Exploring the biblical theology of Christian egalitarianism

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My Top Posts in 2018

popular posts

For the few who may be interested, here’s a short post with some of my website stats for 2018.

  • In 2018, my website had over one million page views: 1,083,916 page views to be precise.
  • The most viewed article overall was a Spanish translation entitled, Mujeres de la Biblia con autoridad espiritual (“Bible Women with Spiritual Authority”). It received 66,842 views in 2018.
  • The most viewed English article was 7 things you may not know about the King James Bible. This article is always popular and it received 41,155 views in 2018.
  • The most viewed article written and posted in 2018 was Deuteronomy 22:28-29 and Marrying your Rapist. The disturbing and controversial subject perhaps added to its popularity and the post has received 6356 views so far.
  • This year, sixteen Portuguese translations of my articles were added to the website. I’m thankful for the careful translation work of Orlando Paulo Correia Reimão. The most popular Portuguese article has been Quem foi a senhora eleita de 2 João? (“Who was the Chosen Lady in 2 John?”) with 2409 page views.

I felt at the beginning of 2018 that my website might have peaked in terms of (1) the quantity and quality of posts and (2) the number of people visiting the site. But I managed to post 25 new blog posts and the numbers of visitors and of page views continue to grow. For example, in each of the months of October, November and December, my website received over 100,000 page views. This is more than in previous months this year.

Because of the increasing numbers of visitors, it’s been a challenge to respond to the many comments and questions people leave in response to my articles. I even closed comments on my website for a short while because it got to be too much, but that didn’t stop the comments coming through other avenues. (I have no idea how people with very successful websites manage.) But I do learn from some of the comments readers leave, and I appreciate that.

The reach of my website on the world wide web continues to amaze me. Most people that visit my website come from America: 345,307 in 2018. But when it comes to cities, I consistently have more visitors from Lagos, Nigeria, than from any other city in the world: 16,000 in 2018. And that is gratifying. Also, most of my visitors are between the ages of 25-34 and, according to Google, 59% of them are male.

My hope is that the message of mutuality, equality and unity between the sexes will reach the places and communities that need it most. And I hope you’ll continue the journey with me in 2019—on FacebookTwitter, or as a subscriber—as I continue to explore the biblical theology of Christian egalitarianism, and more.

Happy New Year!
Marg


Related Article

My Top 10 Posts in 2017

Image Credits

Photo of desk by Brugel Creative
Screenshots of visitors by country and by city taken from Google Analytics.

artigos em portugues sobre igualdade entre homens e mulheres no lar e na igreja

36 thoughts on “My Top Posts in 2018

  1. The time and attention to detail in your posts as well as the commentary boggle my (actually fairly intelligent) brain! Having “learned” a lot of my “understanding” (brainwashing?) in a patriarchal church over 30 years, this type of deep analytical study is at once foreign and fascinating. Thank you! I am learning to look at context, original text and the Holy Spirit. The Bible is no longer a “rule book” for my abusive spouse to use for control, but a deeply layered love story and book of wisdom and guidance from a God who adores me and wants my good.

    1. I love your comment, Debby. Context, original text and the Holy Spirit are the three guiding principles of my hermeneutic too. In addition, any application of any text must be done with both loving kindness and common sense. Blessings in 2019!

  2. That’s awesome Marg!! And I’m one of your recent 2018 followers, and very thankful for that. Marg, I want to encourage you – your insight and compassion is so contagious. You write in an accessible way, but never watered down and based on the Bible. You never know who is reading your articles…I redirect my friends, comps and egals alike, to your blog. Every time, new insights!

    1. Thank you, Jamie! Blessings in 2019.

  3. Hi Marg

    I really appreciate your site, I think it provides and valid contribution to our understanding of “Christianity”

    Have a great New Year

    1. Thank you, Alan. Happy New Year!

  4. Hi Marg! I hope you’re having a happy new year! Congrats on this blogs success in 2018! I am so very happy I have found this entire website in 2018 as well.

    Unfortunately, there is something that has been deeply disturbing my conscious a lot lately. It’s the concept about treasures in heaven.

