100 FEMINIST VIEWS THAT UNDERMINE SCRIPTURE
many cases caused by lack of information or by untrue statements being
repeated again and again in egalitarian literature (see Part 3 of this book
for several examples).
With regard to most of the crucial questions, the supporting evi-
dence is not something that is restricted to the realm of specialist schol-
ars with technical knowledge. Even in those cases where the argument
depends on the meaning of a Greek or Hebrew word, the relevant evi-
dence from ancient literature can usually be presented in a clear and
forthright way (in English translation) so that interested lay people have
an opportunity to make an informed decision.
Sadly, again and again I find that Christians accept evangelical fem-
inist arguments not because people have actually seen hard evidence
proving these views to be valid but rather because they have read the
interpretation of the evidence (not the actual evidence itself) in some
evangelical writer whom they trust. What readers don’t realize is that
often these writers are depending on the statements of other writers, and
those writers on yet other writers, with only speculation but no proof
behind the original statement that started it all. In a number of cases,
the egalitarian scholar is advocating an extremely doubtful theory about
the evidence that no one has ever before advocated. But seldom is the
actual evidence itself provided. In many cases, that is because such evi-
dence simply does not exist. In other cases, the egalitarian scholar who
is trusted has promoted an unusual understanding of the ancient world
or a novel interpretation held by no other expert in the field before or
since, yet the lay person believes and trusts the egalitarian scholar while
having no idea how strange that scholar’s views actually are, or how
widely what the egalitarian author claims wanders from the actual truth
about the ancient world.^24
D. CONCLUSION: SILENCING THE MOST RELEVANT VERSES BY SAYING THEY
ARE DISPUTED IS ANOTHER STEP TOWARD LIBERALISM
I realize that the evangelical feminist authors who say the verses on
women in the church are “too hard to decide” do not think they are
(^24) For one example, see my discussion of Cindy Jacobs’s uncritical acceptance of a highly dubi-
ous argument from Richard Kroeger and Catherine Kroeger about the history of ancient
Ephesus (see chapter 24, pages 190-191 below).