Part One

Thanks for your comments on part one. I want to encourage you to keep your comments coming but also uplifting to one another. No one will listen to a comment that is attacking (not that anyone was attacking in their comments).

I want to give an overview of the 2 basic positions for this debate: egalitarianism and complementarianism. I’ll go over some of the main arguments for each.

There was a great post by Eugene Cho yesterday morning. He is a supporter of egalitarianism.

Egalitarianism- There should be no distinctions between men and women when it comes to church leadership.

• Supporters of egalitarianism often see the Trinity as one of equality between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They see no hierarchy between 3.
• Galatians 3:28 is the main Scripture reference in support of this view. Some have referred to this as the emancipation proclamation for women in Scripture.
• Egalitarians see the word “head” or “headship” as being for source rather than a term of authority. This is seen in Ephesians 5:23. This has some support from Genesis 2 and the creation of Eve. Adam was the source but this doesn’t give him inherited authority.

Complementarianism- Women are not to hold the office of pastor or elder and are called to “complementary” roles to men within the church.

• Complementarians view the Trinity as one of mutual submission with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Son and Holy Spirit submit themselves to the Father, but are still co-equals within the Trinity.
• In some support of this view is 1st Corinthians 11:3. This verse gives us a striking difference with egalitarianism on the views of the Trinity and headship.
• The main passages in support of complementarianism are 1st Timothy 2 and 1st Corinthians 14. Both emphasize that women should be “silent” and are not to have authority over men.

This was a 10 page paper and I simply could not cover all of the cruxes for each side’s argument. Beyond that excuse, there are simply endless reasons people come up with as support for either side, so I wanted to focus on the main arguments. Use the comment section to add some pieces of support for either side.

Tomorrow…..my opinion.

(Go here to read Part Three)