Egalitarians Actually Use Illogical Explanations to Justify Female Leadership

After I published Examining a False Claim regarding Female Leadership, a reader I'll call Ron wrote expressing concern that my complementarian beliefs offered a low view of women as if women have less intelligence and ability than men. He also questioned how I could hold the complementarian view and have a blog, book, and YouTube channel if I felt teaching men was wrong.

Great questions. First, let me answer how I can be complementarian but write things read by men and have videos watched by men.

 

It's true that I have male and female readers/subscribers on Bible Love Notes, on You Tube, and I know that both men and women are reading my books Wisdom for Life and Lies in Disguise. Only a tiny minority of extreme complementarians would disagree with this. The majority approve because reading a book or blog post or listening to a woman on social media doesn't put the man under her authority. She isn't his pastor or elder. He's free to disagree with her and stop listening. Below are two explanations by pastors who are complimentarian: 

I'm Complementarian and I Read Books by Women by Tim Challis.

Do You Use Commentaries Written by Women? answered by John Piper.   

But what about Ron's egalitarian beliefs that complimentarians view women as inferior?  

Egalitarians explain away rules about male leadership in 1 Timothy 2 by claiming Paul prohibited women from church leadership in Ephesus because Artemis worship in Ephesus had created a woman-dominated culture. 

 

So they believe Paul created this rule for a temporary measure for Ephesus, not the church in general because God's real desire is to have both men and women in church leadership. 

 

Let's look at the logic of this claim:

 

✔ How would creating a male-dominant culture bring balance? If God wanted both men and women in leadership, wouldn't using a model with both male and female leaders be the best way to instruct Ephesian Christians?

 

✔ If this command was not a part of the gospel, why did Paul introduce it by explaining the gospel (verses 5-6)? Why didn't he word it as a cultural command? 

 

✔ If this command was temporary or cultural why did Paul explain it using the creation story as a confirmation (verses 13-15)?

 

✔ Many egalitarians claim Paul was prejudiced and expressing a viewpoint not affirmed by God. If that's true, then everything Paul said is up for human review even though Peter called Paul's writings "Scripture" (2 Peter 3:14-16)?

 

I encourage you to read my post linked above. It shows that the Artemis excuse seems to be manufactured by egalitarians. While Artemis worship was led by females, secular articles describe the culture of Ephesus as male dominated with women serving in the home and husbands making decisions and serving in leadership roles in the community.  

 

Other egalitarians claim Paul restricted female leadership because they weren't as educated as the men at that time. But Paul gave no education rules for men so this argument is also illogical. 

 

Men and women are equal but different and God designed them for equal but different positions in society.  

 

Complimentarians believe male and female roles are part of God's beautiful design which we can fully trust even if we don't fully understand it.

 

Let's correctly handle the commands in Bible passages about male leadership (2 Timothy 2:15). Let's trust God's Word to give us the answers (2 Timothy 3:16-17). And let's not be taken in by arguments based on human wisdom instead of Scripture (Colossians 2:8).                                    

I appreciate Ron's questions and I'm glad to address any other questions readers have as we discover what the Bible actually teaches and what it means for us today.

To read the rest of the series:

Part 1: Think God Needs "Updating"? Think Again!

Part 2: Women in Church Leadership: Complementarian or Egalitarian? 

Part 3: When Leadership in the Church is Misused   

Part 4:  My Response to Male Leadership in the Church 

Part 5:  Egalitarians Actually Hold a Low View of Women and Scripture. Answering a reader's questions from Part 4.

Part 6: Examining a False Claim Regarding Female Leadership

Part 7: Women's Roles: The Message of 1 Timothy 2