One of the current issues in modern day evangelicalism is the ongoing (and unending) debate among "evangelical" scholars that women and men have totally equal rights in the marriage covenant.
As I have been reading and researching extensively for one of my courses at seminary, I have been overwhelmed with the abundant number of evangelical scholars, theologians, pastors and "counselors" that hold to an egalitarian form of marriage.
One of the verses that is so often at the forefront of my mind in all of this is Ephesians 5:24. It is here in this passage that Paul is giving a charge to various groups in the household. He is dealing with the first group here, namely the wives. He says to them in verse 22 - "Be subject to your own husbands" (that right there can be used to refute the egalitarian view) and Paul continues in v.23 by saying that "the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body." Paul's argument is clear thus far.
He's not finished yet. He continues by stating ever so clearly in v. 24 - "But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be [subject] to their husbands in everything." This is overwhelmingly clear. An Egalitarian would have to do some serious hermeneutical gymnastics to get around the exclusively clear meaning of this verse.
So I return to the question that is the Title of this Blog, Biblical Egalitarianism? That is an oxymoron and a statement that holds no biblical credence whatsoever. Let God be true and every man be found a liar!
As I have been reading and researching extensively for one of my courses at seminary, I have been overwhelmed with the abundant number of evangelical scholars, theologians, pastors and "counselors" that hold to an egalitarian form of marriage.
One of the verses that is so often at the forefront of my mind in all of this is Ephesians 5:24. It is here in this passage that Paul is giving a charge to various groups in the household. He is dealing with the first group here, namely the wives. He says to them in verse 22 - "Be subject to your own husbands" (that right there can be used to refute the egalitarian view) and Paul continues in v.23 by saying that "the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body." Paul's argument is clear thus far.
He's not finished yet. He continues by stating ever so clearly in v. 24 - "But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be [subject] to their husbands in everything." This is overwhelmingly clear. An Egalitarian would have to do some serious hermeneutical gymnastics to get around the exclusively clear meaning of this verse.
So I return to the question that is the Title of this Blog, Biblical Egalitarianism? That is an oxymoron and a statement that holds no biblical credence whatsoever. Let God be true and every man be found a liar!
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