What was Adam’s excuse?
Eve’s reason for eating the forbidden fruit was that she was deceived. What was Adam’s excuse? Suzanne McCarthy suggests Adam did give a reason in Genesis 3.
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Category: Gender in Genesis 1-3
The Holy Spirit and Eve as Helpers
Both the Holy Spirit and Eve are described as helpers in the Bible. But the role of Holy Spirit as helper, given in John’s Gospel, does not inform our understanding of Eve as helper (Gen. 2), and vice versa. Here’s why.
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The Significance of the Created Order, in a Nutshell
The creation order of man first, woman second, as given in Genesis 2, is often brought up in discussions about the place of men and women in ministry and in marriage. What significance did Paul place on man being created first?
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Gender Roles & Gendered Activities in the Old Testament
Does the Old Testament teach that husbands are to be the leaders of their wives, or that men have authority over women? Are some roles forbidden to women? This is part 1 of a series on gender roles in the Bible.
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John Paul II on Mutual Submission in Marriage
The stance of the Roman Catholic Church in regards to mutual submission in marriage is much more egalitarian than the stance of many evangelicals. Here are some interesting excerpts from the Vatican document on the “Dignity of Women” (Mulieris Dignitatem).
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Ezer kenegdo does not mean “a helper subordinate to him”
Does helping someone require that you subordinate yourself to that person? A few men whose essays I’ve read recently answer this question with a “yes”.
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Three Scholars with Two Views on Eve’s Role as Helper
What did Eve do to help Adam? Here are two very different views from three top scholars about Eve’s role as helper in Genesis 2.
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Is a Gender Hierarchy Implicit in the Creation Narrative of Genesis 2:4–25?
Here’s a paper I presented back in September 2015. The paper was published in a book, The Gender Conversation, in 2016. Just recently, the book has been made available as an affordable e-book.
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Adam was created first, and this means . . .
Does the Genesis story that Adam was created first mean that men have a greater authority than women? Does primogeniture have a place in Christian relationships?
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Gender Roles Rooted in Creation?
Complementarians believe that men have authority over women. They believe this principle is rooted in creation and is therefore timeless in application. Cynthia Westfall exposes the faults in this thinking.
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Is it he, she, they or we who crush the serpent’s head? (Genesis 3:15)
I’ve been using the Common English Bible and was surprised to read God say to the snake, “They will strike your head.” Other translations of Genesis 3:15 have he, she or it will strike. What is the correct understanding of who will attack the serpent? Is it us?
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Desire or Devotion: Which is a better translation of teshuqah in Genesis 3:16?
Is the Hebrew word teshuqah, traditionally translated as “desire” in Genesis 3:16, better translated as “single-minded concentration” or “devotion”?
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