Okay, confession time: do your eyes glaze over when you read that long list of greetings in Romans 16? Maybe, like me, you’ve been part of a Bible study that looked at each chapter of Romans week by week, only to come to an abrupt halt after chapter 15, because it was considered that there… Continue reading Who’s Who in Paul’s Greetings in Romans 16 (Part 1)
Category: roles
Q&A: What’s with women having to be silent in church in 1 Corinthians 14?
This article was originally presented as a brief talk at the Christians for Biblical Equality Perth chapter gathering on 2 September, 2017. One thing that is commonly claimed by complementarians is that they simply follow the “clear meaning of the text” (with the inference that egalitarians are making up difficulties that distract from the text’s… Continue reading Q&A: What’s with women having to be silent in church in 1 Corinthians 14?
Q&A: Are Husbands to Lead Their Wives?
Q: Bronwen, my friend says that husbands are created by God to be leaders of their wives and families. When I asked for her biblical evidence of this belief, she said 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. These passages do seem to say quite clearly that men are to manage their families (which is the same as… Continue reading Q&A: Are Husbands to Lead Their Wives?
Can Pastors Have “No Position” on the Role of Women?
“Women in leadership positions, teaching roles or pastoral ministry? Our church doesn’t have a position on that.” Really? Really? This is a phrase I’ve previously had said to me by a pastor in response to my query. I know I’m not alone in this experience. I know of a Christian organisation whose stated aim is… Continue reading Can Pastors Have “No Position” on the Role of Women?
Q&A: Gender Roles in Marriage, Part 2
In the previous post of this Q&A on gender roles in marriage, we began looking at whether specific gender roles are God’s design for Christian marriages – roles in which, specifically, the husband is to take responsibility for leadership and the wife is to help and to submit. Firstly, we started in Genesis, and found… Continue reading Q&A: Gender Roles in Marriage, Part 2
Q&A: Gender Roles in Marriage, Part 1
Q: Bronwen, I’ve always been taught that there are specific gender roles in a Christian marriage, and that means the husband is intended to have the leadership role and the wife’s role is to help and to submit. But that feels so unnatural to my husband and I. His personality is quiet and gentle and… Continue reading Q&A: Gender Roles in Marriage, Part 1
My Story – Why Biblical Equality Matters to Me
Did God not love me, just because I was female? I couldn’t study. I couldn’t think straight. I was distressed, overset with a spiritual crisis that rocked me to the core. I had been, by nature, a well-behaved and compliant child who didn’t really experience the rebellion thing as a teenager. Heck, my “rebellion” was… Continue reading My Story – Why Biblical Equality Matters to Me
“Men Need Respect, Women Need Love”?
“Women need love, but men need respect.” How often have you heard this, or similar statements? And so often, they are met with wisely knowing nods and exclamations (“oh, so true!”), and likes and shares on Facebook. These overly simplistic notions are popular when it comes to people trying to sort out the perceived differences… Continue reading “Men Need Respect, Women Need Love”?
4 Reasons Why the Archbishop of Sydney is Wrong About Gender
It’s not often that the statements of church leaders are considered even remotely newsworthy in Australia, where the general attitude to religion varies mostly from indifference to contempt. Sydney Anglicans have made a habit of making the news in the past 12 months for issues relating to gender roles – a series of news stories… Continue reading 4 Reasons Why the Archbishop of Sydney is Wrong About Gender
Taming Dragons
“Remember, a dragon will always, always go for the kill,” instructs Gobber the Belch in the movie How to Train Your Dragon. Young Hiccup hears this statement, and suddenly a lightbulb comes on. Only a day or so before, Hiccup had cut loose the young dragon – later named Toothless – which was tangled… Continue reading Taming Dragons
God's Design - Perth 