    In Matthew 6:19-20, we are encouraged to build up our treasures in heaven instead of on earth. To me, this sounds like we’re being encouraged to do so because if we don’t, we would regret it. However, regret is a type of sorrow, and I thought that there would be no sorrow in heaven…

    If more treasures earned= more happiness, then that means that some people will naturally be happier in heaven than others. And by default, if some people are happier in heaven than others, that means that some people will obviously not be as happy as them. If somebody is less happy, that naturally means that they have more pain/sorrow.

    So I guess I’m just confused because I thought there wasn’t going to be any sort of sorrow in heaven, but regret is a type of sorrow. And honestly, if I see somebody with more treasures than me in heaven, how could I not feel disappointed? I obviously would feel sad because I would want what they have, but I would also feel major regret every time I see their abundance of treasures while I practically have none because it would be a constant reminder that I could have done so much more with my time and energy on earth to serve God.

    1. Thanks, Megan.

      Jesus often uses figures of speech in his teachings. I think what Jesus is saying is that we shouldn’t let our earthly, temporary focus—what we eat, what we wear, what we earn, etc—overshadow our heavenly, eternal focus. But Jesus does not indicate that regret or sorrow is part of the eternal picture. The opposite, in fact. Those who focus on the temporary, by storing treasures on earth, will be disappointed in this life.

      I see people around me now with much more than I have and much less than I have. And I don’t feel regret for myself. And I certainly don’t feel regret for the people who are working hard and are doing well financially. I am happy for them and what they have earned. One regret I do have is that very few take Luke 3:11 more literally and that there are many poor people.

      What we are doing now has a direct bearing on our future, eternal life. Jesus wants us to produce real fruit that will last, fruit that has eternal value (John 15:16), that is, treasure in heaven (Matt. 6:19-21). Paul tells us to build carefully on the foundation of Jesus Christ with valuable work (1 Cor. 3:11-15). Paul plainly indicates that some may experience loss coming into in the next world (1 Cor. 3:14-15). Still, the fact that the person is being saved most likely overrides any sense of regret or sorrow.

      Anyway, if we are loving God and loving people we are storing treasure in heaven. It seems to me that your focus is on the eternal. 🙂

      1. Ok. Thanks for your help!

  5. I’m very happy to see that your blog posts are being seen by more eyes. Thank you for all you do, Marg. You have definitely helped me understand some difficult passages. 🙂

    1. Thanks, Julie Anne. That means a lot coming from you.

  6. . . . and 1 from Norway. Male. Over 60.

    Happy New Year Marg! May you continue to bring blessings to others with what you write!

    1. 🙂 Happy New Year, Knut AK.

  7. It’s great how much your blog is gaining viewers. Happy New Year and God Bless.

    1. Thanks, CT.

  8. Lol I’m back with another random question.

    What happens if after a person gets saved, they don’t change their ways? Like at all?

    If a person who believes in Jesus Christ as their savior continues to live a sinful lifestyle even after they’ve trusted in God for their salvation, can they lose their salvation? If they never show any kind of spiritual fruit? (Idk how this is possible honestly… how can somebody possibly believe in Christ and not be moved enough to change their sinful behaviors… or at least desire to change).

    1. Bad behaviour may be an indication that a person is not faithfully following Jesus and abiding in him. (See John 14:5-6.) And faith (or faithfulness) is what saves us (John 3:16). Faith = belief. https://margmowczko.com/all-encompassing-faith/

      However, we cannot always tell if God is working in someone’s life or not. Sometimes fruit is not evident to us because we are unaware of personal struggles and battles. Only God can really judge a person’s heart and their faith and fruit.

      1. Ok. And then one last thing that I have to ask because it’s driving me nuts not knowing…

        Do I have to know what hell is in order to be saved from it? Because I don’t know if I believe that it’s people who will literally be on fire forever/eternal conscious torment, or if it’s annihiliation.

        But then again, I also don’t think it matters that I don’t know.

        All I know is that Christ died for my sins and payed the punishment for my sins (whatever that punishment might be) so I don’t have to. And I’m pretty sure that’s all it takes for someone to be saved.

