This morning, I posted the following on Twitter: Here’s the problem with complementarianism in a nutshell. The historic justification has been that they are less intellectual & more emotionally unstable than men, but that’s clearly sexist. Women are no less well equipped than men to be profound teachers and leaders. So one might then retreat […]
sexism
On keeping the ladies in the nursery: A response to Owen Strachan
This morning, I came across the following tweet from Baptist theologian Owen Strachan (courtesy of Matt Mikalatos): "When I hear women & men challenging God’s order, saying…“Women should do more than just serve in the nursery or teach children.“ I wonder why they have such a low opinion of those babes in the nursery? Why […]
The Complementarian Dilemma
Egalitarianism is the view that all offices of church ministry and leadership should be open to both genders. By contrast, complementarianism insists that some offices of ministry and leadership should be restricted to males. I am an egalitarian and yesterday I posted this tweet expressing my concern that complementarianism is not just wrong, but potentially […]
John Piper’s Sexism
Yesterday John Piper posted a podcast answer to the question “Is There a Place for Female Professors at Seminary?” (A hat tip to Matt Mikalatos for tweeting this.) Piper stipulates that his answer to the question of whether women should be teaching in seminaries is predicated on an assumption that complementarianism is true. (Complementarianism is the view […]
Is Christian Complementarianism Immoral and Sexist?
For 150 years the Mormon church barred all members of African ethnicity from attaining the priesthood based on the alleged prophecy that dark skin reflected the “mark of Cain”. Then, in 1978 the prophet of the Mormon church received a new revelation that God wanted the ban rescinded. Good to know! An outside observer would reasonably […]
Blood Coming Out of Her Wherever: On Donald Trump’s misogynistic war
In his opening monologue on SNL this past Saturday, Dave Chappelle made a joke about staying at a Trump hotel: “I’m staying at the Trump Hotel right now. I don’t know if he’s going to make a good president, but he makes a swell hotel suite, Imma tell you that. Housekeeping comes in in the […]
Stephen Colbert, Paul Ryan, and their subtly sexist critiques of Donald Trump
Donald Trump is a misogynistic pig. That much we can agree on. (Warning: if we can’t agree on that much, we probably won’t agree on much more.) But the more sobering fact is that some of the most notable “critiques” of Trump are couched in a subtler form of sexism. And given that subtlety, they […]
When did common sense become victim blaming? A vote for John Kasich
Today at a town hall John Kasich was asked by a first year female university student how the presidential hopeful could help her “feel safer and more secure regarding sexual violence, harassment and rape”. (See the CNN article “Kasich responds to question about sexual assault.”) After making some policy observations and observing that he worried about […]
Should women be allowed to preach if it is carried out under the authority of a male elder?
This is the question addressed in Pastor John Piper’s most recent podcast. The questioner was concerned about the relevance of 1 Timothy 2:12. Pastor Piper responds by addressing verses 12-14: “12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet. 13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve. […]
