Did Miriam the prophetess only minister to women?
Miriam is clearly identified as a prophet and as a leader in the Bible, but some say her ministry was only to women. Was this the case? What does the Bible say?
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Category: Equality in Ministry
Romans 14 and the Divisive Issue of Women Pastors
I read Romans chapter 14 today and saw that Paul’s message here has relevance to the issue of women ministers, an issue that continues to cause debate and division in some sectors of the church.
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“Holding Up Half the Sky” by Graham Joseph Hill
I was honoured to write a foreword to Graham Hill’s book “Holding Up Half the Sky” where he presents a compelling biblical case for women leading and teaching in the church. I’ve included the foreword in this post.
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Atto of Vercelli on Female Priests/Elders in the Early Church
Atto, bishop of Vercelli in the 900s, saw in church tradition that women had led churches and were presbyters (priests or elders). He did not think this was a bad thing.
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Chrysostom on 5 Women Church Leaders in the NT
John Chrysostom (d. 407) praised Priscilla, Phoebe, Euodia, Syntyche, and Junia, and acknowledged that these five women were leading ministers in their churches.
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“Preaching” words in the NT and the women who preached
When we understand “preaching” words in the way New Testament authors and understood and used these words we see that some New Testament women preached.
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Junias and Junia in Early Commentaries of Romans 16:7
Here is a list of over a dozen early and medieval scholars who took Junia’s name in Romans 16:7 to be feminine. Junia was a woman and not Junias, a man.
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4 obscure OT passages sometimes used to diminish women
In this article, I look at four passages from the Hebrew Bible: Leviticus 27, Numbers 30, Ecclesiastes 7:28 and Isaiah 3:12. These verses are sometimes brought up in comments that diminish women.
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3 reasons why it’s a woman, not all women, in 1 Timothy 2:12
Here are 3 reasons why I believe 1 Timothy 2:12 may be about a particular couple in the Ephesian church and does not contain Paul’s general thoughts on women in ministry.
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Partnering Together: Paul’s Female Coworkers
Paul included women, as well as men, as ministry partners. And he used the same ministry terms for his male and female co-workers. None of Paul’s statements, when understood in context, restricts the ministry of godly and gifted women.
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1 Corinthians 16:16: A submission verse that applies to women
In 1 Corinthians 16:16, Paul tells the Corinthians to submit themselves to coworkers and labourers. Paul refers to several women by these ministry terms.
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What Timothy knew about Paul’s theology of ministry, and 1 Timothy 2:12
Timothy well knew Paul’s views on ministry. So it doesn’t make sense that 1 Timothy 2:12ff represents the apostle’s general teaching on women in ministry, a teaching that Timothy needed to be told or reminded of. What’s going on in this verse?
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