| This is material from a promotion of March and April 2010 for the book Leadership is male? communicated to all the Church of England Diocesan Bishops. This expanded into a contact to every Anglican Bishop responsible for a diocese fully within the UK. The introduction to the promotion stated: "I have synthesised the information that respond to the 3 New Testament passages generally held as the core biblical hindrances to the ministry of women in a short - no more than 3 pages - Word document" What is on this web page is the contents of those 3 pages on 3 parts just like the promo: an introduction followed by 2 synthesised sections.
Do you remember The European Christian Bookstore Journal, the previous incarnation of The Christian Marketplace?
The late John Wimber was interviewed - founder of the Vineyard group of churches - and he explained how church governance is male based on 3 passages in the New Testament. This is something believed by the
New Frontiers group of the 'new churches' and many evangelical or reformed churches. And, there are the ongoing challenges in the Church of England in regards to female bishops.
Renewal magazine, another previous Christian monthly, carried articles in the late 80s for and against male governance from two opposite writers: J David Pawson and Roger Forster of Ichthus Christian Fellowship. As a result of these articles Pawson put together his book
Leadership is male Published by Highland. And as an advocate of male leadership that is what I referred to.
To my amazement in 1993 I found the Lord putting the issue back on my plate after having finished writing my 1st book Will there be Non-Christians in heaven? (What happens to those who never hear...?)
So that, later in 1993, I turned around in my view!
What was significant is that none of the books 'for' women had persuaded me:
The '3 passages' - 1 Corinthians 11:3, 14:34 and 1 Timothy 2:11-14 - had regularly been side-tracked by using a cultural or historical argument whilst I read clearly in the text (e.g. Timothy) that deception and the creation order were in view!
The creation order remains relevant and deception is ongoing until the enemy is finally dealt with: that's not cultural.
A new approach to this subject was needed and also I had questions as to the accurate translation of the passages in view. This led me to study New Testament Greek and research further.
Jacques More
Leadership is male?
By Jacques More
288 page paperback £6.99
ISBN 9781898158202 (1898158207)
Published by Jarom Books
Stocked by CLC Wholesale
01962 733 142
This is what George Carey says of this title:
"An excellent book - very readable, intelligent and well written - It deserves to be widely read."
Lord Carey of Clifton P.C.
Archbishop of Canterbury 1991 - 2002
Part 2
Here follows information synthesised from the book dealing with 1 of the 3 passages that have been used to advocate male leadership - 1 Corinthians 11:3
There are 2 words for a man in Greek 'Anthrópos' from which we get our word 'anthropology' and there is 'anér' from which we get the word 'android' as more easily seen from the Genitive of 'anér' which is 'andros'.
What is significant is that like the French word for 'femme' which equally means 'woman' or 'wife' solely dependent on context, so also with 'anér' the word can equally mean 'husband' or 'man' solely dependent on context. There is no other word for a husband but 'anér'.
In my research and look at every place where 'anér' and 'anthrópos' are found, and reproduced in the appendices, something became clear: 'anér' is always used about a particular man so that in the plural it refers to a particular group of men whilst 'anthrópos' is about any man, someone, and in plural can just mean 'peoples'. This is well illustrated in John' s gospel and the feeding of the 5,000.
"Then Jesus said, 'Make the people (anthrópous) sit down.' Now there was much grass in the place. So the men (andres) sat down, in number about five thousand." John 6:10 (NKJV)
At first the number was indeterminate and the word 'anthrópos' is used. As soon as there was a clear count of the men the word 'anér' is used. This is significant as the singular of 'anér'refers to a particular man. This completely removes 1 Corinthians 11:3 from any argument of overriding male governance.
In 1 Corinthians 11:3 we find "the head of every man is Christ; the head of woman is man; and the head of Christ is God." (NKJV). This then becomes a mistranslation.
The Greek has 'kephalé-de gunaikos ho anér' which is 'but/and head of woman the man/husband' and since (not only) the definite article is present, but 'an
3;r' itself refers to a particular man, who is 'the' - particular - man of a woman? And, do you remember how there is no other word for a husband, but 'anér'?
Thus the correct translation is:
"and head of a woman the husband"
As found in the Amp.V, GNB, LB, RSV.
1 Corinthians 11:3 cannot thereby be used for a general understanding of headship of men over women.
Part 3
Here follows information synthesised from the book dealing with the other 2 of the 3 passages that have been used to advocate male leadership - 1 Timothy 2:11-12 and 1 Corinthians 14:34
The words "I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man" (1 Tim.2:12 NKJV) appear pretty clear. But, just like the fool who says "There is no God" (Psalm 14:1 NKJV) context is everything.
The context is even more striking in the Greek because an impression of a beginning and end is present which cannot be denied "A woman in quietness let learn . . . in quietness."
The deal of 'teaching' and use of 'authority' is limited to the learning time in a gathering of believers.
2 things are in view: the way meetings were held where interaction with the speaker was the norm and secondly the whole matter of deception. This latter point Paul specifies in 1 Tim.2:14 and is the most important factor in play in all the passages where Paul writes on this matter of female interaction.
In this book several chapters explain deception and its relevance when other works barely cover it (e.g. less than 2 pages in Grudem). Yet, without a full appreciation of deception from Paul's writings these injunctions are altogether misunderstood.
Both 1 Cor.14:34 and 1 Tim.2:11-12 are about the learning time and interaction during that time. In other parts of the gathering women are clearly free to pray and prophesy publicly "every woman who prays or prophesies" (1 Cor.11:5 NKJV) and to share and teach "Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has an interpretation" (1 Cor.14:26 NKJV) which Paul here preceded with "How is then, it brethren?" (NKJV) Brethren is meant in a generic sense as seen by Paul's use of the term in regards to communion (1 Cor.11:33-34) and the gifts of the Spirit (1 Cor.12:1). To restrict women in one passage because of the term and not then do the same in regards to communion is hypocritical.
A careful step by step look at the translation of 1 Timothy 2:12 demonstrates that it does not read "or to have authority over a man" (NKJV) but "nor to exercise authority of a husband" which is all about the command given in Genesis 3:16 for the sake of deception to submit things to her husband. In the learning time, when interaction was the norm any interjection that was impulsive and unchecked a distraction, Paul was limiting that possibility because of the danger of deception.
To Titus Paul wrote "appoint elders in every city" (Titus 1:5 NKJV) at a time when there was only 1 church per city. Plural oversight - team leadership was the norm. Within these settings we can read women - as men are - free to govern.
Leadership is male?
By Jacques More
288 page paperback £6.99
ISBN 9781898158202 (1898158207)
Published by Jarom Books
Stocked by CLC Wholesale
01962 733 142
To return to the SALES PAGE CLICK HERE.
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