        So do you think that people have to know the exact definition of what they’re being saved from in order to go to heaven?

        1. Hi Megan, You’re right, we don’t need to know the ins and outs about our future destiny in order to be saved. Here’s what I think of “hell.

          By the way, I’m going to be busy for the next few days as I’m doing a 5-day course in Sydney, so i may not have time to answer questions.

          1. Ok! My semester starts up again on Wednesday so I probably won’t have any burning. questions since I’ll have so much more on my plate haha.

            Have fun in Sydney! And I hope you’ve had a good holiday!

  9. Hi Russell, thanks for sharing all this. I appreciate your encouragement.

    One of my aims is to bridge the gap between seminary (or academia) and the pulpit, because it usually takes a long time for new findings and new understandings to make their way to most Christians.

    “Yes, women can handle the Word of God… at the highest and most basic academic levels!!!” 🙂 Biblical studies and theology suffer when the Bible is owned and operated by only (white) men.

    Happy New Year, Russell!

  10. Dear Change agent,

    I do not know when or even if you will even get to read this Marg. And I don’t know if congratulations is the word to use in response to this ministry you are in. But I am grateful God has gifted you to this ministry. Grateful you have the abilities you have and the heart and conscientiousness and passion you do to so thoroughly research things and share your wisdom, experience and research. I’m grateful too that we have the internet that your work can be shared all around the world

    What is God up to? I’m glad to see that you are very much part of it.
    Cheers
    George

    1. Thank you, George. These words mean a lot to me.

  11. Hola Marg,

    Thank you for all your wonderful posts – I am a fairly new follower and I am gleaning many helpful and insightful nuggets of truth from your writing. Also, “muchas gracias” for the translations in Spanish – this Cuban born Latina truly enjoys them!

    Persi

    1. That’s great to hear, Persi. 🙂

  12. Marg… Question…??? I have noted and read the preface and introduction on-line to a title, Abusing Scripture by Manfred Brauch. It seems to be primarily an hermeneutic where he uses some of the troublesome verses related to women in the Bible, as examples of abused scripture. What I have been able to read is confirmation of much of the work my wife Irene and I have done. Have you come across this work and Is this a useful piece for our church library? (We are about to get hit with two feet of snow up here in the snow belts East of Lake Ontario, North Eastern USA… where the snow falls on the just and unjust equally, more locally as God wills… Thank Him for the science of meteorology and the weather (wo)men…!!! )

    1. Hi Russ, I have read bits and pieces of Manfred Brauch’s work, particularly in the book Hard Saying of the Bible. But I haven’t read Abusing Scripture. Have you seen this book review of it?: https://www.cbeinternational.org/resources/review/priscilla-papers/book-review-manfred-t-brauchs-abusing-scripture

  13. OK! Thanks for getting back to me on this. I read the review at the link above and this lead to more searching… I have ordered it (Brauch’s “Abusing Scripture”). The library committee will have to check it out. If they don’t OK it, I’ll keep it. Now that I have run face-on into CBE I am reminded of Alvira Mickelsen and “Better Bible Study” a great study text crafted by she and her husband Berkeley. We used it in our church when it first came out. My wife, Irene taught through it… To this day ‘rightly dividing the word of truth’ is a value around the church. I think I will check to see if there are still copies at church. If not I’ll get one… and run the idea of doing this class again… maybe for the young people…? We must have taught this 35-40 years ago… It was here that Irene picked up the rudiments of Hebrew poetry. Though never learning the Hebrew language, just some (actually quite a few) keywords, she loved dissecting the poetry. She was very good at parallelism and chiasm. She used Alexander’s “The Psalms Translated and Explained” for the scholarship. I can hear her now, “All the psalms are poetical but they are more than this, they are lyrical, they can be analyzed… you can do this…” How joyful she would be when she found a thread or sub-theme across a collection of psalms. How she would mine it! She often would preach up some gem she had found through her “better Bible Study” method. We all miss her teaching and preaching… May I thank You one more time, “Teach”… (Yup, the snow is here and the bottom is dropping out of the thermometer. Gotta go out in it and put seed in the bird-feeder.) Russ

  14. What did a typical church in the New Testament look like? What were all the roles (elder, deacon, ect.) and what did each role do? Is every church suppose to operate the same way?

