the first woman being created. Three times the word ezer is used in reference to powerful nations on whom Israel calls upon for help when besieged by their enemies. Sixteen times, the word ezer refers to God as our help. If God is not subordinate to humanity, how can this word be applied as such in the creation narrative?
Catherine is very fixated on the word “helper,” but the complementarian argument does not hang on that one word. There are plenty of places in the Bible where “ezer” does not denote subordination. But we can not define a Biblical word simply by looking at every usage and attempting to construct one uniform set of connotations that must be equally applied to every usage.
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Women in the Old Testament
There are several examples in the Old Testament of women as leaders, and even women exercising spiritual authority over men. I’m only going to give a few of these examples.
EXODUS 15; NUMBERS 12 | MIRIAM THE PROPHETESS, SISTER OF AARON
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In the book of Exodus, after the event of the Exodus itself, it is Miriam who picks up the instrument and leads the people of God, the nation of Israel, the children of the Promise, in a song of praise. Moses and all the people sing this great song of praise, and Miriam leads them in the triumphant song.
“Then Miriam the prophet, Aaron’s sister, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women [emphasis mine] followed her, with timbrels and dancing” (Ex 15:20). Miriam did not lead “them” generally. She specifically led the women.
JUDGES 4-5 | DEBORAH, THE PROPHETESS, THE WIFE OF LAPPIDOTH
For a lengthy discussion of Deborah, check out our public debate starting at 53:30- https://www.facebook.com/1358077214237956/videos/181504090563808
2 KINGS 22 | HULDAH, THE PROPHETESS, THE WIFE OF SHALLUM
Hilkiah goes to a woman named Huldah. She is a prophetess, and she is the wife of a man named Shallum. Her husband, Shallum, is the “keeper of the wardrobe” and likely maintained either the royal robes or priestly garments, and was therefore a close connection to the King and the High Priest. Hilkiah goes to Huldah for a Word from the Lord.
It is worth noting that Hilkiah goes to Huldah, and not the other way around. There are dozens of examples of male prophets in the Old Testament barging into palaces and temples to proclaim their message. We have no examples of a woman doing so. No question, Huldah was a prophet. But she is not exercising authority over Hilkiah.
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Jesus and Women in the New Testament
While the women that Jesus interacted with in the New Testament may not be prime examples of women exercising spiritual authority in an overt manner, they are examples of how Jesus went against the normative cultural expectations in regard to women.
I appreciate Catherine’s honest concession here. In none of the examples she cites are women exercising authority over men.
THE WOMEN AT THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS
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These women take the message, the greatest message of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, and they take it to all the other disciples. Jesus tells them “go,” and they do it.
I think this narrative, in all four gospels, is possibly the most indicative of spiritual authority being exercised by women. There is great significance here, indeed.
The significance of this story and the prominent role of the women is certainly undeniable. But is this the exercise of spiritual authority over the Twelve? I don’t buy it.
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2 I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord. 3 Yes, I ask you also, true companion, help these women, who have labored side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.
Philippians 4:2-3 (ESV)
In this greeting, it appears that Paul is writing of these women as though they are equals to him. I think the language supports this as well, though I’m no expert in the language.
These women - Lydia, Euodia, Syntyche - labored and strived side by side with the Apostle Paul in his ministry.
They clearly hold a place of significance for the Apostle Paul. I believe we could even say that these women potentially held places of spiritual authority in the church to have been so highly regarded.
What textual basis does Catherine have to claim these women held positions of spiritual authority? And even if they did, spiritual authority over whom?
PRISCILLA AND AQUILA
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Paul meets Priscilla and Aquila first in Corinth. He stays with them and works with them. Soon, we will see that they become close friends and co-laborers in the gospel.
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At this point, Priscilla and Aquila have come with Paul to Ephesus. Here we read that a Jewish man named Apollos has arrived, but he needed a little bit of refinement in the way of understanding the baptism of the Spirit, and the way of God. So, “they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.”
I think this is an example of a woman exercising spiritual authority. Yes, she does so at the side of her husband, and some would argue that this is only supportive of women in married couples being allowed to exercise spiritual authority.
But she does exercise spiritual authority, and I find it difficult to dispute that here.
But is it spiritual authority within the institution of the church? Catherine’s argument, if it is merely to say that women are important to the church, or that they possess spiritual authority, is excellent. But so far, she has presented absolutely ZERO Biblical evidence for female eldership.
PHOEBE, A DEACON
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No need to include Catherine’s argument here because I will concede this point. Phoebe was likely a deacon (though not an elder).
JUNIA, THE WOMAN APOSTLE
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For an extensive discussion of Junia, see our debate starting at 1:09:00-
https://www.facebook.com/1358077214237956/videos/181504090563808
CONCLUSIONS
From the beginning, I have sought to make the subject of this debate narrow. There are all sorts of interesting questions about female deacons, Old Testament judges, and what exactly the “exercise of spiritual authority” entails. Some of you have been frustrated by my unwillingness to engage in these broader discussions.
But from where I stand, those questions can not be helpfully answered without starting with the clearer and more fundamental question, and that is the one at hand: does the New Testament exclude women from eldership? Catherine, despite her excellent research and lengthy arguments, cannot offer a single clear Biblical text in favor of her argument. She has many examples, most of which are at best vague and at worst irrelevant.
My final article on this subject is coming shortly. If you are one of those readers who have been waiting on me to answer THAT question (by THAT I mean whatever question you regard as important for me to answer) then by all means read the last article. But be warned, my answers may not be what you expect.