    Is there even such a thing as “the first pope?” I have never ever even heard of a pope in the Bible (I ask because I’m forced to got to a Catholic Church/youth group, and our leader said that ____ was the first pope. I forgot what name she mentioned).

    1. I guess the very first leader of a church at Rome could be called the first pope. But we don’t know who the first church leader in Rome was. It certainly wasn’t Peter. It’s a non-issue for me.

      There was no one kind of typical church in the New Testament. The church in Jerusalem functioned differently to the church in Corinth, for example. Some first-century churches functioned and organised themselves like synagogues, some like voluntary associations, some like extended families. And words such as “elder,” diakonos (“deacon”) and episkopos (“overseer/bishop”) were not used in established or set ways.

      This short article might be useful: https://margmowczko.com/church-cultures-women-leaders/
      This article gives more information: https://margmowczko.com/the-first-century-church-and-the-ministry-of-women/

      And here are articles on whether women were elders, deacons, or overseers in New Testament times with some information about these ministries.

      Elders/presbyters: https://margmowczko.com/women-elders-new-testament/
      Ministers/deacons: https://margmowczko.com/was-phoebe-a-deacon-of-the-church-in-cenchrea-part-1/
      Overseers/bishops: https://margmowczko.com/manage-household-1-timothy-34/

  15. Marg, random question for you – “queen mother” aka King Asa’s grandmother Maacah in 2 Chronicles 15:16 (daughter of Absalom). Was she a leader? The passage and subsequent chapters never give any indication of reproach to her gender…she’s rebuked for worshipping idols. Is she related to the wise woman of Abel Beth Maacah?

    1. Hi Jamie, I doubt the two women are related. “Maacah” was not an uncommon personal name in Ancient Israel. https://biblehub.com/hebrew/4601.htm It was also a place name: https://biblehub.com/hebrew/1038.htm

      Queen mothers did have clout, but I’m not sure if “leader” describes Asa’s mother. It does describe the wise woman of Abel Beth Maacah, though. My friend Anne Mackie Morelli may be a good person to ask about women in the Hebrew Bible. She blogs at https://thestonescall.com/

  16. Hey Marg!

    I have a couple of observations / questions for you, after reading through 1 and 2 Chronicles, and Ezra. Athaliah, the evil leader, who was never rebuked for being a woman, but rebuked for leading people to worship asherah poles. But then, tucked into 2 Chronicles 22:10-11, is Jehosheba who protects Joash (and it sounds like she protected him for six years from Athaliah).

    Second question – Ezra 261…a man took his wife’s family name “Barzillai.” Is this an example of a husband changing his last name to his wife’s? I’ve had a few arguments with Christians who think the wife automatically has to take her husband’s name (I think that’s incorrect to think it’s a “mandate.” But I just laughed when I saw this verse, and thought, wow, Bible man who took his wife’s last name.)

    1. Also, I forgot to mention that there were several mentions in 2 Chronicles of prophets who *preached or taught. I was thinking of people who think Paul allowed women to prophesy, but didn’t allow women to teach. How can there not be any teaching in prophetic words?

      1. Paul didn’t allow “a woman” (not “women”) from teaching (1 Tim. 2:12). The reason being that she still needed to learn (1 Tim. 2:11).
        https://margmowczko.com/interpretation-of-1-timothy-212/

        I think there were different kinds of prophetic ministry in the NT church, but some of it must have involved teaching (e.g., “Jezebel”).
        https://margmowczko.com/jezebel-of-thyatira-a-female-false-prophet/

    2. Yes, it’s similar to the NT “Jezebel” being criticized and punished for immoral teaching, but not criticized for the being a woman teacher.

      Yes, the guy took on his wife’s family name. I don’t understand Christians who get in a fluster when a man takes on his wife’s last name. Taking a husband’s last name is a cultural thing more than a theological thing.

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